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Blog Posts about Samurai Movies

Why don't they remake bad eighties movies? « Touching From a Distance 8 Mar 2010 at 4:17pm
Even though some classics themselves are remakes (the Western versions of Samurai movies being the best examples) there has been a troubling increase in the last few years to remake classic movies from the last 30 years. ...

Fakin' It: Samurai Movies! « Retroflix Reviews 1 Mar 2010 at 10:36am
You can avoid a lot of things because for the most part, it can be quite frustrating trying to get a hold of good samurai movies. If you have trouble keeping up, just say ?Yeah, I'm getting to that one, but there are so many things ...

Samurai movies on German arte TV - Sword Forum International 20 Feb 2010 at 2:18pm
I have posted this in the Geman language section but maybe it is better placed here... For those who can receive the German TV arte - there will be some Samurai movies and documentaries the next weeks: 23. Februar 2008 um 21.50 Uhr ...

Twilight Samurai, a romantic movie starring Hiroyuki Sanada and ... 1 Mar 2010 at 11:36am
I tend to fall asleep during samurai movies, but this one was really emotionally entertaining. Sanada plays the role of a low-class widower samurai named Iguchi Seibei who takes care of his senile mother and two young daughters all by ...

Watch A Film By Hiroyuki Nakano: Samurai Fiction Movie Online 5 Mar 2010 at 8:31am
Samurai movies are a dime a dozen, and the quality of these films varies widely. Everyone likes films for different reasons, so there is probably a perfect Samurai film for every different kind of person. ...


Samurai Movies

One of the most popular themes, as far as movie making is concerned, has to be the Samurai warrior's story. Understandably, most of these movies have originated from Japan. However, western cinema, too, has had its share of samurai movies.

Some of them have been original, some were remakes, and some have just been dubbed versions of popular Japanese titles. Mosgt of the movies have been worthy enough to win the audience's fancy.

The Last Samurai', starring Tom Cruise, set in the times when the Samurai were at a decline, went on to enjoy big success. The movie was nominated for several major awards including the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards.

One reason why samurai themes have been so popular among film-makers must be the scope for creativity that they provide. Intense fight scenes - among individuals as well as large scale batle, cunning politics and the constant struggle between high moral values and everyday living are only some ideas among many others that can be played around with. The spectrum of complex stories that can be woven around the life of a samurai warrior will always keep the audience excited.

The Japanese have been very creative with this genre of movies. Starting off with making dramatic movies on the life of a Samurai, these slowly turned into action movies with exciting fight scenes. Some beautiful movies have been made based on the helpless despair of the samurai who lost their pride and sense of purpose when feudalism declined.

Samurai movies continued to be made very prolifically and enjoyed by eager audiences until the early 1970s. It was at this time when a comparitive decline started on the number of samurai movies. This was a problably a consequence of the general decline in the film industry that Japan saw in this period.

However, warrior movies still continue to be made today. Sanurai stories still continue to be spun and movie-goers don't seem to have had their fill of samurai movies yet.

Here is a list of some popular Japanese samurai movies (Note: Where available for purchase, movies are linked to Amazon):
 

  • 1949 Jakoman and Tetsu - directed by Senkichi Taniguchi
     
  • 1950 Rashomon - directed by Akira Kurosawa

  • 1952 Vendetta for a Samurai - directed by Kazuo Mori

  • 1954 Seven Samurai - directed by Akira Kurosawa

  • 1954-56 Samurai Trilogy - directed by Hiroshi Inagaki


  • 1957 Throne of Blood aka Spider Web Castle - directed by Akira Kurosawa

  • 1958 The Hidden Fortress - directed by Akira Kurosawa

  • 1959 Samurai Saga - directed by Hiroshi Inagaki

  • 1960 The Gambling Samurai - directed by Senkichi Taniguchi

  • 1961 Yojimbo aka The Bodyguard - directed by Akira Kurosawa

  • 1962 Chushingura - directed by Hiroshi Inagaki

  • 1962 Harakiri - directed by Masaki Kobayashi - Won a prize at the Cannes Film Festival

  • 1964 Three Outlaw Samurai - directed by Gosha Hideo

  • 1965 Samurai Assassin aka Samurai - directed by Kihachi Okamoto

  • 1965 Sanshiro Sugata - directed by Seiichiro Uchikiro - this is a remake of Kurosawa's film Sanshiro Sugata and Sanshiro Sugata part 2

  • 1966 The Sword of Doom - directed by Kihachi Okamoto

  • 1966 The Adventure of Kigan Castle - directed by Senkichi Taniguchi

  • 1967 Samurai Rebellion - directed by Masaki Kobayashi Rebellion won the Fipresci Prize at the Venice Film Festival

  • 1969 Samurai Banners - directed by Hiroshi Inagaki
     
  • 1969 Red Lion - directed by Kihachi Okamoto
     
  • 1969 Band of Assassins - directed by Tadashi Sawashima
     
  • 1969 Watch Out Crimson Bat

  • 1970 Mission: Iron Castle

  • 1970 Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo - directed by Kihachi Okamoto

  • 1970 The Ambitious - directed by Daisuke Ito

  • 1970 Incident at Blood Pass - directed by Hiroshi Inigaki

  • 1977 Intrigue of the Yagyu Clan - directed by Kinji Fukasaku

  • 1979 The 47 Ronin - directed by Kenji Mizoguchi

  • 1981 The Bushido Blade - directed by Tsugunobu Kotani

  • 1984 Legend of the Eight Samurai - directed by Kinji Fukasaku

  • 1988 Zatoichi - Directed, written and starring Shintaru Katsu

  • 2002 Twilight Samurai - directed by Yoji Yamada and nominated for a best foreign film Oscar.

  • 2003 Zatoichi - directed and starring Beat Takeshi and Silver Lion award winner at Venice Film  Festival
About the Author:  Scott Harker is the publisher of several websites including: Watch Television Shows, Episodejunkie.com, In The Garden, Wind Power, and Reflexology.

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samuri weapons

News About Samurai Movies

samurai movies - Google News

Film trades swords for six-shooters - Winnipeg Free Press
Film trades swords for six-shooters
Winnipeg Free Press
Winnipeg writer-director Joe Novak says the original idea for his first feature film was a samurai movie. "I'm a big fan of that (Akira) Kurosawa-type stuff ...



Teaser for samurai drama 'Hisshiken Torisashi' - Kung Fu Cinema
Teaser for samurai drama 'Hisshiken Torisashi'
Kung Fu Cinema
So far, four samurai films have been adapted from the literary works of Shuhei Fujisawa and they're all modern classics that recall a time long past when ...



GFF 2010: Samurai, Sake and Cyber Dogs - The Skinny
GFF 2010: Samurai, Sake and Cyber Dogs
The Skinny
... went east for The Last Samurai, a Kurosawa inspired actioner which made supporting player Ken Watanabe the most prominent Asian star in western movies. ...



A Century of Kurosawa - About - News & Issues (blog)
A Century of Kurosawa
About - News & Issues (blog)
Look for his well-kown samurai films: The Hidden Fortress (March 9), and on the 23rd, the mesmerizing classic Seven Samurai, followed by Yojimbo and the ...



SAMUEL L. JACKSON Enters COLD SPACE - Newsarama
Newsarama

SAMUEL L. JACKSON Enters COLD SPACE
Newsarama
E and I worked on Afro for years together and talked lots about our love of westerns, samurai movies, and comics. So, I guess we just put that all together ...



Halo Legends Blu-ray Review - TheHDRoom
UGO (blog)

Halo Legends Blu-ray Review
TheHDRoom
'The Duel' is a throwback to old Samurai movies where an Arbiter chooses family over war only to see his wife murdered and subsequently seek revenge. ...
Halo Legends Blu-Ray ReviewReel Loop (satire) (blog)
Halo Legends ImpressionsNextGen Player (blog)

all 30 news articles »


Usagi Yojimbo #126 - Panels on Pages
Panels on Pages

Usagi Yojimbo #126
Panels on Pages
... Spectacular Spider Ham, and I'm also a big fan of samurai movies, so it seems strange that it's taken me until now to read an issue of Usagi Yojimbo. ...



Does the Narrative Behind Kathryn Bigelow's Big Oscar Win Mar the Event's ......
Telegraph.co.uk (blog)

Does the Narrative Behind Kathryn Bigelow's Big Oscar Win Mar the Event's ...
Huffington Post (blog)
... completely formulaic in its character arcs (eg: Pocahontas, Last Samurai, etc...) So it should be noted also that the first substantial Iraq War movie ...
A grand night of gold: Oscar predictions 2010Silver Chips Online
Why Avatar Should Win Best PictureHuffington Post (blog)

all 8,644 news articles »


TCM To Celebrate Akira Kurosawa in March 2010 - Daemon's Movies
TCM To Celebrate Akira Kurosawa in March 2010
Daemon's Movies
The lineup will include such popular samurai films as Seven Samurai (1954 ? March 23), The Hidden Fortress (1958 ? March 9), Yojimbo (1961 ? March 23) and ...
TCM plans Kurosawa tributeUPI.com

all 6 news articles »


Liev Schreiber's Sabretooth May Not Make It Into Wolverine 2 - Cinema Blend
Cinema Blend

Liev Schreiber's Sabretooth May Not Make It Into Wolverine 2
Cinema Blend
... been in two X-Men movies, both the first X-Men played by Tyler Mane and X-Men Origins played by Schreiber. I'd rather see Wolverine fight Silver Samurai.

and more »


Samurai

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