Story:
The culmination of the Samurai series is filled with
much loss and tragedy, but rides along the waves of
hope and optimism. In turbulent times, one can only
look up and into other things that may help you find
worth. For Musashi Miyamoto, he searches through the
haze of suffering and war finding his place among the
ranks of famous samurai. As Miyamoto nears the end of
his search, through leaving Otsu and finding her again,
protecting a small village from dangerous brigands,
and finally his match with the peerless Kojiro Sasaki,
it may seem odd to most that there is a little disappointed
look on Miyamoto's face as he accomplishes his lifelong
goal.
In many and obvious ways, the journey itself was
profound and unique. What if there was nothing else
to life than what you had already accomplished? And
in turn, can confuse a person. Maybe Miyamoto realizes
that possibly there is a much more to winning duels
and fame that makes one a Samurai. In this last chapter
of the legendary Musashi Miyamoto, we view in full
cinematic explosion the greatest duel of his life.
Review: I'm quite aware that sometimes people
will walk out of a theater leaving a perfectly great
movie and tell others, "The movie was good, but
too long." And most of the time, the length of
a picture can ruin the whole experience for them.
In terms of the Samurai Trilogy, I think I could have
sat through at least 9 more. Heck, each film could
have probably been 5 hours long and it would definitely
still have me craving more. I'll tell you why:
Samurais. Hot chicks. Toshiro Mifune.
I'm also quite aware that this is the fanboy within
me crying out, reaching for the old Movie Saint up
in the sky and praying for dear life to ask him to
bring back Hiroshi Inagaki and have him make:
Samurai IV: Musashi Miyamoto Versus Chow Yun Fat
Samurai V : Boogie Nights with Otsu
Samurai VI: Return of the living Kojiro Sasaki and
he's back for more!
Or even…
Samurai VII: Musashi Miyamoto Versus Yojimbo (Toshiro
Mifune playing both parts!)
And if I've been good, the Movie Saint might as
well throw in a few duels with Zato Ichi and Wong
Fei Hung and possibly a parody movie where he fights
Chuck Norris and Keanu Reeves at the same time. Who
knows?
But one thing's for sure, though. Samurai III: Duel
at Ganryu Island is one of the greatest finales in
the history of greatest finales. It's an amazing movie,
and though it lacks the action and excitement of the
previous two, the emotional impression will definitely
move viewers in ways they've never been moved before.
Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit, but Samurai III
is surely one fine film.
The colors and overall look of the last two Samurai
films were amazing in their own right, but this third
one looks a bit different in its aesthetics and color
composition. The shades and the tinting are more intense
and overwhelming and can make you rethink if the other
two films were in black and white. The greens and
the orange were probably the two most distinct and
defined colors and definitely gave the picture a gloomy,
somber appearance.
The acting is still thoroughly remarkable for the
Samurai Cast with Toshiro Mifune (Miyamoto), Kaora
Yachigusa (Otsu), Mariko Okada (Akemi), and Koji Tsuruta
(Sasaki). I definitely have to admit that the character
of Kojiro Sasaki was really my favorite in this movie.
Tsuruta held his own against Mifune in his obsessive
role of Sasaki. The dualistic theme of Miyamoto and
Sasaki was one of the strongest I've ever seen in
movies of this caliber. It's interesting to see two
characters that strive and live for the exact same
ambition end up becoming two different people.
I think I'm going to miss this series. It got dragged
through time periods and new elevations of action
and ended up in a new millennium still stronger than
ever. Who would have thought an old Japanese samurai
movie would last the test of time and still be better
than a lot of the current ones. With everything that's
coming out right now, from Hong Kong adrenaline rinsed
cinema to modern day Japanese samurai movies, the
Samurai Trilogy will always go down in film history
as one of the best series of Samurai movies ever!
