Mansaku Itami

Date Mosui, a young samurai, one day gets a scolding from a nameless ronin that sets him thinking about what life is all about and his ways of living.

Hiroshi Inagaki

Hôrô zanmai

larger than life samurai adventures

&quot;Horo Zanmai&quot; ( The Wandering Gambler ) was the first film directed by the Japanese director Herr Hiroshi Inagaki. The story is set in the turbulent period before the Meiji Restoration ( for this German Count this means nothing: since the German history of the last centuries is so complicated, you can imagine how difficult it is for this aristocrat to comprehend events of other far away countries... ) and tells the story of Mondo, a young and good-natured samurai ( a very bizarre combination... ) who is happily married with Tsuyu, and for that reason they soon have a child, Kotaro. 

When Mondo returns home from his job, that is to say, after having fought with other samurai in the vicinity, he discovers that his beloved wife has committed suicide; afterwards he learns that his wife was blackmailed because of a confidential letter and murdered by the son of the chief retainer ( Mondo&apos;wife left him not a suicide note but a dossier about that ). After getting revenge, Mondo lives a life of wandering together with his son, Kotaro. Herr Hiroshi Inagaki was later well-known for his large-scale period films and this debut has some characteristics of those films: larger than life samurai adventures with attention to costumes and fascinating landscapes, starring the sword action film star Chiezo Kataoka ( absolutely histrionic ). This German Count has the feeling that the film story is displayed helter-skelter for the running time of the film, 60 minutes, the director trying to depict intertwined stories in a hasty way; for that reason the film lacks some excitement, using for that purpose flashbacks and rapid and sometimes astonishing tricks and camera movements. 

This German count wants to appreciate the help of the male voice in the soundtrack ( a &quot;benshi&quot; ) who tells in Japanese the film story and voices effortlessly Mondo, Tsuyu, Kotaro and every samurai who appears in the film... 

And now, if you&apos;ll allow me, I must temporarily take my leave because this German Count must take off his kimono before visitors arrive at the &quot;Schloss&quot;.

Herr Graf Ferdinand Von Galitzien

"Horo Zanmai" ( The Wandering Gambler ) was the first film directed by the Japanese director Herr Hiroshi Inagaki. The story is set in the turbulent period before the Meiji Restoration ( for this German Count this means nothing: since the German history of the last centuries is so complicated, you can imagine how difficult it is for this aristocrat to comprehend events of other far away countries... ) and tells the story of Mondo, a young and good-natured samurai ( a very bizarre combination... ) who is happily married with Tsuyu, and for that reason they soon have a child, Kotaro. 

When Mondo returns home from his job, that is to say, after having fought with other samurai in the vicinity, he discovers that his beloved wife has committed suicide; afterwards he learns that his wife was blackmailed because of a confidential letter and murdered by the son of the chief retainer ( Mondo'wife left him not a suicide note but a dossier about that ). After getting revenge, Mondo lives a life of wandering together with his son, Kotaro. Herr Hiroshi Inagaki was later well-known for his large-scale period films and this debut has some characteristics of those films: larger than life samurai adventures with attention to costumes and fascinating landscapes, starring the sword action film star Chiezo Kataoka ( absolutely histrionic ). This German Count has the feeling that the film story is displayed helter-skelter for the running time of the film, 60 minutes, the director trying to depict intertwined stories in a hasty way; for that reason the film lacks some excitement, using for that purpose flashbacks and rapid and sometimes astonishing tricks and camera movements. 

This German count wants to appreciate the help of the male voice in the soundtrack ( a "benshi" ) who tells in Japanese the film story and voices effortlessly Mondo, Tsuyu, Kotaro and every samurai who appears in the film... 

And now, if you'll allow me, I must temporarily take my leave because this German Count must take off his kimono before visitors arrive at the "Schloss".

Herr Graf Ferdinand Von Galitzien

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Hôrô zanmai

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