Samurai Movies

[c.ryo]

Miyamoto
Great list, thank you for sharing.

[kanett]

Hero - by Jet Lee, the best movie ever in term of spirit.

[c.ryo]

kanett
Hero isn't really a samurai related movie. Its may share the period and era, but not the location. If i'm correct its based in China.

[buntaro]

Sorry, if this has already been posted. I have no time to check all Imdb links in previous posts

"When the Last Sword is Drawn" (2003) Rating 7.5 Period of 1860s
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0359692/

"Taboo" (1999) Rating 6.8 Period of 1860s, but main theme of the movie is not ... combat. I love the movie for its soundtrack.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0213682/

"Harakiri" from the 1960s actually has a recent remake:
"Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai" (2011) Rating 7.2
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1728196/

And last but not least:
"Sword of Desperation" (2010) Rating 6.9
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1606761/

[c.ryo]

buntaro
Thank you for sharing. All of those look like amazing movies.

[Okuto]

IMO it's hard not to find a samurai movie that isn't infected by Anime stupidity.....you know...samurai with motorcycles/bazookas....dandy metro samurai who wear lipstick....ninjas who play baseball with kunai....geisha with guns in their butt....sigh.....Japanese martial art films are imo the bastard children of Asian film industry.....

luckily the Japanese make great horrors and decent soap operas...leave action movies to our Korean, Thai and Chinese brothers

However any samurai movie prior to Ran is a safe bet Anime didn't infect live action too much yet....

There's only a rare few samurai movies post Ran that are worth mentioning, I won't mention the ones everyone else has mentioned


Like twilight samurai
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0351817/

or hidden blade
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0442286/

or love and honor
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0483578/

Just remember for every 1 good "sane" samurai film there are 5 anime infested poo piled bastardized samurai films


DISCLAIMER
I'm not an anime hater....I just hate when anime appears in live action, it doesn't translate well....ninjas with gun trotting tonfas may be cool in anime but it's outrageously stupid in real life.....

I'd like my live action samurai/ninja to look like they're actually capable of fighting.....

Hero - by Jet Lee, the best movie ever in term of spirit.

errrr......I fail to see how Qing era China struggling with western/japanese humiliation has anything to do with samurai

[c.ryo]

Okuto
In a way I fully agree with you. Thou some movies/anime are not supposed to be very realistic and related to something. That's where they intervene between the genres and mix and match as you may say. But sadly there are only a dozen good ones you can count. As you have mentioned for 1 good movie there are 5 bad movies or even 10, in fact for me its more of 1 for 30.

I am a person that always tries to seek realism and some sort of "sane" explanation and justification in a movies / anime, anything literally. So yes as you mentioned anime does influence a lot. That, for me, makes it very difficult to find anything that i would like. I can recall only one good anime that I actually liked, it was Berserk, sadly they have never finished it.

[Erwin Rommel]

Aww. I was just about to recommend Hyouge Mono.

[c.ryo]

Erwin Rommel
Hehe, well you can always suggest something.

[c.ryo]

Damn it! double post, please delete.

[Okuto]

I wouldn't suggest any sort of samurai anime....even though I have many favorites........a guilty pleasure

[Erwin Rommel]

Good idea Okuto, we cant let them be traumatized. This poor jidaigeki virgins.

[hippacrocafish]

Dunno if it's been mentioned, but I just recently watched Samurai Rebellion and man was it good. The pacing and writing felt like a Shakespeare play and there's only one, but really long and cool, chunk of action towards the end.

[c.ryo]

hippacrocafish
If this is the one you mean. Then yes.

[Koljan]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098322/

[c.ryo]

Koljan
Thank you for contributing. Updated 1st post.

[MLKMR]

Hopefully these haven't been mentioned yet ?

Lady Snowblood and its sequel

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0158714/

Rashomon

http://www.imdb.com/find?q=Rashomon&s=all

Ame Agaru (after the rain)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181960/

Machibuse

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066031/

Shogun's Samurai The Yagyu Clan Conspiracy

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0278257/

Samurai reincarnation

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082699/

Shinsengumi Chronicles

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0227492/

Shinobi

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0475723/

Daredevil in castle (mifune)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055267/

Mikogami x 3

http://www.imdb.com/find?q=mikogami&s=all

Sleepy eyes of death 14 movies (!! These are good!!)

http://www.imdb.com/find?q=sleepy+eyes+of+death&s=all

Azumi, there is also a sequel

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0384819/

Anyway, I could list 50 more, but if you haven't watched much yet do the essentials first i.e. Samurai trilogy (the one with Mifune, the other trilogy is not so good although it depicts other events so it fills some gaps), Lady snowblood 1+2, the unfinished Mikogami trilogy, the 6 parts of lone wolf & the cub, sleepy eyes series, hell even throw in some not so serious ones like the latest Zatoichi move and Azumi. I'm sure I forgot a lot of good ones though

[MLKMR]

OK 2 more

The Last Samurai (1974) , with Tosa wigs and cannons

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0123129/ (think this is the correct one)

...hm forgot the other one, but it was a good one

[c.ryo]

MLKMR
Quiate a list! Will Update now.

[Fredster30]

I give my own recommendation for you guys to see "Twilight Samurai" (2002). It is above excellence!

I also recommend this link (apologies if its been posted before)
http://www.samuraidvd.net/