THREE OUTLAW SAMURAI (Criterion, 1964) D: Hideo Gosha, w/ Tetsuro Tanba, Isasmu Nagato. Rating: NNNN DVD package: NNN Rating: NNNN
Here’s a fine example of Samurai Noir, where the traditional Japanese swordfight movie values – heroism, honour and loyalty – get shoved in the mud and stomped on.
A wandering samurai stumbles across a trio of peasants holding the magistrate’s daughter hostage in a ramshackle hut. The villagers are starving and want the magistrate’s permission to petition the lord of the manor to lower their taxes. Murders and constant betrayal on all sides ensue.
Three Outlaw Samurai owes a lot to Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo, but director Hideo Gosha goes more for harsh compositions and gritty action than for elegance, and he doesn’t bother to lighten his vision with humour.
Journalist Bilge Ebiri covers all this and gives a good overview of the director’s career in his print essay.
EXTRAS Essay booklet. B&W. Japanese audio. English subtitles.
movies@nowtoronto.com
