This 1981 Japanese film by Kinji Fukasaku, the director of Battle Royale, is a truly strange film—a samurai fantasy movie. Rebel Christian samurai Amakusa Shiru (Kenji Sawada) is resurrected from the dead after a gruesome crucifixion, and tries to form an army of other resurrected fighters. It starts out episodic as he adds people to his group, and then the plot begins to come together. Sonny Chiba plays Yagyū Jūbei Mitsuyoshi, his samurai opponent, who is one of the most famous samurai of all time in Japanese culture. The lead character is angry at God because his rebellion failed and his Christian followers were killed, so he’s now that he is back as a demon, he’s battling for the other side.
There’s some echoes of Mario Bava-style production design in the opening sequences where the main characters are being brought out of Hell. The plot line is a little messy, though: the English dub version (not included on this disc) was cut down to 88 minutes, especially the middle section which is the baggiest part, so that may be much tighter than the original. The central section is where the plot mechanics start to come together to put the actual revenge plot in motion, but it takes a while to get there, perhaps too long.
It’s a pretty wild movie—the visuals are impressive, even if some of the story went a little bit over my head. The plot focuses on magical objects and epic battles, and Sonny Chiba is typical great as Amakusa Shiru’s main antagonist. There’s impressive action, and the fantastical elements are really cool. Also, there is an insane finale involving fire during which amazingly no one died, given there was no CGI at this time so it’s all practical effects.
Tomisaburo Wakayama (Lone Wolf and Cub) portrays famous swordsman Yagyū Tajimanokami Munenori, who is the rival of Amakusa Shira’s chosen swordsman Miyamoto Mushashi (Ken Ogata of Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters and Vengeance is Mine fame) and the father of Chiba’s character. Martial arts star and former child actor Hiroyuki Sanada also appears here in an early role: many will recognise Sanada from John Wick: Chapter 4. If you watch carefully, there are a few lines and visuals that Quentin Tarantino has nicked over the years. Samurai Reincarnation is a bit of a slow burner, so buckle up, sit down and watch it—it’ll get there.
The Masters of Cinema release has a really cool cover, and serves up a 2K restoration from original film elements. Extras include a commentary from film critic Tom Mes (a Japanese film expert), a new interview with Fukasaku, the original trailer from Japan, and a collector’s booklet with new writing about the film.
★★★½
Ian Schultz
psychotroniccinema.com 