Sanbiki no samurai
Directed by:
Hideo GoshaPlots(1)
This first film by the legendary Hideo Gosha (Sword of the Beast) is among the most canonized chambara (sword-fighting) films. An origin-story offshoot of a Japanese television series phenomenon of the same name, Three Outlaw Samurai is a classic in its own right. In it, a wandering, seen-it-all ronin (Tetsuro Tamba) becomes entangled in the dangerous business of two other samurai (Isamu Nagato and Mikijiro Hira), hired to execute a band of peasants who have kidnapped the daughter of a corrupt magistrate. With remarkable storytelling economy and thrilling action scenes, this is an expertly mounted tale of revenge and loyalty. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Reviews (1)
Bushido was... And is no more. Something that Rōnin Shiba knows well, but refuses to accept. He's kind of a naïve idealist. A bit too much of one. Gosha's first movie proves that it is true (not only in our country) that it is not a good idea to cut off your nose to spite your face. And above all that no good deeds go unpunished was, is, and will be an eternal truth. The plot is straightforward, but certainly not for a moment stupid or without ideas, since the director intersperses beautifully shot duels and looks that could kill with the different perspectives of several samurai (even fallen Rōnins) on questions of honor, duty, personal responsibility, oppression of the weak, or the uselessness of all actions. A slightly more cynical variation on the Seven Samurai. Sort of. P.S.: I would be very interested to see Gosha's series of the same name, on which he based his feature prequel...
()
