MUSASHI: DREAM OF THE LAST SAMURAI BluRay Review

(It's a history documentary, but with some embellishments... with a script by Mamoru Oshii, but with some deletions...)

When the Japanese anime studio Production IG announced they were going to make a film about legendary swordsman Musashi Miyamoto, with a script by Mamoru Oshii no less, anticipation rose to a very high level. Musashi Miyamoto is a legend in Japan on par with Robin Hood, with Musashi having the advantage of actual historic proof of his existence. A warrior apparently unequaled in battle, Musashi wasn't above a dirty trick or two yet many of his opponents always seemed to have the advantage (at least until they were suddenly dead).

So what would Oshii do with this epic character?
Well, quoting from (link) Todd's review back in 2009, this is what Oshii wrote and what Production IG made: "...a highly specialized and very specific university lecture."

And I won't (cannot, even) argue with that. "Musashi: Dream of the Last Samurai" is an animated documentary, and woe the Musashi fan who stumbles into this expecting a "Ninja Scrolls" or even an anime version of "Twilight Samurai".

Any film will disappoint though when entered with entirely the wrong expectations. But if you go in knowing you're about to see a documentary, does this film still come up short?
You can now easily judge for yourself as Manga UK released "Musashi: Dream of the Last Samurai" last month on BluRay, and here is my review, both of the film and of the disc.


The Story:

Musashi Miyamoto is well-known with the general public through a plethora of popular media. A ronin with nearly supernatural skills, Musashi roamed the countryside defeating opponent after opponent in a dangerous and corrupt Edo-age Japan. But what about the man's general reputation is romantic misconception and how much (or little) is actually known as historical fact?
More to the point: why did Musashi keep boasting about his last fight with the Yoshioka school but did he never even mention his most famous duel ever, where he defeated the legendary Kojirō?


The Movie:

"Musashi: Dream of the Last Samurai" is directed by Nishikubo Mizuho who has some credit to his name in the samurai anime subgenre thanks to having helmed several episodes of the series "Otogi Zôshi". And indeed, "Musashi: Dream of the Last Samurai" is visually at its finest whenever it shows Musashi doing what he's known best for: pulping his enemies into mush using a variety of swords and wooden clubs. The film starts with a short "greatest hits" compilation of his most famous duels, which are shown as a silent (anime) movie complete with print damage, sepia coloring, a strobing projector and intertitles, and it looks great! Each of the duels in this compilation is later covered in more detail, using the same footage but now in full-color with fully synched sound. And again, these episodes look marvelous, amongst the best work that Production IG has ever delivered. It is therefore unfortunate that these scenes are few in number, totally bereft of any narrative (despite being narrated, ironically...) and rather too flashily embellished for the documentary they're supposed to be supporting.

Showing how Musashi used his sword skills is one thing, but showing him leap twelve feet straight up at the same time kind of undermines the sincerity of the theories being explained.

The bulk of the documentary is made up by footage of a cgi history professor explaining details about the era, the weapons, Musashi himself and historical evidence. Many things are shown through maps, mock-ups and pictures of books. And I don't mean pictures out of books, I mean pictures of the books themselves. At some point Nishikubo Mizuho decided this was not appealing enough so he threw in some slapstick humor as well, an unfortunate decision as at times this is distracting at best and borderline insulting at worst.

Mind you, even with all the time devoted to the professor explaining stuff you'd be well-advised to read the Musashi Miyamoto WIKI-page before watching the film. For starters this will put all the shown duels in proper context, and you will know what the professor is talking about. Getting back to my earlier comparison with Robin Hood: it's nice if you know who Maid Marian and the Sheriff of Nottingham were before people start telling you about the particulars of their clothing, or which bowstrings they preferred to use.

Reading back what I just wrote it seems that I'm slamming the film. That would be unfair of me as there sure is enough to enjoy, and provided you know what is being discussed the subject is actually rather interesting. On top of that the parts which do not grate look very good indeed and the movie has a killer soundtrack, with very interesting uses of music.


Conclusion:

If this was a single episode of a series of documentaries you'd probably want to check out the rest. As a standalone however, it is a curious piece of cinema indeed. Definitely not without merit, but make sure you know what you're in for: a 70-minute documentary. Nothing more, nothing less.


On to the BluRay:

When Manga UK does release a BluRay it is never a crummy one, and "Musashi: Dream of the Last Samurai" is no exception to their track record. The image is impeccable and the sound a solid DTS HD 5.1, whether you choose the Japanese or the English soundtrack. Do note that it seems to be coded for region B. Although you get a different error and there is no mention of any region-(in)availibility anywhere on the disc or the packaging the effect is the same: anyone with a region A player (mainly America, Canada, Japan) will not be able to play this disc.

Extras include the trailer, and a whopping 55-minute-long "making of" documentary. As is often the case it is not truly a "making of" but rather a "what we did", as nearly all people are interviewed after the film had already premiered. However, included are also several press conferences, original announcements and the Q&A directly before and after the premiere itself, and this is all enlightening stuff indeed! Several times the offices of anime studio Production IG are visited, and although any peek behind the scenes of that place is much welcomed, seeing the tarnished and damaged nameplate outside is somewhat sobering.
But the whole documentary is a treasure-trove of additional information. Money and funding are mentioned over and over again, and for a while it even seemed that production IG had made "Musashi: Dream of the Last Samurai" as a try-out pilot for (hopefully) a television series for the History Channel. The animators even confess that the whole composition and make of the visuals were aimed to be seen at home on the small screen instead of at the cinema. Also, Oshii himself reveals he'd love to write and direct a live-action Musashi Miyamoto (this time with a story) but doesn't because he cannot get any budget for it cleared. Damn! Funnily enough producer Mitsuhisa Ishikawa mentions that the idea for "Musashi: Dream of the Last Samurai" started from a conversation with Mamoru Oshii about how to make something that was commercially successful. Yes, read that sentence again after you've seen the film...

And as music is quite important in "Musashi: Dream of the Last Samurai", the "making of" dedicates some time to the famous Samisen player Takeharu Kunimoto (a total Harley Davidson nut who even carries his instrument in a Harley case) and the aging star Shigeru Izumiya who wrote the theme song. Both are stellar outside voices on this project, obviously surprised at the film being a documentary rather than a narrative, and especially Shigeru is hilarious. Both he and Oshii are not known to mince words, and their reactions at the end of the premiere are laugh-out-loud funny. Oshii raised all sorts of comparisons between Musashi and Leonardo da Vinci in his script, but these were removed by Nishikubo Mizuho and well, even this gets addressed, on stage and in public.

All in all a surprisingly candid view on this production and a very good extra. Kudos to Manga UK for including it!

So if you are a Musashi nut, an Oshii nut or just curious about this peculiar film, the BluRay from Manga UK is a solid release for a very reasonable price.
You can order this BluRay through our affiliate here:
Link to Manga UK's BluRay release of this title.