10 Iconic Samurai Movies That You Need To See
Samurai were the officer caste of medieval and pre-modern Japan.
This
special social class included professional warriors who lead their lives
according to the ethic code of bushido "the way of the warrior".
Samurai
films are a great way to delve into Japan�s heroic past so I thought I would
come up with 10 tales of katanas and chivalry.
1954's Seven Samurai, Directed by one of Japans greatest directors
Kurosawa Akira.
Set in a rather chaotic 16 Century Japan, marauding
bandits threaten and raid villages.
One village of farmers decides to hire
seven samurai (Toshiro Mifune) to defend them from these bandits with the
payment of food.
This film is among the best Japanese cinema has to
offer, but to warn those you who haven't seen it yet, it's around 3 and a
half hours long.
And if you're expecting hours of fighting or cool samurai
slashing things then I would not recommend this!
But 2010's 13 Assassins on the other hand has over 40 minutes of head
rolling samurai carnage.
The story follows a retired samurai (K�ji Yakusho)
who learns that the Shoguns adopted son has been killing peasants.
So he
assembles a band of samurai to hunt down and assassinate this tyrant.
Takashi Miike does a grand job directing, the characters are well written,
and the movie is beautifully shot.
1950's Rashomon (Akira Kurosawa), is a story about a crime that's been told
from different perspectives which all contradict each other.
It's a
masterpiece in storytelling, a puzzle for the viewer, where you spend the
whole time wondering who is telling the truth and who is guilty (Toshir�
Mifune).
A must see for people who like mysteries.
1985's Ran, is an adaptation of Shakespeare's King Lear, �where an elderly
warlord (Tatsuya Nakadai) retires, handing over his land to his three sons.
However, he vastly underestimates how the new found power corrupts
them and cause them to turn on each other and him.
The battle scenes are
suitably over the top with bright red blood, and the humour is subtle
enough not to get in the way.
1961's Yojimbo.
This movie follows a lone samurai (Toshiro Mifune), who
drifts into a small town soon to discover that the town is divided by two
criminal gangs.
The samurai Sanjuro, who is probably the coolest character
in cinema, sees this as an easy opportunity to make money by lending his
services to both sides.
This film was the main inspiration for the movie A
Fist Full of Dollars, where you have Clint Eastwood playing the stranger,
who wonders into the town.
1963's Sanjuro, the righteous sequel to Yojimbo.
Unfortunately not as
popular as the original, probably because as it wasn't remade into a
western.
In this film Sanjuro returns to help an idealistic group of young
samurai to weed out their clan's corrupt superintendent.
This film is as fast
moving and well written as its predecessor.
1962's Harakiri (Masaki Kobayashi).
Harakiri is a Japanese form of ritual
suicide, also known as Seppuku.
The story follows an elder ronin samurai
(Tatsuya Nakadai) who arrives at a feudal lords home and requests an
honourable place to commit suicide.
But when the ronin inquires about a
younger samurai who arrived before him, things take an unexpected turn.
The plot to this movie will haunt you, in my opinion this is easily one of the
best samurai movies ever made.
2002's The Twilight Samurai, Where a 19th-century low-level samurai
(Hiroyuki Sanada) struggles to get by while working as a clerk at a clan
office.
After losing his wife to disease and having to care for his daughters,
things are pretty bad for him, until the arrival of someone from his past
stirs things up.
The Twilight Samurai is beautifully made, it works really well with how it
deals with Japanese honour, duty and saving face.
And director Yamada Yoji
does an amazing job with this film.
2003's The Last Samurai, why is this movie on the list?
Well what I like
about this movie, is that it's a samurai film from a western point of view.
Where Tom Cruise an American military advisor embraces the Samurai
culture he was hired to destroy after he is captured in battle.
Director
Edward Zwick does a good job with his historical and cultural research,
which leads to a great gateway movie for western audiences to enjoy a
Japanese themed film.
1966's The Sword of Doom, follows a highly skilled sociopathic samurai
(Tatsuya Nakadai) that goes around killing people.
His actions builds a trail
of vendettas that end up follow him closely.
Most samurai movies have an
element where the main protagonist of the film is somewhat relatable and
does good.
But with Director Okamoto Kihachi's The Sword of Doom, that is
not the case.
The particular samurai in this film is dark, violent, and very
intense.
And that's my video!
leave a comment in the comments section down
below on which Samurai movie is your favourite, and if you have any
suggestions for any other film genres for me to cover, please by all means,
let me know, and don't forget to like and Subscribe.
10 Iconic Samurai Movies That You Need To See