Favorite Samurai/Ninja movies

[MA-Caver]

I have never seen Hidden Fortress by Akiro Kurosawa. However seeing the references that it was inspirational for Star Wars, I am definately going to hunt down a copy and watch it!

Brian R. VanCise
www.instinctiveresponsetraining.com

It is a good film. Two bumbling characters bring to mind C-3PO and R2-D2, the samurai who is "in charge" is definitely Han Solo and the princess well... of course Leia. Luke and Ben are nowhere to be seen.

Throne of Blood is also fantastic in that it brings some of the Japanese folk-lore of hauntings, ghosts and curses. The final battle scene is magnificent. Ran was inspired by Shakespere's King Lear. It has epic battle scenes and a tragic ending.
Someone mentioned Heaven and Earth. I'd forgotten about that one. And recall that it was just as thrilling as the aforementioned films.
Rashomon is brilliant. A samurai detective mystery. Seen from four different view-points of a murder of a samurai lord and the rape of his lady. The ending is designed to provide after viewing dinner discussions.
The Samurai I, II, & III films are based on Miyamoto Mushashi life. As mentioned more drama than action. But very well done.

 

[stickarts]

Shogun is one of my favorites!

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

Hey for pure comedy what about "Beverly Hills Ninja" that was very hillarious!

Brian R. VanCise
www.instinctiveresponsetraining.com

 

[soul_sword34]

"Beverly Hills Ninja", all time classic. Rest in peace Chris Farley. I have seen this movie when I was a little kid but only seen half of it and to this day I still want to finish watching that. It has Toshiro Mifune in it and all I can remember about it is they are looking for buried gold in these mountains and I think there is a girl in it, princess? Gosh!!! What is that movie? Also anyone ever see "Red Sun"? I think it was with Mifune and Charles Bronson.

 

[evenflow1121]

Zatoichi I thought was a great movie

Heaven and Earth, the Japanese film

 

[MA-Caver]

While this isn't a Samurai flick I just got done watching "Nora inu" or Stray Dog (1949) dir. by Kurosawa and starring Mifune.
It's a detective story set in post WWII Japan. Good plot, story, acting, directing (natch) and offers a rare glimpse of Japanese baseball soon after they took up the sport after the war, filmed during an actual game I suppose. It also takes a look at Japanese cabaret style dance-hall girls and the lives they lead.
I recommend it, dispite the "off-topic" genre this film has.
I think the LEO's here would appreciate it. A rookie cop (Mifune) loses his gun to a pick-pocket and goes to lengths to recover it.

 

[soul_sword34]

Zatoichi I thought was a great movie

Heaven and Earth, the Japanese film

Which Zatoichi? There must be over 20 of those movies. The only Zatoichi I ever saw was "Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo". Very good flick.

 

[Shaun]

Not already mentioned here, there is a movie called : Kedamona no Ken (aka Samurai Gold Seekers). It had both ronin and samurai perspectives in it.

 

[MA-Caver]

Which Zatoichi? There must be over 20 of those movies. The only Zatoichi I ever saw was "Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo". Very good flick.

The one I seen that I liked best was Zatôichi: The Blind Swordsman (2003) starring and dir. by Takeshi Kitano . You're right that the film industry there had made dozens of Zatoichi films ... hard to say which of the old ones were the best ones.

 

[Don Roley]

Heaven and Earth, the Japanese film

Good battle scenes, filmed in Canada of all places. If you get it, pay attention to just how many of the soldiers have something covering their face. That is because the extras were almost all white. I don't think there has been a Japanese film with battles on that scale made before or since.

Has anyone mentioned Kagemusha? Good story based on real events.

 

[elder999]

Well if you don't know already... Yojimbo (1961) was the inspiration for the Clint Eastwood star-maker "A Fistful of Dollars" (1964)..

Interstingly, Yojimbo was inspired by two noir pieces of the 40's, both based on Dashiell Hammett novels, The Glass Key, and Red Harvest, with some argument about which had the most influence. Kurosawa himself frequently cited The Glass Key, while various film scholars favor Red Harvest-the beating scene is almost an exact copy of the one in the first film, while the plot more closely follows that of Red Harvest.

Someone once commented to Kurosawa that Sergio Leone stole A Fistful of Dolars from him,to which Kurosawa replied, "So what? I stole it from Dashiell Hammett!"

I liked Seppuku (1962)myself, as wll as just about any of the Kurosawa flicks.......

 

[arnisador]

Not a movie, but the pilot ep. of the Sci-Fi Channel's new show "Eureka" that showed this week had a holodeck-style battle of an armoured samurai with a staff against several kendoka.

 

[Cryozombie]

Has anyone mentioned Kagemusha? Good story based on real events.

Yes I did... It was on my list:

Samuari I, II, & III (much more drama than action)
Seven Samurai
Yojimbo
Sanjuro (the "sequal" to yojimbo)
Chushingura (classic 47 ronin story)
Kagemusha (SP?)
Shinobi No Mono (I still say these movies are what started the ninja craze)
Zoku Shinobi No Mono
Owls Castle (not so old, but a great ninja flick)
Red Shadow (again not so old, but a fun ninja comedy)
Heaven and Earth (Not the american film, the samurai flick)

 

[chris_มวยไทย]

heaven and earth is good , its very old , and not much fighting however it does show lots on how the samurai lived and ther philosiphy , if you have ntl on your tv (if you dont know what ntl is then ignore the rest of this post) pres the "on demand" button , then on "movies" then on "movie type" then on "martial arts" , then theres a list of martial arts movies you can pay to watch and heaven and earth is there , its worth watching if you like the way the samurai lived , but if you only like the fighting its best to give it a miss.


chris

p.s. the last sumurai is a great samurai film , im not too keen on nija films tho

 

[Kreth]

p.s. the last sumurai is a great samurai film , im not too keen on nija films tho

As long as you're not big on things like historical accuracy...

 

[chris_มวยไทย]

lol good point , i enjoyed it thought , even if there was barely and fighting and the last fight was crap , but it is unique , its not evrydau you see a movie where the "good side" loses!

 

[MA-Caver]

I am watching this movie (my second go-around). Forgotten about this and rented it again only to find ah, I've seen this before. But still like it a lot.
Although it is not an "older" movie asian: to Swordlady), it's a charming wonderful and tragic film.
There are marvelous fight scenes scattered throughout. In one Iguchi accepts a challenge in place of a close friend. His challenger is supposed to be a high ranking Samurai and skilled with the sword. However; Iguchi is forbidden to duel by his clan and thus shows up at the fight with a short (2 foot) practice stick, thereby further insulting the other Samurai.
The fight is marvelous due to the final stroke by Iguchi.
There are bits of Aikido sprinkled here and there as well.
Great film. Check it out.

Tasogare Seibei aka Twilight Samurai(2002)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0351817/
Seibei Iguchi, a low-ranking samurai, leads a life without glory as a bureaucrat in the mid-XIX century Japan. A widower, he has charge of two daughters (whom he adores) and a senile mother; he must therefore work in the fields and accept piecework to make ends meet. New prospects seem to open up when Tomoe, his long-time love, divorces a brutal husband. However, even as the Japanese feudal system is unraveling, Seibei remains bound by the code of honour of the samurai and by his own sense of social precedences. The consequences are cruel.

 

[Elayna]

Im not sure if this counts...But my and my hubby tottaly love this movie for alot of different reasons.The House of Flying Daggers.Love the plot. Love the special effects. Love the sound track too. Love it!