Ian Lewis' Blog

I finally got around to watching this classic film yesterday. I have to say. It does live up to the hype. What an excellent movie.

So enjoyable was it that the 203 or so minutes went by without so much as thought about the length. I was glued to my seat the entire time. I think part of the attractiveness of the film is the believability of the action sequences and the characters. While each character is unique in their own way it's not impossible to believe that the character could exist in real life.

I still deciding who my favorite character is between the wisdom, leadership, and experience of Kanbei and the skill, modesty, and sobriety of Kyuzo. My favorite scene is probably the one where Kyuzo sits under the tree waiting to ambush the bandit scouts while Katshushiro watches and Kikuchiyo keeps lookout.

A flawless film in almost every way. It stands the test of time being an old but excellent and highly influential film that you can watch today without it feeling dated. I can totally understand the #5 movie of all time rating on IMDB. I can't believe that I've waited this long to see it.