eo Se Matanachi Rentaro Mikuni coy eto’ ry oes rn} eee cr Preto) ny cove nd oo oa mn fot coy ey Tokuhei Wakao and Hiroshi Ce ec eee ee Pee Cinematography Jun Yasumoto ec Cees a See re Sr es et CHAPTERS oe ee eres pane eerie re he Span ise poset poner | cae eee ae) See paren 2a eee mae eC en UV RUn a ari peepee rena et ponents Reiter reer am rent meena a renee oe rn een) A ne Ee eer) poner ey ets Var seer neeros Inagak's Samurai Tlogy, Jot which this release isthe fist part, was adapted trom Ei) Yoshikawa's epi novel Musashi, which has been called Japan's Gane with the Wind. The comparison is. valid, forthe tale ofthe medieval samurai Musashi Miyamoto is. played out against a background of Civil war and wholesale destruction, The imposition of iil order after decades of warfare came slowly, and large numbers of armed men roamed the countryside, challenging ‘each other in matters of skill and survival, Samurai begins in the year 1600, with leyasu Tokugawa's victory in the battle of Sekigahare, a three-day conflagration in which 70,000 people died. The real Musashi Miyarato took pat in that batle—on the lsing side— and, against all odd, emerged 288 major heroic figre from the chaotic years that followed, Eiji Yoshikawa (1892-1962) took the facts of Musashi’ life and era {and transformed them into Musashi Miyamoto, which orginally appeared silly in the newspaper Asahi ‘Shimbun from 1935 through 1939. Yoshikawa’s book was the subject of 1942 three-part screen adapation by Inagaki—tke most wartime apanese movies, this fm is no onger extant Inagaki tured to the book in 1954 with Samurai, this time in color and staring Toshio Mifune. That same year, a rival production called Musashi ‘Miyamoto based on Yoshikaa’s ‘book, but covering the same historical incidents—-emerged from the Toe stucio, directed by Yasuo Kohata and starring Reataro Mikuni (who plays Matahachi in Samurai. ‘Another adaptation of Yoshikawa's book appeared in 1960, the fist of 2 six-part series by Tomu Uchida, ‘entitled Zen and Sword. Al of these files were popular in Japan, but Inagaki’ version was the fonly one to find favor with western ‘udiences-—released in the United States, Samurai (aka The Legend of Musashi) received the 1955 ‘Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. Apart from the charismatic presence of Mifune as Musashi the opening part of the Trilogy benefited from Jun Yasumoto's atmospheric color photography — arguably the best showcase Eastmancolor has ever had— and lighting by Shigeru Mor. ‘There are similis between Mitune's roles in the Samurai Tilogy ana in Kurosawals Seven Samurai—bath ‘men comeffom humble backgrounds, and neither isenticey understood by the members ofthe warrior class ‘Authoring and compression: EDS Digtal Sth Cee een i that they seek to join. However, in sharp contrast to Seven Samurai lin which detail and nuance may take precedence over plo), Inagaki presents the full scope of Yosnikawa’s enveloping stony, which involves more than a dozen carefully drawn characters ove a dazen years. And unlike Seven Samurai and its tale cof 2 group of ronin who sacrifice themselves in a battle that wal bring ether money nor fame, Samurai ‘and its sequels embrace a far more ‘eaitional heroic story, played against ‘manumental events and peopled by major historical figures, not the least fof whom is Musashi himsel ‘The teal Musashi Miyamoto (c. 1584-1645) was born Takezo Shinmen, the son and grandson of Samual. His career as a warrior began at the age of 13, and at 16 he was a participant inthe battle of Sekigahara, onthe sie of the losing Achikaga forces. Musashi became a master of two-sword combat, 25. Well asa Zen master, writer and painter. Musashi Miyamoto, as the frst pat ofa trilogy, covers Musash's early lite, from his youth 25 an ambitious aspiring warrior, into hs yeas as an outlaw, up to the beginning of hs search for enlightenment. The fm does have elements that will be familar not ‘only to viewers of samutal pictures 25 a genre, but also to fans of ‘Ametican westerns, although its not, 3§ Bosley Crowther claimed in ‘the New York Times, “an Oriental western.” Despite Samura's mary action sequences and romantic Supls, its main thrust i toward ‘he spiritual struggle within Musashi, andthe dramatic high points lie in Musashi strugale for slralzation, With the exception of Henry King’s The Gunfight (1950), no traditional American western has approached the moral and spiritual content of Samurai Ironically, fr al ofthe film's success, ten years passed before ‘Americans were abe to see the father two installments in the Trilogy. During that time, inagaki became wel known for other films, such as The Rickshaw Man (3958), which ‘won the Grand Prize atthe Venice Film Festival, and The Ferty-Seven Ronin (1962), while Toshiro Mitune became Japan's most popular feading man. To this day, the ‘Samurai Telogy remains one ofthe mast sting examples ofits gone eed ‘Bruce Eb ho has win fr te Aas (Gu and Cure Brag, as ako poved and arated sveal itern Cetin sera and Ds, Cha ae ae eaves se ue Maer