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Samurai Trilogy (1954, 1955, 1956) by Hiroshi Inagaki - cranefly - 04-26-2020
In the Criterion Mifune retrospective timeline, these come after Seven Samurai, which I decided to skip, because I've seen that twice before. Still, that seems ever more criminal, and my growing guilt will likely compel me to go back and watch it.
I'm grouping all three films under one review. Here's their full titles:
Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (1954)
Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple (1955)
Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island (1956)
These are based on Eiji Yoshikawa's Musashi, a fictional account of the legendary seventeenth-century swordsman (and writer and artist) Musashi Miyamoto, following him on his path from unruly youth to enlightened warrior. Needless to say, Mifune plays Musashi.
The first movie is by far the best, with Musashi in his unruly youth. True, it doesn't show him at his sword-fighting best (he's a hot-tempered samurai wannabe), but it's the best all-around tale, packed with emotion, battles, attempts by a monk to tame him, and with some complex love interests. This film won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
The second film is equally beautiful (the cinematography and sets), but gets a bit clunky in its themes and seems repetitious as students of notable samurais try to ambush Musashi so their masters won't have to duel him. This has the most sword-fights, but is less satisfying in overall storyline.
The third film has the least fighting, as Musashi has become spiritually enlightened and seeks ways to avoid conflicts. But of course there's the young upstart (introduced in the second film) who dreams of dueling the great Musashi, and that has to be resolved. [Note: Takashi Shimura plays a court official in this film, but it's a small part.]
All are worth watching, but they tend to taper off in quality. The sword-fighting is rather sanitized throughout, predating the sanguineous gore-fests to come.
RE: Samurai Trilogy (1954, 1955, 1956) by Hiroshi Inagaki - Drunk Monk - 04-26-2020
It's been decades since I've seen these and your jidaigeki binge here has been making me think I should revisit them. I remember the first being the most interesting as well. I haven't seen it since I read Takuan, who's Unfettered Mind remains one of my top reads as both a martial and Buddhist text. I remember getting super annoyed by the love interest, was she Otsu?, and loving that rice paddy sword fight.
A fun supplement to this is Sasaki Kojiro (1967) where Nakadai plays Musashi.
I've seen Seven Samurai dozens of times. I owned the VHS and played it to death. It remains one of my favorite films of all.
RE: Samurai Trilogy (1954, 1955, 1956) by Hiroshi Inagaki - cranefly - 04-27-2020
(04-26-2020, 10:57 AM)Drunk Monk Wrote: It's been decades since I've seen these and your jidaigeki binge here has been making me think I should revisit them. I remember the first being the most interesting as well. I haven't seen it since I read Takuan, who's Unfettered Mind remains one of my top reads as both a martial and Buddhist text. I remember getting super annoyed by the love interest, was she Otsu?, and loving that rice paddy sword fight.Yes, her name was Otsu, and she seemed more a symbol than a character. I wonder how she was presented in the novel, if even in it? I liked the actress and found her very beautiful. But wow, she had nothing to work with, so one-dimensionally subservient...
A fun supplement to this is Sasaki Kojiro (1967) where Nakadai plays Musashi.
I've seen Seven Samurai dozens of times. I owned the VHS and played it to death. It remains one of my favorite films of all.
I first saw Seven Samurai in my 20s and recognized it as a great movie. I saw it again sometime in the last decade and thought, "Wow, this is a whole lot better than I remembered!" Not certain what superlative that calls for.
RE: Samurai Trilogy (1954, 1955, 1956) by Hiroshi Inagaki - Drunk Monk - 04-27-2020
Otsu. Yeah, my fav scene is when she gets abandoned on the bridge and Musashi carves that note for her. She was all set to go with him and then remembers she has to grab something and the whole audience is like 'you dumb brunette - he's a gonna ditch ya!" I don't really remember her character from the book. Another one that I should reread someday.
The second time you saw 7S would've been the restored version. There was a major restoration in ... maybe that was the late 80s or so? The film was cleaned up, the contrast sharpened, and the subtitles were redone for more clarity. So yeah. It was a whole lot better.
RE: Samurai Trilogy (1954, 1955, 1956) by Hiroshi Inagaki - Drunk Monk - 03-19-2025
Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto
Took the plunge and committed to rewatching these. I remember seeing the whole trilogy in one sitting at the New Varsity theater in Palo Alto as a teen. And I remembered this film relatively well. There’s a lot of crying. Takezo (Musashi’s birth name) is unruly and gets in trouble a lot, then cries at his fate. Otsu just cries a lot. She’s a cryer.
This creation tale always bothered me because Musashi claimed he won his first 2 duels when he was a teen in Go Rin No Sho, plus by many accounts, his father was an acclaimed martial artist. This film shows Musashi as estranged from his family, hoping to gain fame by enlisting, and ended up on the wrong side of the infamous battle of Sekigahara. I can’t get over the discrepancy.
Takuan redeems a lot of this for me as I feel he is characterized well. I remember liking his character long before I learned he was a real Buddhist and the inspiration for a distinctive pickle that bears his namesake. My folks called it ‘stink pickle’ in Hawaiian Pidgin, which wasn’t a selling point growing up. It took me years to acquire a taste for takuan, but now when I eat them, it’s akin to meditating over a koan.
I see why cf liked this one the best. It shows the most dramatic character growth and gives Mifune full range to showcase his violent acting style. For me, it doesnt come together until the very end, as Musashi is neatly dressed and ready to begin his sword quest.
And the final scene where he ditches Otsu still gets me. How long did it take her to pack? She only packs a tiny cache of stuff, tied in a big bandana. But it seems like it took her hours.
I’m tasked to do some Shaolin research next so I probably won’t get to part 2 for a while…
Seen on Criterion.
RE: Samurai Trilogy (1954, 1955, 1956) by Hiroshi Inagaki - Drunk Monk - 04-16-2025
Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple (1955)
Still brilliant. Mifune is young, completely embodying the spirit of Musashi. So dashing. And the women are just falling at his feet. Otsu, Lady Akemi, and the courtesan, all just swoon. All the female characters are empty and Akemi’s mom is the worst, pimping out her daughter and doing nothing when she hears her being raped in the next room. Daisuke Katō is stand out as the sniveling toad, a very different role than the many characters he’s played in Kurosawa films.
Two things really stood out. 1. This film is gorgeous - the scenery, the textiles, the architecture, the cinematography - each shot is well conceived and perfectly framed. It captures the Japanese aesthetic in the fabrics, bordering on gaudy with their bright colors and designs, and yet they all work to further the character development. 2. Mifune is a great physical actor when it comes to sword fights. The fights are simple, bloodless, with many of the kill strokes just off screen. All through it, Mifune is coiled like a jaguar about to pounce. His grip is too tight on his katana, but he hits every pose with an angular viciousness that literally slays. Such powerful magnetism in every kamae. The first duel with the kamigusari master spends a lot of time with himjist spinning the chain end, but what makes it work is Mifune’s reactions. And the final fight where he takes on 80 Yoshioka students has fantastic tension, particularly with how the arrow through Musashi’s leg gets slowly broken into dangling pieces as the fight progresses.
I think this film is my fav of the three. The introduction of Sasaki Kojiro is pitch perfect, setting up part 3, which I’ll get to soon.
Also seen on criterion.
RE: Samurai Trilogy (1954, 1955, 1956) by Hiroshi Inagaki - Drunk Monk - 05-02-2025
Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island
Had to savor the final installment. I’d forgotten how beautiful these films are. The settings & costumes are so stunning. The opening scene with Kojirô killing the swallow was fixed in my mind but the waterfall setting and getting the rainbow to frame him perfectly - not an effect; way too early. And the final fight with the sunrise over the ocean backdrop is awesome. Mifune is so great in his characterization and swordplay. And Otsu & Akemi are some messed up gals who fail the Bechdel test magnificently.
Seen on Criterion like the others.