I had the good fortune of watching this movie with live piano music, narrated by the wonderful benshi Kataoka Ichiro. The experience as a whole was easily my favourite movie-going experience in recent memory.
The (anti-)hero of the movie, Heisaburo, is a young samurai. He tries to do good by upholding his sense of bushido, while pining for the attention of the woman of his dreams. Unfortunately, his sense of honour keeps getting him into trouble, and public opinion quickly turns against him.
Heisaburo writhes like a snake -- Orochi means snake or serpent -- while trying to stay alive, down on his luck.
Unlike many movies of its time, the fight scenes are nicely choreographed and fast. They manage to convey Heisaburo's prowess as a martial artist, without resorting to either camp over-acting or slow kabuki-style action.
The movie caused some minor controversy in 1925 Japan. It was banned for a time, and forced to change its title from Outlaw to Serpent. It was deemed "improper" to have an outlaw as a hero. Apparently universal male suffrage in Japan (1925) was a large political hurdle. The more conservative members of government wanted assurances and compromises. Cracking down on "improper behaviour" was a sad side-effect of that.
If you can watch this movie with a narrator, then I strongly encourage you to. It's a wonderful tradition that is on the verge of extinction.