The Bloody Bushido Blade (1981) The Bushido Blade (original title)

Director:

Tsugunobu Kotani

Writer:

William Overgard (screenplay)

Release Date:

1981 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | History

Tagline:

It cuts to the heart of courage.

Plot:

A steel samurai blade that was to be given to the American ambassador by the Emperor of Japan is stolen. American sailors and Japanese samurai are sent to find it. |

Plot Keywords:

Samurai | Japan | Japanese | Shogun | Katana Sword

Cast

Richard Boone	...	Commodore Matthew Perry
Toshirô Mifune	...	Shogun's Commander
Mike Starr	...	Bos'n Cave Johnson (as Michael Starr)
Timothy Patrick Murphy	...	Midshipman Robin Burr (as Timothy Murphy)
Frank Converse	...	Captain Lawrence Hawk
William Ross	...	Perry's Aide
Bin Amatsu	...	Baron Zen
Sonny Chiba	...	Prince Ido (as Sony Chiba)
Iwae Arai	...	Guide
Mayumi Asano	...	Yuki
James Earl Jones	...	The Prisoner
Laura Gemser	...	Tomoe
Mako	...	Enjiro
Kin Omae	...	Sumo (as Kin Omai)
Tetsurô Tanba	...	Lord Yamato

Directed by
Tsugunobu Kotani		(as Tom Kotani)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
William Overgard		screenplay

Produced by
Jules Bass	....	executive producer
Benni Korzen	....	associate producer
Arthur Rankin Jr.	....	producer
Masaki Îzuka	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Maury Laws

Cinematography by
Shôji Ueda		(as Shoji Ueda)

Film Editing by
Yoshitami Kuroiwa

Production Management
Kinshiro Ohkubo	....	production manager (as Kinshiro Okubo)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Koichi Nakajima	....	first assistant director

Sound Department
Paul Carr	....	sound re-recording mixer
Ian Crafford	....	sound editor
Yuji Hiyoshi	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Kazuo Shimomura	....	lighting technician

Editorial Department
Robert D. Cardona	....	post-production executive
Anne V. Coates	....	editorial supervisor
Barbara Hilse	....	post-production secretary

Music Department
Kenjiro Hirose	....	conductor
Kenjiro Hirose	....	music arranger

Other crew
Ryû Kuze	....	swordplay choreographer
William North	....	coordinator: US Navy (as Commander William North USN)

Production Companies

• Rankin/Bass Productions
• Trident

Distributors

• Aquarius Releasing (1981) (USA) (theatrical)
• Saguenay Films (1981) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1984) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Lance Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Lance Entertainment (2002) (USA) (VHS)
• Koch Vision (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Ekaterinburg Art Home Video (EAHV) (Russia) (VHS)
• Home Box Office Home Video (HBO) (198?) (USA) (VHS)
• Krause & Schneider Multimedia (KSM) (2008) (Germany) (DVD)
• Thorn EMI Video (198?) (USA) (VHS)

Also Known As:

"The Bushido Blade" - USA (original title)

Runtime:

104 min | West Germany:89 min (TV premiere)

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English | Japanese

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | Norway:16 | USA:R | Portugal:M/12

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

Rankin/Bass Productions

Trivia:

The title scroll shows copyright 1979 by Trident Films.

Made With The Best Of Intentions

Bushido Blade is a film that kind of got lost with all the hoopla surrounding the Shogun TV mini-series. Commodore Perry's opening of Japan deserved a better treatment than what it got here.

No reflection on the cast, they certainly try hard enough. And the making of the film is a service of sorts because America is woefully ignorant about Japan other than knowing that they were our opponents in World War II.

Making his farewell appearance on the screen is Richard Boone as the crusty Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry. From what little I know of Perry, Boone seems to have captured him very well. Perry was the younger brother of Oliver Hazard Perry who was the commander of the Great Lakes Navy that beat the British and kept them from invading us through Canada. Younger brother Cal (family and friends used Perry's middle name when addressing him)served in the United States Navy for over 30 years and the opening of Japan was the capstone of a great career.

Bushido Blade is a fictional sideline to the true events surrounding the treaty Perry signed with the Shogun. There was a faction in Japan who wanted to keep the country's isolationist policy going and were quite willing to do anything in that endeavor. They steal a ceremonial samurai sword that is to be presented to President Franklin Pierce by Perry. As this is a question of honor, the Japanese balk at signing the treaty at the last minute.

The Japanese insist on themselves recovering the sword, but Perry unofficially sends Marine Captain Frank Converse, Boatswain Mike Starr, and young Naval Midshipman Timothy Patrick Murphy on his own mission. The three get split up during an attack. The bulk of the film is the separate experiences of all three.

Frank Converse is a fine actor, but I couldn't quite believe him as an instant Samurai. When he has to battle the champion Samurai he gets a bit of help to say the least. Skill with a Samurai sword is not something one learns on the job or on the fly and by rights he should never have survived.

Young Timothy Patrick Murphy cuts a fine romantic figure as his odyssey includes a small romantic interlude with a young Japanese girl who is intrigued by this occidental who speaks her language. Murphy reminded me just a bit of Tyrone Power in Son of Fury. It was sad indeed that he died so young of AIDS, he had a great career ahead of him.

Such fine Japanese players as Toshiro Mifune, Tetsuro Tamba, and Mako fill their roles well. I very much enjoyed James Earl Jones who played a whaling harpooner who was a prisoner. Before the treaty was signed with Japan, sailors from the west who had the misfortune to be shipwrecked in Japan could expect never to see home again.

The Bushido Blade is an average film about a key incident in both American and Japanese history. It could have used a lot more of everything, direction, production values, editing. But the players did their best with it.

A good triple feature one day might be watching The Barbarian and the Geisha even with a woefully miscast John Wayne, The Bushido Blade, and the best film on 19th century Japan after the opening, The Last Samurai with Tom Cruise. It's a chance to see the Japanese as more than our enemies in World War II or having their city's destroyed by some prehistoric beast.