pandmervin Saw movie nearly 30 years ago, actually forgot title, and had to search for it based on what I remembered. Based on what I remember, Glen was hired by agents of the Traditional brother to transport (smuggle) a sword into Japan, a sword which was one of two of a matching pair originally owned by their father prior to WWII. The Businessman brother already had control of one of the swords and wants it's twin. The Tradionalist Samari brother wants to unite both swords but only in the context of what they stand for. The action begins with the arrival of Glen in Japan and the blood feud between brothers opens into all out conflict. I think one of the best action scenes is when Mifune declares his acceptance of Glen when he utters,"...5 days!" What's unique is that the evil brother, the businessman, will stop at nothing to get the sword. However, he kills one of his own assassins for interfering in a one-on-one fight between he and his brother.

FlashCallahan Rick, a down-and-out boxer, is hired to transport a sword to Japan, unaware that the whole thing is a set up in a bitter feud between two brothers, one who follows the traditional path of the samurai and the other a businessman. Rick undertakes samurai training from the other brother, and joins his cause. He also becomes romantically involved with the samurai's daughter.When you watch this, for some reason you cannot help but think about The Last Samurai. A 'foreigner' joins a group, shut out from the world, and learns and gradually respects their ways.Other than that, its a fairly brutal movie, but unfortunately, due to Glenn being miscast, the film fails on many levels. Glenn is a great actor, but an action star he is not, and when you see him running during set pieces, its laughable.Mifune is their because he adds a little gravitas, and the other brother wears a suit because hey! It's a sign of the times.Many have stated that this is a fantastic movie, and it appears to have a cult following, it a decapitation cannot justify this status.And the supposedly powerful death with the chap in the wheelchair, is sadly hilarious.Watch Enter The Ninja instead, at least its a little tongue in cheek.

cvoci-1 This is a captivating picture that is deeper that your average martial arts picture. This is a story of honor and culture that takes no prisoners.Scott Glenn starts out as a down and out boxing trainer who gets caught up in a plot to smuggle a samurai sword into Japan. During this film he goes from a washed up slob to an warrior steeped with honor.Toshiro Mifune is such a presence here, simply riveting performance as the teacher who turns Scot Glen into the warrior.The film has such a minimal feeling, filmed in quieter parts of Japan, not in the glitz of the Ginza. The only extravagance it the ultra modern office building where the final scenes take place.There is violence, lots of it, but none of it is gratuitous. It is part of the story. From the beginning with the hijacking of the handicapped van (where they throw one of the couriers out of the back to the office scene at the end...and what a scene it is. Scot Glen and his nemesis (Mifune's evil brother) go at it with two samurai swords. In a large office suite they slash and pummel each other like you can't believe, including usage of staple gun into one's forehead, the knocking down of a very large wall unit, and electrocution via a power cord ripped out of a computer terminal. And of course the final devastating blow at the end where Scot Glen kills his opponent by splitting his head in half.The final scene where Scott Glen emerges from the office bloodied and battered presents the two swords (finally united as a pair)to Mifune, who nods in recognition - talk about saying a million things without saying a word - such power! I first saw this on cable in 1983 and have loved it ever since. It is compact, taught and unflinching. We learn about Japanese culture regarding honor and tradition and how one can redeem themselves and earn honor and respect. A great piece of film making especially the Stephen Segal martial arts choreography.

iowahawk127 No one should except to see an Oscar worthy film here, but this movie simply ran with the standard "white man learns to love Asian culture" script, and it doesn't even pull that off well. Everything Scott Glen/"Rick" learns to love about Japan is just a cliché. Instead of showing the American audience what there is to love about Japanese culture (which could fill 16 hours, easy), we're reduced to stereotyped figures and situations.I love Toshiro Mifune, and it pained me to see him have to dull his acting and swordplay in this film to suit the rest of the cast. Scott Glen is about as good of an action hero here as Ben Aflect is in "Dare Devil"... and that's bad. I normally like Mifune and Glen, even in his bad movies, but this time it was just painful."The Last Samurai" was successful where this turkey flopped- it explored the differences between two cultures that were clashing. It did this by refusing to boil everything down to simple stereotypes, as "Sword of the Ninja"/"The Challenge" did.By the way, where was the ninja? I counted a few Bushido warriors (samurai), but no ninja. Hmmmmm... "Crap Storm" is a nice title...