Inclubabu Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

CommentsXp Best movie ever!

PiraBit if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Paynbob It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

JohnHowardReid SYNOPSIS: For 200 years, Japan had been "the forbidden empire," turning away all foreigners, and abusing (and even killing) shipwrecked mariners. But in August, 1856, an American Navy frigate put into the tiny seaport of Shimoda. A longboat slowly made its way towards shore, carrying Townsend Harris (the first U.S. ambassador to Japan), his interpreter, Henry Heusken, and three Chinese servants. The city officials order Harris off, but he ignores the order and takes up residence in a ruined temple. The Japanese refuse to sell him food and keep his party under constant observation.NOTES: Fox's 114th CinemaScope movie, and the first American film to be photographed in its entirety (both indoors and outdoors) in Japan… Only film appearance of Eiki Ando… Although Fox reported a loss of only $2 million on a negative cost of $3.5 million, it's hard to believe that worldwide rentals returned as much as $2.5 million (allowing an extra million to cover print, advertising and distribution expenses). No doubt John Wayne's solid allure at the domestic box-office helped no end.COMMENT: Understandably, "The Barbarian and the Geisha" was one of the least popular of the big-budget CinemaScope movies. A preachy, reach-me-down tone is set right from the beginning, where a patronizing, off-camera commentary explains both the action and Japanese dialogue for us. At least we are spared the verbal assault of Japanese peasants speaking pidgin English, but why are there no sub-titles?As for Big John himself, he is not so much miscast as unbelievable. I feel he could have made a reasonably good fist of the role, despite the handicap of stilted and ridiculous dialogue, but he doesn't even try. What's worse, his fans are going to be mighty disappointed to find there's so little action in the picture. True, the script does occasionally ring in a bit of humor, but humor without action for the true Wayne devotee is like mustard without meat.Although often visually attractive, "The Barbarian and the Geisha" misses the pictorial richness of contemporary Japanese period films like "Gate of Hell". In fact, by Huston's high standards, the direction and camera-work could be described as comparatively unimaginative, even stodgy. You can see that a lot of money was spent. It's right up there on the screen. But the result— ponderous, slow-moving, heavy-handed, patronizingly juvenile movie will please neither Wayne's fervent admirers nor the general, entertainment-seeking picturegoer.

Edgar Allan Pooh . . . by bragging to the Shogunate Supreme Council of Japan in 1857 that there are men in America who are willing to die to end the Satanic Evil of Racist Slavery there. Of course, a few years later the words of Wayne's "Townsend Harris" character would be borne out in spades by the slaughter of more than 100,000 brave Northern Yankee Saints. Perversely enough, as "Il Duce" was mouthing the noble sentiments of Harris, Wayne was in the midst of hatching a Real Life plot to pump new life into one of History's most infamous Racist Devils by portraying Alamo Terrorist Davy Crockett, who personally murdered dozens of valiant Mexican Freedom Fighters in his eventually successful Genocidal Campaign to Re-enslave the Free Black People of Mexico's Texas Province for TWO MORE GENERATIONS!! Some accuse Hollywood starlets of being prostitutes simply because they might get paid to perform an explicit on-screen BJ upon their director as did Chloe Sevigney in BROWN BUNNY, but Mr. Wayne had no such economic need to hypocritically deviate from his own version of BOYS DON'T CRY (that is, THE BARBARIAN AND THE GEISHA) to the Sevigney-like job he did a few years later on Uncle Sam in THE ALAMO. The love of money may be the root of all Evil, but no amount of cash could bring GEISHA Okishi to stick with a mendacious phony like Wayne!

MARIO GAUCI Star and director are not exactly in their element throughout this period piece (set in mid-19th century Japan and based on real events) – though John Wayne gets to brawl with a dwarf/giant combination!; apparently, Huston became fascinated with the country and its culture after viewing Akira Kurosawa’s RASHOMON (1951) and Teinosuke Kinugasa’s GATE OF HELL (1953) – in fact, he obtained the services of the latter as a “script supervisor” on this one!Still, the film is interesting in its depiction of the clash of traditions – especially involving two countries which, a little over a decade earlier, had been deadly enemies – and, in any case, Japan was a popular venue with Hollywood during this time: witness the two back-to-back Marlon Brando vehicles THE TEAHOUSE OF THE AUGUST MOON (1956) and SAYONARA (1957). The glossy production values (courtesy of Fox) make the most of the exotic locations, but the plot itself is rather melodramatic – Wayne’s initially hostile reception, an outbreak of cholera, the assassination of a supportive Japanese leader (which threatens to throw the country into Civil War), an attempt on Wayne’s own life and the failed aggressor’s subsequent seppuku (which also terminates Wayne’s subtle romance with the geisha of the title), etc.Finally, though as I said this is one of Wayne’s most uncharacteristic films (which I had missed out on countless times in the past but was determined to catch now in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of Huston’s passing), it’s certainly not worthy of the same level of disdain as his other Asian flick – Dick Powell’s camp classic THE CONQUEROR (1956).

ebaycrap22 I had high hopes for this film because it was one of the few John Wayne Films I had not seen. but it wins the "Worst John Wayne Films Ever Award." No plot or better yet lousy plot....American Diplomat (Wayne) attempts to put a dent in Isolationist Colonial Japan, toss in a Geisha, a Plague and you still have Zero. and to make this a real minus zero you have the wonderful John Houston directing...the Studios must have truly desperate for material for Wayne to have 'unloaded' this on him....the "only" good thing you can say is "it is too lousy for an updated sequal" for this looser film to snooze through .....I gave it a ~~Minus Five Stars~~ because Houston knew better, John Wayne should have known better.and you can avoid this lemon, unless you need a "nap."