Gojuman-nin no isan (1963)

Mifune could direct, who knew?

Legacy of the 500,000 sees legendary actor Toshirō Mifune both in front and behind the camera for the first and only time in his career, taking elements from Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness and crafting a fun little treasure-hunting adventure with darker undertones. Mifune's level of technical prowess is genuinely remarkable and something he seems very passionate about, with plenty of impressive shots and making great use of being shot on location in the Philippines, it feels less like a big studio film and more like an independent B-movie. The performances from the entire cast are all solid, Mifune is the star so obviously gets the most screen time but it's time he happily shares alongside his co-stars. While the photography by Takao Saitō was genuinely lovely for the entire runtime, utilising the B&W Tohoscope format to great effect, choosing to transition between scenes with Flash Gordon / Star Wars-esque wipes was certainly a choice. Nipping along at a fast pace, Legacy of the 500,000 is a genuinely great and highly enjoyable little film, more than showing what Mifune was capable of had he chosen to spend just as much time behind the camera as he did in front of it and for that reason alone it's worth a watch.

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