Favorite Samurai Movies?

[ctc]

>Fist full of yen

HAW! A classic.... but maybe not in the same way....

>The Lone Wolf and Cub series

I've never seen the originals, but I've seen "Shogun Assassin;" the English one that's a remix of a couple of the films. Great film, but not for the squeamish. And Holee Smokes; the actors playing Ogami and Daigoro are dead on!

Don C.

[vulcan2074]

and Lady Snow Blood.
Sammy

[vulcan2074]

One of my all time favorites.
Sammy

[SUP-Ronin]

The 47 Ronin (1941)


Chushingura (1962)

Samurai Rebellion (1967)

Other excellent Martial Arts films.

"Fist of Legend" the Chinese (I think) version with English subtitles. The translation is terrible on the US release where they dub in English. It changes the entire context of the story. Not exactly Samurai either, but a great flick none the less. Follows a smiliar storyline to Fists of Fury aka Chinese connection.

Drunken Master - Jackie Chan - (Not samurai, but great WuShu)

[jessica]

Nate--Drunken Master--My 3 boys LOVE that film. They were excited to see it on demand through Netflix.

Just saw Samurai Rebellion last week and glad I was alone cause I was bawling. I have seen the b/w version of 47 ronin and Chushingura, too. Oh...and I just saw Kill a few nights ago. Never heard of that film before but I enjoyed it.

Will add Fist of Legend, Shogun Assassin, Lady Snowblood, Fist Full of Yen. Everything else listed I have seen.

[Thor]

I've seen several Samurau films but the ones that stand out are Hidden Fortress and Kagemusha.

[ctc]

>Fist Full of Yen

This one's a segemnt of "The Kentcky Fried Movie." It's a paordy of Enter the Dragon, and if you've seen the original film it's really funny.

Don C.

[jessica]

I just saw Fist Full of Yen a few weeks ago, thanks to Mike.

Last week I saw Lady Snowblood. I've put on my Netflix queue "Lady Snowblood: Love Song of Vengeance." Kinda cheesy but I liked the first one so I need to see the sequel.

Today I saw Zatoichi the Outlaw. I really enjoyed it. I'm really going to have to sculpt Zatoichi. I think I've seen most of the classic b/w samurai movies...Kagemusha, Hidden Fortress...most of those movies I have seen and enjoyed, so today it was refreshing to watch something I had not seen yet.

[vulcan2074]

I just saw Fist Full of Yen a few weeks ago, thanks to Mike.

Last week I saw Lady Snowblood. I've put on my Netflix queue "Lady Snowblood: Love Song of Vengeance." Kinda cheesy but I liked the first one so I need to see the sequel.

Today I saw Zatoichi the Outlaw. I really enjoyed it. I'm really going to have to sculpt Zatoichi. I think I've seen most of the classic b/w samurai movies...Kagemusha, Hidden Fortress...most of those movies I have seen and enjoyed, so today it was refreshing to watch something I had not seen yet.

Jessica
I saw the sequel to Lady Snowblood and it wasn't that good. Also the Zatoichi series has so many episodes that it will keep you busy for a very long time. I own the first six of Zatoichi and I hope to buy more sometime in the future. I look forward to seeing your sculpt of Zatoichi.
Sammy

[samurainoir]

I watched Ichi, the Zatoichi re-invention/sequel, a while back and enjoyed it quite a bit.


I borrowed Yojimbo meets Zatoichi from my dad while visiting him on Christmas, haven't got around to watching it yet.



Given how much the Japanese seem to like Star Wars (in the toy malls it's evident), I'd say in general that the samurai/kurosawa/hidden fortress influence is kind of a fun fact.

[samurainoir]

What's terrific is how much of the samurai manga is now available in english language translations. As a kid, I'd just looked at the pictures, and it's nice to FINALLY be able to read Lone Wolf and Cub and all the other related series sequentially, although I did like the fact that the 80's series did print them larger.

My recommendation is Vagabound. I'm about halfway through this massive epic series, and it hasn't disappointed yet.


incredibly detailed artwork, in an age where manga increasingly leans towards style over realism, and fantastic storytelling as well.

[jessica]

What's terrific is how much of the samurai manga is now available in english language translations. As a kid, I'd just looked at the pictures, and it's nice to FINALLY be able to read Lone Wolf and Cub and all the other related series sequentially, although I did like the fact that the 80's series did print them larger.

My recommendation is Vagabound. I'm about halfway through this massive epic series, and it hasn't disappointed yet.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/cf/Vagabond21.jpg

incredibly detailed artwork, in an age where manga increasingly leans towards style over realism, and fantastic storytelling as well.

Wow! Good to know! I'll be looking into Vagabond. I'm just afraid of disappointment which is why I don't venture into manga.

Aw shucks--regarding sequel to Snowblood. Darn it. Oh well. Since it's here I HAVE to see it. I may fast-forward through it if it's a snoozer.

I saw the new Zatoichi with the guy with white hair. I didn't particularly like it, which is why I was afraid to see Ichi.

[wayne foundation 07]

Does Kill Bill count,thats the closest I've got,sorry.

[babycyclops]

Although more of a freaky horror film, I think Onibaba is worth adding to the list. It featured stunning b&w photography, and the story revolves around a mother and daughter who rob and kill defeated samurai.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058430/

I've not seen Kwaidan yet, but it's also meant to be a classic. I might track this one down next.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058279/

[samurainoir]

I saw the new Zatoichi with the guy with white hair. I didn't particularly like it, which is why I was afraid to see Ichi.

Takeshi Kitano's an oddity to pin down since he's spent the last decade or so deconstructing his own iconography in his films (Takeshis in particular). To the Japanese he's both Robert Deniro (Violent Cop, Sonatine) and Drew Carey (Takeshi's Castle/Most Extreme Elimination Challenge) rolled into one.

At least that's the only explanation I can come up with for the Riverdance scene that concluded the Zatoichi remake.