Three Outlaw Samurai - Review

And a hearty greeting to you as well Mr. Gosha. My first experience with one of chanbara’s most notorious directors offers a trio of complex, engaging characters on top of an admittedly standard in concept but fundamentally exceptional film.

Hideo Gosha is named as the director of about half a dozen movies the internet of film has deemed “essential” watches for anyone hoping to develop a familiarity with samurai cinema, and “Sword of the Beast”, “Goyokin” and “Tenchu!” (Hitokiri) all have a place in the great watchlist of films I’ve set out to complete. With popular opinion being that most all his work from the ‘60s is worth checking out, I suppose it was only logical to start with the earliest film.

By today’s standards, it seems the directorial debut of someone with a future in the industry absolutely must have an X-factor (I’m looking the early work of Nolan, Tarantino, Wes Anderson, Danny Boyle, etc.), but Gosha’s first feature is much more a testament to the merit of simply making a really solid flick. By 1964 a concept of the “standard samurai movie” must have been generally agreed on. It’d been ten years since “Seven Samurai”, more than 20 since “The 47 Ronin”, and the genre was dozens of films deep otherwise. Tropes had at least become present enough (and would be further established by this film) to inspire satire in movies like Okamoto’s “Kill!” which would be released four years later. In this filmmaking setting, Gosha rose to the task of making the perfect example of a “good” samurai movie, one that sports nearly every trope in the book but owns it with enough confidence to offer a real snapshot of the genre’s appeal. Most of the “essential” samurai flicks meet this standard and then elevate themselves by offering a degree of inspiration. While I wouldn’t dare call “Three Outlaw Samurai” uninspired, it mostly serves to verify the reoccurring elements of chanbara and provide a standard for future watches. Anything as solid as “Three Outlaw Samurai” is good, anything better might be something special.

The most notable element of “Three Outlaw Samurai”, beyond its firm place as the best of the pretty good, is the complexity and distinctness it devotes to its three heroes. By taking a familiar, Seven Samurai-esc setting and reducing the number to three (two really, and even then with an emphasis on Tetsuro Tanba’s character) each character is allowed more screen time, more dialogue, and altogether more challenges that provide a peek into the personality and mental workings of each samurai. Perhaps the recent success of Mifune in Yojimbo and early Zatoichi films had suggested the potential of better fleshed-out character. Whatever the inspiration, I appreciate Goya’s effort to establish each of the samurai beyond “he’s the one that uses a spear” or “he’s the old one”.

This film is solid, and I’d watch it again in a heartbeat. The choreography is decent, and sometimes the audience are treated with remarkably strong visuals. Plus, the musical theme gives off a serious “Land of the Sand People” from “Star Wars” vibe. I look forward to checking out later works from the director where I hope he will have the confidence to further deviate from an established style.

Verdict - Good