Crazy Samurai

[Drunk Monk]

For those of you who cannot read Japanese, the tag line is "400 vs. 1 IN A SINGLE TAKE"

Now this is a sword fight I gotta see.

Working on it. Been tracking this one since March of last year.

Screener unlocked (which is why I'm posting it in Movies because in the covidaze, screeners count)

HO

LY

CATS!

This film is literally one long sword fight. 8 mins in, the title card rolls and it's on. 77 minutes of sword fight. That is the entire movie, plus a little epilogue fight at the end. And it's a solid one-er. There are a few points where they might have laid some stitches, but very few. 

It is insane. As a film, well, you can't just like swordfights. You gotta love them. Either that, or you gotta be into cinematography. This is a technical masterpiece. Storywise, well, I just told you the story. 400 swordsmen try to kill Musashi. There really is no story. It's sword fight porn - 77 mins of it. 

The choreo is amazing because of its endurance. How the hell did they choreo all that? My suspicion is that they set up certain sequences but a lot was improv. I dunno. It's a helluva lot of moves to remember, even though many moves are repeated. I gotta bow down to Tak Sakaguchi, who delivers masterfully as Musashi. His sense of distance and timing are remarkable. To the uninitiated, the fight choreo may seem simple, exacerbated by the repetitions, but there's some sense of feints and such that made it work for me. But mostly, it's the stamina. Tak just keeps going. It's crazy.

Someday I hope Ivor and I can sit down with a bottle of Suntory and watch this together. 

Do I have to say swordfights again? Yeah. More swordfights than any other film I've seen. Ever. 

DOOM recommended.

[Drunk Monk]

I just realized that TAK (who plays Musashi) was also in Reddo Buriedo http://www.brotherhoodofdoom.com/doomFor...p?tid=5942

He's been in several Sion Sono films. He was also in Why Don't You Play in Hell? http://www.brotherhoodofdoom.com/doomFor...p?tid=3227

TAK is the man. 

And yes, he spells it in all caps like that. After a 77-min sword fight, I'll allow it.

[cranefly]

So, one could be more concise in describing this movie as "400 vs. 1 in a single TAK"

[Drunk Monk]

Ooooh, I might use that as a subhead...

Thanks!

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

Hey! Is this just “Hardcore Henry” with swords?

[Greg]

Call the King! There's a poacher in our midsts!

Ooooh, I might use that as a subhead...

Thanks!

[Drunk Monk]

Hey! Is this just “Hardcore Henry” with swords?

Nope. That was a POV film. This is more like a traditional chanbara. No jiggly camerawork. That being said, I'd watch the hell out of Hardcore Henry with Swords. http://www.brotherhoodofdoom.com/doomFor...p?tid=4572

So, one could be more concise in describing this movie as "400 vs. 1 in a single TAK"

They totally used it. https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/crazy-s...er-filmed/

Thanks again cf for aiding and abetting my prose and making it shine like a katana glistening with blood.

[Greg]

How did you not mention Extraction as a current big name Oner?

Yes, everyone is a critic. Nice piece.

[cranefly]

Thanks again cf for aiding and abetting my prose and making it shine like a katana glistening with blood.

Glad to be of bloody service.

[Drunk Monk]

How did you not mention Extraction as a current big name Oner?

Yes, everyone is a critic. Nice piece.

There's a lot of one-ers. The others I was going to work in were The Villainess and the aforementioned Hardcore Henry. There's a few films shot entirely as a one-er including one set in Barcelona (I think) that I've had in my Kanopy queue forever. 

I felt my intro got away from me but my editor loved it. He issues my paychecks so there you have it. 

And watching the other reviews popping up, I'm the only one that pinned the plot to the historical event so far, and no one has even touched the historical identities of the lead adversaries. So I'm pleased that the others were shallower. I suspect none of them have read Yoshikawa. It's been years since I've read that and it took some web research to job my memory of the episode, but it was a key one. 

Thanks again for the nudge to grab that screener. I was considering it but it was feeling like a hassle. This opened a new door for me with the distributor WellGoUSA and Den. 

Now I gotta find me some more TAK flicks to watch.

[Greg]

Should we expect 14 more articles about it?

[Drunk Monk]

Ha! If only...

It was a one-er one-off.




Thanks everyone. I'll be here all week. Remember to tip your waitress.