The Ultimate Samurai: Miyamoto Musashi

The life of Japanese swordsman and samurai Miyamoto Musashi (1584–1645) had already been the subject of Hiroshi Inagaki's acclaimed three-part series (which included the Oscar-winning 1954 feature Samurai, the Legend of Musashi, starring Toshirô Mifune) when Tomu Uchida decided to direct his own five-film sequence, based on the saga by Yoshikawa Eiji. Miyamoto Musashi (1961) kicks off this collection with Musashi (Kinnosuke Nakamura) coming home after a losing battle only to be hunted as a fugitive. Duel at Hannya Hill (1962) traces Musashi's maturing as a warrior, while Birth of the Nito-ryu Style (1963) takes him further along in the development of his legendary two-sword fighting technique and introduces his eventual archrival, Sasaki Kojiro (Ken Takakura). Duel at Ichijyo-ji Temple (1964) finds Musashi in an extraordinary fight with all 73 students of a dojo, yet his greatest struggle comes in expressing his feelings for the lovely Otsu (Wakaba Irie). Duel at Ganryu Island (1965) spends too much time prepping the audience for a grisly showdown between Musashi and Kojiro—although the ultimate contest is worth the build-up. Uchida serves up a wealth of memorable action sequences with stunning visual production values (from a filmmaking standpoint, this series is equal to Inagaki's trilogy). The only drawback, sadly, is Nakamura's Musashi, a portrayal lacking the subtle emotional depth that made Mifune's work so memorable. DVD extras include audio commentary by film historian Stuart Galbraith IV, program notes, and image galleries. Sure to be greatly appreciated by fans of the samurai film genre, this is recommended. (P. Hall)