Scott Glenn sports a truly horrific bowl cut in his first leading role, starring alongside Toshiro Mifune in the Frankenheimer-helmed The Challenge.

Featuring a score by Jerry Goldsmith and a supporting cast that includes Sab Shimono and Clyde Kusatsu, the film is a pretty solid action entry though it wasn’t the film Glenn and Mifune originally signed up for. And hey, John Sayles wrote the script with Richard Maxwell!

I remember the art for this film. I remember seeing the poster, and then the video cassette art everywhere. I remember babysitting and this was one of the movies that had been rented for the weekend. It didn’t do much for me then, but this time around, I quite enjoyed it.

Glenn is Rick, an American boxer who is recruited by Toshio (Shimono) and Akiko (Donna Kei Benz) to smuggle an antique sword into Japan. It is part of a set known as The Equals and two brothers, Yoshida (Mifune) and Hideo (Atsuo Nakamura) have been warring over them for decades, driving apart by Hideo’s betrayal, and their father’s death.

Rick just wants to get in, get paid and get out. But things go badly from the moment he touches down in Japan. He finds himself clashing with Hideo’s people, and struggles with the concepts of honor that Toshio holds so strongly.

Will he betray Toshio for a payday, or will he find a new way to fight, to become more than he was and fight for something to believe in?

Featuring some solid location work, and some solid fight beats, with just the right amount of gore, especially in the final showdown.

I’ve always liked Glenn, he’s a solid workhorse of an actor, he always seems to be working on his craft. He turns in a solid performance, but that haircut… that haircut.

Mifune, no matter what role he plays, is masterful and engaging. He’s one of those actors you just want to watch, and see how he brings his characters to life.

And while the camera work, and editing are very much of the time, it is still a solidly made film, though Frankenheimer was having alcohol issues at the time. So it could have been stronger, but both Glenn and Mifune throw themselves into delivering the best that they could do.

And Jerry Goldsmith!!

This one is one of those films that feel like it’s slipped through the cracks. I used to remember seeing it everywhere on videostore shelves in the 80s, but after tha, it seemed to just be gone. It’s not going to entertain everyone, but if you like Glenn, Mifune, and 80s action films with a hint of martial arts, you need to check this one out.