Blu-ray release: ‘Cruel Tale of Bushido’
By Phil Mills | Jan 28, 2026
Eureka Entertainment will release the 1963 Japanese period drama ‘Cruel Tale of Bushido’ (武士道残酷物語) on Blu-ray in the US and UK on March 23/24, 2026.
Directed by Tadashi Imai, the film traces generations of a samurai family suffering under exploitation and rigid codes of honour, revealing the brutal human cost of bushido. The cast includes Kinnosuke Nakamura, Eijiro Tono, Kyoko Kishida, Masayuki Mori, Shinjiro Ehara, and Takeshi Kato.
Synopsis: In the modern day, salaryman Iikura is devastated by his wife’s attempted suicide. To distract himself, he begins working through his recently discovered family records. As he traces his personal history across 350 years, he discovers tale after tale of men who have suffered, debased themselves and made untold sacrifices in the name of bushido, or the moral code of the samurai.
Features:
- 1080p HD presentation from a 4K restoration by Toei
- Original Japanese mono audio
- Optional DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio
- Optional English subtitles, newly revised for this release
- Telling a Cruel Tale – new interview with Tony Rayns
- Years of Honour – new video essay by Jonathan Clements
- Trailer
- Limited O-card slipcase featuring new artwork by Tony Stella [2000 copies]
- Limited edition booklet [2000 copies]
‘Cruel Tale of Bushido’ is available to pre-order now from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.
