Without the first and third movies in the trilogy, this movie would probably seem like a better flick. But considering how strong the movie began and how it finished even stronger, it is natural that there was a lull in the middle. It reminds me of the Empire Strikes Back--certainly not as exciting at the first Star Wars picture they made and not as satisfying as the conclusion because nothing was particularly resolved in the flick.

This movie concerns the transformation of Mifune from a young samurai warrior to a COMPLETE samurai. In other words, he is learning that there is more to being a samurai than just being able to beat others in combat. Exactly what this ideal samurai is to be seems uncertain, however Mifune is convinced by the end of the movie that there is no room on this path for the beautiful and ever faithful Ostu. Poor Otsu! It is important to note that these movies were made nearly 50 years ago and existing copies on DVD are in poor condition--with fading and sepia tones instead of the vibrant original. This became VERY apparent when I saw the beginning of the 3rd film. The color was nearly perfect for the initial scene and that is great, as it's a beautiful and extremely artistic shot. At times throughout the movie, some of the scenes are once again vivid while others are faded and lose their impact. You can't blame the film for that, but you wish Criterion would try to digitally enhance the prints they've got to improve the colors and get rid of some scratchy cels.

The great cast that was in Musashi Miyamoto, the first part of this samurai trilogy continues in the second part with a few additions.

By this time Musashi Miyamoto has been on the road for three years and is still learning. The most important lesson as a Samurai will not be learned until the film is almost over. Another important lesson comes quickly after that, and it will interesting to see how it plays out in the final part.

In the opening Musashi Miyamoto is doing battle with a samurai similar to our buddy Hanzo. They are the only two I have ever seen use chains.

After this he heads to Kyoto to do battle with the best in the capital, and also to get himself mixed up with the two women who are in love with him.

Love, fickleness, treachery, rape, revenge, honor, and great sword fighting all have a place in this magnificent film.

The amazing cinematography and scenery also place an important part.

This is truly a samurai classic.

"Miyamoto Musashi" was already a great movie but this movie is even a better one on basically every front.

This movie is part of a real trilogy, that follows one story and one main character. It's therefore also best to watch these 3 movies in a row, to appreciate it best. All 3 movies closely follow each other, in which the first movie is being really used as a movie to set up things, while this second movie is mostly being used to build up to its climax that will occur in the third movie.

This time the movie flows better because the story gets used better as well. Like mentioned earlier, the first movie was still being mostly a setup movie for the series. In this movie we actually get to see more epic moments and fights, as it follows the further travels of Musashi Miyamoto, on his way to become a master-swordsman. Its story and different characters all work out nicely, as things also gets developed more, with its drama and romance.

There are a couple of really great fight sequences, of course mostly featuring Toshirô Mifune. It makes the movie often exciting to watch, as does the overall look for the movie. The movie benefits from its beautiful natural environments, as well as some nicely done studio work. Using color wasn't quite that common yet for '50's Japanese cinema, since it was quite costly and not as advanced yet as in the western world. However color had always worked out nicely for these three movies and it helps to make the movie a really great looking one. You also have to give credit for this to the movie its cinematography, done by Jun Yasumoto, who strangely enough worked on just the first two movies but didn't shot the third and final one.

A movie that really has everything in it.

9/10

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