The Samurai Trilogy

When they think of samurai movies, most people think of some chop-sockey grindhouse flick from the Shaw Brothers, not that there’s anything wrong with that. The Samurai Trilogy from director Hiroshi Inagaki is a very different kind of movie, one that is far more about celebrating the code of the samurai than it is in thrilling audiences with a lot of intricately choreographed fight scenes. The three films in the set – and they really need to be seen in order to appreciate what the director is creating with the series – star Tohsiro Mifune as the legendary seventeenth century swordsman Musashi Miyamoto. Although he eventually became the epitome of everything a samurai warrior stands for, Miyamoto’s youth was as misspent as any and his only reason for picking up a sword in the first place was to get money, fame and women…but not in any particular order. Watching the character – and Mifune’s performance -- evolve and mature over the course of the films makes this set one that’s worth saving and savoring over the years.