Movielogr
Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island (1956)
Directed by Hiroshi Inagaki
Twitter Facebook Google+Most recently watched by AllAboutSteve, sensoria
Overview
A humble and simple Takezo abandons his life as a knight errant. He’s sought as a teacher and vassal by Shogun, Japan’s most powerful clan leader. He’s also challenged to fight by the supremely confident and skillful Sasaki Kojiro. Takezo agrees to fight Kojiro in a year’s time but rejects Shogun’s patronage, choosing instead to live on the edge of a village, raising vegetables. He’s followed there by Otsu and later by Akemi, both in love with him. The year ends as Takezo assists the villagers against a band of brigands. He seeks Otsu’s forgiveness and accepts her love, then sets off across the water to Ganryu Island for his final contest.
Length 105 minutes
Actors
Toshirō Mifune | Koji Tsuruta | Kaoru Yachigusa | Mariko Okada | Kuroemon Onoe | Michiko Saga | Takashi Shimura | Minoru Chiaki | Takamaru Sasaki | Haruo Tanaka | Kichijirô Ueda | Ikio Sawamura | Nakajirô Tomita | Sonosuke Sawamura | Michiyo Kogure | Akihiko Hirata | Minosuke Yamada | Sôji Kiyokawa | Masako Sakurai | Yutaka Oka | Tominosuke Hayama | Kumeko Otowa | Yaeko Izumo | Noriko Honma | Tateo Kawasaki | Fumindo Matsuo | Ren Yamamoto | Fuminori Ôhashi | Haruko Toyama | Hideo Shibuya | Katsumi Tezuka | Keiichirô Katsumoto | Shirô Tsuchiya | Masao Masuda | Yu Agetsu | Senkichi Ômura | Shôichi Hirose | Kenjin Iida | Mitsuko Mito | Sachio Sakai | Eijirô Tôno | Kokuten Kôdô | Haruo Nakajima | Etsuo Saijo | Daisuke Katô
Viewing History (seen 1 time)
| Date Viewed | Device | Format | Source | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/31/2013 | TV | Blu-ray | Library | 8 stars |
| (Average) 8 stars |
Viewing Notes
Terrific ending to this trilogy of Musashi Miyamoto. Mifune is really at home in this role. Koji Tsuruta steals a lot of his thunder but both are so good. The love triangle plays like a soap opera and it works. Kaoru Yachigusa is a darling and even though she screwed up in the previous movie I still found myself rooting for her (and against Mariko Okada).
Great to see Takashi Shimura in a bit part but wish he had a more substantial character. Really the entire trilogy is loaded with familiar faces in small roles like Minoru Chiaki who I recognized instantly having just watched Seven Samurai again. And here he’s just the boatman!
Overall an excellent story and set of films that gets better with each movie.
No comments yet. Log in and be the first!