Better than I thought

 Fuji TV Okehazama movie was better than I thought.  Even with its faults at times.  For example, Senshu Suetada and Sassa Masatsugu were portrayed as commanders at Fort Nakajima.  Actually, it was Kajikawa Takahide who was the commander of Fort Nakajima.  That being said, Sassa and Senshu's heads were presented to Yoshimoto after the failed raid.  Nobunaga was actually pissed when he found out that the two carried out the raid without his blessings.  The movie did a good job on that.

During the beginning of the movie, Nobunaga sings and dances to Atsumori before he leaves for the front.  Nobunaga is in armor, eats, and leaves for Atsuta Shrine with the few troops he has.  The movie goes back and forth between the battle and past events from Nobunaga's life.  I think they pulled it off.  However, I would like to have seen more of Yoshimoto's earlier beginnings.  Just my opinion.  The meeting between Dosan and Nobunaga was one of the better ones out there.  The two best are from the 1959 film Fuunji Nobunaga and Nobunaga King of Zipangu. After the meeting, Nobunaga and his men does a gun salute for Dosan as he departed at the riverbed.  

After Nohime finds out that her father is killed during the Battle of Nagaragawa,she tries to kill herself, but Nobunaga at the last minute saves her.  Then Nobuyuki rebels against Nobunaga, and eventually his is killed.  One scene that always shows up is when Nobuhide takes out his dagger and cuts his hand and wipes young Nobunaga faces with blood to remind him of war.  No doubt it came from King of Zipangu. Nice touch to the film.

Nobunaga is presented the intelligence from Yanada Masatsuna on Yoshimoto's whereabouts.  Then he said right before leaving the fort, "teki wa Okehazama ni ari."  The enemy is at Okehazama.  Hattori Koheita and Mori Shinsuke seem to play a role in the movie, but the gang who they with, who were they?  The Men of the Fields?  If so, why Hachisuka Koroku and Maeno Shoemon did not appear in the film?  The gang was equipped with rifles during the movie.

Now the rainstorm.  Great part was it was violent, historically true.  The lightning was also.  The lightning destroyed the Imagawa outposts and a good part of the camp.  I do not think Yoshimoto had and lookout posts since camp was set up hastily due to the nasty hot weather.  I liked it even thought the movie went a bit overboard on it.  Entertaining for sure.  After the rain stops, shots were fired, and Nobunaga attacks Yoshimoto's camp.  Battle scenes were great.  That being said, not as good as King of Zipangu. I was a bit disappointed that there were few horsemen out there.  Nobunaga and Shibata Katsuie.  Reality, there were more horsemen supporting the ground troops.  Yoshimoto tries to flee but his koshi is shot by Nobunaga.  Hollywood right there.  If you watched closely, the battlefield is more spread out than one thinks.  That is true from the latest historical research.  Due to the dead, the battlefield was more expansive than originally thought.  

Mori Shinsuke's finger is bitten off by Yoshimoto during the movie.  True and liked that part.  Nobunaga eventually kills Yoshimoto, but that part is Hollywood.  It was Mori Shinsuke who took Yoshimoto's head.  As wrote in my last post, there was a lot of blood during the film.  This was a television film, not a theater film.  Surprised and they pulled it off well.  I wish Matsui Munenobu appeared in the film. He was camped at Takaneyama for the Imagawa.  Would have loved to see the raid on the hill.

Overall, Fuji TV pulled it off.  It was so much better than Kirin ga Kuru. Fuji TV went all out without trying to please the younger crowd. Historically accurate.  Yes and no.  You are going to have to accept that some scenes are Hollywood.  Entertaining, absolutely with the great cast in the movie.

Nobunaga no tame!