Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island (1956)

Musashi Miyamoto is challenged to a duel by a confident swordsman Sasaki Kojiro. He agrees to fight him in a year's time.

Director:

Hiroshi Inagaki

Writers:

Hideji Hôjô (play), Hiroshi Inagaki

Stars:

Toshirô Mifune, Mariko Okada, Kôji Tsuruta

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kôji Tsuruta	...	Kojiro Sasaki
Toshirô Mifune	...	Musashi Miyamoto (Takezo)
Kaoru Yachigusa	...	Otsu
Michiko Saga	...	Omitsu
Mariko Okada	...	Akemi
Takashi Shimura	...	Sado Nagaoka the court official
Minoru Chiaki	...	Sasuke the boatman
Takamaru Sasaki	...	Omitsu's father
Daisuke Katô	...	Toji Gion
Haruo Tanaka	...	Kumagoro the horse thief
Kichijirô Ueda	...	Priest Ogon
Kokuten Kôdô	...	Old Priest Nikkan
Ikio Sawamura	...	Innkeeper
Nakajirô Tomita
Sônosuke Sawamura

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

japanese history | felling tree | cutting wood | cutting down a tree | becoming a farmer | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film is part of the Criterion Collection, spine #16.

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Goofs

As the final duel is fought, the duelists have light on the sides of their bodies away from the sun - Sasaki has light on his back and Miyamoto light on his face.

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Quotes

Sasuke the boatman: It's an honor for a boatman to row for Master Musashi.

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Connections

Referenced in Deadball (2011)

User Reviews

A wonderful conclusion to the trilogy

I think this is the best movie of the series--and certainly more satisfying than its predecessor.

It is important to note that these movies were made nearly 50 years ago and existing copies on DVD are in poor condition--with fading and sepia tones instead of the vibrant original. This became VERY apparent when I saw the beginning of the 3rd film. The color was nearly perfect for the initial scene and that is great, as it's a beautiful and extremely artistic shot. At times throughout the movie, some of the scenes are once again vivid while others are faded and lose their impact. You can't blame the film for that, but you wish Criterion would try to digitally enhance the prints they've got to improve the colors and get rid of some scratchy cels.

Back to the story, Mifune's character is nearly perfected in his quest to become the ultimate samurai. Throughout the last film and this one, another incredibly great samurai played by Koji Tsuruta is itching for a showdown to the death. But, because Mifune is more mature and no longer needs this for validation, he repeatedly tries to avoid the fight--after all, what does he have to prove? Of course, you KNOW this showdown must take place and it is a very satisfying conclusion. Along the way, Otsu returns and swears her undying love for him. I felt really bad for her, as she has waited YEARS for him and I certainly wouldn't have put her off like he did! Sorry about that.

Oh yeah, anyways the conclusion really delivers and the film makes the trilogy all worth while.

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

November 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bushido

Company Credits

Production Co:

Toho Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1