Shikonmado - Dai tatsumaki

"Whirlwind" is much more than just another Samurai film starring Toshiro Mifune. I have seen many samurai films, but Whirlwind is outstanding. It has one of the most intricate plots of any film in the genre, characters with real emotional depth and complexity across the board (this level of characterisation is often reserved for the hero in samurai films, but rarely applies to lesser characters), and wonderful cinematography. It is also a relatively rare example of a sequel that surpasses the first; it carries on from where Daredevil in the Castle left off. However, it is not necessary to see Daredevil first in order to understand what is going on. The tragedy is that this film has not received the recognition it deserves in the West in the form of a DVD release. Toshiro Mifune is excellent as ever, but the rest of the cast also deliver a very high standard. If you like samurai films, and you haven't seen Whirlwind, you should be prepared to sell your own grandma if necessary to secure a copy.