Recommendations for samurai films? (lemmy.dbzer0.com)

submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by HakunaHafada@lemmy.dbzer0.com to c/movies@piefed.social

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I've enjoyed some of Akira Kurosawa's works (Yojimbo, Sanjuro, Ran, Seven Samurai, Rashoman), and The Hidden Fortress is on my list, but I'd like to hear any of your suggestions for samurai cinema.

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[-] memfree@piefed.social 15 points 1 year ago

There's the Zatoichi series. The first, The Tale of Zatoichi (1962) is required but I gave up after the first three. @falidorn@lemmy.world mentioned that Kazuo Miyagawa was the cinematographer for some of them in this thread.

The Sword of Doom is a classic. Same for Harakiri. Maybe Bushido: The Cruel Code of the Samurai, too (depends on one's tastes). If you don't want to get stuck in the 60s, Twilight Samurai is more modern.

I'm forgetting some that are worth a mention, but I'm totally skipping some titles I think are just 'meh'.

[-] falidorn@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

I’ll piggyback off of this and agree with Zatoichi (the first is definitely worth it) and most definitely the excellent Sword of Doom and Harakiri.

I’m also gonna add a few more:

The Samurai Trilogy - Mifune really gets to stretch his legs and show off some incredible character growth. Great story and action that might not reach Miyazaki’s best but gets darn close.

Samurai Rebellion - a slower paced film (for a samurai movie) that ratchets up the tension with almost each passing scene until it culminates in an emotional confrontation in the fields.

Kubo and the Two Strings - newer stop motion film that maybe stretches the genre a bit but I still highly recommend it. Absolutely stunning.

I have several more that are on high my watchlist:

Kwaidan, Kagemusha, Onibaba, Three Outlaw Samurai