MARIO GAUCI
Jarring, intermittent use of freeze frames accompanied by voice-over narration and some poorly-synched sound effects might well be tell-tale signs that this film was still incomplete when its director passed away in mid-1970. Similar to my previous encounter with Uchida's cinema – the superior A BLOODY SPEAR ON MOUNT FUJI (1955) – this film has a very deliberately paced (and, in this case, muddled) first half as it tells of the exploits of legendary warrior Musashi Miyamoto (played 16 years earlier by the great Toshiro Mifune in a celebrated trilogy of films for director Hiroshi Inakagi and the protagonist of several previous Uchida pictures) and settles on his confrontation with a rival – the owner of a secret weapon he craves – and his equally adept wife (whose brother he had killed years before). This incident takes up virtually all of the film's second half whereupon Musashi emerges triumphant by defeating the man's entire band of followers and setting husband against wife by kidnapping their little son.
InjunNose
This brief film, sometimes considered an unofficial entry in Hiroshi Inagaki's "Samurai" series, stars not Toshiro Mifune but rather Kinnosuke Nakamura (another veteran Japanese actor) as the famed swordsman Musashi Miyamoto. Nakamura does okay, but he's a little stiff; Rentaro Mikuni (who played Musashi's friend in the "Samurai" films and also appeared in the first segment of "Kwaidan") steals the show as Baiken Shishido, Musashi's nemesis. Mikuni is the nominal villain of the film, but he is a devoted husband and father as well. He tries to kill Musashi only to avenge the death of his brother-in-law. While Baiken (who wields a chain and sickle against Musashi's sword) is a very human character and the emotions that Mikuni displays in his performance are quite believable and engaging, "Swords of Death" is ultimately unsatisfying. The uncertain, abstract ending seems completely disconnected from any kind of human feeling; Musashi is preoccupied only with his weapon and how he has used it to defeat his enemy. Some viewers may find this perfectly logical, as Musashi is a swordsman, but the film lacks the emotional depth of Hiroshi Inagaki's earlier Musashi epics. The fact that it takes director Tomu Uchida a while to get to the action also hinders "Swords of Death", making it seem longer than it is. It's still worth a look, however, if you're a fan of jidai-geki. (By the way, I couldn't help noticing that neither review of "Swords of Death" has been found helpful. It's quite possible that you folks who keep doling out the uncharitable ratings are looking for "Lightning Swords of Death", which is an entry in the "Baby Cart" series starring Tomisaburo Wakayama...and, obviously, a different film altogether.)
