Based on a script he wrote with Akira Kurosawa, Masaki Kobayashi, and Keisuke Kinoshita in 1969, Kon Ichikawa directs his 74th film with all the brio of his early work. Koji Yakusho stars as a samurai turned magistrate with a reputation for debauchery that has earned him the nickname Dora-Heita, "alley-cat." Dispatched to the hellhole of Horisoto, where violence, prostitution, and smuggling run rampant, little does he know how far the moral decay has permeated the seat of power. Dora-Heita is a swashbuckling delight from start to finish, complete with flashing swords, samurai action, a beautiful geisha, political intrigue, and a very funny script. Ichikawa's splendid sense of graphic composition and mastery of color are in superb form.