Kyô Samurai Musashi

Crazy Samurai: 400 vs. 1, also known as Crazy Samurai Musashi, is based upon writer, swordsman, strategist, ronin and philosopher Musashi Miyamoto who has inspired numerous legends. This low-budget movie shows how the titular hero confronts four hundred swordsmen when arriving to duel the disgraced Yoshioka dojo.

This movie can be separated into three scenes. The first scene is filled with atmosphere, context and tension as the members of the disgraced dojo expect the swordsman to arrive. They are planning on ambushing him but are obviously underestimating their enemy's wit.

The second scene has been filmed in one single take and lasts for seventy-seven minutes. Musashi Miyamoto confronts his enemies. They fight in a forest, on a field, in a house, in a court and later on in a small village. There are a few elements that offer some short breaks from the fight sequences such as the protagonist's brief monologues, the argument between two samurai and a peasant girl who betrays the hero.

The final scene takes place several years after the events portrayed before. It shows us what Musashi Miyamoto has become and what his foes are willing to do to murder him for once and for all.

The movie title already indicates exactly what you get here. This film is filled with fight scenes from start to finish. The stamina of lead actor Sakaguchi Taku is quite remarkable. The beautiful locations bring to life Japan in the early seventeenth century. Some of the fight scenes end up being a little bit repetitive. The visual effects look quite cheap but one gets used to them. The ending of the second scene felt a little bit unfinished in my opinion but didn't have an overall negative impact.

To keep it short, this movie is only interesting for martial arts enthusiasts and people who are interested in Japanese culture, history and legends. The movie has an unusual approach which makes it interesting to watch despite some repetition here and there. You should not expect witty dialogues, profound plot and unexpected twists here. Genre fans will get what they want and everyone else should simply ignore this film.

Personally I enjoyed the movie, but to review this or recommend the movie, I would not.

I had no idea Tak was the leading actor, and I knew it would not disappoint. Though it let me down.

The opening of the movie felt like a real movie, the camera, cinematography, colour grading, blurring etc. As soon as someone gets killed and Musashi reveals himself, then the quality all of a sudden drops.

I was shocked that the movie did the action one take with no cuts, effects or cgi. However it got repetitive, which was the movie's downfall. Same moves, same attacks, same sequences. I can understand it would be hard to find 400 actors and 400 actors who can remember the choreography and cut time, so it's fine for me if the same actors where repeating.

The movie had little story, which was a downfall, we have no idea why Musashi is killing the clans or why they want to kill him (because he killed someone Sejuiro). The effects of the movie are actually quite good, blood is not over exaggerated, but believeable.

The one shot take was cool, but very boring. I was just surprised how Tak could go on and on, which was an impressive human feat, this should go on the Guinness Book of World Record. Music were good choice, there was lack of acting.

The ending fight scene felt better than all the 70mins 1shot take.

Would I recommend this movie? No.

But I would advise you to watch if you like Samurai, Tak or one shot takes.

This is a Japanese movie? But calling it a movie is a stretch. Also apart from a exposition dump in the first 5 minutes there is about 10 lines so not that much Japanese in it. They spend over an hour with one samurai guy taking on an endless supply of stunt guys. Poor quality you could find better quality at a medieval fair show. To be fair they do slowly walk through a model Japanese village during it. It's boring what can I say how long does it take watching Japanese men struggling out of shot after being sliced then to immediately join the endless supply of grunts. It feels like a beat them up video game without any inputs and it's stuck in an endless cutscene which never ends.

Crazy Samurai Musashi is an experience not a movie. If you rate it like a movie you probably would find it just repetitive and not spectacular. What are you expectations? John Wick with a sword? No this is not it even if the corpse count is comparable. A Zatoichi movie? Kill Bill? No. After the first ten minutes you start being on the shoulder of Mushashi, understanding that every stroke of the sword is a duel per se, that the repetitive task of battling is life, that Musashi faced up with a grimace, ready to live or die but at its own pace, with its own rules. You see that he planned this journey and at the same time is ready to face the unknown, He's human, tired, but a war machine. He's THE samurai. Crazy Samurai Musashi. Not for every taste, but a Masterpiece. Great movie!

Very cool to pull a "one shot" off, but man did it ever trade that for the things I expect in a hardcore samurai movie. Not even ONE decapitation. So sad...