Good samurai/martial arts films?

[nalogg]

HI!

there's something I've been meaning to get around to doing.

that is to say, WATCHING SOME GOOD SAMURAI FILMS!

i've seen seven samurai of course, but what are some more good ones i can viddy?

doesn't actually have to be samurai.... any good martial arts films in general that are worth seeing.. i'm a fan of drunken master, iron monkey, everything jet li...etc etc... but i wanna see some classic or quality samurai movies

I watch a lot of anime already, so please no anime suggestions

-Norm

PS: if you want to see an utterly cheezy but entertaining film look for the "b" movie "Ninja Enforcer" classic........ it's been a staple for late night drunken entertainment for me for a long time

[D'Artagnan]

1). Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
2). Power Rangers the Movie
3). Samurai Pizza Cats
4). Samurai Jack
5). Dragon : The Bruce Lee Story
6). All of the Karate Kid movies
7). American Ninja

Above is the definative martial arts movie collection. Without these don't expect to progress in martial arts...

[webjunkie401]

I haven't seen many, but I would suggest Kurasawa's Yojimbo and Sanjuro. A lot of the guys where I practice also like the Lone Wolf and Cub series.

[Skolld]

Kurasawa's Ran is excellent, It is his adaptation of King Lear, spectacular visuals. Throne of Blood by Kurasawa is also very good, it is his version of Macbeth. I also second Yojimbo.
Other fun martial art flicks are:
Hard Boiled, the original version is better than the dubbed.
Any of the Wu Tang Kung Fu classics are good.
I recently watched The Returner and Full-time Killers, both imports that are fun in an over the top kind of way and should be in a nearby video store.

hope that helps.

[Neil Gendzwill]

The Challenge
The Yakuza
Above The Law
Big Trouble in Little China
Ninja Turf (for sheer awfullness)

[Sentunim]

Are you guys waiting for someone to say Last Samurai, The ? Well, I'm not going to do it.

[hyuna]

It isn't a samurai movie, but the final sword duel scene (the Woodcutter's version) in Rashomon is the closest to what I imagine really happens in a sword fight as I've ever seen on film.

[Twobitmage]

sword of doom

kogen itto ryu action!

[Taek]

Well, I was looking forward to watching some good samurai films while I was visiting Japan early this year but was quite disappointed to find out most of local video stores carries much fewer samurai films than I expected. I've seen most of Kurosawa's samurai films. I recommend to watch Sanjuro, Yojimbo and Seven Samurais. Toshiro Mifune acted most of Kurosawa's film and he is not only good actor but great master swordman. We can easily get them from any video stores in Australia nowadays. I'm not sure about anywhere else in the world. I discovered a really nice film made by Kurosawa's formal assistant director. English tiltle is "After rain" and in Japanese, "Ame agaru". I think you might be able to find one in a Japanese grocery store where you can hire Japanese TV drama stuff if you have any large Japanese community in your city. This film is not packed with action scene or dramatic story such as Sanjuro or Yojimbo but has the kind of very beautiful tranqulity feeling in it. Kurosawa worte it at his late life so it really shows lots of things he really wanted to show to viewers in the world about Japan. One scene in the film, the samurai draws his sward and pratice kata in quite wood, just got engraved in my head ever since. Sounds might be silly but I didn't understand a word as it didn't have English subtitle but I felt what the film was trying to say as most of other Kurosawa's film do.

[Usagi San]

Well, there's this samurai movie I really like a lot. It's originally called Joi-uchi I think, but the english tittle is Samurai Rebellion. It's a Masaki Kobayashi's movie; the same guy that directed "Harakiri", and the excellent, and most exquisite, "Kwaidan" (gost stories).
It as Toshiro Mifune in the main role, at his best I must say, co-starring with none other than Tatsuya Nakadai. Can it get any better? Well... yes, the black and white cinematography by Kazuo Yamada... oh man.
Just amazing.

[Hotei]

Big Trouble in Little China (no, really)

Seven Samurai (I can't believe I'm the first to post that!)

Ran

Any of the series of "Samurai" movies, loosely (very loosely) based on Musashi's life

If you're just looking for martial arts choreography, go here (http://www.firstuniversal.clara.net/1000-classic-kung-fu-films.htm).

And if you just want to see some unbelievable, real martial arts practice, pick up any Paulie Zink video. The man is made of rubber and held together with Monkey Kung-Fu.

[DCPan]

http://www.kendo-world.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2827

[boxerpit]

idont belive none of you said zatoichi.that a great film series and tv show.the last zatoich film was in 1989. it was one of the best in series.

[KhawMengLee]

3). Samurai Pizza Cats


SAMURAI PIZZA CATS! OH YEAH!!!! WHO DO YOU CALL WHEN U WANT SOME PEPPERONI?!!

In no particular order:

1) Tasogare Seibei (Twilight Samurai)
2) Samurai Fiction
3) Kagemusha
4) Lone Wolf and Cub series
5) SANJURO
6) YOJIMBO
7) SEVEN SAMURAI
8) SHOGUN's SAMURAI
9) GOHATTO
10) RAN

[KOMA]

Might want to see Ghost dog

[Nanbanjin]

Might want to see Ghost dog
Yeah, Ghost Dog was cool.

[paty.]

It's quite hard to find but Heaven & Earth is an execllent Japanese samurai epic. It's about the struggle between Uesugi and Takeda.

[Nanbanjin]

The Challenge
The Yakuza
Above The Law
Big Trouble in Little China
Ninja Turf (for sheer awfullness)Yeah, I quite liked The Challenge.
Wasn't that Mifune as the old Japanese guy?

Saw a thing on TV last night that showed scenes from some old blacksploitation kung-fu movies that looked pretty cool. Anyone got any recommendations along these lines?

[not-I]

Saw a thing on TV last night that showed scenes from some old blacksploitation kung-fu movies that looked pretty cool. Anyone got any recommendations along these lines?
This seems to have some good references: http://www.megspace.com/entertainment/highimpact/articles/blaxploitationkungfu.html

I have to admit, i've only seen fragments from some of those movies, mostly in Ol' Dirty Bastard's video for "Got Your Money."
But a guy at our dojo has seen a few of them i think. He even has a t-shirt from one of those flicks. I'll have to ask him about it next time at beer-keiko.

If you liked Ghost Dog and haven't seen Dead Man by the same director, then do check it out. Not exactly samurai, but martial arts nonetheless. And very funny.

[Nanbanjin]

This seems to have some good references: http://www.megspace.com/entertainment/highimpact/articles/blaxploitationkungfu.html

I have to admit, i've only seen fragments from some of those movies, mostly in Ol' Dirty Bastard's video for "Got Your Money."
But a guy at our dojo has seen a few of them i think. He even has a t-shirt from one of those flicks. I'll have to ask him about it next time at beer-keiko.

If you liked Ghost Dog and haven't seen Dead Man by the same director, then do check it out. Not exactly samurai, but martial arts nonetheless. And very funny.
Thanks for the link. I had never really thought of Wesley Snipes as belonging to the same genre. Makes sense though.

I have seem Dead Man and thought it was cool, as was Night on Earth, which had nothing to do with martial arts.

[cbubacz]

Sword of Doom

Goyokin

Sleepy Eyes of Death (series)

Just about anything with Wakayama Tomisaburo (Lone Wolf & Cub, Mute Samurai)

Zatoichi isn't a samurai film, but its got plenty of reverse-draw swordslinging.

Tenchu

[Soul Blade]

I would have to Say Zatoichi. Not the series but the movie which is pretty new. Produced by Takeshi Kitano and also starred by him.
Plays an excellent role and the movie will have u dancing off your seats at the end. (well not exactly) but it is a different ending to other samurai movies...

Highly recomend.. :)

[KoXinelle]

A very good movie is Hero with Jet lee. It's coming out in US the 30th of this month. It's about chinese history so I'm not sure it really follows the japanese style since I didn't play Kendo yet when I saw it last year. Mentally, it's a Shiai all movie long. Artistically, it's simply beautiful. I can't wait to see it again!

[Kenshin Axel]

ARRRGGGKKK!!
That movie sucked so bad!!
I rented it out last week!
eeewwww!
I couldnt watch it all, too boring for me.
But opinions vary.

[Hai_hai]

I liked "The Last Samurai". It's about samurai and stuff. That's why they put the word "Samurai" in the title of the movie and have samurai characters in the movie.

[nalogg]

Might want to see Ghost dog
Ah yes sorry I didn't see the reply to this post in time.
It was quite nice of you to bring the dvd for me. but i have it on video.
it's a great movie!

I just wish he used a sword rather than guns, to kill all those gangsters.

I've been slobbering over this Akira Kurosawa 4 in 1 DVD boxed set for a while, so once i get it maybe i'll let you borrow some.

[nalogg]

next time at beer-keiko.

ahahahahahaha
beer keiko
that's awesome
i wish my club had beer keiko
maybe they do, and just don't invite the non-bogu :(

[nalogg]

A very good movie is Hero with Jet lee. It's coming out in US the 30th of this month. It's about chinese history so I'm not sure it really follows the japanese style since I didn't play Kendo yet when I saw it last year. Mentally, it's a Shiai all movie long. Artistically, it's simply beautiful. I can't wait to see it again!
I've seen it, but it was in chinese, so i didn't know exactly what was happening.
but i'll go see it again when it comes out in canada.

ALSO i say the zatoichi movie at the cumberland theater in downtown toronto
WICKED movie

makes me wish i was blind...... ok well no it doesn't

[JenZee]

Nobody's seen Mibu Gishiden (When the Last Sword is Drawn, in English)?!?!? My favourite Japanese film ever... Doesn't really qualify as a martial arts film, as it's more story/emotion driven than fighting... It's one of those movies taking place during Meiji restoration and is about the Shinsengumi.... Really really great movie :), better than Twilight Samurai and the new Zatoichi in my opinion.

http://www.shochiku.co.jp/mibugishi/intro.html

Makes me want to watch it again... :O

[JenZee]

Just kidding, a bunch of people who wrote in the thread DCPan plugged mentioned Mibu Gishiden...heh, sorry~

[not-I]

i wish my club had beer keiko
maybe they do, and just don't invite the non-bogu :(
i had assumed it's an international practice. perhaps there is an initiation ritual involved at your dojo. if it really doesn't exist there, you should appeal to ancient kendo tradition. :wink:

[Hai_hai]

Kill Bill Vol. 1

[nalogg]

Kill Bill Vol. 1i like both kill bills, it was really emotionally satisfying

HEY ever notice in kill bill when the main character Beatrix is coming back from japan with her hanzo sword, like 20 other people on the plane ALSO have swords.....

i found that weird, i wonder what the deal is with that

[PhoenixProfile]

Kill Bill vol.2 (Quintin Tarantino)
Kagemusha (Akira Kurosawa)

Well most of the popular have been mentioned so i won't repost :old_man: also about The Last Samurai.... it was a good film except the few flaws i always laugh about. How Tom learnt fluent Japanese in less than 3 seasons, how he killed Taka's husband then afterwards they falls in love and last but not least is when he ran through a hail of bullets coming from a gattling gun without being killed and the last person to stay alive. great film and i do respect his drama skills but i gotta blame the director :evolved: so much can be improved... if sequal. Ah yes not to mention these other titles i just remembered, they aren't fully samurai but most/some scenes are.

Yakuza 1-something...
Crying Freeman
Young and Dangerous 1-5

[KotatsuSama]

It isn't a samurai movie, but the final sword duel scene (the Woodcutter's version) in Rashomon is the closest to what I imagine really happens in a sword fight as I've ever seen on film.
May not be a movie but I think the book was better. If you don't speak Japanese you can get an English Translated book online at places, if you speak Japanese, you can find it online at some places. Really REALLY good, I also recommend Natsume Soseki's Dai-go-ya (Fifth Night) and his book Kokoro is really good too!

For Samurai flicks try SAMURAI you can get it at most Blockbusters under the Foreign section. If you speak Japanese or have access to Japanese movies:
Shuya Yukihime is a good one,
I can't think of any more right now...

-KotatsuSama

[KotatsuSama]

Kill Bill vol.2 (Quintin Tarantino)
Kagemusha (Akira Kurosawa)

Well most of the popular have been mentioned so i won't repost :old_man: also about The Last Samurai.... it was a good film except the few flaws i always laugh about. How Tom learnt fluent Japanese in less than 3 seasons, how he killed Taka's husband then afterwards they falls in love and last but not least is when he ran through a hail of bullets coming from a gattling gun without being killed and the last person to stay alive. great film and i do respect his drama skills but i gotta blame the director :evolved: so much can be improved... if sequal. Ah yes not to mention these other titles i just remembered, they aren't fully samurai but most/some scenes are.

Yakuza 1-something...
Crying Freeman
Young and Dangerous 1-5
I thought Last Samurai was good, his Japanese fluency IS POSSIBLE, if you understood what he was saying he was REALLY BAD so he isn't fluent but I liked it because the words he "learned" and used is exactly how it would be in real life if you were stuck in Japan and started learning that way.
The sword fights were very well choreographed. However I don't like the fact that they say Samurai don't use guns which is VERY UNTRUE. At the begining of the Meiji era and a little before that Samurai started carrying pistols! And I didn't like the Katanas in the movie, they all had a design that was NOT USED BACK THEN. They had the notch so blood can flow out (forgot name) and from what I saw a ton of swords were made in like a month which isn't possible (from what I know...)
Other than that I liked the film.

-KotatsuSama