Allright, let’s separate fact and fiction here, which is a service that only BMC offers – in a real B-movie, you’d be on your own. =P It is correct that Takeda Shingen died in 1573, and that if he hadn’t died, the decisive defeat his forces suffered two years later under the command of his son likely would not have taken place. It’s hard to say if he would ultimately have succeeded in stopping his rival Oda Nobunaga, but it’s at least a distinct possibility. It’s also correct that Takeda Shingen died in Mikawa province, although the by-sniper-during-a-siege story is only one of several versions concerning the specifics of his death – but it’s the most spectacular version, so it’s obviously the one a B-movie plot would go with. Dr. Dutchman Fu’s henchman having to stop a sniper has cinematic potential – Dr. Dutchman Fu’s henchman going “These things are called antibiotics. Take three a day for a fortnight.” just can’t measure up, unless you’ve got a reaaaaaaaally good character actor for the part.
Now for the major incorrect thing: In reality, there is no mountain six times as high as Silhouette Mountain in Japan. Especially not anywhere near Mount FUji, they’d never leave such an abomination standing in that touristically important postcard scenery. This is a bit of creative license on the part of producer Nolan Nobucks, who feels eternally compelled to keep reusing that set – since he accidentally had it constructed from concrete instead of the more popular styrofoam. When he was informed about the mistake and the attendant cost increase, he calculated that he would have to reuse the set in about 600 movies to break even on it. Not that he really had another choice, since tearing it down again wouldn’t have worked: the thing is so tall, there’s just no direction you could topple it in without hitting at least some minor town.
More on Thursday.