Category: Samurai

Eclipse Series 23: The First Films of Akira Kurosawa (1943-45)
Criterion Collection · Drama · Japan · Samurai · War

Eclipse Series 23: The First Films of Akira Kurosawa (1943-45)

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Sanshiro Sugata 姿三四郎 1943 // Japan // Akira Kurosawa 黒澤明 Criterion Collection (LINK) / Letterboxd (LINK) Despite some scenes were cut and modified by censorship in order to fit the WWII milieu and national propaganda, Akira Kurosawa’s first feature was confidently executed with an emphasis on a man’s pursuit of enlightenment and purity. Sanshiro Sugata (Susumu Fujita)… Continue reading Eclipse Series 23: The First Films of Akira Kurosawa (1943-45)

#138 Rashomon 羅生門 (Akira Kurosawa 黒澤明, 1950)
Adaptation · Crime · Criterion Collection · Drama · Samurai

#138 Rashomon 羅生門 (Akira Kurosawa 黒澤明, 1950)

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#138 Rashomon 羅生門 1950 // Japan // Akira Kurosawa 黒澤明 Criterion Collection (LINK) / Letterboxd (LINK) It’s my third time watching Rashomon and the story itself is still as mesmerising as I remember. Yet I asked myself what exactly do I remember, since RASHOMON is basically a murder mystery retold by four different perspectives, had I ever… Continue reading #138 Rashomon 羅生門 (Akira Kurosawa 黒澤明, 1950)

Assassination 暗殺 (1964)
Action · Drama · History · Japan · Samurai

Assassination 暗殺 (1964)

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Assassination 暗殺 1964 // Japan // Masahiro Shinoda 篠田正浩   ASSASSINATION is those kind of film that having knowledge of the historical background of the depicting story would be deemed highly beneficial. Masahiro Shinoda, one of the prominent figure of the Japanese New Wave, is perhaps most well-known for the visually stunning yakuza film PALE… Continue reading Assassination 暗殺 (1964)

Revenge 仇討 (1964)
Action · Drama · Japan · Samurai

Revenge 仇討 (1964)

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Revenge 仇討 1964 // Japan // Tadashi Imai 今井正   Tadashi Imai’s 1964 jidaigeki film REVENGE (also known as ADAUCHI) follows the “zankoku” (a Japanese word, literally means cruel/savage) mould of samurai film that criticises the hypocrisy and dehumanization out of the loyalty and honor encapsulated by the so-called Bushido. REVENGE is a thematic successor of… Continue reading Revenge 仇討 (1964)

Samurai Banners 風林火山 (1969)
Action · Drama · Japan · Samurai · War

Samurai Banners 風林火山 (1969)

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Samurai Banners 風林火山 1969 // Japan // Hiroshi Inagaki 稲垣浩 I’m always prepared to love any films starring Toshiro Mifune, but SAMURAI BANNERS, a jidaigeki epic directed by Hiroshi Inagaki (who also collaborated with Mifune in numerous films including the well-received Musashi Miyamoto “Samurai Trilogy”) just failed to win me over. Mifune is still as fascinating… Continue reading Samurai Banners 風林火山 (1969)

The Great Duel 大殺陣 (1964)
Action · Japan · Samurai

The Great Duel 大殺陣 (1964)

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The Great Duel 大殺陣 1964 // Japan // Eiichi Kudo THE GREAT DUEL is the second of Eiichi Kudo’s “Samurai Revolution Trilogy” after THE THIRTEEN ASSASSINS (1963) and followed by ELEVEN SAMURAI (1967), it’s also my first encounter of Kudo’s film. Overall it is quite an enjoyment. The first response comes to my mind while… Continue reading The Great Duel 大殺陣 (1964)

Blood End 天狗党 (1969)
Action · Japan · Samurai

Blood End 天狗党 (1969)

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Blood End 天狗党 1969 // Japan // Satsuo Yamamoto It’s such a charming coincidence that I watched Kihachi Okamoto‘s Red Lion (1969) and Satsuo Yamamoto’s Blood End back to back without knowing how similar these two films are. Both released in 1969 (amid a chaotic political landscape after the worldwide 1968 protest movement) and largely told from a… Continue reading Blood End 天狗党 (1969)

Red Lion 赤毛 (1969)
Action · Japan · Samurai

Red Lion 赤毛 (1969)

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Red Lion 赤毛 1969 // Japan // Kihachi Okamoto Red Lion is an unevenly executed samurai film which seems to get lost in between the comedic tone and the leftist political statement. The story took place at the end of the Edo period where the ruling of Tokugawa Shogunate was up against the Imperial Restoration Force. Gonzo, played… Continue reading Red Lion 赤毛 (1969)

Destiny’s Son 斬る (1962)
Action · Japan · Samurai

Destiny’s Son 斬る (1962)

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Destiny’s Son 斬る 1962 // Japan // Kenji Misumi   Kenji Misumi is best remembered for the chanbara “samurai films” like The Tale of Zatoichi (1962) and Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance (1972). The former is released in the same year with Destiny’s Son (also known as Kiru which literally means “chop” or “slash” in English). The… Continue reading Destiny’s Son 斬る (1962)

#302 Harakiri (1962)
Criterion Collection · Japan · Samurai

#302 Harakiri (1962)

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Criterion Challenge #302 Harakiri  切腹   1962 // Japan // Masaki Kobayashi Release: Aug 23, 2005 (DVD); Oct 4, 2011 (Blu-ray) Harakiri, or more precisely called in Japanese as Seppuku (切腹), came from the kanji of“hara’ (腹), means the belly or the abdomen, and“kiri”(切り) which means the cutting. This voluntary suicide ritual by disembowelment embodied the Bushido code… Continue reading #302 Harakiri (1962)