Kurosawa's most stylized period film is an adaptation of a popular Kabuki drama about a 12th-century lord forced to flee his estate with only six dedicated retainers to guard him. The wartime Japanese government banned the film since it failed to extol the traditional concepts of feudalism and obedience. Indeed, Kurosawa parodied his source by introducing a low-comedy porter and satirizing militarism. Curiously, the Allied Occupation Forces also banned the film as pro-feudal. In any case, this strange and fascinating film may be enjoyed as one of Kurosawa's most off-beat works.
"...The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail, along with The Lower Depths, is Kurosawa's most concise and psychologically complex work." --Sheldon Renan