Toshirō Mifune, Yōko Tsukasa, Gō Katō, Tatsuyoshi Ehara, Etsuko Ichihara, Isao Yamagata, Tatsuya Nakadai, Shigeru Kōyama, Michiko Ōtsuka, Tatsuo Matsumura, Masao Mishima, Jun Hamamura, Takamaru Sasaki, Hideo Fukuhara, Tetsuko Kobayashi
The mother of a feudal lord's only heir is kidnapped away from her husband by the lord. The husband and his samurai father must decide whether to accept the unjust decision, or risk death to get her back.
Has some of the best acting I've ever seen in a film. You can taste the tension and anguish between the main character's loyalty for his lord and his son.