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Sanbiki No Samurai - Three Outlaw Samurai (1964 - Hideo Gosha)
Good '60s Samurai entry that borrows elements from Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, Sanjuro and Yojimbo, but what it lacks in originality it makes up for in style and fun. Tetsuro Tamba is the wise old Ronin roaming the contryside when he comes across a small village being mistreated by a callous and selfish chamberlin. In an act of desperation, the villagers have kidnapped the chamberlin's daughter (Miyuki Kuwano) in order to have their petition of grievances heard. Though initially Tamba intends only to stick around for amusement, soon his honor has him on the side of the farmers. Isamu Nagato plays a portly Ronin who has been locked up for vagrancy. He is promised freedom and a reward if he will slay a few of the villagers and return the girl. He accepts, but once there he too is fighting for the underdogs. The third Samurai of the title is played by Mikijiro Hira. He is still in the service of the chamberlin, but he knows all to well what an unpleasant snake he really is. By the final act all three have joined together to take on gangs of thugs, experienced killers and all of the chamberlin's guards. But wil the farmers rise to help them?
Director Hideo Gosha (Sword of the Beast) has a very good visual sense for frame composition and staging a swordfight, and there are a few good ones throughout. While it most definitely borrows elements from previous Samurai films, it also spins them ever so slightly and the charm of the three leads in combination with good filmmaking all adds up to a very satisfying entry.
GRADE: B+
BTW, this was a nicely cleaned-up print under the Janus Films banner, which I hope means we'll see it on Criterion DVD in the not-too-distant future.
Sanbiki No Samurai - Three Outlaw Samurai (1964 - Hideo Gosha)
Good '60s Samurai entry that borrows elements from Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, Sanjuro and Yojimbo, but what it lacks in originality it makes up for in style and fun. Tetsuro Tamba is the wise old Ronin roaming the contryside when he comes across a small village being mistreated by a callous and selfish chamberlin. In an act of desperation, the villagers have kidnapped the chamberlin's daughter (Miyuki Kuwano) in order to have their petition of grievances heard. Though initially Tamba intends only to stick around for amusement, soon his honor has him on the side of the farmers. Isamu Nagato plays a portly Ronin who has been locked up for vagrancy. He is promised freedom and a reward if he will slay a few of the villagers and return the girl. He accepts, but once there he too is fighting for the underdogs. The third Samurai of the title is played by Mikijiro Hira. He is still in the service of the chamberlin, but he knows all to well what an unpleasant snake he really is. By the final act all three have joined together to take on gangs of thugs, experienced killers and all of the chamberlin's guards. But wil the farmers rise to help them?
Director Hideo Gosha (Sword of the Beast) has a very good visual sense for frame composition and staging a swordfight, and there are a few good ones throughout. While it most definitely borrows elements from previous Samurai films, it also spins them ever so slightly and the charm of the three leads in combination with good filmmaking all adds up to a very satisfying entry.
GRADE: B+
BTW, this was a nicely cleaned-up print under the Janus Films banner, which I hope means we'll see it on Criterion DVD in the not-too-distant future.