Kiba Ôkaminosuke

Before he would go on to write chambara history with films such as Goyokin and Hitokiri, Hideo Gosha had to start small. One of his earlier films was a small b picture, Samurai Wolf (which also spawned a sequel) and it's not hard to understand why he rose to a prominent figure of the genre, earning a righful place next to such luminaries as Kurosawa, Kobayashi and Okamoto.

Samurai Wolf serves like a cornerstone between the old American westerns of the 50's and the spaghetti western revolution that was well underway by 1966. Yet it's a Japanese samurai movie. Taking its cue from Kurosawa's Yojimbo and by extension the works of John Ford, Gosha here instills to his samurai action a pulpy comic book sensibility and a sense of biting cynicism which bears a similarity to Sergio Leone. Kiba Okaminosuke is the typical alienated antihero that strides into town to save the day by helping a blind lady and her relay post with the mission of transporting 30000 ryo to the next post. Kiba is not as cynic and self-serving as Yojimbo's character but they do share many similar feats. Isao Natsuyagi who plays the titular hero looks and carries himself with something of the scruffy, animalistic energy of Toshiro Mifune in Kurosawa's classic. A wild animal with a menacing exterior that hides a kind heart. And as a true heir to this longstanding tradition of lone antiheroes, Kiba cannot settle down. He's bound to be a drifter and an outcast. Once his work is down, he leaves town...

Nothing is what it seems here (a similar motif Gosha would explore in his later Sword of the Beast). Almost everyone in the movie is out to use everybody else for their own means. Revenge, greed, the abuse of trust and love are all themes that Samurai Wolf touches on, without dwelling too much on them. It's a short genre movie after all and the emphasis is on the action and style. Gosha excels in both. Lots of swordfighting, beautifully filmed and violent for its day, with dark blood gushing from wounds and slow motion effects put to great use. I'm not sure if Sam Peckinpah ever saw this little gem, but it sure as hell reminded me of his work in The Wild Bunch. The stylized b/w cinematography and unusual camera angles add to the comic book effect Samurai Wolf is carrying.

Dark, violent and full of plot twists, Samurai Wolf is a visceral slice of dark, cartoon-ish chambara that will appeal to (spaghetti) western fans just as well. Highly recommended.

What a time, the DVD's advent brings me a colorful world through the worldwide cinema, especially Japanese movies weren't allowed in Brazil, just few top-notch director as Kurosawa, currently finally comes a bunch of them, this movie belongs a chambara genre, directed by the famous Samurai's picture expert Hideo Gosha, utterly compelling whereof later was the forerunner the famous series Lone Wolf and Cub.

Everything starts with a frisky Ronin Kiba Ôkaminosuki (Isao Natsuyagi) at small village's Inn eating frantically that seems didn't eat anything for weeks or so, after satisfy hunger, he warns that there isn't a penny to pay, but is available to work to pay the bill.

Meanwhile he saw on the road a small gang attacking a relay transporter, later he meets a blind woman (Junko Miyazono) of outstanding beautiful, owner of the concession relay shipping post who asking his aid with a slight sexual interest, aside Kiba is dressing a shabby garment and rarely takes a bath, she sees in him the last hope to save the deal, actually a powerful feudal Lord Nizaemon (Tatsuo Ôndo) on the village who wants take over of the business for yourself, perceiving the dexterity of Kiba, he hires an unbeatable Ronin to fighting for him, however has another unknown events that comes to surface along the storyline.

It quite sure is firmly swayed by Leone's spaghetti westerns and American either, mainly in the main character, the Samurai Wolf looks like laid-back and unattached guy, a lone wandering figure, these resemblances are so strong enough to link each other, later this picture gets a sequel.

Thanks for reading.

Resume:

First watch: 2023 / Source: DVD / How many: 1 / Rating: 8.

Stark, stylistic and no fooling around. Solid samurai action as a wandering ronin, "The Vicious Wolf", wanders into a volatile situation at a remote relay post. Of course there's a couple of beautiful woman and nasty political intrigue involved. Interesting characters abound many are master killers with fearsome reputations. The Vicious Wolf is a quirky character with a bizarre fighting style but his intentions are good if you get past his lack of bathing and his tendency to announce that he has no money after eating at an inn or using the services of a prostitute.

Director Gosha is clearly the stylistic inspiration for many Italian western directors, more so than Kurosawa. Too bad most spaghetti westerns never even came close to this film.

Excellent sword fighting, great photography, unique direction and a good cast. Recommended.

To pay for a meal he couldn't afford, a ragged, drifting Ronin who calls himself 'the Wolf' (Isao Natsuyagi) starts helping out in a blind woman's waystation only to get caught up in a murderous plot by gangsters to take over the local shipping routes. The film lifts a number of visual and musical cues from contemporaneous 'spaghetti westerns' to good effect and the fight scenes are generally well done - full of action but not so 'over-the-top' as to start looking silly. For a mid-sixties jidaigeki, the film has some gory moments (although the blood-letting is a bit inconsistent - some people simply fall when apparently impaled or slashed open, others drop in a hissing, splattering flood of 'blood'). Natsuyagi is quite good as the frequently hungry (and messily eating) samurai and manages to make his otherwise clichéd character interesting. Not as good as director Hideo Gosha's earlier samurai outings (such as 1964's 'Three Outlaw Samurai') but watchable for fans of the sanguineous genre.