Best Samurai Movies

Lately I've been watching samurai movies. My favorites so far :

1. Seven Samurai (1954)
2. Samurai Rebellion (1967)
3. Rashomon (1950)
4. Ran (1985)
5. Throne of Blood (1957)
6. Yojimbo (1961)
7. The Twilight Samurai (2002)
8. Samurai 3 - Duel on Ganryu Island (1956)
9. Harakiri (Seppuku) (1962)
10. Sanjuro (1962)

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"Those are my principles. If you don't like them I have others."- Groucho Marx

as an alternative samurai movie

Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai

great flick...

Ran has always been one of my favorites- but i must admit i havnt seen very many Samourai flicks. Anything Kurosawa would be a good bet.

I suppose Le Samourai wouldnt count at all, though...

1. Rashomon (though really only tenuously a "Samurai" flick)
2. Throne of Blood
3. Samurai Fiction
4. Ran
5. Seven Samurai
6. Yojimbo
7. Sword of Doom
8. Sword of the Beast
9. Samurai Spy
10. Samurai Rebellion

Shouldnt fit in anyone's list, David.

I can't believe I've not seen Sanjuro yet.

It will be mine!!

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EDIT:


Whoops - this stuff is all about When the Last Sword is Drawn - not The Last Samurai. Stoopid me .... Ain't seen the Cruise-mobile one....

I'll leave it up anyway, seeing as the film hasn't been mentioned so far. (And coz i like the sound of my own voice )

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When the Last Sword is Drawn

I was a bit underwhelmed by it. It was 'certainly OK', but also definitely no classic. Interesting topic, and reasonably shot, but didn't work for me as a whole. The flashbacks seemed to be handled in an almost wilfully obscure way at times, for no apparent purpose. I thought the actors just about kept it together, but were really strained to breaking during things like the prolonged 'rice' homily.

I'm gonna get round to The Twilight Samurai soon - hoping that deals with a similar period and theme in a better way.

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Twilight Samurai was great.

The thing that really bothered me about The Last Samurai was that Tom Cruise was in Japan for only a little while and yet he soon became almost as good as their masters. The whole white guy to the rescue thing is kind of played out for me (see Tarzan, Dances with Wolves, A Man Called Horse. Return of a Man Called Horse, Emerald Forest, Sheena etc.).

I think the movie could have been great if his character wasn't in it (and that goes for Kevin Costner in Dances with Wolves too)

Heh, whoops, i was talking about the wrong film before. Kindly neg me for my stupidity

Yeah, never fancied the sound of Last, mainly for the reasons you've mentioned.

but then would it have made as much profit???

Maybe not. The Fast Runner (Atanarjuat) (2001) was a really good movie that didn't succumb to the pressure of bringing in the Hollywood star and I doubt if it did very well at the box office.

What about Samurai Wolf?

I can honestly say I haven't seen a single one of those movies. Maybe I'll check out #1.

You should some are great

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In addition to what's mentioned (apart from The Last Samurai - patronising claptrap) you could try some of the old Shintarô Katsu Zatôichi movies for a bit of fun, or maybe the 2003 Kitano version.

'Swordsman' movies as opposed to 'Samurai', maybe, but worth a punt nonetheless.

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I just saw Sword of Doom(1966) that Purandara88 recommended and it was really good. A samurai without a conscience. The only American movie I can think to compare it to in the film noir, Born To Kill (1947) starring Lawrence Tierney. If you like darker movies you will probably like Sword of Doom.

the best samurai movie is to me is the last samurai

I've seen some more and revised my list.



1. Seven Samurai (1954)
2. Samurai Rebellion (1967)
3. Ugetsu Monogatari (1953)
4. Rashomon (1950)
5. Ran (1985)
6. Kagemusha (1980)
7. Throne of Blood (1957)
8. Yojimbo (1961)
9. The Twilight Samurai (2002)
10. Gate of Hell (1953)
11. Sword of Doom (1966)
12. Samurai 3 - Duel on Ganryu Island (1956)
13. Harakiri (Seppuku) (1962)
14. Sanjuro (1962)
15. Miyamoto Musashi (1954)
16. The 47 Loyal Ronin (1941)
17. When the Last Sword is Drawn(2003)
18. Samurai 2: Duel at Ichijoji Temple (1955)
19. Heaven and Earth (1990)
20. Samurai Spy (1965)

Hmmm, ok....

Mine; Seven Samurai, hands down...

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"All the confusion of my life... has been a reflection of myself! Myself as I am, not as I'd like to be." - Guido, 8 1/2

Kurosawa makes some of the best samurai flicks