As I traced my fingers over the outer cover of the three DVD Criterion Box Set of Hiroshi Inagaki’s Samurai Trilogy, I felt shivers down my spine and a veritable nervousness of sheer excitement verging on religious.
Toshiro Mifune is a God. Samurai films that are good are very much a rare breed, and there is a certain delight about the older Samurai films. There’s also a respect for films that are older, that there is a message and a purity about them that is lost in today’s age of sex and drug filled films. Violence is a habit, not an art form today, swearing and cursing have become routine and have essentially dumbed down language for a generation. Films of the past have never needed any of those things in order to make great classics, to make contemporary films with messages of hope, heroism, or tragedy.
Hiroshi Inagaki adapted his Samurai Trilogy from a book by Eiji Yoshikawa, who himself took artistic licence at the real life Musashi Miyamoto in his writings. The film was divided in to three parts, and this, the first of the trilogy Samurai 1: Musashi Miyamoto focuses on the creation of the epic character.
What strikes you first is the quality of the film. This is film created in 1954, and yet Criterion have managed to capture a print that is absolutely vibrant in colour, and seems to preserve everything, including the specs of dirt at the top which are sometimes visible on closer inspection, the few scratches on the film itself. The sound is in mono, but this is hardly a problem, and the clarity is fantastic. Criterion truly are the masters at preserving the best in film, and keeping them that way.
The script is brilliant, and it’s a gradual progression from glory hunter to samurai
The story tells of two friends, Takezo and Matahachi who decide to join the war of Sekigahara. Matahachi is easily led by Takezo, who is seen as a scoundrel by everyone. Even his only living relatives essentially disown him, and therefore he is all but an orphan. Matahachi looks prevalently towards Takezo on how to live his life, and very much follows his footsteps, living in his shadow as the weaker of the two, but no less courageous.
Matahachi is betrothed to Otsu, and orphan girl in the village whom he wishes to marry. He asks her to wait, and Otsu blames Takezo for swaying him into the path of danger. She agrees to wait as both Matahachi and Takezo go to war.
Both begin their war careers digging trenches. Until one day, their forces retreat, and both friends find themselves on the losing side of the war. Takezo is arrogant, and hunts for the glory of killing, to return to his village with honour and pride. Thus he decides not to retreat but to attack, and Matahachi, naive in his ways, follows his best friend to war. After the dust settles, only the two friends seem to have survived in the camp, and hurriedly make an exit for a house nearby. They have lost, and now they need to escape.
They invade the house and threaten the mother and daughter living there. However, both men are thoroughly exhausted and collapse. Forward two months, and both are still being treated by the mother and daughter. The ladies pretend to live a life of work, when behind the scenes they actually rob the dead samurai of their possessions, selling them on for money. During a time of war, this was something that was often done by many. Takezo is keen to leave, as is Matahachi to go back to Otsu. However, in a moment of weakness, he attempts to rape Akemi, the girl. It is only when Takezo returns that he releases her and calls for Otsu. Akemi has fallen in love with Takezo, but he is more interested in the war or fighting than women. He is still on the search to make a name for himself, and having a woman will not speed up matters.
After a bandit raid on the house while Akemi and Matahachi are away, Takezo fends them off with a wooden sword. Akemi’s mother is impressed, and decides that he will be the man to protect her. She confesses her love for him, which is but a mere rouse to entice him to stay. Takezo throws her off and disappears into the night. By the time the other two return, the mother is already packing her things to escape from the reinforcements. She tells the two that Takezo tried tried to rape her, and that she fended him off, refusing his advances and thus escaped. With this lie, the three decide to depart, Akemi reluctantly, and Matahachi spares no thought for the woman he asked to wait, Otsu. Takezo returns to find them gone, and realises the betrayal has already been done.
As time passes, Takezo returns to the village of Miyamoto, in order to inform Matahachi’s mother and Otsu of his whereabouts. Unfortunately, with no ID, he is unable to pass through the checkpoint, and illegal breaks through. The village is under orders to hunt Takezo down for capture. Days pass, and Takezo lives a life of a reclusive fugitive. Upon finding Matahachi’s mother, who believes Takezo let her son die, and returned by sacrificing Matahachi’s life, Takezo explains that Matahachi is alive and well, but cannot say where he is. The mother persuades Takezo to stay, to wash and to eat as the guards would not find him there. However, as the son betrayed Takezo, the mother in turn repeats this betrayal and once more he is a fugitive.
Otsu refuses to stay with the mother after receiving a letter from Akemi’s wife, indicating that she and Matahachi have married and she is no longer betrothed to him. Otsu is alone, now and is supported bu the monk at the temple. The monk decides to capture Takezo, and Otsu assists.
Speed forward, and this is where Takezo’s life changes, from being vengeful and wanting to die, to wishing to live and wanting to save the life of Otsu, who helps him escape. They are both separated and the monk trains Takezo to change his ways, by reading and learning, to temper himself and to learn the way of virtue and helping the good people with his skills. Otsu and Takezo fall in love, as two people alone in the world. As Takezo spends three years in solitude learning and training, he refuses to follow the leader of a house as he feels he is not ready. The monk renames Takezo, in order to impress upon him his new life, his new way of living and his rebirth, and is thus named Musashi Miyamoto.
Musashi is instructed to leave and train on his travels, and once he is ready, there will be a place ready for him in the house to server his master. Musashi agrees, and sets off on his journey, and reluctantly leaves his love, Otsu, behind. During this time, Matahachi yearns for Otsu, as he becomes a mere shadow and subordinate for Akemi’s mother, living the life of a nobody while the wife pampers the rich for her own gain.
The tale is brilliantly told, with superb performances, and without question a very powerful one from Mifune as a confused individual who wants to be a respected samurai to an enlightened warrior for good, who understands what it means to be virtuous, and what it means to protect the ones you love. The journey of his growth is great, as is the guidance and treatment from the monk who guides him to the path of a true samurai as opposed to the rogue he once was.
Toshiro Mifune is a God. Samurai films that are good are very much a rare breed, and there is a certain delight about the older Samurai films
Fighting is sporadic at best, but entertaining nonetheless, as Takezo takes on score upon score of villagers and soldiers in order to save Otsu, and al the time defending himself. Matahachi’s mother is an evil bitch, and equally vengeful, doing what she can to rectify her reputation, even at the expense of other people’s lives. All the performances are brilliant, including the mob rule villagers who go out to hunt Takezo to save themselves, not even knowing what he has or hasn’t done.
The script is brilliant, and it’s a gradual progression from glory hunter to samurai; from friend to betrayer; from capturer to master. Not everyone is who they seem to be, with many people being two faced, even if for the ways f good. It’s a wonderful touch, and brilliantly handled.
The locations are gorgeous too, with fields of grass, forests, river banks and such all beautifully shot, capturing the sheer size and magnitude of a Japan enriched with farmland and natural beauty. The cinematography is really spectacular sometimes, and often mesmerising.
As I understand it, the latter two parts of this trilogy go from strength to strength, and I am very eager to proceed to watch them.
With regards to extras, there is little but the original theatrical trailer. This is slightly disappointing, however, in return you have a preserved and intact release of a third of a classic trilogy which has been highly regarded, having won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, which in itself is quite a feat (not like now where marketing and ass kissing wins awards). A stunning piece of film making.
Verdict: Beautifully filmed, powerful performances and a brilliant script create this stunning piece of work.