I love to watch the scene in which Mifune dispatches the two nosy soldiers and leaps upon the horse to chase down the others. The ensuing chase scene is better than any western. How he could ride the horse, hold up that big sword, and give his magnificent war whoop is beyond me. It's a great action scene.
shareVery true! I always like to think of this as a throwback to Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., whose movies Kurosawa enjoyed watching in the 1920s, but in this, we can hear Mifune and his yell!
shareOne of my favorite action sequences in any film. Expertly executed and shot. The duel that follows is more tense than any I've seen. Strikes me as a definate inspiration to Sergio Leone's duel scenes.
shareMifune could quite possibly be the most electric screen actor of all time. If anyone disagrees, watch the chase sequence and the ensuing yari duel, and you will know what I mean. He says little, he's not particulary handsome or good looking with that raggedy beard, long hair and tiny shorts, but he absolutely COMMANDS the screen. One of the five best actors of all time.
shareAt the risk of sounding...ummm like I'm player for the -other- team... <ahem> I would even go so far as to say that Toshiro Mifune _is_ a handsome fellow. Oh sure he's a bit scruffy in the movie, so would any man who's been out in the country for any amount of time, not to mention that his character, and the princess he is protecting are in mortal danger every moment. No time for grooming you see. :)
But yes, Toshiro Mifune just commands the screen without even saying a single word. It's amazing. I doubt we'll see another of his kind in a long time.
Mike
i totally agree, mifune is a fantastic actor. and very handsome. captivating. and powerful.
I completely agree with you about Mifune's 'electric' presence. He doesn't have to speak, but he is so physically THERE that it is impossible not to notice all his nuances. I concur, he's one of my top five actors, too!
sharehe's not particulary handsome or good looking with that raggedy beard, long hair and tiny shorts
Not particularly handsome our good looking? Are you blind?
Global Warming, it's a personal decision innit? - Nigel Tufnel
Yes! That, and the ensuing duel (which so reminds me of Darth Vader and Obi-Wan's final showdown on the Death Star in Star Wars) is just one of my favourite scenes in this great masterpiece.
"Sure a dictatorship would be easier." GWB
For me, that was undoubtedly THE best scene in the movie! The chase and the javelin fight were the complete highlight of the story.
The amazing thing is, I watched both this and PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN for the first time this week; and both of them had totally amazing fight scenes - what I considered the best parts of both stories!
Funny, huh?
I told you over a hundred million times - STOP EXAGGERATING!!!
[deleted]
I agree, that was one of the most memorable and impressive scenes of the film. Entertaining for sure.
share[deleted]
I've always thought of Nakadai as a more handsome man, though I suppose the opinion of a straight man doesn't have a whole lot of merit.
Last film seen: Au Hasard Balthazar 9/10
[deleted]
Nakadai is ok looking but compared to Mifune, he's a 2/10 whereas Mifune's at 10/10. Even as an older gentleman, he looked even more distinguished than when he was younger.
Global Warming, it's a personal decision innit? - Nigel Tufnel
I am in the process of watching this film on Hulu; when I first noticed Mifune, standing there with his arms crossed as he glares at those two slovenly peasants, I noticed, while he was not much cleaner, he certainly had a much stronger 'presence'.
Oh and the princess...she came across as pretty 'hard as nails' in her own right.
Why can't you wretched prey creatures understand that the Universe doesn't owe you anything!?
This is Mifune Toshiro...he was magic. The man could pull off anything.
Buslady
Raphael is my Co-Pilot
Hellboy is my Navigator
Voldemort is my Lord
I recall Stephan Prince saying in one of the Criterion commentaries that before Mifune became an actor he trained in horseback combat pretty extensively, which is why Kurosawa used him for so many horse based combat sequences.
shareMy favorite scene, I think. Mifune is such a badass.
What's the Spanish for drunken bum?
Mifune trained at a special school for horseback archery cavalry soldiers and fought in China during World War 2....so yeah..he was an excellent candidate to play a Samurai warrior..and more than qualified for that scene
"Never underestimate the power of denial", American Beauty