lokko53 A fascinating conclusion to a legendary character. Like the previous film, this one focuses on one particular event of the real life Musashi: the duel at Ganryu Island. In the previous film Musashi undergoes a transformation at the end where he realizes that there is no benefit in seeking to kill his opponents. He has matured and is no longer interested in instigating duel matches. It begins the section on Musashi interestingly with a match by Zen monks where a young arrogant monk challenges anyone in public.Throughout the film Musashi is constantly assessing each situation and trying to choose the humble path. In the first film we catch a glimpse through dialogue that Musashi farmed the land and was unhappy, but now that he has lived his dream as a samurai he returns to the farming life in order to protect a defenseless village. Before returning to farming Musashi lived in a city where he considered becoming an employed samurai but instead avoids it and starts to take up wood crafting Mahayana buddhas. He leaves when he was set to duel with Kojiro Sasaki who had been waiting for Musashi to gain in prominence in order to benefit from his victory in the duel.Musashi postpones the fight for a year and the final scene sequence presents the duel match as the climactic scene. The final scene was masterfully choreographed and a memorable samurai duel on the beach side as the sun rises in the morning. There is not much fighting per se, but the build up of suspense and style is excellent.This film also relies on the continued obsession of Otsu and Akemi with Musashi and his unreturned love. Musashi is truly concerned with virtue and wants to avoid misleading women when his true love remains the life of a samurai. Musashi is tortured by the last scene with Otsu in the second film where he threw himself over her and she rejected him. He felt that he had committed a rash, dishonorable action, while in truth she was simply conflicted. The third film opens up with a monologue by Kojiro Sasaki where his obsession with fame includes the killing of Musashi provides a chilling introduction into his character. Sasaki becomes the paradigm of unfettered fame at all costs. Otsu who followed him out of confusion, finally decides to leave him and seek out Musashi. Again, the women present themselves as strong characters still at the mercy of savage men.There is a sense of flawed portrayals of the female characters. While at times they are multi-dimensional characters, at other times it can come across as soap opera type acting and plot wise. In addition, the story of Musashi as the ideal samurai is difficult to accept given our cynical age, but Musashi is a Japanese folk hero that has been influential to Japanese virtue for over 400 years. Mifune does provide depth to the character, but is limited given the goodness that the character represents within a patriotic context.Nevertheless, the film represents excellent story telling and cinematography that stands the test of time. While the presentation of the ideal samurai will die in the coming years with the birth of the anti-hero by Kurosawa, this is a quintessential trilogy for the historical appreciation of the genre that in a few years would reinvent itself and influence western film making.While the Musashi Miyamoto trilogy is far from historical accuracy, they provide an entertaining introduction to this Japanese character that transcends time.

Badar Munir I feel very confident and content once I finished watching the trilogy. What starts of a nothing end on greatness. Lots of things have been said in the movie about the humans, the way they live, they behave, they treat others and above all their desires grooved in the very depth of the heart. What is most likable is the mildness with which things are being said but every bit needs to be heard with full attention. After watching the trilogy I read the book written by Miyamoto (A book of five rings – Must read) himself and got an inside more clearly.Now the movies, all three are gems without a second thought. The acting, cinematography and above all the direction is very good. Emphasis on little things, shades of lights (sun is setting etc) and even water (streams, rivers) everything is perfectly matched with the movie to the core. Above all is the way Mifune enacted the role, the way he delivers the expressions for an arrogant in the first outing, then the confused man and in the last gentle, kind and wise person is extremely believable and I have no doubt in saying that I can't imagine someone else in the role.A must watch trilogy.8.5/10 (all three movies)

MartinHafer 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.

SurreDeth I just don't get why in Japanese movies women are just really 2 different characters. They are either A) the incredibly weak woman that would rather die than be without her love when she doesn't even really have a reason to love this guy or B) the conniving backstabbing evil of the world people. Otsu is A, all the other women in this movie are B with Akemi being both A & B. Why the heck does Otsu keep stalking this guy from town to town? Honey, you've been surving pretty well on your own all your life and you're pretty hot for an Asian chick, I'm sure some guy would take pretty good care of you without making you stalk him all over Japan.The romance is weak, very weak, but this is movie from the 50s we're talking about. Nothing in the first two movies really setup why these women are in love with Musashi, they just are cause he's Musasi who happens to be the main character, we're suppose to love him too and not question what makes these women psycho.Musashi's motivations are weak too along with Kojiro's. Why travel around and murder people in town after town when good looking women are inviting you to stay and have a good time? What else is there in life, really??? Even despite being annoyed by the bad romance scenes with DRAG on and on, and everyone in feudal Japan being murdering serial killers this movie is still pretty darn entertaining, and the actions are darn good. Its not close up face shots during the action, instead its well layed out camera work that displays Mifume's physical prowess. The guy is quick. The final duel is a thing of beauty, and is copied by every horrible japanimation cartoon on the face of the planet these days. I hate japanimation.