Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto

Takezo leaves his village for war seeking fame and rank, is defeated, and becomes a fugitive. When he is caught, a priest does not kill him; he shuts him in a temple and makes him do nothing but read for three years. The man who comes out is Musashi Miyamoto. The subject is not the sword but discipline. Takezo's problem is not that he is weak but that he is ungoverned, and the film is about his rage rather than his talent. The form is colour, wide and crowded, among the most lavish Toho productions of the period. The rural landscape and battle scenes lay the ground for the more inward storytelling of the later parts. The source is Eiji Yoshikawa's novel. This is the first of three films. When it played in America it received an honorary Oscar for foreign language film under the practice of the time; the competitive category had not yet been established. Hiroshi Inagaki directs. Toshirō Mifune plays Musashi, with Rentaro Mikuni and Mariko Okada in the cast. Who it is for: viewers who like classical Japanese historical cinema and series built on character development. Who it is not for: anyone expecting dense swordplay; this first film is mostly preparation, and the duels increase in the second and third parts.