Features: DVD
In the second and most violent installment, Musashi beats a samurai armed with a chain-and-sickle. He is later set upon by 80 samurai disciples while the two women who love him watch helplessly.Click here for more Criterion favorites!
Editor's Note
In Part Two, Musashi learns to control his violent impulses under the guidance of the Yoshioka samurai school. Unfortunately, as he is learning to use his sword in a more thoughtful way, his classmates transform into violent thugs and the school falls apart. While Akemi, Miyamoto's love, hangs on to him, he also finds love and respect in Yoshino, a courtesan in a house of pleasure. Both women, however, must stand by as the brave warrior takes on eighty samurai guided by the mysterious Kojiro.
Plot Summary
The second (and most explosively violent) episode of Inagaki's trilogy telling the tale of legendary seventeenth century samurai, Musashi Miyamoto, concentrates on the young warrior's quest for spiritual enlightenment following a violent, turbulent youth. As Miyamoto becomes more entrenched in the teachings of the Yoshioka school of samurai, he becomes sparer in the use of his sword while his classmates degenerate into thugs. A resolution to this epic tale is nowhere in sight as the entire class turns on him and he wins the love of yet a second woman. A classic ambush sequence, another stellar performance from Mifune and more action than its predecessor mark this, the second episode in the classic series.
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