The Samurai Trilogy (Criterion Collection)

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The Samurai Trilogy, directed by Hiroshi Inagaki (The Rickshaw Man) and starring the inimitable Toshiro Mifune (Seven Samurai), was one of Japan's most successful exports of the 1950s, a rousing, emotionally gripping tale of combat and self-discovery. Based on a novel that's often called Japan's Gone with the Wind, this sweeping saga fictionalizes the life of the legendary seventeenth-century swordsman (and writer and artist) Musashi Miyamoto, following him on his path from unruly youth to enlightened warrior. With these three films-1954's Oscar-winning Musashi Miyamoto, 1955's Duel at Ichijoji Temple, and 1956's Duel at Ganryu Island-Inagaki created a passionate epic that's equal parts tender love story and bloody action.