Great Samurai Movies You Should Watch
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.ค. 2024
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In this video we want to share with you a list of great Samurai movies you should definitely watch.
Some are epic action-filled movies and others are critical introspections of bushido.
We also added some of your own selections from the Film Club.
Video made by Moises & Sergio Velasquez
------------Time Stamps:
0:00 - Intro
0:35 - Ad
1:33 - Seven Samurai
2:46 - 13 Assassins
3:46 - Samurai Rebellion
4:44 - Yojimbo
5:37 - Kuroneko
6:27 - Throne of Blood
7:20 - Ran
8:50 - The Sword of Doom
9:48 - The Twilight Samurai
10:50 - Viewer's Selections
12:49 - Harakiri
14:03 - Outro
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------------- Music:
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------------Movies Clips used in this Video:
13 Assassins
Goyokin
Harakiri
Kuroneko
Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx
Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades
Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance
Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters
Ran
Rurouni Kenshin
Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno
Samurai Rebellion
Seven Samurai
Sword of the Stranger
The Sword of Doom
The Twilight Samurai
Throne of Blood
Yojimbo
Zatoichi (2003)
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#Movies #Samurai - ภาพยนตร์และแอนิเมชัน
Is there another Samurai movie we should have mentioned? Let us know what are your favorite Samurai Movies!
Zatoichi, the blind Samurai
Rurouni kenshin trilogy and the anime series...It might not be a perfect example for a samurai movie but i really love the story of a cold blooded killer turned wanderer and his reversed blade katana
The Rurouni Kenshin movies. All 4 are on Netflix. Rurouni Kenshin: Origins, Kyoto Inferno, The Legend Ends, and The Final. The Beginning just released in Japan.
@@bruh918 Yes! Did you see The Final? Loved it! Also, the OVAs Trust and Betrayal and Reflections (even though Reflections is not canon) are some of the best I've seen.
"When the last sword Is drawn" aka "The last Sword" is a fantastic movie. A Swansong of the Samurai.
Harakiri is a top 5 best film ever made in my opinion, it's also my favorite film!
agreed! IMO Harakiri is not only the best samurai movie but the best movie ever made.
@@snagogh9804 I fully agree with u
I love this community. You get such a diverse recommendation pool regardless of what genre we are discussing. This community has suggested things I would have never heard of otherwise.
Yes they have been very helpful!
Same thoughts. Quickly became one of my favorites and really building the community and highlighting their voices alongside these well thought out video essays was such an inspired decision.
The Hidden Blade is such a beautiful melancholic film. I am always surprised by how overlooked it is in the genre.
Wonderful film.
So happy to see where Harakiri is ranked. For me, tied with Throne of Blood as no. 1 best samurai film.
Harakiri original was a masterpiece but the remake doesn't hold up well at al...
@@ihaveeyesbutimustntlook1668 Do remakes ever hold up?
@@genustinca5565 sadly, true
They aren’t ranked.
@@littleturdlets5294 yeah, they are ranked m8
I had always heard that Harakiri was the best samurai film ever made, as good as Seven Samurai or better. I went into it thinking "How good can this actually be?". That question was answered when I bought the Criterion blu-ray. It is somehow _even better_ than its reputation suggests. It is a film that totally changed my perspective of film-making and how stories are told cinematically. It is one of the greatest films of all time, from any genre.
Different breeds- the think with harakiri was the magnificent Tatsuya Nakadai. He literally carried the movie; but Kurosawa is Kurosawa,man. Look at how innovative 7 samurai still is,all his movies are. He has the most masterpieces of all directors.
I watched "Ran" for the first time over twenty years ago and its one of my favourite movies of all time. But for the longest time, this has been the only one of Kurosawas' Samurai-Films I knew (and one of only two Kurosawa-Films I've watched, "Dreams" being the other one). I kept hearing about the others and watched clips but it wasn't until I purchased the Criterion-edition of "Kagemusha" and the Five Movie Samurai-Box from BFI (containing "Seven Samurai", "Throne of Blood", "Hidden Fortress", "Yojimbo" and "Sanjuro") that I actually checked them out. And these are surely some of the greatest movies of all time. But of these six movies, the one I previously knew the least about was the one that made the biggest impression: "Throne of Blood". Its just dig its dark, very eerie tone. Its almost a Horror-Movie.
Being on somewhat of a Samurai-Binge lately, I will check out "Harakiri" (the Kobayashi-version) and Miikes' "Blade of the Immortal" (an adaptation of a fantastic Manga-Series) next.
Harakiri as a film felt like it changed my life. The tone, the pacing and ability of the main character were pitch perfect
Love the Twilight Samurai. Watched it because it is a required watch for a class. It was very emotional.
Beautiful movie about a samurai eschewing the more traditional, shall we say toxic elements of bushido and masculinity, trying to be honourable as well as being a good father. Ultimately, his honour is his downfall. It's incredibly moving. See also The Hidden Blade by the same director for a similar tale of a man trying to balance his honour as a man and as a samurai.
@@GrainneMhaol Thanks for the suggestion! But I think, to Iguchi, honour didn't really value as much as his family. He even said he'd rather be a farmer than a sumurai, and refused the killing mission many times. I think it was more out of necessity that he had to take on the mission in order to provide for his family. He was a lowely ranked samurai with little income and even had debt on his shoulders. Well, this is just my opinion, and it's a great movie nontheless!
@@leslieher4600 True, but he can't quite surrender the samurai life, in spite of his promises. In the end, his love interest transcends her samurai family position by visiting a peasant festival, but he cannot, or will not resign his position. Anyway, It's a wonderful movie.
@@GrainneMhaol That does make me wonder what the samurai identity means to him. Good point!
Sword of Doom has to be my all-time favorite. It's dark, violent, gritty, with visual and emotional themes that are very impactful. An amazing story about a complex anti-hero
These are some of the greatest movies I've ever watched, I'm a big fan
Hara-kiri seems to make the top of Samurai movie lists constantly, with good reason.
Great list. I also strongly recommend Sanjuro (Yojimbo's sequel), the "Samurai Trilogy" directed by Hiroshi Inagaki (Toshiro Mifune plays Miyamoto Musashi in the titular role) and the six-movie series of the Lone Wolf and Cub. Yes, all six of them. Ah yes, and Kurosawa's Kagemusha.
Kagemusha, the final battle, one of the most violent things I never 'saw' all conveyed fantastically through the face of the Kagemusha as he sends his regiments in one by one and we HEAR them being slaughtered, just watching the horror on the Kagemusha's face as he doesn't know how to get out of it! INCREDIBLE!
@@SteveChiverton yeah, totally. Kurosawa truly is a genius, he blew me away with black and white back in the day, and in color with Ran, Kagemusha and Dreams.
@@SteveChiverton Ye sadly it was zo short some people say the Japanese version had a longer battle.
Just finished watching Seven Samurai. This video could not have come at a better time.
Been getting into samurai movies lately, watch Twilight Samuraï and loved it. The part when Tomoe sings with the children, her relasionship with the family is so touching and heartwarming. Beautiful !
These are all excellent. The original Zatoichi played by Shintaro Katsu is the best. The way he play's the character is amazing. 13 Assassins is freaking awesome and hardly ever gets mentioned when it comes to these movies.
Zatoichi vs the one armed swordsman (or any of the blind swordsman movies) is really good. It’s a comedic take on the samurai genre while still having a pretty gritty feeling. Also Ruroni Kenshin the movie, it’s a newer one and it’s a bit cheesy but the choreography and sword play is very impressive
RRK is based on an anime and manga... there's bound to be some cheese
@@rumblefish9 what?
Ruruoni Kenshin is a really fun series - especially as a 'lightener' if you've recently done a 'Kurosawa collection' binge followed by a Takashi Miike one! I view them as sort of 'bubblegum samurai' movies. And I think the fourth release which I watched last night - 'The Final' is FANTASTIC [if you're a fan of the RK movies]- possibly the best of the series to bow out on.
I haven't done the manga versions - somehow they have just never appealed to me, but I do enjoy the 'live action' adaptations.
@@ihaveeyesbutimustntlook1668 he means that when you translate an anime/manga into live action while also staying faithful to the source material things can get weird but I think they did a really good job with this one
@@SteveChiverton I like ur term “ bubblegum samurai” lmao, definitely gotta check out the new RRK though haven’t gotten around to watching it
Harakiri is one of my favorite movies ever. Watched it years ago on this random site for amateur filmmakers and it was free. Blew me away. Even have a full sized movie posted framed in my living room. The story telling is so damn good.
Ran (1985) is a Kurosawa my personal favfavourites.
I think for us Ran has to be top 3 or even second favorite Samurai movie👍 It is just so beautiful and distinct from other films.
Harakiri( original) is better imho
You forgot to mention "When The Last Sword is Drawn." fantastic samurai movie.
Great recommendations, your number 1, I’ve seen, and I agree with your selection, been watching these movies for years, love them….
Ansatsu (1964) is worthwhile.
Also, Samurai Assassin (1965), Kiru! (1965), Samurai Wolf (1966) and its sequel. Someone else already mentioned Three Outlaw Samurai, but I second the nomination.
The Hidden Blade (2004), and Love and Honor (2006) form a thematic trilogy with Twilight Samurai.
Pretty amazing videos man, absolutely top notch. Can't wait for the next selection of a genre.
the fan-mentioned Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters, is such a great movie, and got me into exploring Japanese literature.
Awesome recommendations and thanks for the comment features! I love this channel and getting pick when you talked about my favorite movie had me jumping for joy!
i am planning on watching Seven Samurai in the near future.
The first samurai movie I ever saw was Samurai Fiction. And I remember liking it.
Since your last video, I've really been looking forward to this one... thank you!
Chanbara is one of my favorite genres & according to letterboxd I've seen 57 of them so far. There are many other great ones but the 8 in my personal fav 100 movies are:
1 Ran
2 Harakiri
3 Sanjuro
4 Seven Samurai
5 Zatoichi Challenged
6 Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto
7 Samurai Rebellion
8 Sword of Doom
Great another movie to add to a list of movies I've been planning on watching for the past three years
Enjoy 👍
The Hidden Blade (2004), Goyokin (1969), Conspirator (1961), The Betrayal (1966) and A Bloody Spear on Mount Fuji (1955) are also quite good.
The Rurouni Kenshin movies. All 4 are on Netflix. Rurouni Kenshin, Kyoto Inferno, The Legend Ends, and The Final. The Beginning just released in Japan. I highly recommend them.
This video is outstanding. Wow, great choices and great analysis. Thank you!
Much appreciated 👍
Extremely well done
"Three Outlaw Samurai" , directed by Hideo Gosha, starring Toshiro Mifune.
Three Outlaw Samurai starred Tetsuro Tamba, you might be confusing it with Kobyashi Masaki’s Samurai Rebellion which does star Toshiro Mifune and explores similar themes that his Hari Kiri did.
Rurouni Kenshin live action, totally recommend!
One of the very very few good live action anime/manga movies.
Which one of the four?
THIS!
@@cfbilly70 All 4
It was quite different to the anime, the main character was quite changed tonally.
'When The Last Sword Is Drawn.'
(2002, directed by Yōjirō Takita) I defy anyone to watch the scene on the bridge with dry eyes.
I will take that bet
I've got the entire Lone Wolf and Cub manga series. I'd highly recommend it. It's the most badass manga (that's finished.)
With Kintaro Miura passing away, it's uncertain if BERSERK will ever have an ending.
Yeah I’m worried about that honestly, like I do want it finished but I also know the weight on the assistance’s shoulders must be immense. If it isn’t the legend himself, fans will see it a lesser by default... either way, Rest In Peace Miura.
The six movies are great as well, if you haven't seen them.
@@Tenpouin I've seen all of the movies in this video. A while back, I was in the hospital and I was recovering at home. I watched tons of samurai movies all week. The Samurai Trilogy with Toshiro Mifune is good, too.
@@Poisonedblade it's good to know you have a made full recovery, or so it seems. Any other recommendations? I'm a big fan of samurai movies (I too have watched all the movies in the video lol) and you seem to know your stuff
@@Tenpouin Samurai Champloo is a fun anime. Demon Slayer Kimetsu no Yaiba is an awesome sword anime and is breaking records.
I can't think of any great recent samurai movies. They're all in the Mifune / Nakadai era.
Hidden Fortress was good, too.
GREAT JOB👍! only
issue with old Samurai films is..NO BLOOD on swords after slicing men. understand the restrictions of time but just so obvious.
Sanjuro changed all that.
Thanks for these recommendations I'll report back
Thank you, very interesting🙏
Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto and 7 Samurai are my two favorites - I do love the Itto Ogami ( Kenji Misumi only) movies though. Onibaba and Yojimbo are pretty great as well.
Akira Kurosawa, just brilliant. Also the later movie about corruption in government were real dramatic one man fights.
Glad to see Samurai Rebellion got a shout-out. Excellent movie!
I'll never forget that scene in 7 samurai when the farmers gives rice to the samurai as payment 😭
" I will not waste your food. " I like how in the background rikichi bows.
Yep, Seven Samurais was an epic, 3 hours movie in black and white.
I’m grateful for this video 😔🙏
Always been a huge fan of Kwaidan. It's in the same genre as Kuroneko but at over 3 hours it's long. The Tale of Hoichi the Earless is one of four stories that could be its own movie at an hour and a half but it's a fantastic story. I would also add Kagemusha and Heaven and Earth (hard to find).
Harakiri is easily the very best Samurai film and honestly my pick for the best black and white picture! Incredible scriptwriting, pacing, cinematography, and a morality tale to boot. My favorite film of all time, I still remembered the day I first watched it and was shocked and awed by what I saw.
Kurasawa was a god
Yes he was👍
@@demonfromhell2022 Without Hidden Fortress there is no Star Wars! And I think without Yojimbo there is no Clint Eastwood!
There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger.
@@sub7se7en hell yeah brother
Somehow I had a feeling Harakiri would be number one. Kobayashi, as well known as he is, may still be underrated. He and Teshigahara definitely belong up there with the Japanese golden age big three.
I was surprised by the end of the video to not see any Mizoguchi films. Ugetsu should be here. It is most similar to Kuroneko on this list. If you still have time in your Samurai month definitely watch it.
Unmentioned in this list; I enjoyed Takashi Miike's Blade of the Immortal (2017). Brutal, exciting fights, long runtime. Not bad.
Loved that one too.
bry4n3 The Rurouni Kenshin movies. Watch them. They're on Netflix right now... all 4 movies. They're great. the RRK movies really changed the way sword fights were done because Blade of the Immortal's fight scenes were inspired by the RRK movies.
Love this youtube channel!
A great list! Most of them among my favorites too. A couple more good ones for consideration though:
- the first Azumi live action movie, for those who love manga inspired material with a lot of visual spectacle
- the Shogun TV show, for the stunning set pieces and court costumes
- the Shingen TV show from the early nineties (I think produced by NHK), for those interested in historical fact, and Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin in particular. It's hard to find though, I think there's some floating around here on youtube
Ryomaden is good too.
Ha! Hara Kiri is the only film on this list I've seen. Spectacular movie; definitely a great recommendation.
Your list is fantastic. I was blown away to see my two favorites of the genre at 1 and 2. They're both great movies, regardless of the genre, especially Harakiri (which is timeless as it reflects politics and human nature).
Among Kurosawa movies, I highly recommend "Dodes'ka-den". It is the most misinterpreted and underappreciated of his oeuvre.
Harakiri is very good indeed, and I´m likely in the minority when I say that the 2013 remake is even better. From the viewer selection I fully second Zatoichi and the Lone Wolf and Cub series. Another nice one would be Kagemusha. And, in its own way, the good old Shogun (the miniseries, not the movie cut).
Good on who suggested "The Sword and The Stranger". Not only is it a solidly crafted journey, the most amusing thing is that in a fight between Samurai and Ming Dynasty soldiers, it all comes down to two foreigners in the end.
in summary: everything kurosawa did :)
nice list, thanks once more!
I don't care what you guys end up seeing or skipping -- but do see The Sword of Doom and Ran, don't skip it, man so intense.
The basic story of the 7 Samurai is inspired by the Chinese classic Water Margin. (The basic motives of story composition and character setting are the same. As a matter of fact, there is a part where a teacher organizes seven volunteers. However, the mythical structure in which one hero realizes justice is similar to that of Western.) Chinese classics have been very popular in East Asia. Again, I am looking forward to hearing that a work called Label Moon will be released recently on Netflix inspired by the basic story of the 7 samurai.
I found a few of these films on HBO Max and Prime I'm going to watch these classic for myself. Thank you for the recommendation.
It’s not super samurai-y but love Onibaba. Interesting paranormal movie that kinda sorta surrounds samurai interactions
Props for including twilight samurai and hara kiri.
A great, unsung master of the samurai sub-genre is the director Tomu Uchida (1898-1970). Born the same year as Mizoguchi, Uchida during the prewar era excelled at slapstick comedy, crime films and social satires, culminating in his proto-neorealist masterpiece, Earth. In the postwar era, he became one of the greatest specialists in the samurai movie (though he also made many great films in other genres): A Bloody Spear at Mount Fuji is both a delightful comedy and a stirring action movie; the Souls in the Moonlight trilogy (based on the same plot and characters as The Sword of Doom) is a masterful study in karma; and Hero of the Red-Light District, though technically not a samurai movie, ends with one of the greatest sword fights in Japanese movie history. As if that were not enough, he created a five-part epic about Musashi Miyamoto, which many critics consider to be superior to Hiroshi Inugaki's classic trilogy about the same character. If you ever get the opportunity to see any of Uchida's work, don't pass it up!
im crazy about kurosawa but harakiri was best samurai movie ever
Tadashi Imai has made some great samurai movies like Bushido, Samurai Saga(1963), and Revange(1964). Like Kobayashi, he had a pessimistic view on the samurai code of honor.
Thank you for recommending Sword of The Stranger.
I also would like to suggest another masterpiece of a samurai anime.
Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal.
I liked "The Hidden Blade" by Yoji Yamada which was part of the three Samurai movies made by the director. Also, it is sad to miss the Zatoichi movies from the list. they are an absolute gem.
Also, "Love and Honor" the third one from the trilogy is a must if you like the first two.
Great list. I always like Kagamusha which is also from Akira Kurosawa
Duel to the Death is definitely worthy of mentioning
Chūshingura (1962) Toshiro Mifune's singular performance in the classic tale. In color with remarkably detailed outlining of the plot against Kira and a sympathetic view of Asano's humiliation prior to his attack. Finalizing in a storm of Kira's residence, battle with Kira's retainers and houseguests, and the fair treatment given the scoundrel.
A great list with a couple of things I didn't know about. I'll check them out. Mishima Is one of the greatest writers in history, by the way - read The Temple of the Golden Pavilion, just one of his world classics.
So many the 27 volumes of Zatoichi, Chushingura, the Loyal 47, Swords of Vengeance, Incident at Blood Pass, Shoguns Samurai, 3 Outlaw Samurai, Lady Snowblood, After the Rain, I could go on for a while
Sword of Deception, The Samurai I Loved, the original 13 Assassins, newer Harakiri, Shinsengumi, When the Last Sword is Drawn
Unforgiven is really good, extremely rare on Blu Ray, I paid allot for my copy, but I am a Huge Chambara fan, all the movies I have listed I own on Blu Ray (if they were made) or DVD and sometimes both
Where do I find the music in this video?
The best of the second tier entries in the samurai genre to my mind is "Samurai Rebellion" directed by Keihachi Okamoto and starring Toshiro Mifune. The action takes concerns a plot by a band of assassins to kill a senior member of the Tokugawa government in 1860 on the cusp of the changes that will eliminate the samurai. What distinguishes "Samurai Rebellion" is the harsh black and white cinematography that depicts the samurai as no more than 30's style gangsters lacking entirely the gauze of glamour that typifies the genre.
I missed seeing on your list Kurosawa's greatest samurai contribution of all, "Kagemusha," a movie that defeats the viewer's expectations at every turn. The story appears to focus on the double who has been trained to stand in for the daimyo, Takeda Shingen, in the event that he should die before realizing his great dream of unifying Japan after a hundred years of civil war. But, as every Japanese viewer will know from the start Takeda would not be the one to achieve that goal. The story then focuses on the psychological complexities of the double once pressed into the impersonation of Takeda Shingen following his untimely death, but as the story of the double reaches its climax the narrative shifts unaccountably away from him giving us to understand that the double was merely a spectator to the great story of the doom overtaking the Takeda clan that, arising out of the grandeur of Takeda Shingen's desire and the failings of his successors is driven by a momentum that is at once inevitable and surprising. It is this quality that creates in the viewer the purgation of emotion in the presence of tragedy. By contrast "Ran" despite its visual elan, never achieves any similar narrative drive or urgency owing to the basic infelicities in translating the story.
Kurosawa who launched his international oeuvre by translating Shakesperian tragedy to medievel Japan is proposing in "Kagemusha" a uniquely Japanese mode of tragedy whose hero is not an individual, but the clan itself.
Man,you made me curious to rewatch Kagemusha again. It was my first Kurosawa movie,at age 15,and it caught my attention. Didn't blew me away,that was the second movie from Him that i saw,namely Rashomon. That got me hooked in Kurosawa,and i think i saw 25-26 of his movies since then.
Also,i became a movie buff,but still,there is no director that literally caught my attention like Him. The range of emotions that man made you feel,is absolutely outstanding. He really is the biggest God in the Pantheon of movie creators. And mind you,i am european,and sometimes i find asian movies boring,or too similar from the hundreds i've seen(although they produce more quality that hollywood,that's for sure) The acting is subdued,there are no feelings shown...There were famous japanese directors that bored me to death;Maybe Kurosawa was indeed,the most western japanese director.
His mix of drama,action,powerful message and flawless creative cinematography is what makes him unique. He is Shakespeare of cinema
@@alakhazom "Kagemusha" is one of the most Japanese of Kurosawa's samurai movies to the point that it left many Western viewers puzzled. Pauline Kael admitted she had no idea what it was about. By contrast, no one wondered whast the epic tale, "Seven Samurai," was about.
When you watch it play close attention to the scenes in which the double appears to be possessed by the spirit of Takeda Shingen. Brilliant and very Japanese.
@@haroldbridges515 What's your opinion on Ozu?
I read and read about him for years,but when i tried to watch some of his movies,i simply found them boring...very static,and i don't mean that it lacked physicality,just it was very-very low-key in dynamism between characters. Very formal,as their etiquette usually is
@@alakhazom I understand that the Japanese directors themselves regard Kurosawa as a Western director, which would explain why his films are so accessible to us Westerners. Ozu, by contrast, is clearly the most Japanese director of all, which is naturally going to make his work a lot less accessible to Westerners, but a taste for which is worth acquiring. His subject is always the family and usually its dissolution. American films assert a view of family life in which everyone can and indeed should be happy somehow. Japanese culture in Ozu's representation recognizes that even if someone succeeds there are always losers.
So, in "Late Spring" the father, played by Chishu Ryu, recognizes that his daughter of marrigeable age, the incandescent Setsuko Hara, is too content to stay home and take care of her father. So, he contrives a small feint to push her gently out of the nest so that she will have her own married life. And so she does leaving him with days as he says that are "a little too long." The understatement heightens then emotion in a receptive viewer.
I have never found any scene in an Ozu movie to be boring. In the first movie of his that I ever saw a young woman takes a train ride from the country into the city. Nothing happens. There is no eye contact with another passenger nor some unexpected mishap. She sees the trees through the train window. The scene takes some time and is a marvel. Ozu has made completely undramatic everyday life satisfying to watch. We come out of an Ozu movie, not awed by the great drama that Kurosawa gives us, but glad to have our life as human beings with other people.
Understatement is an essential element of traditional Japanese aesthetics, perhaps more so than in any other culture. In "Tokyo Story" the old couple take a much anticipated train trip to the city to visit their adult children only to find that they are too absorbed in their own lives to spend time with the parents whom they then send off to some resort by themselves. A young girl in the family is upset at the heartlessness she has witnessed and is consoled by her aunt, Setsuko Hara again, that "Other people are really a little disappointing, aren't they?" And that line is the climax of the movie.
Even Ozu's silent movies remain compelling while most of the silent movies from Hollywood just seem like curiosities now.
In addition to the thematic content, Ozu's cinematograhy is distinctly Japanese. Scenes in a home are shot with the camera at the height of the eyes of a person sitting seiza-style on his heels on the floor. I never saw any other director do that. But most of all the characters are often just facing directly into the camera and talking to some character whose position is now taken by the audience. This breaks all the rules of dynamic cinematography and yet it works every time. (Actually director Mike Nichols broke the same rule in the same way when he shot Wallace Shawn's play, "The Designated Mourner" as a series of soliloquys straight at the camera. A brilliant and great film."
So, Ozu is an acquired taste. But after you have watched some few of his films, try to find a copy of "Tokyo Ga," an homage to Ozu by another great director, Wim Wenders. There is a scene in that where Wenders is interviewing Ozu's cinematographer or cameraman with whom the director had worked closely for decades. The cameraman tells how Ozu liked to continue to hold a shot long after the character's reaction has registered. As he tells the story he breaks down weeping at the memory of his old boss and waves Wenders away, telling him to stop shooting. Wenders holds the shot.
@@haroldbridges515 Well,thanks for the long answer. I reckon that it takes a little bit of knowledge to get into Ozu,as it portrays japanese normal life;which is very formulaic,what is not said is as important as what is said,and customs are the norm of any situation. Funny,in all my travels all over the globe(i worked in an airline)i found the taiwanese to be the most shy persons i saw in my life. Even more than japanese. I remember trying to get into some taiwanese directors,yet again,until now,couldn't make myself watch a whole movie.
Btw, another 3 favorites of mine are Wong-Kar Wai,and Yimou Zhang,and Chang Park Wook. Different stiles,all of them,yet important in their own rights;probably you know about them. But i would like to recommend the movies of Johnnie To,he is a prolific Hong Kong director,who makes really catchy movies. I would recommend The mission 1999,as a staring point. Action movie,yet natural in flowing of the plot,with super stylish execution
Nice list, i would also recommend Musashi: Samurai Trilogy with Toshiro Mifune. Granted that a lot of people will say that it's not historically accurate, it is still a great trilogy to just watch and enjoy. Heck, anything with Toshiro Mifune is worth watching.
Would Rashomon count as a samurai film? Even if it doesn't, it's a great film regardless.
the zatoichi series is my favorite by far.
Great list, great genre; without it we wouldn’t have modern film as we know it
Rashomon; Lady Snowblood; Ghost Dog.
I wanted to add
When The Last Sword Is Drawn
There are so many but I'd like to mention After The Rain by Kurosawa, Azumi and Azumi 2. Not related to samurai but mostly on ninja I'd like to mention the old Shinobi No Mono black and white movie series.
Another great point about Ran is the film score was composed by Toru Takemitsu, arguably Japan's most influential composer.
My favorite is Sanjuro !
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, directed by Jim Jarmusch, wherein a professional hitman (Forest Whitaker) follows the code of the samurai as outlined in Yamamoto Tsunetomo's 'Hagakure'.
What is the name of the background music
Am I the only one who thinks that The Last Samurai is an underrated masterpiece?
Yes
The original Zatoichi series is far more deserving of a place on the list than the remake - although that was my introduction to the character, and I enjoyed it at the time. Shinataro Katsu's performance as the blind swordsman is wonderful.
I agree with Harakiri at #1. That there is not a single Mizoguchi film on the list is odd.
I didn't think Sword of Doom was that good after my first viewing. But it's a film I routinely think about. The dark themes and pathos of its complex characters are unlike anything I've seen anywhere else. And I think the lack of catharsis keeps it ticking over in my brain. Another film with the same actor and director is "Kill!", which is almost a parody of Samurai films like Yojimbo etc but also features moments of genuine intensity and emotion. Most of Kihachi Okamoto's films are worth checking out.
Samurai Fiction needs to be on this list
70% is starring Toshiro Mifune
the most badass man bun ive ever seen
I like to watch one of the Samurai movie
"Fort Ezo'' coming out about 1970+
But untill now can't find again.
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There’s a ton of them on HBO Max like Hanzo The Razor, Samurai Trilogy, Lone Wolf & Cub, 47 Ronin (Original), 7 Samurai.
The Rurouni Kenshin movies are some of the best modern samurai movies. Rurouni Kenshin: Origins, Kyoto Inferno, The Legend Ends, and The Final are on Netflix. The Rurouni Kenshin: Beginning just released in Japan. I highly recommend them.
While I believe that "Sanjuro", "The Hidden Blade" , "Ame Agaru a.k.a. After the Rain" and Kagemusha would be great additions to this list, I think "Sword of Desperation" should at least be included in the top 5 of this list.
That's a lot good samurai movies
How about the Kiba movies?
7 samurai
The real Zatoichi isn't mentioned! Shintaro Katsu is appallingly under-appreciated
As a kid growing up in Melbourne in the mid-60's most of us wanted to BE Shintaro at playtime, not a cowboy! And it is from that early exposure that my lifelong love of all things Samurai has come, my entire movie collection is Samurai!
13 assassins was amazing