Three Outlaw Samurai (1964) by Hideo Gosha

[cranefly]

A ragged and penniless ronin seeking a place to sleep comes upon three desperate farmers holed up in a barn.  They have a woman tied to a post.  He learns that she's the local magistrate's daughter, and they've kidnapped her to use as a bargaining chip seeking relief from heavy taxation.  They want the ronin to leave and threaten him with weapons, but he just ignores them and climbs into a hay loft to take a nap.

Meanwhile, the magistrate sends a messenger to let them know he'll meet their demands.  But secretly he's assembled a gang of samurai to slaughter them at dusk.

Well, as you've no doubt guessed, the ronin complicates this plan, and it requires a whole film (and the two other outlaw samurai of the title) to get things squared away.

This movie sneaks up on you.  It seems like a standard samurai flick, derivative of Kurosawa's work, but then it keeps distinguishing itself.  The swordfights, of which there are many, are so well choreographed and shot.  Early on, after watching a fairly long action shot, I wondered just how many takes it took -- because the action fills the screen and reads so well left to right and background to foreground -- and so many actors have to hit their precise marks.  And then comes the next shot, and it's just as remarkable, as are most of the fight sequences throughout.  In addition, there's so many intriguing subplots, deft pacing, character development, surprising turns....  It's just a very satisfying tale.

This was my first exposure to Hideo Gosha.  My first impression early on was that he was a a poor man's Kurosawa, sort of like de Palma being derivative of Hitchcock.  But he quickly proved he's more than that.  He's got the directorial chops to come out of the shadows and stand on his own.

Yes, it's sort of a whacky title, but well worth checking out.  A totally inspired directorial debut.

[Seen on criterion streaming]

[Drunk Monk]

Well, that was great. I don't know how this film has evaded me for so long. cf is spot on with his review. It starts out reminiscent of Yojimbo, which was 3 years earlier, but then takes off in its own unique direction to be something entirely outstanding. At the end, when they toss the hairpin at the crossroads, it's a total nod to Mifune tossing the stick at the beginning of Yojimbo, as if the director was saying 'Sure, I got the idea there, but I took you someplace else in the end.'

My initial complaint was that it was too dark, especially the fight scenes. It's B&W, mostly B. But this turned out to be somewhat of a cinematic device as the scenes slowing emerge in brightness until the finale fights, which are in broad daylight showcasing the clever choreo. 

I translated the original title from Japanese and it was Three Outlaws. The 'samurai' was tossed in - and technically two were ronin, and the third becomes ronin, but they exemplify bushido in the end. 

A great classic chanbara.

Totally D00M recommended.