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A Bloody Spear at Mount Fuji
A Bloody Spear at Mount Fuji
8.1
/10
212 Ratings

A BLOODY SPEAR AT MOUNT FUJI

Chiyari Fuji

Directed by Tomu Uchida
Japan, 1955
Drama, Adventure

Synopsis

Young samurai Kojuro makes the long journey to Edo, accompanied by his spear-carrier, Gonpachi, and servant – both loyal to a fault. A little boy convinces the gruff Gonpachi to let him tag along and learn the way of the spear. He is the first of many colourful characters they meet along the way.

Synopsis

Young samurai Kojuro makes the long journey to Edo, accompanied by his spear-carrier, Gonpachi, and servant – both loyal to a fault. A little boy convinces the gruff Gonpachi to let him tag along and learn the way of the spear. He is the first of many colourful characters they meet along the way.

Our take

This masterful parable of anti-violence was made at the height of Japan’s postwar reconstruction by the great Tomu Uchida, a filmmaker who ought to be better known in the West. Taking John Ford’s Stagecoach as its starting point, if you can resist that title, you’re made of stronger stuff than us.