June 28, 2023
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The late Kinji Fukasaku is most fondly remembered for his hold-no-bars yakuza flicks, characterised by their hard-as-nails anti-heroes and brutal motion. Nonetheless, within the late Seventies, the director started to develop his cinematic palette, first by dipping into the jidaigeki style with Shogun’s Samurai (1978). Also called The Yagyu Clan Conspiracy, the movie starred semi-frequent Fukasaku collaborator Shinichi “Sonny” Chiba, who took the function of famed Edo-era samurai Jubei Yagyu. Three years later, the pair reunited for one more dive into Jubei’s legend, this time adapting Futaro Yamada’s 1967 novel Makai Tensho. The ensuing Samurai Reincarnation (1981) has gone on to be certainly one of Fukasaku’s most beloved works outdoors of the yakuza style, mixing fantasy, horror, and historical past in a means that solely the good director might.
Set within the aftermath of the Shimabara Revolt of the seventeenth century, the narrative considerations the resurrection of the lately slain Shiro Amakusa (Kenji Sawada), the younger and fair-faced chief of the Christian revolt. Denouncing God and intent on revenge, Amakusa places collectively a band of revived rebels and warriors with the intention of slaying the shogun. The one man as much as the duty of placing down Amakusa and defeating his demonic followers is Jubei Yagyu (Shinichi Chiba), the legendary one-eyed swordsman.
Proper from the off, it’s clear that Samurai Reincarnation is a interval drama with a special flavour. The grotesque opening takes us by the grim aftermath of the siege of Hara Citadel as we move over a sea of lifeless rebels, Shiro Amakusa included. The wild resurrection sequence that follows units a precedent for the remainder of the movie, because the insurgent chief respawns in a violent match of rage earlier than assembling his undead followers. It’s a becoming outset that completely units the tone for Fukasaku’s distinct imaginative and prescient for a interval movie. Samurai Reincarnation flies alongside at a brisk tempo for the whole lot of its two-hour runtime, bombarding us with a wealth of Japanese historical past fused with thrilling fantasy. Fukasaku has little time for the traditions of jidaigeki, as a substitute marrying his penchant for motion with a chaotic time interval to ship a samurai flick that feels extra fashionable in its presentation.
One of many movie’s strongest features is its motion, which doesn’t disappoint. Minus the extraordinary emotion behind Jubei’s duel along with his undead father – performed by The Lone Wolf and Cub sequence’ Tomisaburo Wakayama – the fiery finale continues to be a surprising spectacle and arguably certainly one of Fukasaku’s most spectacular sequences, actually from a manufacturing standpoint. The director swaps the tight city environments of his yakuza movies for the wide-open areas of Edo-era Japan, utilising the width of the body to full impact. There’s no higher instance of this than throughout Jubei’s beachside showdown with the legendary Musashi Miyamoto. Away from the chaos inland, Fukasaku presents an archetypal duel between two historic swordsmen set towards the serene backdrop of the ocean.
The linchpin of the movie is Shinichi Chiba’s one-eyed hero, Jubei Yagyu. The character was one acquainted to the legendary motion star, having performed him a number of occasions all through his profession on each tv and movie. Right here, Chiba channels the good Toshiro Mifune with a grizzled efficiency, bringing a jaded high quality to the terrific swordsman. But, whereas Jubei is the undisputed hero, it’s Amakusa and his demon followers that steal the present. Kenji Sawada’s uncommon casting proved to be a stroke of genius on the time, and his full-throttle efficiency because the effeminate Christian chief has aged splendidly. Ken Ogata is at all times a welcome sight, right here enjoying the discipline-driven however zombie-like Miyamoto, whereas Akiko Kana takes on the function of femme fatale Woman Gracia Hosokawa. Eager-eyed viewers may also recognise a really younger Hiroyuki Sanada, a graduate from Chiba’s Japan Motion Membership who has gone on to have a flourishing profession in Hollywood. The energy of the solid general has undoubtedly lent itself to the movie’s lasting enchantment.
Samurai Reincarnation’s recognition has spawned every part from belated sequels to a number of stage adaptions, the primary of which additionally stars Chiba. Unsurprisingly, Jubei’s plight has additionally touched the anime scene, with Yamada’s novel being tailored for Yasunori Urata’s short-lived Ninja Resurrection (1997-98).
Solely two episodes of the anime have been produced, ending on a cliffhanger that might by no means be resolved. The video takes a story strategy that leans on the historical past surrounding the Shimabara Revolt, as a narrator guides us by the decisive battles surrounding the Christian rebellion and introduces us to a number of the key figures from the interval. The plot itself is nearly fully fantasy-driven, with the resurrected Amakusa being joined by a handful of different undead warriors to unleash hell on Earth. The anime’s excessive violence is extreme in components, though a number of the extra grotesque visuals harken again to Fukasaku’s movie, notably the bone-chilling aftermath of the Hara Citadel bloodbath.
Partially, it’s Ninja Resurrection’s violence and material that has led to it being confused with one other anime function, Yoshiaki Kawajiri’s seminal Ninja Scroll (1993). Aping off the success of Kawajiri’s movie, Ninja Resurrection was marketed to look as if it was associated to the 1993 cult hit – each function a warrior named Jubei and share equally styled title playing cards. This clear case of deception has considerably tarnished the video’s status within the West, nevertheless it’s actually a title with deserves, notably in its darkish presentation of the tough Edo setting and Masamichi Amano’s epic rating.
By means of Eureka Leisure’s new launch, Samurai Reincarnation might be loved with an audio commentary from Japanese cinema specialist Tom Mes. The creator, who has contributed to a number of Fukasaku residence releases through the years, offers his perception into the director’s unlikely samurai journey. He supplies some informative historic context on the Shimabara Revolt and discusses the well-known figures from historical past that Amakusa resurrects alongside his path to vengeance. Mes’ scholar-like perception is at all times a bonus on these releases, and right here he affords additional trivia on the movie’s solid, manufacturing historical past, and associated tasks.
Eureka’s launch additionally encompasses a new interview with Kenta Fukasaku, who reminisces about his filmmaking father and talks about rising up across the film enterprise. The director, now the identical age Kinji was when he made Samurai Reincarnation, speaks frankly about his father and shares some heart-warming anecdotes about his expertise on set and his relationship with “second father determine” Sonny Chiba. Rounding out the dietary supplements is a booklet essay from Jonathan Clements, who touches on the assorted incarnations of Yamada’s supply novel and dives into a number of the stunning manufacturing points that plagued Fukasaku’s movie. The creator additionally presents an outline of the quite a few examples of the Shimabara Revolt and Japanese Christianity in fashionable media – a topic that’s additional explored in Rebecca Suter’s Holy Ghosts: The Christian Century in Fashionable Japanese Fiction.
For these unfamiliar with Kinji Fukasaku’s work outdoors his yakuza movies, Samurai Reincarnation will certainly be a wild and sudden trip. The director places his distinctive stamp on the standard samurai movie, bringing a aptitude and tempo that’s uncommon for the jidaigeki style. Regardless of quite a few remakes and sequels throughout a number of types of media, Samurai Reincarnation stays essentially the most thrilling and iconic adaptation of Futaro Yamada’s now traditional novel.
Samurai Reincarnation is launched within the UK by Eureka Leisure.
