Legend of the Eight Samurai (1984)
AKA: Legend of the 8 Samurai; Satomi 8 ken den
Premise: In Japan's mythical past, Princess Shizu, whose clan is
cursed by evil, is hunted by demons and the samurai armies they
command, leaving a trail of death behind them. With two warriors
destined to aid her, she begins a search for six more so that
together they may destroy the curse and free the land of evil.
Review: Legend of the Eight Samurai had previously been reviewed
based on the original American version that had been heavily edited
and stuck with dreadful English dubbing, both of which turned the
film into a muddled, live-action cartoon. Left unedited and with the
original Japanese soundtrack, this fantasy jidai geki from yakuza
film master Kinji Fukasaku becomes an epic fantasy adventure with
Sonny Chiba and his action team delivering dazzling battles
sequences, both conventional and otherworldly. Making it even better
are vampy villains, an early '80s soft rock soundtrack, outrageous
costumes, and elaborate special effects, culminating in a rollicking
mix of period samurai action by way of Flash Gordon and Zu: Warriors
from the Magic Mountain.
Eight Samurai came out at a time when period, costumed dramas in
Japan were in decline. Director and co-writer Kinji Fukasaku, best
known for revitalizing the yakuza film in the early '70s with
stylized depictions of self-destructive anti-heroes, dove into the
jidai geki arena while envisioning a new breed of samurai film that
wasn't locked into the well-established conventions of the genre.
Samurai Reincarnation was his first attempt, yet by his own
admission, Legend of the Eight Samurai came far closer to matching
his ambitions. According to author Patrick Macias, it was to have
been the starting point for a series of films that never emerged,
despite the relative success of Fukasaku's previous swordplay films.
Eight Samurai is based in part on a series of mythic, 19th century
tales that were originally adapted into plays, radio programs and
early films. Co-screenwriter Toshio Kamata stripped down the series'
innumerable cast of characters and authored a novel that became the
basis for this film.
One-time pop idols Hiroko Yakushimaru and Hiroyuki Sanada (The
Twilight Samurai) are paired up respectively as the brave Princess
Shizu and the brash footman and samurai-wannabe Shinbei, both of
whom become unlikely lovers caught up in a nightmarish world where
an eyeball-devouring old witch transforms into a giant centipede and
demons in human form command armies of murderous samurai and vixens
who breath and bleed deadly poison. With her clan cursed and wiped
out by a pair of vengeful souls reincarnated as immortal demons,
Shizu's only hope is to find eight warriors destined from birth to
aid her in destroying this evil. This includes the fighting monk
Dosetsu Inumura (Sonny Chiba) and his gun-totting companion, a
female assassin for hire (Etsuko Shihomi), a musician, a cave-
dwelling warrior, a young boy, a remorseful samurai in the demons'
employ, and Shinbei himself.
Kinji Fukasaku creates a dark, yet vibrant fantasy world with
colorfully theatric costuming and sets and lots of magical special
effects from giant, flying serpents that carry their victims away to
dazzling light effects and pyrotechnics. The lead villains are made
memorable by scenes (mild by today's standards) of skinning the
flesh off young women or bathing nude in a bubbling pool of blood.
Implanted among this imagery is the top-notch action choreography of
Sonny Chiba and his Japan Action Club. After owning the screen in
the '70s when it came to urban karate action, Chiba had turned his
sights to the period drama and increasingly, sci-fi or fantasy-
oriented films like the time-traveling G.I. Samurai (1979). Legend
of the Eight Samurai is an ambitious work with Chiba's proteges
Hiroyuki Sanada and Etsuko Shihomi both delivering excellent action
performances. As an assassin with a love-hate relationship with one
of the demons and an initial rivalry with one of her peers, Shihomi
shows off her swordplay skills on numerous occasions. With Chiba in
a supporting role, Sanada gets the lion's share of the heroic action
and it's well deserved. Throughout the film, he's seen carrying on
casual conversations while on a very spirited horse, swinging from
tree to tree like Tarzan, and deftly wallowing into a mob of
attackers with twin kama that look like straightened sickles.
There are a number of enjoyable fights, but the heroes' storming of
the demon castle to save the captured princess is by far the film's
high point. There is a strong Conan the Barbarian feel to much of
the film, but particularly here where those giant snakes come into
play again and our explosives and sword-slinging heroes battle armed
grunts, traps and sorcery.
The only thing missing from Legend of the Eight Samurai is a
suitable soundtrack. Rather than go strictly with traditional
Japanese music, the filmmakers opted for pop music, specifically
soft rock and a theme song by John O'Banion that could easily fit in
on a Time-Life compilation with the likes of Foreigner and Jefferson
Starship. Honestly, I despised it the first time through with the
American editing and English dubbing. But it works better with the
original Japanese version and should evoke a sort of nostalgic feel
for anyone who has fond memories of watching other fantasy movies of
the era like The Neverending Story and Ladyhawke.
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