... Mifune brings a sad, almost tragic quality to the samurai warrior Miyamoto, whose dedication proscribes him to a lonely life on the road.

Whether he is weeping, fighting, making love, [Toshiro Mifune] is consistent with the character of Musashi. As often as he is on the screen, you'll never have enough of him.

Mifune, the archetypal on-screen samurai, imbues his [performance] with nuanced internal conflict, self- loathing externalised with flailing violence and misdirected anger.

Ingaki does a nice job in blending together battle sequences with plot and character development.