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Buntarō Futagawa, 1925, for Tsumasaburō Bandō's company. Heizaburo, a low-rank samurai, is ruined by slander and becomes the kind of swordsman the town calls a serpent. The censors blocked the original title, Outlaw, and cut more than a fifth; Serpent, meaning the way Bandō moves, got through. BFI, listing Japanese films of 1925, singled out his performance and the last fight. Kabuki makeup, then editing that is faster than kabuki. The opening titles say a villain's name is not always a fact.
In one programme
Bandō's body is the film. Kabuki makeup, then cutting faster than kabuki, and a last fight the censors let through after taking a fifth of the picture. The title card warns you that a villain's name can be slander. Then the sword makes the case.
Cast & crew
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