The movie has some very visually striking moments, such as when Osumi and Ensai recover the relics. The story isn't one much of substance. It is a light-hearted adventure movie with magic and giant monsters. But it does have Osumi making friends with a group of Uighurs and helping them in their situation. As of today, this element gives the film an extra layer of political relevance. It's a stealth remake of 'Samurai Pirate' in some ways. It has the same witch and wizard as before, as well as Toshiro Mifune, Akiko Wakabayashi and Mie Hama. The witch and wizard aren't used much, but some of the things they do in the film are truly remarkable. My favourite part is when the witch disguises herself as the Queen to destroy Osumi in the Hell Pond, but the wizard has put Osumi under a sleeping spell to outwit her. This movie makes you wonder at first why Osumi keeps being Ensai's "slave" despite the fact that Ensai set him free. Then you realize that Osumi cares for Ensai no matter what. As the king said, "Here is a man with a pure heart".

This film stars actor Toshiro Mifune as a sword-wielding Japanese student named Osami. Here, a monk journeys down the Silk Road to find the relics of Buddha, where he meets Osami. The two travelers stumbled upon a conspiracy to overthrow the King in the Castle of Kigan. From there, it is an epic battle between Mifune & the local citizens against the evil rebels.

This movie is very colorful. The King's castle is full of beautiful designs, serene-looking scenery nice furniture and a vibrant atmosphere. The characters' costumes were gorgeous. The special effects were a little campy, but good all together. Godzilla producer Tomoyuki Tanaka returns to helm this film, as well as composer Akira Ifukube, who provided another haunting score. We get to hear strands of music reworked or reused by Ifukube from past monster movies in this film. The story is refreshing and the characters gave solid performances. The plot of how Mifune's character would go to any lengths and heights to help the monk demonstrates true human nature of goodness. This film also arouses the sympathy of the King, who has lost his trust on mankind, and suppresses his own Queen and the local villagers. Therefore, we get to see if the student and the monk can turn the King around with their acts of commitment and friendship.

This film also echos elements from an earlier Toho film, "The Lost World of Sinbad," which also stars Mifune. Both movies consist of a daring rescue-the-castle mission, and both movies portray a woman-loving wizard and an evil witch played by actors Ichiro Arishima and Eisei Amamoto. The two add magic and intriguing fun in this film, delivering an epic scene of good vs. evil. And, this movie features an all-star cast. In addition to Mifune, Arishima and Amamoto, it also stars Tadao Nakamaru, Akihiko Hirata, Tatsuya Mihasi, Makato Sato, Jun Tazaki, Yumi Shirakawa, Mie Hama and Akiko Wakabayashi.

The only problems I have with this movie are that the wizard and witch did not use their magic on screen enough, and the villagers and female leads were not emphasized enough. Other than that, this film is a good mixture of drama and comedy: the breathtaking journey of the monk trying to find Buddha's relics while avoiding rebel attacks, the daring rescue-the-castle mission, the wizardry magic and the action-packed climax all blend in to provide us a very entertaining feature.

Grade A-

An intelligent and elegant Japanese adventure film which has an epic feel and is full of watchable action and intrigue, this is a follow-up to SAMURAI PIRATES. The film boasts both strong characterisations and an excellent setting, with grand, impressive sets and interesting location work in the desert. Along with an appropriate score and some strong acting on the part of Japanese legend Toshiro Mifune, these factors help to combine to make THE ADVENTURES OF TAKLA MAKAN a highly enjoyable movie.

Once again the format of the film is of an epic journey with many dangerous and bizarre situations along the way. Our two friends - the monk and the warrior - find themselves caught up in some hard-edged battle scenes with black-clad warriors and befriend a wizard who is able to levitate at will and pops up to offer support and advice. Their bizarrest adversary is a swamp-dwelling witch, who can change form at will and whose head is cut off only to re-attach itself again! After these fairly innocuous incidents, the film becomes much more serious in the final third when the monk and the warrior are captured and imprisoned in the castle. The king demands a sacrifice and the warrior, nicknamed Osumi (or "I see" in English due to his favourite expression) has three days to deliver the ashes of Buddha to the correct people and return, or his monk friend will be burnt alive in the town square. Cue a surprising tear-jerking ending which reveals much about Osumi's character and friendship, plus a fair amount of suspense and a crowd-pleasing finale.

Toshiro Mifune shines as the mysterious loner hero, giving his role an extra depth that an otherwise less experienced actor would have failed to bring to the part. The rest of the cast are also very good, especially the secondary character of the monk and the guy playing the king. Some of the characters and special effects - especially those involving the witch - seem cheesy in today's light and are played for laughs but these don't spoil the mood of the film too much. And, as I said, in the final third it suddenly all becomes very sombre and epic in feel, not to mention gripping. This is a fine old-fashioned adventure yarn set against intriguing foreign backdrops in which characterisation and human drama come before action and effects, much to the film's strength.