Samurai Spy (Criterion) (1965) Rating: Starring: Tetsuro Tamba Director: Masahiro Shinoda Category: Action / Adventure, Avant Garde, Foreign, Classics, Classics Studio: Criterion Subtitles: English Length: 100 mins     Years of warfare end in a Japan unified under the Tokugawa shogunate, and samurai spy Sasuke Sarutobi, tired of conflict, longs for peace. When a high-ranking spy named Koriyama defects from the shogun to a rival clan, however, the world of swordsmen is thrown into turmoil. After Sarutobi is unwittingly drawn into the conflict, he tracks Koriyama, while a mysterious, white-hooded figure seems to hunt them both. By tale's end, no one is who they seemed to be, and the truth is far more personal than anyone suspected. Director Masahiro Shinoda's tale, filled with clan intrigue, ninja spies, and multiple double crosses, marks a bold stylistic departure from swordplay film convention.