Kuroda (Toshiro Mifune), a samurai warrior, is accompanying a Japanese diplomat to the US. They are carrying a golden, jewel-encrusted sword to present as a token of goodwill to the president, however they are ambushed by two outlaws - Gauche (Alain Delon) and Link (Charles Bronson). When Gauche double-crosses Link and keeps the sword for himself, Link joins forces with Kuroda to return the sword to its rightful owner.

This film by Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni completed a trilogy about doomed relationships in the modern world, and won the 1962 Cannes Special Jury Prize. Vittoria (Monica Vitti) is a young woman who breaks up with her lover Ricardo (Francisco Rabal), a bookish intellectual, and instead takes up with brash stockbroker Piero (Alain Delon). However, there are still emotional ties between Vittoria and Ricardo. The final breakdown of Vittoria's emotional state is symbolically mirrored by Antonioni's montage of a deserted, dying city.