Owls' Castle

Owls' Castle
Owls' Castle poster
Directed by	Masahiro Shinoda
Written by	Masahiro Shinoda Katsuo Naruse
Starring	Kiichi Nakai Mayu Tsuruta Riona Hazuki
Cinematography	Tatsuo Suzuki
Music by	Joji Yuasa
Distributed by	Toho
Release date	October 30, 1999 (Japan)
Running time	138 mins
Language	Japanese
Budget	¥1,300,000,000

Owls' Castle (梟の城, Fukurō no Shiro) is a 1999 Japanese ninja-themed jidaigeki film directed by Masahiro Shinoda. It was co-written by Shinoda and Katsuo Naruse, and stars Kiichi Nakai It is the second adaptation of Ryōtarō Shiba's 1959 novel of the same name, the first being the 1963 film Castle of Owls.

Cast

• Kiichi Nakai as Jūzō Tsuzura
• Takaya Kamikawa as Gohei Kazama
• Mayu Tsuruta as Kohagi
• Riona Hazuki as Kisaru
• Shōhei Hino as Kuroami
• Mako Iwamatsu as Toyotomi Hideyoshi
• Jinpachi Nezu as Hattori Hanzō
• Kinnosuke Hannayagi as Ishida Mitsunari

Production

Nintendo was a production partner on the film, and the use of special effects and computer-generated imagery was widely touted in the film's marketing.

Awards and accolades

• Nikkan Sports Film Awards: Ishihara Yujiro Award (1999).
• Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival: Best Director - Masahiro Shinoda (2000).
• Japanese Academy Awards: Best Art Direction - Yoshinobu Nishioka (2000). The film also received nine Japanese Academy Award nominations.

External links

• Owls' Castle at IMDb
• Owls' Castle at Rotten Tomatoes
• Comparison between original film (Castle of Owls) and the remake