The movie runs out of plot and jokes well before the end of a two-hour running time, long for a light comedy.

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Watched Three Outlaw Samurai Starring Tetsuro Tamba(Harakiri) as Sakon Shiba, Isamu Nagato(Hissatsu) as Kyojuro Sakura, Mikijiro Hira(Gyangu Domei) as Einosuke Kikyo , Yoshiko Kayama (18 Who Cause A Storm) as Oyasu and Kyoko Aoi(Akistu Springs) as Omitsu , Kamatari Fujiwara(The Hidden Fortress) as Jinbe and Hisashi Igawa(Shiro To Kuro) as The Magistrate. The Film was great Characterization and each had a clear motive was fantastic also The Swordplay was excellently choreographed and The Camera work was phenomenal The story was great as well Glad Rian Johnson is Using this as A Template For The Last Jedi this rivals any Akira Kurosawa film also Fantastic Score by Toshiaki Sakai(Ninja Hunt),Cinematography By Tadashi Sakai(Blazing Sword) and Direction from Hideo Gosha Rivals Any Akira Kurosawa Film 9/10

Hideo Gosha got his start on television. His biggest hit was Three Outlaw Samurai, and in 1964 he got the chance to direct a prequel to that series with this, his first theatrical film. Tetsuro Tanba plays a wandering samurai who comes upon a hostage situation involving three peasants who have kidnapped the daughter of the local magistrate. The peasants of the district are being treated very poorly and are starving. Tanba sees that these guys aren't bad (the girl, Miyuki Kuwano, is unharmed) and decides to help them stand up to the magistrate. Among the men the magistrate hires to dispatch of the samurai and the peasants are Isamu Nagato and Mikijiro Hira, who will both switch sides and join up with Tanba eventually. Gosha's direction is impressive and the black and white cinematography is gorgeous. Occasionally the story is confusing and could be communicated a bit better, but for the most part it's not difficult to follow. The ending in particular is fantastic. I'd love to see some of the original series, but unfortunately it's lost.

Gosha was the Don Siegel of Japan, an artist of action, a poet of mêlée. So it is with this newly restored early picture of his, now available from Criterion in blazing black and white. Typical sam fare: clunky plot, great sword work, cool flourishes (like blowing dust giving mythic quality to climactic duel, or the use of blood to punctuate kills, never overdone but extremely dramatic.) Extremely enjoyable, it turns out to be an "origins" tale in which we learn how the three outlaws (if Japanese TV fame) came together. Briefly, seems wandering ronin decides to throw in with peasant reformers who've kidnapped magistrate's daughter for leverage on tax reform, and one way or other, the two others come to his side and ultimately they face off in duels and battles with magistrate's own ronin, soldiers, various thugs and creeps. Lots of racing, slicking, sword fighting in flip-flops and bathrobes. What did somewhat shock me was the utter disregard the movie shows for women. They are used up and tossed aside like Kleenex, with no regret or mourning or much in the way of grief. At least three are murdered or commit suicide, and two more dumped. I know this is emblematic of Japanese society in early '60s, but even so, it seems a little overdone here. I don't like to judge then by the standards of now, but even if gals were objects in '64, by those standards Gosha goes a bit overboard.

after watching Gosha's other movies, my curiuosity for other samurai films made me buy this movie, first of all, I like the main character on this film the masterless samurai character, he was in Harakiri, and maybe goyokin nakadai's brother in law/ nemesis, anyway,the movie has some humor on it, has some great swordplay, I recomended this film because it is not all drama like samurai assassin and rebellion, there's alot of talking, until the last 5 minutes of the film