Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island
Musashi Miyamoto (Toshirô Mifune) faces the possible end of his adventures when he’s challenged by a young and talented swordsman (Kôji Tsuruta) who possesses the same sort of drive and ambition that Musashi once had in his younger, more reckless days. Asking for a year to prepare, Musashi moves to a distant village to live a more peaceful life, only to find his new home beset by vicious bandits. And if that weren’t complicated enough, Musashi still finds himself in a love triangle with the guileless Otsu and scheming Akemi. The love triangle in Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island really does get ridiculous and over-the-top at times, with both women constantly swooning and pining after Musashi even though his samurai’s honor compels him to focus on the blade alone. It all leads up to the titular duel, climactically fought beachside at dawn amidst the roiling surf. As with the previous films in the Samurai trilogy, Mifune is quite magnetic here. Also worth nothing are the film’s theatrical flourishes, which give it a more stylized aesthetic compared to its predecessors.