Over a very long, very busy career, Fukasaku Kinji played within a surprising variety of genre spaces, and handily proved that he excelled in all of them. It therefore comes as little surprise that this 1981 flick is striking and engrossing right from the start as it sits of the intersection of dark fantasy and horror with action and adventure. Between the genres at hand, the period setting, and optimal production years, we're greeted with all the splendor we could want in the visuals: absolutely gorgeous production design and art direction, fetching and detailed costume design, hair, and makeup, smart use of lighting and shadow, beautiful filming locations, outstanding practical effects and special makeup, and excellent stunts, fight choreography, and action sequences. Where post-production visuals are employed they are on par with those of contemporary fare, which is to say they are not totally seamless, but for the sparing and careful manner in which they are utilized they look better than more modern and more proliferate computer-generated imagery has commonly been able to claim. Few features in all the years hereafter, with all the advances in digital technology, can boast of the richness which titles like 'Samurai reincarnation' possess with its fabulous tangible creations, and by this measure alone it's a joy.
As Fukasaku directs from his own adapted screenplay, co-written with Nogami Tatsuo, we are assured of quality storytelling in a tale of evil forces aligning in hatred, vengeance, manipulation, and madness against the Tokugawa shogunate and its allies. I do rather believe that the execution suffers from troubled pacing, for no few scenes represent a pause in plot development in a fashion that impacts the momentum of the narrative and its grim energy; at the same time, some beats would have benefited from more lingering treatment to expand upon them. Yet the plot is most definitely compelling and absorbing, and plainly horrific and disturbing at no few points, and the scene writing in and of itself is magnificently strong in bringing the harsh flavors to bear. Pacing aside Fukasaku's direction is indeed firm and reliable, sustaining a stark, bleak vibrancy about the proceedings that scarcely loses any punch even through those points that are subjectively weaker. Meanwhile, though individual actors may not stand out so much overall except for their prominence in a given moment, all involved give superb performances befitting the sordid saga and the violence involved; Sonny Chiba and Sawada Kenji get the most time on-screen as the chief protagonist and antagonist, but everyone has a time to shine, and they invariably do.
The original music of Yamamoto Hozan and Kanno Mitsuaki is a terrific complement for the proceedings, unexpectedly dynamic as the tone shifts ever so slightly from wicked and dreary to dramatic and tragic. Never is this more true than at the extended climax, where Fukasaku's irregular gift for stunning spectacle rears its head in the best of ways. With sharp editing and cinematography bolstering any given sequence, and more generally great audio, image quality, and production values, when all is said and done the result may have some imperfections, but there can scarcely be any arguing with how marvelous the picture is at large. I anticipated liking it, all factors considered, and it's as solid and entertaining as I had hoped. Unless one is a huge fan of someone involved I wouldn't go so far as to say this fully demands viewership. Yet as a darkly fantastical genre blast from an esteemed filmmaker, with recognizable stars and fine craftsmanship across the board, there's not much going wrong here. Any criticisms one may level are fairly minor in the long run, and being so well made and enjoyable as it is, I'm pleased to give 'Samurai reincarnation' my recommendation.
