Samurai Trilogy

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The Samurai Trilogy
Directed by Hiroshi Inagaki
Produced by Kazuo Takimura
Written by Hideji Hojo (play)
Hiroshi Inagaki
Tokuhei Wakao
Eiji Yoshikawa (novel
Starring Toshirô Mifune,
Rentaro Mikuni
Music by Ikuma Dan
Distributed by Toho Studios
Release date(s) 1954-1956
Running time 303 minutes
Country Japan
Language Japanese
Allmovie profile

The Samurai Trilogy is a film trilogy directed by Hiroshi Inagaki and starring Toshiro Mifune as Miyamoto Musashi and Koji Tsuruta as Sasaki Kojirō. The films are based on the novel by Eiji Yoshikawa, about the famous duellist and author of The Book of Five Rings.

The three films are:

Together, they are a trilogy of epic proportions following the character growth of Musashi from brash – yet strong – young soldier to thoughtful and introspective samurai, culminating in Musashi's duel with the greatest opponent he would ever face.

[edit] Reception and influence

Samurai I won the 1955 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

The trilogy also became an influence for future films. In Kill Bill, for example, The Bride kills O-Ren Ishii with the exact same swallow's tail move that Miyamoto Musashi uses to kill Sasaki Kojirō, and the filming for this scene is almost identical as well with the same parallel run, blood splash, and unknown victor until the faces are revealed. Bill himself references the ending to Samurai III when he suggests an "old school" duel on the beach at sunrise.

[edit] External links

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