Musashi on Film

[Word-san]

I just this second finished watching the final film of "The Samurai Trilogy," the films based upon the "Musashi" series by Yoshikawa.

Brilliant stuff, an excellent, deep role for Toshiro Mifune, and some sweet swordfighting (I love watching Mifune, a practiced master, wield a blade). Now I just need to read the books...

Are there any other films based upon the life of Musashi?

[Ieyasu]

I think there are several Japanese television series that were done based on the whole Musashi legend.

Check out some of the video/dvd sites on the web, or your local high-brow video store. If you have any Japanese bookk/video shops anywhere close by, they should certainly have something on the matter.

[Idaho]

I really need to find a good retailer in London. Might have a shuffle around town this weekend.

Has anyone seen 'Tonari no Totoro'? I don't know the English name, something like 'Nearby Totoro' I guess. It's a really nice kids animation film - and the Japanese is really easy in it.

[Word-san]

In English it's called "My Neighbor Totoro."

It's one of Miyazaki Hayao's beautiful films. Disney now own English-language distribution rights to all of his films, and they have done high-quality dubbing jobs (with star casting) with all of them. They most recently released Miyazaki's latest, and one of my favorite films of last year, "Princess Mononoke" on video (but the DVD ain't out yet...grrr...so no widescreen!). This film is a must-see for fans of Japanese history, as it's a fantasy version of the past (roughly the Tokugawa era), with brilliantly redesigned architecture, clothing, weaponry, and more.

You need to see everything by Miyazaki, as he's an anime master. Also look for "Kiki's Delivery Service," "Laputa: Castle in the Sky," and "Nausicaa: Valley of the Wind." All are incredible.

Here is the IMDB's complete lists of his films, with titles in Japanese and English.
http://us.imdb.com/Name?Miyazaki,+Hayao

Has anyone seen the extremely funny Taiwanese animated film called "Grandma and her Ghosts"? ("Mofa ama" in orig.) If you like Miyazaki, you'll love this hilarious, clever, soulful film.

[Ieyasu]

Princess Mononoke was a brilliant piece of work, wasn't it? And though it took place in a historical context, it was timeless and perhaps even a bit modern/fantasy in its telling/style. Miyazaki's work is wonderful... I've seen all those as well, though I haven't heard of "Grand-ma and her Ghosts". They just ran "Laputa" on the big-screen here last month during an animation festival. Missed it, but saw it three times on tape. Beautiful.