NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Samurai cinema

While earlier samurai period pieces were more dramatic rather than action based, samurai movies post World War II have become more action based, with darker and more violent characters. Samurai epics after World War II tended to portray psychologically or physically scarred warriors.^[1] Akira Kurosawa, Japan's most famous director, stylised and exaggerated death and violence in samurai epics. His Samurai, and many other portrayed in film were solitary figures, more often concerned with concealing their martial abilities, rather than bragging of them.^[1] This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki TÅjÅ Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Akira Kurosawa , 23 March 1910â€”6 September 1998) was a prominent Japanese film director, film producer, and screenwriter. ...

In Japan, the term chambara is used for this genre, literally "Sword fighting" movies,^[2] roughly equating to western Swashbuckler films. Chambara is a sub category of jidaigeki, which equates to Period drama. Jidaigeki may refer to a story set in an historical period, though not necessarily dealing with a samurai character or depicting swordplay. For other uses, see Swashbuckler (disambiguation). ... Jidaigeki (æ™‚ä»£åŠ‡) is a genre of film and television in Japan. ... In the performing arts, a period piece is a work set in a particular era. ...

Historically, the genre is usually set during the Tokugawa era (1600-1868), the samurai film focuses on the end of an entire way of life for the Samurai, many of the films deal with masterless ronin, or Samurai dealing with changes to their status resulting from a changing society. The Edo period ), also called Tokugawa period, is a division of Japanese history running from 1603 to 1868. ...

Samurai films were constantly made into the early 1970s, but by then, overexposure on television, the aging of the big stars of the genre, and the continued decline of the mainstream Japanese film industry put a halt to the most of the production of this often startlingly original, artistic genre.^[3]

Samurai Film Directors

Akira Kurosawa is the best known to western audiences, and similarly has directed the samurai films best known in the West. He directed Seven Samurai, Rashomon, Throne of Blood, Yojimbo and many others. He had a long association with Toshirō Mifune arguably Japan's most famous actor. Mifune himself had a production company that produced Samurai epics, often with him starring . Two of Kurosawa's samurai movies were based on the works of William Shakespeare, Throne of Blood (Macbeth) and Ran (King Lear). A number of his films were re made by Italy and the United States as westerns, or as action films set in other contexts.^[4] His film, Seven Samurai is one of the most important touchstones of the genre and the most well-known outside of Japan. It also illustrates some of the conventions of samurai film in that the main characters are ronin, masterless unemployed samurai, free to act as their conscience dictates. Importantly, these men tend to deal with their problems with their swords and are very skilled at doing so. It also shows the helplessness of the peasantry and the distinction between the two classes. Akira Kurosawa , 23 March 1910â€”6 September 1998) was a prominent Japanese film director, film producer, and screenwriter. ... For other uses, see Seven Samurai (disambiguation). ... This article or section cites its sources but does not provide page references. ... Throne of Blood , lit. ... Yojimbo (Japanese: ç”¨å¿ƒæ£’, YÅjinbÅ) is a 1961 jidaigeki (period drama) film by Akira Kurosawa. ... Toshiro Mifune in Yojimbo. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Macbeth and Banquo meeting the witches on the heath by ThÃ©odore ChassÃ©riau. ... The term Ran can refer to: In film and television: Ran (film), a 1985 film directed by the master Japanese director, Akira Kurosawa Tsukikage Ran, an anime, or its title character Rachel Moore, also called Ran Mori, a fictional character in the manga Case Closed (known as Detective Conan in... King Lear and the Fool in the Storm by William Dyce (1806-1864) King Lear is generally regarded as one of William Shakespeares greatest tragedies. ...

Masaki Kobayashi directed the films Harakiri and Samurai Rebellion, both cynical films based on flawed loyalty to the clan. Masaki Kobayashi (å°æž—æ£æ¨¹ Kobayashi Masaki, February 14, 1916 â€“ October 4, 1996) was a Japanese director who is probably best known for Kwaidan (æ€ªè«‡), a collection of four ghost stories (drawn from the book by Lafcadio Hearn), each of which has a surprise ending. ... Harakiri (åˆ‡è…¹, Seppuku) (1962) is a Japanese film directed by Masaki Kobayashi. ... Rebellion or Samurai Rebellion ) is a 1967 film directed by Masaki Kobayashi. ...

Kihachi Okamoto films focus on violence in a particular fashion. In particular in his films Samurai Assassin, Kill! and Sword of Doom. The latter is particularly violent, the main character engaging in combat for a lengthy 7 minutes of film at the end of the movie. His characters are often estranged from their environments, and their violence is a flawed reaction to this.^[4] Kihachi Okamoto (å²¡æœ¬å–œå…« Okamoto Kihachi, 17 February 1923 â€“ 19 February 2005) was a Japanese film director who has worked in several different genres, including jidaigeki. ... Samurai Assassin is a 1964 Japanese movie directed by Kihachi Okamoto and starring ToshirÃ´ Mifune, Koshiro Matsumoto, Yunosuke Ito, and Michiyo Aratama. ... Kill! (æ–¬ã‚‹) is a 1968 film directed by Kihachi Okamoto starring Tatsuya Nakadai as an ex-samurai who helps defend a farming village against ronin. ... Dai-bosatsu tôge is a samurai movie released in 1966. ...

Gosha Hideo, and many of his films helped create the archetype of the samurai outlaw. Gosha's films are as important as Kurosawa's in terms of their influence, visual style and content, yet are not as well known in the West. Gosha's films often portrayed the struggle between traditional and modernist thought and were decidedly anti-feudal. Hideo Gosha , February 26, 1931â€”August 30, 1992) was a Japanese film director. ...

An excellent example of the kind of immediacy and action evident in the best genre is seen Gosha's first film, the Three Outlaw Samurai based on a television series. Three farmers kidnap the daughter of the local magistrate in order to call attention to the starvation of local peasants, a ronin appears and decides to help them. In the process, two other ronin with shifting allegiances join the drama, the conflict widens, eventually leading to betrayal, assassination and battles between armies of mercenary ronin.^[5]

Popular characters in Samurai films

Zatoichi

At least 26 films were made about the blind swordsman, Zatoichi. A burly masseur with short hair, he is a skilled swordsman who fights using only his hearing. While less known in the West, he is arguably the most famous chambara character in Japan. Shintaro Katsu in Zatoichi Challenged (1967) Takeshi Kitano in Zatoichi (2003) Zatoichi (åº§é å¸‚ ZatÅichi) is a fictional character featured in one of Japans longest running series of films and a television series set in the Edo period. ...

Crimson Bat

Four movies were made about another blind samurai, the Crimson Bat. Her character was a blind female sword fighter, and made in response to the huge success of Zatoichi . The Crimson Bat is a series of four movies based around the character of the same name. ...

Kyoshiri Namuri

This character was a wandering warrior plagued by the fact that he was fathered in less than honorable circumstance by a Portuguese priest and a Japanese mother.

Miyamoto Musashi

A number of films were also made about Miyamoto Musashi , a famed historical warrior and swordsman, including a three movie trilogy about his life, starring Toshirō Mifune. It has been suggested that Timeline of Miyamoto Musashis life be merged into this article or section. ... Toshiro Mifune in Yojimbo. ...

Lone Wolf and Cub

Lone Wolf and Cub, the tale of a Samurai traveling Japan with his son in a pram (which is armed and on occasion used in combat) was made into a series of six movies known as The Baby Cart Series. The films, in chronological order, are: Sword of Vengeance, Baby Cart at the River Styx, Baby Cart to Hades, Baby Cart in Peril, Baby Cart in the Land of Demons, and White Heaven in Hell. The first two (Sword of Vengaence and Baby Cart at The River Styx) were dubbed, re-scored, re-edited and released to the West as Shogun Assassin.^[6] This article is about a Japanese manga series. ... Shogun Assassin (known in Japan as Kozure ÅŒkami åé€£ã‚Œç‹¼) is a very violent jidaigeki movie made for the American market and released in 1980. ...

Sanjuro/The Samurai/The Ronin with No Name

Sanjuro is the wandering ronin character appearing in two of Kurosawa's films, Yojimbo and Sanjuro. The character is nameless, but when required gives the name Sanjuro (which actually means "thirtysomething"), and then makes up a surname. Another nameless wandering ronin called Yojimbo ("Bodyguard") in Incident at Blood Pass is also basically the same character. This article needs cleanup. ...

The character is sometimes referred to as "the ronin with no name", as a reference to Clint Eastwood's character "the man with no name", a western version inspired by the samurai character.

As was the case with Eastwood, some of the other roles that Toshirō Mifune played after the two Kurosawa movies are basically the same character.

Themes

There are a number of themes that occur in Samurai film plots. Many feature roaming masterless samurai, seeking work or a place in society. Others are period historical tales of true characters. Others show tales of clan loyalty.^[4]

Influence on Western Cinema

A number of western movies have re told the samurai movie in a Western context. Italian director Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars is a remake of Yojimbo , and Clint Eastwood's "man with no name character" was modeled to some degree on Mifune's wandering ronin character that appeared in so many of his films. The Hidden Fortress influenced George Lucas when he made Star Wars. Seven Samurai has been remade as a Western and a science fiction context film, The Magnificent Seven and Battle Beyond the Stars. Other Samurai influenced western movies include Charles Bronson and Toshirō Mifune in Red Sun (1971), David Mamet's Ronin (with Jean Reno and Robert De Niro), Six-String Samurai (1998) and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999).^[7] The Zatoichi character was re made as Blind Fury in the United States, starring Rutger Hauer as a blind swordsman living in the modern US. Most recently, The Last Samurai, the story being loosely based on the true historical French officer Jules Brunet assisting Japanese Samurai in rebellion against the Emperor. Sergio Leone (January 3, 1929 â€“ April 30, 1989) was an Italian film director who is considered by many to be on the short list of the greatest film directors of all time. ... A Fistful of Dollars (Per un pugno di dollari in Italy, and officially on-screen in the US and UK as simply Fistful of Dollars) is a 1964 film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood. ... Clint Eastwood (born Clinton Eastwood, Jr. ... The Hidden Fortress (Japanese: éš ã—ç ¦ã®ä¸‰æ‚ªäºº, Kakushi toride no san akunin) is a 1958 film by Akira Kurosawa and starring ToshirÅ Mifune as General Rokurota Makabe and Misa Uehara as Princess Yuki. ... This article needs additional references or sources to facilitate its verification. ... i like western films The Western is an American genre in literature and film. ... Poster for 2001: A Space Odyssey, an archetypal science fiction film Science fiction film is a film genre that uses speculative, science-based depictions of imaginary phenomena such as extra-terrestrial lifeforms, alien worlds, and time travel, often along with technological elements such as futuristic spacecraft, robots, or other technologies. ... Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: The Magnificent Seven The Magnificent Seven is a 1960 western film directed by John Sturges, essentially an American remake of Shichinin no samurai (Seven Samurai). ... Battle Beyond the Stars is a Roger Corman-produced science fiction film, directed by Jimmy T. Murakami and released in 1980. ... For other persons named Charles Bronson, see Charles Bronson (disambiguation). ... A unique film in that is is one of the few to combine a hero of the wild west genre, Charles Bronson, and a legend of Japanese films, Toshiro Mifune. ... Released in 1998, Ronin is an action/thriller that tells the story of a group of former intelligence agents who team up to steal a mysterious metal case. ... Jean Reno (born Juan Moreno y Herrera JimÃ©nez, July 30, 1948) is a French actor of Spanish descent. ... Robert Mario De Niro Jr. ... Six-String Samurai is a 1998 post-apocalyptic action/comedy film directed by Lance Mungia. ... Blind Fury is a 1989 movie starring Rutger Hauer as a Vietnam Vet. ... Rutger Oelsen Hauer (IPA: [rÊtxÉ›r ulsÉ›n hÊŒuÉ›r]) (born in Breukelen, January 23, 1944) is a Dutch film actor. ... The Last Samurai is an action/drama film written by John Logan and Edward Zwick & Marshall Herskovitz based on a story by Logan. ... The French military mission before its departure to Japan. ...

List of Notable Samurai Films

This article or section cites its sources but does not provide page references. ... Toshiro Mifune in the film Drunken Angel. ... For other uses, see Seven Samurai (disambiguation). ... The Criterion Collection DVD cover. ... Samurai I, subtitled Miyamoto Musashi, is the first film in the Samurai trilogy. ... The Criterion Collection DVD cover. ... The Criterion Collection DVD cover. ... Throne of Blood , lit. ... The Hidden Fortress (Japanese: éš ã—ç ¦ã®ä¸‰æ‚ªäºº, Kakushi toride no san akunin) is a 1958 film by Akira Kurosawa and starring ToshirÅ Mifune as General Rokurota Makabe and Misa Uehara as Princess Yuki. ... Yojimbo (Japanese: ç”¨å¿ƒæ£’, YÅjinbÅ) is a 1961 jidaigeki (period drama) film by Akira Kurosawa. ... Incense burns at the burial graves of the 47 Ronin at Sengakuji. ... Seppuku with ritual attire and second Seppuku (wiktionary:切腹, せっぷく, from the kanji cut and stomach) is a Japanese word that means ritual suicide by disembowelment. ... Samurai Assassin is a 1964 Japanese movie directed by Kihachi Okamoto and starring ToshirÃ´ Mifune, Koshiro Matsumoto, Yunosuke Ito, and Michiyo Aratama. ... For other uses, see Red Beard (disambiguation) Red Beard (Japanese: èµ¤ã²ã’, Akahige) is a 1965 Japanese film directed by Akira Kurosawa about the relationship between a village doctor and his new trainee. ... Sanshiro Sugata , aka Judo Saga) is a 1943 film written and directed by Akira Kurosawa, based on a novel by Tomita Tsuneo. ... The Sword of Doom, known in Japan as Dai-bosatsu tÅge (å¤§è©è–©å³ ) (Daibosatsu Pass), is a samurai movie released in 1966. ... Rebellion or Samurai Rebellion ) is a 1967 film directed by Masaki Kobayashi. ... Masaki Kobayashi (å°æž—æ£æ¨¹ Kobayashi Masaki, February 14, 1916 â€“ October 4, 1996) was a Japanese director who is probably best known for Kwaidan (æ€ªè«‡), a collection of four ghost stories (drawn from the book by Lafcadio Hearn), each of which has a surprise ending. ... Shintaro Katsu in Zatoichi Challenged (1967) Takeshi Kitano in Zatoichi (2003) Zatoichi (åº§é å¸‚ ZatÅichi) is a fictional character featured in one of Japans longest running series of films and a television series set in the Edo period. ... Kinji Fukasaku (æ·±ä½œæ¬£äºŒ Fukasaku Kinji) (3 July 1930 â€“ 12 January 2003) was a Japanese film actor, writer and director. ... The 47 Ronin (American title), or Genroku chushingura , was a film produced in 1941, and originally released in Japan just prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor. ... Satomi Hakkenden (é‡Œè¦‹å…«çŠ¬ä¼) is a 1983 Japanese historical martial arts fantasy film, directed by Kinji Fukasaku. ... Shintaro Katsu in Zatoichi Challenged (1967) Takeshi Kitano in Zatoichi (2003) Zatoichi (åº§é å¸‚ ZatÅichi) is a fictional character featured in one of Japans longest running series of films and a television series set in the Edo period. ... Zatoichi (åº§é å¸‚ ZatÅichi) is a Japanese samurai drama and martial arts film, released in 2003. ... Takeshi Kitano Takeshi Kitano (北野 武 Kitano Takeshi) (born January 18, 1947) is a Japanese comedian, actor, author, poet, painter and film director who has received acclaim both in his native Japan and abroad for his highly idiosyncratic cinematic work. ...

Actors

Ken Watanabe , born October 21, 1959) is a renowned Japanese actor who performs on stage and television, and has received an Oscar nomination for his work in film . ... Toshiro Mifune in the film Drunken Angel. ... Takeshi Kitano Takeshi Kitano (北野 武 Kitano Takeshi) (born January 18, 1947) is a Japanese comedian, actor, author, poet, painter and film director who has received acclaim both in his native Japan and abroad for his highly idiosyncratic cinematic work. ... Shintaro Katsu in Shintaro Katsus Zatoichi (1989), which he wrote, produced, directed and starred in. ...

Notes

References

Categories: Period films | Japanese films | Jidaigeki | Samurai films | Film genres 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... June 14 is the 165th day of the year (166th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... June 14 is the 165th day of the year (166th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Alain Silver is a US film producer, music producer, film reviewer, film historian, and writer on film topics, especially film noir and horror films. ... GreenCine (pronounced GREEN SEEN) is an online DVD rental service similar to Netflix which boasts a collection of over 10,000 titles and proclaims itself as the #1 DVD Rent-by-Mail site for the alternative scene. It is unique in that it carries a wide range of rare and... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... June 14 is the 165th day of the year (166th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Contents

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