Nemuri Kyôshirô: Enjôken (1965)

Nemuri Kyôshirô: Enjôken: Directed by Kenji Misumi. With Raizô Ichikawa, Tamao Nakamura, Michiko Sugata, Sanae Nakahara. This film of the sleepy-eyed ronin series has the red-haired swordsman on his way to the city of Edo when he comes across the scene of a woman in the midst of a knife fight with a man. When he reluctantly and with considered hesitation becomes involved, his intervention has him involved in a thieving plot involving the top official of the local Todo Clan and a plan to cover up a theft from a band of pirates.

“This is the fifth entry in the popular Sleepy Eyes of Death series starring Raizo Ichikawa as Kyoshiro Nemuri, Master of the Full-Moon Cut…and my first encounter with these films after having read about them for years. I was not disappointed. u0026quot;Sword of Fireu0026quot; is a surprisingly restrained effort from director Kenji Misumi, and thatu0026#39;s not a complaint: in fact, this just might be my favorite among the many Misumi films Iu0026#39;ve seen. (Strangely enough, u0026quot;Sword of Satanu0026quot;–the next film in the series–has much more of the bloody, garish ambiance usually associated with Misumi, though it was directed by Kimiyoshi Yasuda.) The story is compelling, racing along on greased wheels like the best hard-boiled detective novels, and the sword fights are satisfying if infrequent; the final confrontation, especially, is choreographed to graceful perfection against and within the backdrop of a massive, forbidding pagoda. As Kyoshiro Nemuri, Ichikawa is as dour and tight-lipped as his characteru0026#39;s reputation suggests, but Nemuri demonstrates that heu0026#39;s not quite the unprincipled rogue everyone believes him to be. Based on what Iu0026#39;ve seen so far, this is a high point in the series. If youu0026#39;re a fan of the Zatoichi and Lone Wolf u0026amp; Cub films, youu0026#39;ll want to own it. (Eight and a half stars.)”