Samurai III- Duel at Ganryu Island (1956) [Film Review]

Samurai III- Duel at Ganryu Island; or, The Final Showdown

Musashi Miyamoto returns once again in this final instalment of the Samurai Trilogy by Hiroshi Inagaki.

Release Info

Directed by: Hiroshi Inagaki Starring: Toshiro Mifune, Kōji Tsuruka Kaoru Yachigusa, Mariko Okada
Language: Japanese Original Title: Miyamoto Musashi kanketsuhen: Kettō Ganryūjima Runtime: 104 min

Plot

After the infamous battle with the samurai clan from Kyoto, Musashi Miyamoto arrives in Edo Province and considers taking up the position of a teacher to a Shogun. Nevertheless, Sasaki Kojiro tracks down the hero and after performing a killing spree on a few local samurais, he convinces Miyamoto to take up a duel with him. Musashi agrees, but postpones the duel for another year. Later he settles in a village that is constantly raided by bandits. Eventually Otsu and Akemi find out Musashi’s whereabouts, but the time has come for the final match with Kojiro.

The best entry in the trilogy

This is basically pretty much what can be said about this sequel. Thankfully, the number of characters and side-plots has been limited and the focus was narrowed down to Miyamoto and Kojiro. In this particular sequel, we get a lot of samurai fights and action sequences, like the raid on defenceless villagers. However, for some viewers it may seem too similar to the scenes from Seven Samurai (1954). Actually, I'm inclined to think that the plot line from Kurosawa’s film was ripped off for the purposes of this motion picture. Apart from that, the twisted Musashi’s relationship with Otsu got finally(!) resolved. Was it just me or Akemi seemed emotionally unstable psychopath

 Everything in the movie is a build up leading to the final confrontation with Kojiro, which is literally awesome. Allegedly, the fight indeed occurred at Ganryu Island in 1612 and Kojiro lost by being blinded by the rising sun. Samurai III brilliantly recreates that event, but also provides an explanation for Miyamoto’s actions. Namely, Musashi felt that Sasaki Kojiro was much better samurai him and would undoubtedly defeat him. That’s why Musashi cheated out and postponed the match. A year later, during the final showdown, he used his wits rather than swordsmanship skills in order to defeat the opponent. This was due to the fact that unlike Kojiro, Musashi has found a meaning in life, which was not samurai fame but love for Otsu. In my personal opinion, his crying in the boat departing from Ganryu Island is, in fact, crying out of shame (and respect) for taking the life of such a skilled, but also untamed in his actions, samurai as Sasaki Kojiro was.

Recommendations

I recommend this movie to those who have seen both previous parts and liked them. Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island is a perfect concluding chapter of the whole trilogy about the adventurous life of Musashi Miyamoto and a fine addition to the canon of chambara films. Definitely, a must-see movie.

Overall score: 9/10

Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956) [Tokusatsu Review]

When talking about the original Gojira (1954) it would be a severe crime not to mention its popular American version from 1956. The movie that righteously labelled Godzilla as the King!
Release Info

Directed by: Terry O. Morse (American scenes) Starring: Raymond Burr, Frank Iwanaga & Original Cast

Language: English, Japanese  Runtime: 80 min

Plot
The plot for this film did not undergo a major alteration. In fact, it is exactly the same original film but heavily edited, with approximately 16 minutes of the original scenes cut out and replaced with new footage shot in Hollywood. Hence, what we get is the same story but told from a different perspective, a perspective of United World News’ fearless journalist Steve Martin (played by a television actor Raymond Burr).

Raymond Burr, cool and laid back.

Alterations
In order to insert Burr’s character into the film, American editors used various clever techniques. For instance, they recreated parts of the sets from the original film (like the Navy headquarters, the hospital, the fishing village, or the briefing room). The final result on screen looks like this:

 

Raymond participating in the villagers' ceremony.

Raymond trying to survive the King's wrath.

Raymond listens to Yamane's report.

Raymond encounters the King!

In addition, Asian look-alikes were used and by skillful placing them with their backs opposite cameras it would seem that Burr is actually interacting with the characters from the original film. Here are some examples:

 

Emiko (Original Cut) consoles Burr (American Cut)

Raymond talks to Yamane's head (American Cut) & close up (American Cut)

 

Ogata (Original Cut) speaks to Burr (American Cut)

Needless to say, when you know that the film was edited, watching it feels quite strange. Nevertheless, skillful acting and awesome narration of the events done by Raymond Burr makes up for these modification of the original cut.

Unlike in Gojira (1954), where we had multiple characters and no lead, here, Steve Martin is our hero. No, he is not at the centre of events, he is rather aside. The viewers start off on an equal footing with him, as much in the dark as he is, and we are gradually discovering the truth about Godzilla along with the journalist. Additionally, Martin pushes the original characters more into the background, but he doesn’t undermine their importance. They are the central figures, working hard to stop the King from destroying the city, and the only thing Martin can do is to sit back and observe their struggle, meticulously covering the events for his readers at the same time.

Nevertheless it cannot be said that chopping of the original version only improved it. The depressing, anti-nuclear feeling of Gojira was significantly toned down, elements of Japanese culture were flattened or omitted, and the poetry from the ending sequence was completely gone. Furthermore, in a few scenes, original Japanese dialogues were replaced with crappy English dubbing.

 All things considered, the movie is still worth watching. In my opinion, out of all shamelessly modified versions of the sequels, this is the only American cut of a Godzilla movie that is worth viewing. You can clearly see that effort has been made to adapt the original story properly and change of the style for documentary-like was a refreshing approach, plus Raymond Burr’s awesome.
Overall score: strong 8/10