Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple
Any film that stars Toshirô Mifune is going to get an extra star simply because the man is so darn entrancing to watch. Even just walking, never mind fighting, he expresses a raw emotion and passion that are impossible to ignore. And his face… few things in cinema are more enjoyable to look at than a classic Mifune grimace or glower. All of these are on full display throughout the second film in Hiroshi Inagaki’s Samurai trilogy. Musashi Miyamoto has been traveling around Japan to develop his samurai skills through dueling. But when he embarrasses the Yoshioka school, he becomes a target of their ire and must try and survive their machinations. Things get even more complicated, though, when women start falling in love with him. Will Musashi choose the love of women? Or will he remain faithful to the blade? The second Samurai movie suffers from being a bit disjointed, especially compared to the first, and the melodrama is hiked up even more by Musashi’s romantic entanglements. Still, it’s a pleasure just to watch Mifune strut and stalk about the screen, katana in hand.