cinemadiso's - Samurai films must see List
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Harakiri (1962)Seppuku
In a magnificent performance. Tatsuya Nakadai stars as Hanshiro Tsugumo. a masterless down-and-out samurai who enters the manor of Lord lyi. requesting to commit ritual suicide on his property. Suspected of simply fishing for charity, Hanshiro is told the gruesome tale of the last samurai who made the same request - but Hanshiro will not be moved... - Director:
- Masaki Kobayashi
- Cast:
- Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Ishihama, Shima Iwashita
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Seven Samurai (1954)Shichinin no Samurai
In 16th century Japan a poor village is raided every year by a group of bandits until, driven to the brink of starvation, the villagers decide to hire professional warriors to protect them. With only three meager meals a day to offer as payment, their request seems an impossible one. A simple plot, flawlessly executed - 'Seven Samurai' combines comedy, pathos, memorable characters, gripping tension and some of the finest action scenes ever filmed. - Director:
- Akira Kurosawa
- Cast:
- Toshirô Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Tsushima
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Yojimbo (1961)Yôjinbô / Bodyguard
The enigmatic samurai in Yojimbo is played by the great Toshiro Mifune as a scruffy, scratching, itinerant warrior who wanders into a strange town and right into the middle of two warring clans. Showing his skills with the samurai sword within minutes of his arrival, he soon has the town's rival factions competing for his services.Kurosawa's genius for storytelling combines with thrilling swordplay, a healthy dose of black humour, a soundtrack every bit as atmospheric and amusing as Ennio Morricone's, and a towering performance from Mifune, to make Yojimbo an irresistible widescreen action movie. - Director:
- Akira Kurosawa
- Cast:
- Toshirô Mifune, Eijirô Tôno, Tatsuya Nakadai
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The Sword of Doom (1966)Dai-bosatsu tôge
Tatsuya Nakadai and Toshiro Mifune star in this story of a wandering samurai who exists in a maelstrom of violence. A gifted swordsman plying his craft during the turbulent final days of shogunate rule in Japan, Ryunosuke (Nakadai) kills without remorse or mercy. It is a way of life that ultimately leads to madness. Kihachi Okamoto's swordplay classic is the thrilling tale of a man who chooses to devote his life to evil. - Director:
- Kihachi Okamoto
- Cast:
- Tatsuya Nakadai, Michiyo Aratama, Yûzô Kayama
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Throne of Blood (1957)Kumonosu-Jô
Kurosawa's transposition of Shakespeare's Macbeth to sixteenth century Japan is immensely successful in capturing the spirit of the original. A truly remarkable film combining beauty and terror to produce a mood of haunting power. 'Throne of Blood' also shows Kurosawa's familiar mastery of atmosphere, action and the savagery of war. - Director:
- Akira Kurosawa
- Cast:
- Toshirô Mifune, Minoru Chiaki, Isuzu Yamada
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Sanjuro (1962)Tsubaki Sanjûrô
'Sanjuro' was a film made in response to popular demand. The previous year Kurosawa had scored a huge critical and commercial hit for his own production company with Yojimbo, which introduced the character calling himself 'Sanjuro' (which means simply 'thirty years old'), the scruffy, mercenary, cynical ronin (masterless samurai) played by Toshiro Mifune. The public had taken this maverick figure to their hearts and demanded a sequel. Originally Kurosawa had planned to give the script to another director, Hiromichi Horikawa, but finally decided to take it on himself. - Director:
- Akira Kurosawa
- Cast:
- Toshirô Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Keiju Kobayashi
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Ran (1985)Revolt
Akira Kurosawa's acclaimed study of power, revenge and retribution is set against the magnificent backdrop of feudal warfare in sixteenth century Japan. Transposing the events of Shakespeare's King Lear to the blood-thirsty 'Period of Warring States', 'Ran' tells the story of a bitter power struggle within the family of Warlord Hidetora Ichimonji (Tatsuya Nakadai). After fifty years of ruthless slaughter Hidetora divides his kingdom among his sons, seeking peaceful retirement. However, as his life descends into chaos, he is unable to escape the corruption within his family and the torment within his soul. - Director:
- Akira Kurosawa
- Cast:
- Tatsuya Nakadai, Seizô Katô, Akira Terao
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Samurai Rebellion (1967)Jôi-uchi: Hairyô tsuma shimatsu
Framed within the classic Japanese conflict between giri (feudal loyalty) and ninjo (human feeling) Samurai Rebellion finds ultimate value in the mutual love of a husband and and wife... a rare enough moral resolution in any Japanese warrior film. This is made even more unusual by the fact that the director Kobayashi was a Marxist critic of society, who might have regarded romantic love as a bourgeois luxury. Mifune played Isaburo Sasahara, a man who has spent his life of self abnegation in the service of his lord. A fine swordsman, his only equal is Tatewaki Asano, played by Nakadai. Unused to protesting against personal or social injustice, Sasahara is finally roused by his lord's seizure of his daughter in law. Not only is he brought into direct opposition with his own clan, but with his former friend, Asano. - Director:
- Masaki Kobayashi
- Cast:
- Toshirô Mifune, Yôko Tsukasa, Gô Katô
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Kagemusha (1980)Kagemusha: The Shadow Warrior
Shingen (Tatsuya Nakadai), a powerful warload, has become as legendary as the motto emblazoned on his war banners. "Swift as the wind, silent as the forest, fierce as the fire, immovable as the mountain". As he lies dying from his battle wounds. Shingen orders his clan to find a double to replace him - to keep his death secret so that his enemies will not attack. The man chosen for this role is called Kagemusha (the shadow of the warrior). However this Kagemusha turns out to be a petty criminal who must somehow transfer himself into a great leader and command allegiance of 25,000 samurai warriors. - Director:
- Akira Kurosawa
- Cast:
- Tatsuya Nakadai, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Ken'ichi Hagiwara
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The Twilight Samurai (2002)Tasogare Seibei
Since the death of his wife, Seibei's main concern is for his family. Invitations for drinks with fellow workers are refused in favour of getting home, and Seibei earns the nickname 'Twilight Samurai'. Soon, a chance meeting with an old friend brings news of a lost childhood love, and a reunion makes an emotional impact upon both Seibei and his two daughters. But the woman is still married, and Seibei is forced to defend her honour by fighting the overbearing husband. As news of his fighting skills travels, Seibei is ordered by the ruling clan to serve as a Samurai in a matter of great importance. Stylish, moving and evocative, The Twilight Samurai tells the tale of a low-ranking retainer whose struggle to keep his family, and maintain his honour without resorting to the violence he denounces, is tested at every level. - Director:
- Yôji Yamada
- Cast:
- Hiroyuki Sanada, Rie Miyazawa, Nenji Kobayashi
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When the Last Sword Is Drawn (2004)Mibu Gishi Den
Set in the last days of the Edo period in Kyoto amongst the Shinsengumi, the guardians of the imperial capital, there is one man who shows outstanding skill as a swordsman. He is Kanichiro Yoshimura, an economic refugee from the famine in Northern Japan. His one sole pre-occupation is self preservation, to allow him to earn enough money to send home to his starving family. His fellow samurai scorn him for his dishonourable, mercenary ways. Foremost amongst his antagonists is Saito, one of the leading figures in the group. As the Kyoto government of the time disintegrates into civil war the Shinsengumi are called upon to defend their clan against the superior government troops and Kanichiro distinguishes himself time and time again in mortal combat, earning the respect of his fellow samurai and the friendship of Saito. Told in retrospective by the dual memories of Kanichiro's grandson, from tales told by his father and those of an elderly, deteriorating Saito. When The Last Sword Is Drawn is a stirring, stylish and evocative look at the last of days of a dying breed of men who held honour above all else. - Director:
- Yôjirô Takita
- Cast:
- Kiichi Nakai, Kôichi Satô, Yui Natsukawa
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He doesn't need to see you to kill you...Zatoichi... A warrior so highly skilled, his lack of sight is no barrier to the removal of your arms and legs with one sweep of his cold steel blade. Across dozens of movies, the sightless fighter has fought injustice and oppression but this one is the bloodiest, most gore splattered yet! Zatoichi finds himself trying to protect the poor and weak against injustice in a vicious turf war between two warring Yakuza clans as he battles trained killers on both sides who want to bring him down. Luckily, with super sensitive hearing, lightening reactions and virtuoso blade skills, each will die in a fountain of crimson blood. - Director:
- Shintarô Katsu
- Cast:
- Shintarô Katsu, Kanako Higuchi, Takanori Jinnai
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Baby Cart in the Land of Demons (1973)Kozure Ôkami: Meifumadô
Prior to hiring Ogami Itto (Tomisaburô Wakayama), Lord Kuroda, head of the Kuroda clan, sends his five greatest warriors to individually test the skill of Lone Wolf. Ogami passes the test. Hired to ensure that the succession of the clan passes to the legitimate heir, the son of Lord Kuroda, Lone Wolf becomes enmeshed in a web of intrigue that leads in turn to the Yagyu. Before he can break free, he must turn against the very men who hired him, the loyal retainers of the Kuroda clan. - Director:
- Kenji Misumi
- Cast:
- Tomisaburô Wakayama, Michiyo Ôkusu, Akihiro Tomikawa
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