This is one of many samurai movies starring the great Toshiro Mifune. Here, he plays wandering swordsman Mohei, who is accepted by the Toyotomi clan in Osaka. Conflict erupts when the Osaka Castle is attacked by the opposing Tokugawa clan.

Even for a movie made in the early 1960s, the cinematography and special effects were realistic and believable, really capturing the intensity and trauma of war. The samurai action illustrates the courage and skills of Mohei and the love subplot between Mohei and Ai (Kyôko Kagawa) blends together with the plot well, enhancing the drama of the film.

It's not the most exciting or edge-of-your-seat material, but does give you a hour and a half of worthy entertainment.

Grade B.

Surprisingly unknown, Osaka-jo monogatari (Daredevil in the Castle) (1961) is undeserving of its anonymity. Ably directed by Hiroshi Inagaki, no stranger to samurai dramas, it tells the tale of an irascible ronin played to the hilt by Toshiro Mifune channeling his greatest hits (literally) who finds himself in the middle of the brutal power struggle between the Tokugawa and Toyotomi families after the Battle of Sekigahara, when the leadership of a newly unified Japan was very much an open question.

Joined by Kurosawa stalwarts Takashi Shimura and the sublime Kyoko Kagawa, the story is pretty stock but thoroughly entertaining and it moves along at an accelerated pace. While it doesn't break any new cinematic ground it's a grand way to spend an hour and a half. Worth digging for if you're a fan of classic samurai films.