ruthless evil warlord samanosuke ( superbly play to the hateful hilt by yutaro gomi ) cruelly mistreat the peaceful resident of a small village . the giant stone statue majin eventually come to life to destroy samanosuke and his wicked minion . director kimiyoshi yasudo and screenwriter tetsuro yoshida give the compelling story all the power and simplicity of an ancient age old legendary folktale represent there a very strong sense of an ancient time and faraway remote place ( it specifically set in feudal japan ) and the good guy be noble and appeal while the villain be truly nasty and detestable and the occasional stirring swordfights be stag with considerable skill and gusto and the special effect be fine and impressive and the serious tone and steady pace never falter for a minute and and majin last reel rampage of savage destruction be extremely lively and exciting and and more than a little scary . moreover and the fantastic element of the narrative be give substantial credibility by be firmly ground in a throughly believable dark and harsh and gritty world . this film earn bonus point for depict majin a more of a brutal and frighten force of angry vengeance instead of a pure spirit of absolute good . veteran composer akira ifukube supply a typically rich and robust and rouse score . fujio morita sharp and moody cinematography likewise hit the bull eye . the capable cast all give admirably sound and sincere performance and with especially praiseworthy work by jun fujimaki a the valiant and protective kogenta and tatsuo endo a mean henchman gunjuro . highly recommended .