Samurai Reincarnation

From the director of ‘Battle Royal’ comes this 1981 fantasy, presented in a stunning 2K restoration and on Blu-ray for the very first time in the UK. Based on a series of popular Manga novels, with characters and plotlines based on historical figures and events, SAMURAI REINCARNATION is most certainly not your average Samurai flick, what with its unusual setup, supernatural demons and outrageous visuals.

Opening with a battlefield scene (drenched in vivid colours like the rest of the film), we are presented with a grisly scenario depicting countless beheaded corpses. One of the victims is Amakusa Shiro (Kenji Sawada) and through voiceover we learn that he and his fellow victims were Christian martyrs who, during a battle lasting 90 days, were massacred by the Tokugawa clan during the Shimabara Rebellion in the first half of the 17th century. Leader Shiro and his followers, all Japanese Roman Catholics, decided to stage an uprising against the Shogunate and were defeated. No wonder that Shiro, who not only lost his head but obviously his faith in God, strikes a pact with the dark forces below. During a ceremony held by the triumphant Tokugawa clan, his body is fully restored and he creates havoc. Of course, there’s a much bigger plan on the horizon, namely recruiting either dead or almost dead swordsmen and other individuals with the aim of unleashing utter mayhem across the provinces and finally, infiltrating the shogun’s castle at Edo.

His first ‘recruit, however, is not a swordsman but Lady Gracia Hosokawa (Akiko Kana), the betrayed wife of a powerful Samurai who despised her for her Christian beliefs. Now in a decomposed state, Shiro reincarnates her as a seductive female demon by the name of Akechi Otama. Next up is Miyaoto Musashi (Ken Ogata), a legendary yet unfulfilled swordsman who is about to join Shiro’s gang of the Undead. Then there is Hozoin Inshun (Hideo Murota), a Buddhist monk who is prepared to repress earthly desires in order to fight for Shiro’s cause. What’s particularly clever are the brief flashback sequences depicting each of the character’s stories before they died and why they died. Things get more complex when Tajima (Tomisuro Wakayama), the terminally ill arch-rival of Musashi, desperately tries to nip Shiro’s plans in the bud but before he can succeed, he succumbs to his illness… and soon joins the netherworld of the demons. Which brings us to Jubei Mitsuyoshi (Sonny Chiba), Tajima’s one-eyed son (sporting a medieval eye patch). Soon, Jubei not only discovers that his late father secretly paid respected swordsman Muramasa (Tetsuro Tamba) to forge a sword with which demons can be killed (obviously before he himself turned into one) but the son now needs to find said weapon and the swordsman!

As the action unfolds, so do the subplots – for example when a young ninja called Kirimaru (Hiroyuki Sanada), a friend of Jubei’s, is saved by Shiro after his village is massacred by the rival Koga ninja clan. Although Kirimaru is resurrected as a demon he is in love with the human Omitsu - but when Shiro urges him to rape her so his descent into evil is complete, the ninja is unable to go through with his unsavoury ‘task’.
Then there is a bloody conflict between exploited farmers and the Shogunate demanding higher taxes need to be paid in order to finance a lavish hunting party – culminating in an almighty bloodshed with some of the rioting farmers executed and crucified on a hill (a particularly grisly spectacle). We also get a fair bit of steamy sex and nudity throughout (hence the film’s 18 Cert), thanks to the interaction between the resurrected Lady Hosakawa (now Otama) and the smitten Shogun Tokugawa Ietsuna (Noboru Matshuhashi) whom she seduces after the demons managed to infiltrate the Shogunate at Edo Castle. Later on, Otama/Hosokawa – increasingly insane and reminiscent of Lady Macbeth – takes Ietsuna hostage while the peasant’s uprising continues. The stage is set for a Grand Guignol-style showdown, culminating in a fight between Jubei and Shiro, although beforehand we witness a father versus son duel when the resurrected Tajima attempts to fight his own flesh and blood for one last time…

The entire film is a feverish rollercoaster ride dipped in bright colours and interspersed with hallucinatory fight sequences. Casting Kenji Sawada who, at the time of filming, was a successful Japanese rock star, in the role of the bitter and evil Amakuso Shiro was not doubt a bold decision. However, it paid off because Sawada, although he does look like a glam rock star with his make-up and androgynous appearance, convinces. In contrast, we get a more subdued performance from Sonny Chiba as Jubei and his constrained performance works extremely well here.

Kiyoshi Hasegawa’s cinematography screams ‘Manga’ throughout and is perfect for capturing the on-screen mayhem in an imaginary way. Although the restored picture looks superb it’s a shame that the uncompressed original Japanese audio is only in mono. As a special Bonus we get a brand new audio commentary by Tom Mes; brand-new interview with filmmaker Kenta Fukasaku (son of the director); original Japanese trailer plus Collector’s booklet. As often with Eureka, the first print run of 2000 copies are presented in a Limited Edition O-card slipcase.