Shinsengumi shimatsuki

This early Kenji Misumi picture recounts the story of a band of samurai loyal to the Shogunate, the Shinsengumi, saving Kyoto from a conspiracy of Imperialists. Although certain facts are communicated early in the film, I think reading up on the history of the Shinshengumi helps A LOT with taking in the movie. If anything, you can put the events that transpire in the greater context of 19th century Japanese history. It's a most troubled time for the Tokugawa Shogunate as it's forced to deal both with external pressure to open up commerce and modernize and with internal pressure from Imperialists, loyal to the Emperor who will be later restored in the Meiji Restoration. Wikipedia is your friend here.

Part political intrigue, part historical drama, part action, Shinsengumi Chronicles judging by the look of it (and budget by extension) is more an ordinary genre picture by Daei Studios (whose regular employee was Misumi back in the day) than a lavish period piece. It can be slow during the first half, partially because certain plot points are telegraphed in that very explicit Japanese fashion and mostly because it spends too much time with people talking in not very inspired interior cardboard sets. Stick with it though 'cos this one goes out with a bang.

Misumi shows his flair as an action director in the closing battle sequence that oozes raw energy from every bloody pore. Observant astrologists of the time would have predicted that when the time was right and the planets in the correct alignment, Misumi would be in a position to deliver a masterpiece: which he did in 1972, in the form of the glorious Lone Wolf and Cub. Speaking of which, a young Tomisaburo Wakayama teams up with Raizo Ichikawa (whom Misumi worked with in the Satan's Sword trilogy) as the central duo. Wakayama plays Kondo, the farmer-turned-samurai that leads the Shinsengumi and as one would expect he just steals every scene. Ichikawa is certainly not bad, he wasn't a famous chambara actor for no reason after all (working mostly on b pictures though), but I'm generally not a big fan. Wakayama is not as grim as his Ogami Itto, but he's still a top notch physical actor with an imposing presence so when the action hits the screen, it's all guns blazing.

The story of the Shinsengumi was revisted in 1969 by Tadashi Sawashima in a film starring Toshiro Mifune. This early incarnation might not quite make best-of-all-time lists but it's still a fine picture that chambara afficionados will dig.

Raizo Ichikawa joins the Shinsengumi, the elite military police force established by the Shogunate in 1863. It isn't just a matter of police work. Despite the high-minded and oppressive rules, there's corruption and opposition from the clans, particularly the Chosu clan, which had been exiled from the imperial court. Who can be trusted?

Kenji Misumi's movie is a constant whirlwind of fighting, bleeding, and corpses strewn before a backdrop of beauty. There is no time for more than elementary character exposition. Given Ichikawa's star persona, that wasn't considered a necessity. He played a good samurai in a corrupt world. He knew he was starring in high-class progammers. He had come out of kabuki, and noted " In Kabuki you're no good unless you're old. In film you're no good once you're old. While I'm still young I'll make a living in film, once I've gotten older I'll try kabuki again."

He never got old. He died in 1969 of cancer. He was only 37 when he died, a veteran of more than 150 movies in a 14-year film career.

The civil war ongoing the Japan in 1863 when the Shogunate was in clash in Kyoto against the nationalists to take the power, in this belligerent environment a young idealistic Ronin Yamasaki (Raizô Ichikawa) is willing joints forces with Shinsengumi clan due he has deeply admiring by one their leaders former peasant Kondô (Wakayama) the chemistry between them reaches fast, then Yamasaki is accept in the clan, although some unethically ruling of the boss scratches the straight-lace vision concerning the virtuosic leader.

In this entanglement of betrayals and plottings unfold the storyline, the upcoming facts will expose to newbie Yamasaki about his early feelings, meanwhile a slight wavering he has at your trail a lovely young lady Shima (Shiro Fujimura) pleading him drop out the shogunate, in other hand Yamasaki didn't get any reliability from the second-in-command Tochizô (Shigero Amachi) keeping on the shadow of Kondô only.

This chanbara picture is part of early Kenji Misumi commonly known by the legendary Lone Wolf series, with the same Wakayama a long partnership, take a peek in some western modern objects an older photography camera, also they quote about the Dutch already there as historic accurate events.

Thanks for reading.

Resume:

First watch: 2024 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7.25.

An early pairing of director Misumi and actor Wakayama who would later be part of the team behind the legendary "Lone Wolf" series.

The film purports to tell the historical turning point of the Shinsengumi as the clan is transformed from a feared band of ruffians working for the Shoganate to the saviors of the city of Kyoto when they prevent arson by anti-Shoganate mercenaries. The story follows a young ronin has he joins the clan to fulfill his dreams of being a full fledged samurai. Initially suspicious of the clan, the ronin is impressed by the number three samurai, Kondo (played by Wakayama) who, despite starting out as a lowly farmer, shows the most integrity of any samurai he's met. The clan's drunken, brutish leader is soon killed by his own men and Kondo is put in charge. The ronin, already unsure of his decision to leave his beautiful wife- to-be, is tormented by the harsh contradictions in the realities of samurai life.Despite the good intentions of the new leader, the clan's roguish ways gets them in trouble with the Shoganate and they are given one last chance, uncover and avert a plot to burn Kyoto and kill the Shogun.

Well shot with the Misumi touch, the film is a little slow and dense if you are not familiar with the historical account. There is more intrigue then sword work but when the finale comes about the action is brutal and harsh. The ronin's side story is good if sort of a cliché. Wakayama' acting is very good and unexpected if you are only familiar with his dour Ogami Itto.

Well done if typical samurai drama.