Three Outlaw Samurai (1964)
Three Outlaw Samurai (1964), directed by Hideo Gosha.
When peasants kidnap a nobleman's daughter and threaten to kill her unless their demands are met -- something about starvation -- the focus is on three ronin who happen to be on hand:
Shiba: just passing through, decides to stay and sides with the peasants.
Sakura: the affable farmer's son, released from jail to fight Shiba, but joins him instead.
Kikyo: cynical hanger-on at the court, comes on board only at the end.
There are so many other characters and factions that I lose track of them. Plenty of sword-fighting and realistic brawling. We have the growing theme of disobedience to authority, and even more than in Kurosawa, nobility is drained from the samurai classes. The long-focus photography looks much like that director's.
The women have a hard time of it: Japanese cinema often sneaks in bondage scenes. Even our hero Shiba takes a masochistic beating while roped up.
Combined orchestral score and traditional instruments.
I have read that this is a theatrical prequel to a television series of the same name.
Criterion Blu-ray.
