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When I'm starting to dig a new genre I never start with the obvious names, so when I started to dig in the 'Cinema Samurai' I didn't watched the Kurosawa films. This helps me to create a solid ground, then when I start to watch the most famous names in the genre I'll know what give they the status of 'revolutionary'!
After months with a lot of great directors like Shinoda, Kobayashi, Misume and more I'll finally start to look in the Kurosawa carreer with more attention!
But for now let me say that one name caused a huge impact on me: Hideo Gosha! I covered his firsts ten years as a director (1964 to 1974) and I still have a lot more Gosha to see
since I have more 13 films directed by him to take a deep look.
Anyway:
Three Outlaw Samurai (1964)
Alternate Titles: 三匹の侍 sanbiki no samurai
Shiba, a wandering ronin, encounters a band of peasants who have kidnapped the daughter of their dictatorial magistrate, in hopes of coercing from him a reduction in taxes. Shiba takes up their fight, joined by two renegades from the magistrate's guard, Sakura and Kikyo. The three outlaws find themselves in a battle to the death.
This is one of the most entertainment 'chambara' that I ever saw!
There's a lot of influences of the Spaghetty Western with dark humor, violence and fast dialogues!
Sword of the Beast (1965)
Alternate Titles: 獣の剣 kedamono no ken
Hideo Gosha’s Sword of the Beast chronicles the flight of the low-level swordsman Gennosuke, who kills one of his ministers as part of a reform plot. His former comrades then turn on him, and this betrayal so shakes his sense of honor that he decides to live in the wild, like an animal. There he joins up with a motley group who are illegally mining the shogun’s gold, and, with the aid of another swordsman, gets a chance not just at survival but to recover his name and honor.
One of the most beautiful portrait of a jungle in a black and white film.
It's very atmospheric, funny and a bit dark. Not exactly a chambara like his first film, this one is more serious and the first time that 'Kunie Tanaka' worked with Mr. Gosha. They worked together in a lot of others films!
Cash Calls Hell (1966)
Alternate Titles: gohiki no shinshi Before leaving prison, Oida uncomfortably enters into an agreement with his cell mate: in exchange for a half-share of 30,000,000 yen, he is to assassinate three strangers given to him on a list. However, upon meeting his first potential victim, Oida has second thoughts. Yet, even as he tries to back out, the body count starts climbing. Oida must now try to alert the people on his list of their impending danger, and find out why they are being targeted in the first place.
If Three Outlaw Samurai was his 'Spaghetty Western' then this is his Noir Crime|Drama. This marks the first time Tatsuya Nakadai (My favorite actor of all time) worked with Mr. Gosha! Also, in the same year Nakadai come out with The Sword of Doom. The movie opens with a robbery filmed in "negative" and of course, a beautiful jazzy score.
Sazen Tange and The Secret of the Urn (1966)
Alternate Titles: tange sazen: hien iaigiri the secret of the urn
Loyal samurai Samanosuke is attacked, mutilated, and left for dead while carrying out a mission for his clan. He recovers but has lost an eye and an arm. Taking a new identity as Tange Sazen, he searches for a stolen urn which has hidden significance to his clan. But Tange Sazen has his own reasons for seeking the urn.
The Tange Sazen film series are very traditional in Japan. I like to compare him with the Zatoichi film series that was a huge hit back in that time. This film is a very safe portrait of the character. The best thing here is "Kinnosuke Nakamura". I love this guy.
Samurai Wolf (1966)
Alternate Titles: kiba okaminosuke
This is the story of a vagrant samurai – the solitary, savage and scrupulous Kiba – who arrives at a village to defend a beautiful, blind woman against a sinister plot. Her assailants then send against him another samurai, named Sana, who is without scruples. The fight between them will become personal, for the honor and love of the blind woman.
If Hideo Gosha would one day write a manga, Samurai Wolf would be the name! This film is pure manga! Stylish and violent sword fights with some very cartoonish characters. And yes, the year is right. This was his third fim in 1966! The most active year ever in Gosha's career.
Samurai Wolf II (1967)
Alternate Titles: kiba ookaminosuke jigoku giri
Kiba Okaminosuke finds himself entangled with a group of prisoners being transported to their executions, one of whom oddly looks exactly like his dead father. There are crooked gold miners, a beautiful girl who is unfortunately a complete lunatic and a dojo master who is obsessed with killing Kiba just to prove that his school's sword style is the best.
He made a sequel to the film/manga
This one is the weaker so far in his career (for me of course). Not because is bad, far from it but simply because it reuses the ideas of the first film and this is it.
Goyokin (1969)
Alternate Titles: 御用金 l'or du shogun, goyōkin.
A guilt-haunted samurai warrior attempts to stop a massacre taking place.
One of Mr. Gosha's best and one of my favorite films of all time!
My God, Tatsuya Nakadai is the best actor ever!
This film is what they call "Cruel Jidaigeki", just like Harakiri, it's an in depth look to the abuse of power of the Japanese feudal system used to do. In my country this film is call "TIRANIA", english to "Tyranny"! It suits very well. I recommend it to everyone, not only for samurai movie lovers but for all movie lovers!
Tenchu! (1969)
Alternate Titles: hitokiri
A ronin desperately seeks a way out of financial straits; he allies with the Tosa clan under the ruthless leader Takechi, who quickly takes advantage.
The most well known film of his career.
My favorite Shintarō Katsu (the eternal Zatoichi) acting ever!
It's very raw, very violent and very dark! At this time Hideo Gosha was already one of the best directors of his time!
The Wolves (1971)
Alternate Titles: 出所祝い os lobos shussho iwai
After going to prison for killing the boss of the Kanno gang, Seji Iwahashi (Tatsuya Nakadai) gets released early -- only to find that his former gang has merged with the Kannos. But with bitter resentments lingering on both sides, how long will it be before the bloodshed begins anew? Set in 1926 Japan, this serpentine crime thriller from director Hideo Gosha also stars Toshio Kurosawa and Isao Natsuyagi as Iwahashi's closest ally.
First YAKUZA film by Mr. Gosha!
Amazing how this movie anticipated the twilight of the genre.
This film is the most atmospheric and brutal so far!
Just like Goyokin, this is one of my favorite films of all time!
Strongly recommend!
Violent Streets (1974)
Alternate Titles: 暴力街 bōryoku gai violent city An retired yakuza is caught in the middle of a growing conflict between two rival clans.
Another Yakuza flick! This time, a more traditional one.
Here we have Noboru Andō as the main character. Funny how it reunites Noboru Andō and Bunta Sugawara again in the same types of characters like we saw in Street Mobster (Kenji Fukasaku, 1972). This is one of the most violent yakuza films of the 70's that wasn't directed by Fukasaku. I love to see Noboru Andō acting as a Yakuza boss since he was a real life YAKUZA before becoming an actor.
...and this cover the first ten years of Hideo Gosha's career.
I want to thank every one in this forum and if this post is in the wrong place, forgive me
and sorry for my bad english, I'm working on it!
After months with a lot of great directors like Shinoda, Kobayashi, Misume and more I'll finally start to look in the Kurosawa carreer with more attention!
But for now let me say that one name caused a huge impact on me: Hideo Gosha! I covered his firsts ten years as a director (1964 to 1974) and I still have a lot more Gosha to see
since I have more 13 films directed by him to take a deep look.Anyway:
Three Outlaw Samurai (1964)
Alternate Titles: 三匹の侍 sanbiki no samurai
Shiba, a wandering ronin, encounters a band of peasants who have kidnapped the daughter of their dictatorial magistrate, in hopes of coercing from him a reduction in taxes. Shiba takes up their fight, joined by two renegades from the magistrate's guard, Sakura and Kikyo. The three outlaws find themselves in a battle to the death.
This is one of the most entertainment 'chambara' that I ever saw!
There's a lot of influences of the Spaghetty Western with dark humor, violence and fast dialogues!
Sword of the Beast (1965)
Alternate Titles: 獣の剣 kedamono no ken
Hideo Gosha’s Sword of the Beast chronicles the flight of the low-level swordsman Gennosuke, who kills one of his ministers as part of a reform plot. His former comrades then turn on him, and this betrayal so shakes his sense of honor that he decides to live in the wild, like an animal. There he joins up with a motley group who are illegally mining the shogun’s gold, and, with the aid of another swordsman, gets a chance not just at survival but to recover his name and honor.
One of the most beautiful portrait of a jungle in a black and white film.
It's very atmospheric, funny and a bit dark. Not exactly a chambara like his first film, this one is more serious and the first time that 'Kunie Tanaka' worked with Mr. Gosha. They worked together in a lot of others films!
Cash Calls Hell (1966)
Alternate Titles: gohiki no shinshi Before leaving prison, Oida uncomfortably enters into an agreement with his cell mate: in exchange for a half-share of 30,000,000 yen, he is to assassinate three strangers given to him on a list. However, upon meeting his first potential victim, Oida has second thoughts. Yet, even as he tries to back out, the body count starts climbing. Oida must now try to alert the people on his list of their impending danger, and find out why they are being targeted in the first place.
If Three Outlaw Samurai was his 'Spaghetty Western' then this is his Noir Crime|Drama. This marks the first time Tatsuya Nakadai (My favorite actor of all time) worked with Mr. Gosha! Also, in the same year Nakadai come out with The Sword of Doom. The movie opens with a robbery filmed in "negative" and of course, a beautiful jazzy score.
Sazen Tange and The Secret of the Urn (1966)
Alternate Titles: tange sazen: hien iaigiri the secret of the urn
Loyal samurai Samanosuke is attacked, mutilated, and left for dead while carrying out a mission for his clan. He recovers but has lost an eye and an arm. Taking a new identity as Tange Sazen, he searches for a stolen urn which has hidden significance to his clan. But Tange Sazen has his own reasons for seeking the urn.
The Tange Sazen film series are very traditional in Japan. I like to compare him with the Zatoichi film series that was a huge hit back in that time. This film is a very safe portrait of the character. The best thing here is "Kinnosuke Nakamura". I love this guy.
Samurai Wolf (1966)
Alternate Titles: kiba okaminosuke
This is the story of a vagrant samurai – the solitary, savage and scrupulous Kiba – who arrives at a village to defend a beautiful, blind woman against a sinister plot. Her assailants then send against him another samurai, named Sana, who is without scruples. The fight between them will become personal, for the honor and love of the blind woman.
If Hideo Gosha would one day write a manga, Samurai Wolf would be the name! This film is pure manga! Stylish and violent sword fights with some very cartoonish characters. And yes, the year is right. This was his third fim in 1966! The most active year ever in Gosha's career.
Samurai Wolf II (1967)
Alternate Titles: kiba ookaminosuke jigoku giri
Kiba Okaminosuke finds himself entangled with a group of prisoners being transported to their executions, one of whom oddly looks exactly like his dead father. There are crooked gold miners, a beautiful girl who is unfortunately a complete lunatic and a dojo master who is obsessed with killing Kiba just to prove that his school's sword style is the best.
He made a sequel to the film/manga
This one is the weaker so far in his career (for me of course). Not because is bad, far from it but simply because it reuses the ideas of the first film and this is it.
Goyokin (1969)
Alternate Titles: 御用金 l'or du shogun, goyōkin.
A guilt-haunted samurai warrior attempts to stop a massacre taking place.
One of Mr. Gosha's best and one of my favorite films of all time!
My God, Tatsuya Nakadai is the best actor ever!
This film is what they call "Cruel Jidaigeki", just like Harakiri, it's an in depth look to the abuse of power of the Japanese feudal system used to do. In my country this film is call "TIRANIA", english to "Tyranny"! It suits very well. I recommend it to everyone, not only for samurai movie lovers but for all movie lovers!
Tenchu! (1969)
Alternate Titles: hitokiri
A ronin desperately seeks a way out of financial straits; he allies with the Tosa clan under the ruthless leader Takechi, who quickly takes advantage.
The most well known film of his career.
My favorite Shintarō Katsu (the eternal Zatoichi) acting ever!
It's very raw, very violent and very dark! At this time Hideo Gosha was already one of the best directors of his time!
The Wolves (1971)
Alternate Titles: 出所祝い os lobos shussho iwai
After going to prison for killing the boss of the Kanno gang, Seji Iwahashi (Tatsuya Nakadai) gets released early -- only to find that his former gang has merged with the Kannos. But with bitter resentments lingering on both sides, how long will it be before the bloodshed begins anew? Set in 1926 Japan, this serpentine crime thriller from director Hideo Gosha also stars Toshio Kurosawa and Isao Natsuyagi as Iwahashi's closest ally.
First YAKUZA film by Mr. Gosha!
Amazing how this movie anticipated the twilight of the genre.
This film is the most atmospheric and brutal so far!
Just like Goyokin, this is one of my favorite films of all time!
Strongly recommend!
Violent Streets (1974)
Alternate Titles: 暴力街 bōryoku gai violent city An retired yakuza is caught in the middle of a growing conflict between two rival clans.
Another Yakuza flick! This time, a more traditional one.
Here we have Noboru Andō as the main character. Funny how it reunites Noboru Andō and Bunta Sugawara again in the same types of characters like we saw in Street Mobster (Kenji Fukasaku, 1972). This is one of the most violent yakuza films of the 70's that wasn't directed by Fukasaku. I love to see Noboru Andō acting as a Yakuza boss since he was a real life YAKUZA before becoming an actor.
...and this cover the first ten years of Hideo Gosha's career.
I want to thank every one in this forum and if this post is in the wrong place, forgive me
and sorry for my bad english, I'm working on it!
