Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

Catangro After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

Casey Duggan It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Deanna There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Patrick McCoy Samurai Banners (1969) is Hiroshi Inagaki's, know for The Samurai: Musashi Miyamoto trilogy, crowning achievement-a nearly three hour historically based epic starring Toshiro Mifune as a ronin determined to achieve greatness in his new clan by uniting Japan under one ruler. The story is based on a novel adapted by Shinobu Hashimoto (Rashomon and Seven Samurai) and takes place in the Sengoku warring period 1500-1600. At the time it was the most expensive Japanese film produced with several massive fight scenes that must have been expensive to stage. It immediately calls to mind Akira Kurosawa's two late samurai epic masterpieces Kagemusha and Ran. I wonder why he wasn't involved in the project that was made with his former leading man and the script writer of his greatest triumphs. Nonetheless, Inagaki with cinematographer Kazuo Yamada has created a stylish, colorful, and dynamic film.

MartinHafer It should be noted that this DVD was about 20 minutes shorter than the time listed on IMDb. I assume that a bit of it was trimmed for the American and Canadian DVD release. While this is regrettable, the DVD producers fortunately decided not to dub the film but presented it with subtitles--something far preferable to most cinemaniacs.As for the film, it's a historical drama about Shingen Takeda's attempt to conquer medieval Japan. In particular, it focuses on his right hand man, Kansuke Yamamoto (Toshirô Mifune), who doggedly pushed his master (Takeda) to be very cunning and amoral in his pursuit of power. Yamamoto was a great strategist and he and Takeda were of one mind during most of the film. Only later in the film does Takeda try his own plan.Along the way, a headstrong princess is captured. While Yamamoto was always loyal, it seemed as if unresolved sexual tension existed between him and the princess. Yamamoto's fanatical loyalty to her and her son were evidence of his attraction to her--particularly when he could have sided with Takeda's wife.While there is some of the film concerns life behind the scenes, much of it had to do with one battle after another as well as showing details of the battle plans in the later battles. All this makes the film great for military strategists and people who love war films, but it also makes the film a bit stale--taking away some of the heart of the film. Frankly, after a while I found myself really respecting the film for its attention to detail but also feeling disconnected as a result of all the battles. I also think that if you are very, very well-versed with medieval Japanese history this all might be a bit more interesting. I have more knowledge than 99% of the Americans that might watch this film since I have been a history teacher, but some of the subtleties of the film still eluded me. Because of this, it's important to watch the included "program notes" BEFORE you see the film. I did, however, like the arrow in the eye near the end.Overall, a very well made but standard war picture. If you love war films (and I don't), you'll enjoy this one. If not, then it might be a bit of a chore to watch--especially since it's about three hours long.

chaos-rampant For the whopping 2 hours and 45 minutes it lasts, Samurai Banners really has little to recommend it. Long movies are fine if that's how much it takes to communicate what you have to say, but there's a good 45 minutes here that could have been clipped and it would still be the same movie.Furin Kazan (as is the original title) was the name of the war banners used by one of the greatest warlords of 16th century Japan, Takeda Shingen, lord of the Takeda clan. The name is derived from Sun Tzu's famous book "Art of War", meaning "Swift as the Wind, Silent as a Forest, Fierce as Fire and Immovable as a Mountain". The movie recalls the early years of Takeda leading up to the defining battle of Kawannakajima. If the name is familiar, that's because it's the same character depicted by Tatsuya Nakadai in Akira Kurosawa's Kagemusha (there in his later years). Indeed, coming near the end of a prolific career, in many ways this is Hiroshi Inagaki's Kagemusha.Where SB falters is that it spends far too much time in namesdropping and planning battles than it does in actually showing them. Lots of build-up but little as far as spectacle goes. A mixture of politics, war strategy, romance and drama, this jidai-geki desperately calls for something to spice things up. The battle scenes are few and far between and really not very well choreographed. The final battle scene is particularly anti-climactic, more so after the massive built-up that leads to it. There's nice use of colours in banners and some beautiful exterior shots but much like Kagemusha, it feels like a dress rehearsal for a better movie. The extras seem to be going through the motions instead of giving it their all. Unlike Kagemusha though, this one doesn't have the deep character drama to go with it. Fortunately for us and perhaps the only thing that holds things together, is the typically fantastic Toshiro Mifune giving another solid performance. Playing Takeda Shingen's right hand, an ambitious man with dreams of a big, unified Japan under Takeda's banner, he's consistently great. Of course he doesn't do anything he hasn't done better under Kurosawa's direction, but he's always a pleasure to watch.

weber One of the best samurai epics. "Furinkazan" tells the story of the 16th century warlord Takeda Shingen and his loyal general Yamamoto Kansuke (Mifune Toshiro) embedded in the story of the Takeda clan's rise to power. Outstanding sets, costumes and Sato Masaru's rich soundtrack make the drama highly enjoyable.