Ambush at Blood Pass (1970)

aka: The Ambush: Incident at Blood Pass 

Having Toshirô Mifune reprise his Yojimbo character (if only in name) is the kind of thing that gets me jumping for joy. Add Shintarô Katsu (Zatoichi) to the mix and I'm somersaulting around the room. (If Tomisaburo Wakayama had been cast too I’d have literally exploded with glee.) Reluctant director Hiroshi Inagaki crafted a tight chess-like situation around the two men. The game board is an Inn at Sanshun Pass. Inagaki uses the frame well but he never over-stretches himself. Likewise, the characters never feel like more than pieces to be moved around as needed. Nevertheless, it’s a slow burning period piece that satisfies, but not in the way I’d expected.

3½ Eastern Westerns out of 5