jamesrupert2014 Review of Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto

Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (1954)

Part one of Inagaki's 'Samurai trilogy' is a beautifully made 'origins story'

[8/10 · 29 September 2020]

Local trouble-maker Takezo (Toshiro Mifune) and his buddy Matahachi (Rentaro Mikuni) head off to war hoping to win honour and become samurai. On the run after serving on the losing side in the Battle of Sekigahara, the two become separated and Takezo returns to his village a wanted criminal. Convinced to surrender by Takuan, a Buddist Monk, Takezo begins to endure the hardships and challenges that would lead to becoming the legendary warrior Musashi Miyamoto. Being unfamiliar with the iconic Japanese hero, I found the film both entertaining and interesting, and perhaps educational (although according to the DVD commentary by biographer William Scott Wilson numerous liberties with the 'historical' Musashi were taken). Having watched an English-subtitled version, I cannot really comment on the acting or the script but Mifune is as entertaining as always playing the undisciplined and quick tempered Takezo and the rest of the cast seem fine. The colour cinematography, music, and direction is excellent and the film seems to do an excellent job of portraying feudal Japan in the early days of the Edo shogunate. All in all, an excellent entry in Japan's popular jidaigeki genre, although viewers used to gruesome, action-packed Samurai movies (such as the 'Babycart' series) may find Inagaki's vision a bit slow-moving and 'tame'.