Close-up: Toshiro Mifune

I always loved the introduction of Mifune's character in Samurai Assassin. Just put a camera on him, and he'll take care of the rest. The setting is a meeting amongt members of the Mito faction, who are plotting, through assassination, to topple the Tokugawa government. The head of the Mito faction has determined that there must be a spy among his men. All eyes turn on the one man who is a stranger to most everybody in the group: Tsuruchiyo Niiro (Mifune). His behavior displayed in a series of shots during the credits expresses a lot about his character:

Defiance

Disregard

Burning contempt

Confidence

Alertness

Thirst