Customer Reviews

Bandits vs Samurai Squadron

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Bandits is long, convoluted, dark and incredible. Gosha is the best director of these literary type, violent Japanese flics. He is also one of the top ten directors of all-time, in my opinion. Think: Godfather 2 Meets Samurai Swords.

This version, BTW, is not wide screen and the pan-and-scan doesn't do Gosha's vision justice. Thus, four stars.

Coming originally from TV, Gosha produced a flury of very literate, dark and bloody samurai masterpieces in the seventies/eighties. (He delved in the Yakuza world as well.) His vision is not small-screen and his sound design is extraordinary.

"Goyokin," has been released mainstream in this country. "Hunter in the Dark" is the one to track down (and hard to find a Wide Screen version that looks good.) Samurai Wolf 1 and 2 and Gosha's first flic - 3 Outlaw Samurai - are also great great experiences. In fact, any film Gosha has made is highly watchable: unique, bloody, complicated, masterful and human. He moves the camera well. He examines characters in detail. His stagings, and his fight cheoreography, are unique and very very visual.

Nakadai is featured in a lot of his films. Gosha also treats women very well, providing well-rounded and strong characters. There are several books which speak of Gosha's art - Alain Silver's being the best. Track the book down, track Gosha's films down. You will not be let down.

It is not the kind of the movie I would recommend to anyone who loves the samurai film genre. The ones who prefers the sterile romanticism of the type of the Tom Cruise movie possibly will hate it.This ones offers a bitter insight to the harsh realities of the Tokugawa era. It chiefly tells about sin and crime, and about human weaknesses. Death is not heroic, but cruel, gory and painful.But the story is very interesting and the swordplay is outstandingly remarkable. A masterpiece of the less known but very talented director Hideo Gosha.

Awful transfer, looks like it was made from VHS. "Damaged areas" on brand new disc as well...avoid this version! Hopefully Animeigo or another reputable company will release this very interesting film.