The Life of a Chivalrous Man in Suruga: Broken Swords

Crime, History · 1964

The second film in the "Suruga yukyoden" series, in which Shintaro Katsu plays Jirocho Shimizu. The film features Omasa, Komasa, Ocho, who will become Jirocho's wife, as well as other members of his future family. There is a particularly great swordfight near the end where Katsu and cronies attack the rival villainous yakuza clan to rescue their ailing, elderly boss. The action choreography, cinematography and editing of this sequence is quite brilliant, treading a difficult tightrope act between genuinely goofy antics and exhilirating, bloody violence.

Starring

Kan Shimozawa, Kazuo Miyagawa, Shintarō Katsu, Yukiko Fuji, Tokuzō Tanaka, Hiroshi Mizuhara, Hajime Takaiwa, Akira Ifukube, Saburo Date

Director

Tokuzō Tanaka