I’d seen a few minutes of SHOGUN ASSASSIN, the sort of “greatest hits” movie cut together from these, but other than that this was my first trip through this saga. A huge influence on THE MANDALORIAN, these movies are very entertaining, particularly the father-child dynamic that inspired Space Dad and Green Baby. My only quibble is that I wish they didn’t feel the need with just about every one of them to include either rape or general objectification of women, even the ones who kick ass. I mean, I know these are exploitation films, but still.
Trailers: Tales of Ugetsu, Kagemusha
The one that starts it all and shows the audience what to expect going forward. The most iconic scene, of course, is the one in which Itto gives his infant son a choice between a ball and a sword — if he chooses the ball, Itto will send him to be with his mother in the afterlife; if he chooses the sword, he will join Itto as he becomes an assassin for hire. This was also memorable to me for featuring children singing a song about “dropping a hard turd.” I have to think this is some strange translation anomaly (is there a similar word in Japanese for “ball” or “stone”?), but the “turd” lyric kept showing up and making me laugh.
Trailers: Throne of Blood, Ran
Lady assassins! This one makes the child, Daigoro, more of a character and we see how much like his father he is and how unsentimental Itto is about his son being in such dangerous situations. Daigoro’s efforts to help his father while he rests (bringing him water, food, etc.) are kind of amazing to watch. And the sequence where Daigoro is kidnapped and suspended over the well is such a great way of portraying what a team they are, despite Daigoro’s youth and seeming innocence.
Trailers: Letter Never Sent, Shogun’s Shadow
This one gets more into the notion of honor/dishonor, especially with the character of Kanbei, who when we first meet him deals heavily with his three companions who rape a pair of women on the road. We see him again at the end of the film and hear his backstory and why he was dishonored years ago. We also see Itto endure torture on behalf of a woman who had been sold into prostitution. Itto is not a sentimental man, but he has a strong sense of honor and an impulse to defend the helpless.
Trailers: Hidden Fortress, Zatoichi
The first one of these movies not to be directed by Kenji Misumi and you can see it in subtle ways, like the opening credit montage, which gives us some glimpses of the story so far. This is also the first movie to give Daigoro his own little side adventure. I like that we got more backstory on Itto’s bad blood with the Yagyu clan and what led to Itto being framed for treason and deciding to take the traveling assassin path to begin with. This movie features another badass female assassin, who disarms her prey by stripping down to the waist and distracting them with her … tattoos.
Trailers: Three Outlaw Samurai, 13 Assassins
The last one to be directed by Misumi, this one has probably my favorite plot of the six films. I loved the device of the five messengers, who each give Itto a piece of the puzzle of the job they want him to do, and how it’s all complicated by another, seemingly conflicting mission. I just love how it is all resolved in a way that lets Itto complete his task and makes things right with the family he has to deal with. This movie gives Daigoro another side adventure, which leads to him being publicly flogged for keeping his word to a female pickpocket.
Trailers: Seven Samurai, Yojimbo
This one was just really cool, letting the story go to a supernatural place and giving Itto maybe his most formidable opponents yet. The story arc of the six films is not really resolved, ending as all the others do with Itto and Daigoro living to fight another day. But it finishes with definitely the most epic battle thus far, giving things a new setting in a snow-covered landscape. This one kind of annoyingly makes Daigoro into a bit of a cartoon, occasionally cutting to him after some brutal strike and having him make some “OMG” face. But it’s been amazing watching this little guy over six movies and how these stories have played with his assumed innocence.
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