Criterion Collection Themes - Samurai Cinema
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Samurai cinema, which includes both chanbara (action-oriented sword-fight films) and the historical jidai-geki film, focuses on the nationally mythologized samurai warriors of the twelfth to sixteenth century. Like the American western, the samurai film lends itself to tales of loyalty, revenge, romance, fighting prowess, and the decline of a traditional way of life. Akira Kurosawa’s samurai films have arguably been the most influential both in Japan and around the world; certainly the range of his approaches—from Seven Samurai’s epic scope to Yojimbo’s acidic black humor to Ran’s poetic despair—established the genre’s creative possibilities, influencing generations of filmmakers, including George Lucas and Quentin Tarantino. Key works of the genre, in its more traditional form, also include Masaki Kobayashi’s Samurai Rebellion, Masahiro Shinoda’s Samurai Spy, and Hiroshi Inagaki’s Musashi Miyamoto, the first part of his epic “Samurai Trilogy.”
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1 new
Seppuku
1962 — a.k.a. Hara-Kiri, in 16 top lists Check -
2 new
Kakushi-toride no san-akunin
1958 — a.k.a. The Hidden Fortress, in 9 top lists Check -
3 new
Kagemusha
1980, in 10 top lists Check -
4 new
Kiru
1968 — a.k.a. Kill!, in 3 top lists Check -
5 new
Kaidan
1964 — a.k.a. Kwaidan, in 13 top lists Check -
6 new
Yabu no naka no kuroneko
1968 — a.k.a. Black Cat, in 6 top lists Check -
7 new
Onibaba
1964, in 13 top lists Check -
8 new
Ran
1985, in 25 top lists Check -
9 new
Rashômon
1950 — a.k.a. Rashomon, in 34 top lists Check -
10 new
Miyamoto Musashi
1954 — a.k.a. Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto, in 5 top lists Check -
11 new
Zoku Miyamoto Musashi: Ichijôji no kettô
1955 — a.k.a. Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple, in 3 top lists Check -
12 new
Miyamoto Musashi kanketsuhen: kettô Ganryûjima
1956 — a.k.a. Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island, in 3 top lists Check -
13 new
Jôi-uchi: Hairyô tsuma shimatsu
1967 — a.k.a. Samurai Rebellion, in 8 top lists Check -
14 new
Ibun Sarutobi Sasuke
1965 — a.k.a. Samurai Spy, in 2 top lists Check -
15 new
Tsubaki Sanjûrô
1962 — a.k.a. Sanjuro, in 7 top lists Check -
16 new
Sugata Sanshirô
1943 — a.k.a. Sanshiro Sugata, in 2 top lists Check -
17 new
Zoku Sugata Sanshirô
1945 — a.k.a. Sanshiro Sugata, Part Two, in 1 top list Check -
18 new
Shichinin no samurai
1954 — a.k.a. Seven Samurai, in 36 top lists Check -
19 new
Dai-bosatsu tôge
1966 — a.k.a. The Sword of Doom, in 5 top lists Check -
20 new
Kedamono no ken
1965 — a.k.a. Sword of the Beast, in 2 top lists Check -
21 new
Sanbiki no samurai
1964 — a.k.a. Three Outlaw Samurai, in 2 top lists Check -
22 new
Kumonosu-jô
1957 — a.k.a. Throne of Blood, in 16 top lists Check -
23 new
Yôjinbô
1961 — a.k.a. Yojimbo, in 19 top lists Check
Last updated on Jun 12, 2014; source