Samurai Trilogy (1954-1956)
Inagaki Hiroshi
Japan
5 hr 2 mins, color, Japanese (English subtitles), Criterion DVD
People usually misleadingly refer to this trilogy in terms of three separate films. Unlike STAR WARS, for example, the SAMURAI trilogy is really one long film split into three parts. That is, unless you've seen the entire thing, little will make sense, and you cannot really the parts in separation or out of order. It is thus somewhat unfortunate that Criterion did not put everything on one DVD (it's only about five hours long total).
The Criterion DVD has a very good transfer, although the colors seem somewhat too lush, and some detail is lost in the shadows. The musical score is excellent and although it is monoaural, the sound does justice to the film. The only detraction from an otherwise fine release, is the lack of extras on the DVD. There's only the theatrical trailer, and no commentary, filmography, or star files. Given the popularity of the film, I had expected more. The film is presented in its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio, with optional English subtitles. The translation is very good.
The Samurai Trilogy is definitely a film worth seeing. Toshiro Mifune is excellent, the women are beautiful and delicate; all deliver great performances. If you like the film, you should really read the (long) novel, on which it is based, and which is available in a very good English translation. (This would be Eiji Yoshikawa's "Musashi.")
Samurai 1: Musashi Miyamoto (Miyamoto Musashi, 1954, 93 mins)
The first part of the acclaimed Samurai trilogy, this film tells the beginning of Musashi's story. It is a fairly faithful rendition of Book I of Yoshikawa's novel. I will not go into much detail about the story, you should really read the book. Briefly, Takezo (Toshiro Mifune) and his best friend, Matahachi (Rentaro Mikuni), leave their village of Miyamoto and join the army opposing Tokugawa Ieyasu at the Battle of Sekigahara. Their dreams of becoming samurai covered with glory are dashed when their side loses. The first part follows Takezo's transformation from an unruly and ambitious youth, who relies on brute physical strength, to an educated thoughtful samurai in search for perfection (hence, the new name, Miyamoto Musashi). He is almost forced to covert to Zen by Priest Takuan (the film somewhat slights this very likable and profound character), and has to choose between his quest for knowledge and the woman he loves, Otsu (Kaoru Yachigusa). The undercurrent of the subdued, but doubtless passionate, love between Musashi and Otsu is strong, yet unobtrusive. Yoshikawa's story is filled with almost-encounters that never happen, chance misses, and Otsu's search for her love.The film departs from the story in several place, but there's really nothing significant. The most obvious is the elimination of Takezo's sister, who is the other reason for his return to Miyamoto (and much more believable). She is the one that gets captured and taken prisoner, and he is the one he tries to free from the castle. In addition, his three year study is actually somewhat voluntary: after he is captured, Takuan persuades his friend and Lord of the castle, to let Takezo stay there and learn. Other than these somewhat important changes, the differences are fairly slim. The film greatly preserves the fast pace and engaging narrative of the book, which is a rare treat.
Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple (Ichijôji no kettô, 1955, 104 mins)
This part basically narrates Musashi's training in the Way of the Samurai. He starts by trying to find worthwhile opponents to hone his swordsmanship skills, and essentially challenges and kills every one of them (total of about 60) in duels. Eventually, he takes on the entire Yoshioka School. Gradually, he comes to realize that perfection in fighting is not the only mark of the true samurai. Otsu's efforts to find him meet with all sorts of obstacles, her love for him, although unflagging, is severely tested. Every woman he meets falls for Musashi, but he is undeterred. This part also sees the introduction of Musashi's lifelong rival in martial skills and love, Sasaki Kojiro (Koji Tsuruta).The second part takes more liberties with the original story, mostly by rearranging the temporal sequence of events, and dropping most of the story that is not directly related to Musashi. Nothing significant is omitted, though, so it's not a problem. I was somewhat surprised by two changes that seemed unnecessary and, more importantly, misleading. First, although Musashi fights Baiken (the man with the chain, ball, and sickle), he is not the same Baiken from the book, who is a brother of a brigand Takezo had killed in the first part. In the novel, their first encounter is rather memorable. Baiken sets a trap for Musashi, who is unaware that the man he wants to duel fair and square is, in fact, out for revenge by any means possible. When the plot fails, Baiken falls asleep in his house with his wife and kid, and Musashi goes in but instead of killing him, puts a wrapped sickle at his neck and leaves. In the film, the brother in question is not Baiken, and appears in the final part as a regular brigand. The other change that was distracting is with Kojiro. The book depicts him in no uncertain way as an essentially evil character: Akemi, who is raped by Seijuro, comes to fear and despise Kojiro more than her rapist. The author is at pains to highlight the difference between the two rivals. The film, on the other hand, shows Kojiro as a very noble, although ambitious, character. This destroyed the story for me a bit. Also, where was the monkey?
Samurai III: Duel and Ganryu Island (Kettô Ganryû-jima, 1956, 105 mins)
In this last installment of the trilogy, Musashi comes to grips with his quest to become the perfect samurai. He questions the worth of fighting and winning at so many duels, and avoiding Otsu's love for so long. This part tells the story of the year between Kojiro's challenge and their actual duel. Musashi begs off the initial appointment in order to examine his own convictions. He settles down as a farmer in a remote village. Otsu and Akemi (Mariko Okada) show up, with predictably disastrous consequences. The idea of the village beset by bandits and a samurai helping the farmers fight them must have been an inspiration for Kurosawa's SEVEN SAMURAI (the fight described in the novel is very close to the final confrontation Kurosawa's film, along with farmers ambushing bandits on the two sides of the road). The film builds toward the culmination of the Duel very well: just when Musashi has realized what he ought to do, and what was missing from his life, he has to face the most dangerous rival of all.Unlike the first two parts, the first a faithful rendition of Book I, and the second a somewhat jumbled, but fundamentally correct account of the middle part of the novel, the third part takes a lot of liberties with the text, even to the point of distorting it beyond comprehension. For one, Akemi's fate is decisively changed, and for no good reason. In the novel, she marries Matahachi and they have a child. The film makes no mention of Iori, Musashi's second pupil, who is a much more likable and worthwhile character than Jotaro. The film also does not show Osugi's eventual contrition and the end of her quest of hatred. In addition, not only is Gonnosuke's honorable character transformed into that of the cowardly horse-dealer, conflating the two, but the film also has him killed. Finally, the film shows Sasaki as a dignified human being, although somewhat full of himself. The novel has no qualms about depicting him as an evil anti-hero. Maybe leaving out the political plot was fine for the film's length, but Takuan's role in "saving" Matahachi should have been explored. Oh, well. I guess this would have made the film three times longer. Not that I would have minded.
Nevertheless, Otsu and Akemi look more beautiful than ever, their separate quests finally meet at the crossroads, where one of them must perish. Although there is nothing more dangerous than a woman scorned, a final act of self-sacrifice can redeem even the worst. These scenes are beautiful despite the sappy English translation that replaces just about every instance where the female characters refer to Musashi by his first name with "Darling!" (yikes). Avoid the cheese factor and pay attention to the soundtrack. The epic duel on the island is one of the most impressive sequences ever put on film. Somewhat different from the famous last scene in SANJURO but just as tense and full of impact.
March 26, 2001. BLS