To me, Masaki Kobayashi’s Samurai Rebellion is one
of the three greatest films ever made; the others are Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai and Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal.
Here’s why. The story is superbly written and of profound
importance. Basically, it poses the
question: how much injustice can a man of honor, integrity and courage
withstand before he rebels?
There is neither a wasted
word nor a wasted action. It is
beautifully directed. The acting is
uniformly excellent and Toshiro
Mifune is truly astounding. He was a
consummate artist, easily the greatest film actor of the last century. If this sounds like hyperbole, see his work
in Rashomon, the Samurai Trilogy, Throne
of Blood, The Rickshaw Man, Red Beard, as Cyrano, etc. He had it all – imagination, charm, warmth,
sensitivity, manliness, vitality, power, versatility, integrity, and most of
all, passion and dignity.
One of the signal keys to
great acting is the inner power and vitality that an actor emanates in his
silent moments. I call it intensity of
repose. It’s something you cannot fake. Mifune had it to a far greater extent than
any other actor I’ve ever seen. Further,
as Kurosawa said, “Mifune could show more variety and emotion in a shorter
period of time than any actor I ever saw.”
I guarantee that if you are
a basically a cynic, if you prefer naturalistic, everyday writing and acting, Samurai Rebellion is not for you. But if you are an incurable romantic who
believes that art should epitomize life and not simply copy it, if you long to
see passionate steadfastness, complete moral honesty, an inability to
compromise, and action based on principles, you will love this film.
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