The renowned Japanese swordsman, philosopher, and strategist Miyamoto Musashi once wrote in his classic philosophical and strategic manual The Book of Five Rings that “the only reason a warrior is alive is to fight, and the only reason a warrior fights is to win.”
Centering around a whopping 77 minute, single-take sword fight between the world-renowned samurai and 588 other swordsmen, Yuji Shimomura’s Crazy Samurai Musashi may be the first film to truly take that philosophy seriously. It’s an absolutely bonkers cinematic accomplishment, perhaps never to be outdone, and you absolutely have to see it for yourself.
Japanese action star Tak Sakaguchi plays Miyamoto Musashi, recently challenged by the Yoshioka clan to a ‘duel’ intended to lead him into a trap: rather than a mere dual, Musashi finds the entire clan waiting to kill him (along with an unnamed horde of mercenaries to boot). The clan’s goal is vengeance, but what they didn’t count on is Miyamoto Musashi being an unstoppable force of sword-slashing fury. Shot in one ever-moving single take, the marathon battle rivals any ever filmed, with talented cinematography and a geographic setting that allows enough mobility and choreographic flow to keep things interesting.
The plot and structure are understandably simple, but Tak Sakaguchi’s performance as the titular samurai is fully believable with well-executed action. There are a few breaks in the nonstop swordplay, merciful moments where a skirmish concludes and he can take a breath or two, but the role requires an admirable stamina from the lead actor alongside elaborate, expertly timed choreography. At times you can see the exhaustion on his face, certainly real exhaustion, and it adds such a realism to the performance it’s hard not to get lost in it.
The end result is a simple story—man meets sword, sword meets 588 angry warriors, 588 angry warriors meet the afterlife—but the technical accomplishments behind the film are impressive while the direction, lead performance, and choreography all deserve praise.
All that said, there is a dash of repetitiveness one can catch as an astute viewer: noting the repetition of the stunt men’s faces periodically, or the tactical rush of one opponent at a time, sword held high, which ends poorly for the opponent time and again. It’s a limitation of the film, but the alternative—hire 500+ individual stuntmen, each with fully unique tactics and choreography, all of which must be perfectly memorized and executed in a single 77 minute take— would be a nigh impossible feat that that few directors would attempt and likely none would land. Additionally, a few more breaks in the action to add character development and emotion could have raised the stakes and deepened audience engagement. All the same, the film is still a grand spectacle, one that must be seen to be believed.
At the end, its an impressive and novel experiment. It’s not entirely perfect, but yet it still stands out as an overall well-executed cinematic achievement on many levels, one that seriously raises the technical bar for action sequences and cinematic one-takes alike. The sheer fact it exists is practically miraculous, and it’s final scene (a conventionally filmed action sequence that follows the single take battle) is an excellent visceral fight featuring an older Musashi—a great note to end the film. The bottom line: if you’re a fan of high-paced action films like John Wick or 13 Assassins, or just an admirer of achievements in cinema, Crazy Samurai Musashi is for you.
Crazy Samurai Musashi screens at Fantasia Festival. It does not yet have US distribution.
