Orochi (1925) - Final Sword fight scene

Here's the final sword fight of Orochi, a obscure 1925 samurai film by forgotten director Buntaro Futagawa featuring star Tsumasaburo Bando.
It story concern a unlucky samurai who fall from grace due to various misunderstandings and tries to save his reputation. It's ending makes it different than what we are used to.

It's interesting how it feels like they're trying to capture a wild animal. The whole village is there, scared to death of a single, desperate and crazy-acting man. The battle ends when he kills someone in the crowd. Viewed as a monster by everybody, it is actually the first time he kill someone and can't take it.

Japanese films of the 1920s are almost nonexistent these days due to earthquake, fire and other hazards which have destroyed much of Japan's silent legacy. Orochi is a very rare kind which survived in complete form to these days.

Though it is not exactly a masterpiece (but it is very enjoyable) it's historical importance and uniqueness status can't be overstated; it's a rare chance to enjoy a certain kind of cinema.

The voice you hear is a benshi, a traditional silent film narrator of Japan. This track was recorded for the Digital Meme's DVD release. Thanks to them, this film now can be viewed anywhere in the world.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• Japan
• silent
• film
• 1925
• Orochi
• Tsumasaburo
• Bando
• Digital
• Meme
• sword
• fight
• Serpent
• Snake
• Chambara
• Samurai

[Bretzel42]

is this the original cut ?

I wonder because how is it possible to have all theses fast-cuts at 5:00 ? I didn't know this kind of film editing was already in use in 1925...that's kinda crazy to me.. like the director was a precursor or something.

[Saturnome]

@Bretzel42 Russian and French films were shown in Japan at this period, which have probably influenced some directors. There isn't many films using rapid cutting prior to 1925 though, so it's still impressive!

[Chub4ChubsRule]

there was rapid cutting in mid 20's japanese cinema? wow! I wonder if maybe the director influenced by French or Russian films of the time?

[Saturnome]

Sure! Foreign films were very popular, and there is many evidence of well known films from various countries shown in Japan.

[EduarquiRJ]

I'm grateful for your sharing of this fabulous scene, thanks forever"

[Bretzel42]

@CoryTheRaven Yea I know that, it's just the style ("rapid cutting" like saturnome said)  that I find surprising.

[CoryTheRaven]

@Bretzel42 The term "cut" in film comes from how they would literally cut the film strip and tape it together in the sequence they wanted. Nowadays, editing is all done digitally, just like the filming. For most of movie history it was all mechanical. So yes, they had the technology to cut film back then ^_^

[firefry1]

can anyone link me to where i can get the full movie please?

[Eikinkloster]

what does the narrator say??

[wcbombers21]

jaja that asian dude put in some work! if he was the bad guy i give him props he had skills!!

[RobDohChannel]

Dynasty warriors? 

[honeybadger81]

@Bretzel42 This is pretty amazing footage. I bet not too many people are aware of this movie, and the level of quality here. It frankly looks great as an action movie (action tragedy?) even to a modern eye... If someone were to show this at a movie festival, I bet it would cause quite a stir.

I realize it's a little bit of a touchy subject on the internet, but are the film rights public by now? Or does someone still hold the artistic rights to this?

[xxNELLABOYZxx]

LMAO it's like watching a group of army ants teaming up on a large beetle.