04-26-2020, 10:43 AM
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.
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.