Although this is a samurai movie, story is far more than just sword fights. Musashi Miyamoto is perhaps the most famous swordsman in Japan. He starts from a humble beginning to become the best sword fighter in Japanese history. His arch rival Kojiro Sasaki is hounding him to a duel. Kojiro is also a master swordsman. Based on a novel by Eiji Yoshikawa, the final chapter of Musashi trilogy focuses on meeting between Musashi and his arch rival Kojiro Sasaki. The two battles in the most famous duel in Japanese history at Ganryu island.I've read Yoshikawa's novel before seeing this trilogy, and the battle sequences are less gritty than the way they are depicted in the novel. This is perhaps not to portray Musashi as a mean swordsman.There's dignity, and consideration for other human in Musashi. The caliber of people living a humble life around him seems to have dignity and innocence that's not seen these days. As a society, we are definitely going down hill compared to the times this movie was made.You get to see young Toshiro Mifune , Kaoru Yachigusa, and Mariko Okada in their prime delivering their A list performances.A very classy film that's worth watching.

The first two movies of the series "Miyamoto Musashi" and "Zoku Miyamoto Musashi: Ichijôji no kettô" were already ones that was very little wrong with but this movie is basically even a better one, one basically every front thinkable.The movie its story flows way better, which is probably also due to the fact that lots of things finally get wrapped up in this movie and there also is more action to enjoy this time. By todays standards it perhaps is still a pretty slow movie to watch but still the pace and flow within this movie was something I wasn't quite expecting from this movie, especially since the first two movies weren't as fast going or well flowing as this one was. The movie really felt and also looked as if it got made by an entirely different cast and crew this time, while this of course was not the case. Perhaps it was due to the fact that "Miyamoto Musashi" and "Zoku Miyamoto Musashi: Ichijôji no kettô" got made almost back-to-back, while before this movie director Hiroshi Inagaki also had go on and directed a totally different movie, "The Lone Journey".The fight sequences do not disappoint within this movie. This is basically what the entire trilogy was building up toward. It's end fight has become quite legendary over the years and is a beautiful looking done one.The whole trilogy definitely benefits from the fact that it got shot in full color. It's natural environments and sets are all beautiful looking and its visual look is actually one of the reasons why the whole trilogy is liked so much and still quite popular to watch, over 50 years later now.More of a 'modern' movie than any of its two predecessor and definitely better flowing with its story and characters, also definitely due to the movie its action. A perfect conclusion for the trilogy.9/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

This film is the final installment of director Hiroshi Inagaki's "Samurai Trilogy," three films covering the life of Musashi Miyamoto (Takezo,) Japan's most famous swordsman of the early 17th century and perhaps of all time.He was an icon of the warrior-philosopher model. He survived numerous duels to the death and retired to painting and writing. His best known work is the "Book of Five Rings," a book which gained popularity recently when it was championed by the Harvard Business School.All three films of Inagaki's trilogy, made in 1954, 1955, and 1956, are part of the elite Criterion Collection of classic films.Briefly, this movie resolves the conflict of the two women in Takezo's life, Otsu and Akemi, and leads up to Musashi's showdown with the second most famous swordsman of the day, Sasaki Kojiro. This is the famous Duel at Ganryu Island of the title.Although I cannot appreciate the Japanese language and must rely on the English subtitles for the meaning of dialog, I do appreciate the beauty of this early widescreen color film. (I believe Tojoscope is a Japanese version of cinemascope.) One could take almost every frame of this film and it would make a stunning still. The costumes and the sets reflect an attention to detail of color, lighting and composition.For its sense of rather understated action, I particularly enjoyed the opening scene. Sasaki Kojiro demonstrates his signature Swallowtail Turn, a move whereby he severs the tail feathers of this notably swift and agile bird in flight. It's not the portrayed animal cruelty that I enjoyed; it's the human quickness and skill that would be required to accomplish such a feat. I certainly hope that no birds were actually harmed in the making of the film.

I think this is the best movie of the series--and certainly more satisfying than its predecessor.It is important to note that these movies were made nearly 50 years ago and existing copies on DVD are in poor condition--with fading and sepia tones instead of the vibrant original. This became VERY apparent when I saw the beginning of the 3rd film. The color was nearly perfect for the initial scene and that is great, as it's a beautiful and extremely artistic shot. At times throughout the movie, some of the scenes are once again vivid while others are faded and lose their impact. You can't blame the film for that, but you wish Criterion would try to digitally enhance the prints they've got to improve the colors and get rid of some scratchy cels.Back to the story, Mifune's character is nearly perfected in his quest to become the ultimate samurai. Throughout the last film and this one, another incredibly great samurai played by Koji Tsuruta is itching for a showdown to the death. But, because Mifune is more mature and no longer needs this for validation, he repeatedly tries to avoid the fight--after all, what does he have to prove? Of course, you KNOW this showdown must take place and it is a very satisfying conclusion. Along the way, Otsu returns and swears her undying love for him. I felt really bad for her, as she has waited YEARS for him and I certainly wouldn't have put her off like he did! Sorry about that.Oh yeah, anyways the conclusion really delivers and the film makes the trilogy all worth while.