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Samurai Films
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VHS samurai catalog at Amazon.com
DVD samurai catalog at Amazon.com
samurai posters catalog at AllPosters [dot] com
People
actor Raizô Ichikawa [1931-69]
IMDb listing
director Hiroshi Inagaki [1905-80]
videos/DVDs • browse books •
IMDb listing •
Wikipedia
'Samurai' series: new DVD boxed set |
VHS |
DVD
actor Shintarô Katsu [1931-97]
IMDb listing |
'Zato-Ichi' series on IMDb
director Akira Kurosawa [1910-98] minipage
director Kenjo Misumi [1921-75]
explore videos/DVDs •
IMDb listing •
no entry at Wikipedia
film series include 'Baby Cart', 'Zatôichi' & 'Nemuri Kyoshiro'
director Kenji Mizoguchi [1898-1956]
IMDb listing •
Wikipedia
actor Tatsuya Nakadai: IMDb listing • Wikipedia
director Yasujiro Ozu [1903-63]
videos/DVDs •
IMDb listing •
Wikipedia
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"Ozu" [1977] by Donald Richie Univ of CA Press 9x6 pb [7/77] for $24.95 |
director Yoji Yamada
explore videos/DVDs •
IMDb listing •
Wikipedia
Samurai Film Series
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'Lone Wolf & Cub' Series
browse videos & DVDs Dark Horse paperback editions {manga} listings at Internet Movie Database |
planned "Lone Wolf and Cub" remake [due in 2008]
Co-written & to be directed by Darren Aronofsky; latest info at IMDb
'Best of Lone Wolf & Cub' soundtrack CD [7/2004] for $16.98
Mighty Blowhole fan club site
'Zatôichi, The Blind Swordsman' Series
Based on the novels by Kan Shimozawa: not available on Amazon
original films [1962-89] with Shintarô Katsu [1931-97]
now on a separate page
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"Zatôichi: The Blind Swordsman" color feature [Asahi/Shochiku Japan Sept 2003, USA June 2004] Written & directed by and starring Takeshi Kitano; co-starring Tadanobu Asano, Michiyo Ookusu, Yui Natsukawa, Daigoro Tachibana, Yuuko Daike, Gadarukanaru Taka, Ittoku Kishibe, Saburo Ishikura & Kohji Miura; won 5 of 9 nominations for Japanese Academy Award; won Kinema Junpo People's Choice Best Film Award B.M.G. Intl. soundtrack CD [6/2004] for $28.99 full credits at IMDb • official movie website Double Bill DVD with "Sonatine" [1993] Miramax color DVD [11/2004] 2 disks for $17.99 |
'Samurai X / Rurôni Kenshin' anime
posters • browse DVDs • browse videos •
tv series credits
'Nemuri Kyoshiro' Series
Based on the novels by Renzaburô Shibata [1917-78]: not available on Amazon; credits at IMDb
original films [1958-69] with Raizô Ichikawa [1931-69]: videos/DVDs | IMDb listing
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"Nemuri Kyoshiro Volume 1" [2004] by Shibata Renzaburo Gutsoon Ent. pb [6/2004] out of print |
"Chushingura - Hana no maki yuki no maki"
{aka '47 Ronin'} [Toho Japan Nov 1962, USA Oct 1963]
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A classic tale in Japan, filmed many times: Out of loyalty to a wrongfully-disgraced lord, 47 samurai attack his enemies, knowing that they are courting certain death.
Directed by Hiroshi Inagaki, starring Koshiro Matsumoto, Yuzo Kayama, Tatsuya Mihashi, Akira Takarada, Yosuke Natsuki, Makoto Satô, Chûsha Ichikawa, Toshirô Mifune, Eisei Amamoto, Hiroshi Koizumi, Kenji Sahara, Tadao Takashima, Yoshio Tsuchiya, Takeshi Shimura, Yuriko Hoshi, Kumi Mizuno, Yumi Shirakawa & Mie Ham
Image Ent. widescreen b&w DVD [2/2001] for $26.09 Home Vision b&w VHS [7/97] 2 tapes for $49.95 Image Ent. b&w widescreen VHS [2/2001] 2 tapes for $29.98 full credits from IMDb |
plot summary at University of Kansas • JNC's history of 'Chushingura'
"Kill Bill" [Miramax 2003 & 2004]
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Volume 1: A female assassin is attacked by her group leader, Bill, on her wedding day; after waking up from a coma, she seeks revenge.
Written & directed by Quentin Tarantino; starring Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu, Vivica A. Fox, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah, David Carradine, Julie Dreyfus & Sonny Chiba
Miramax color DVD [4/2004] for $19.49 Miramax color VHS [4/2004] for $21.24 Maverick soundtrack CD [9/2003] for $13.49 full credits from IMDb official movie website |
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Volume 2: The Bride is still mad.
Written & directed by Quentin Tarantino; starring Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu, Vivica A. Fox, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah, David Carradine, Julie Dreyfus & Sonny Chiba
Miramax color DVD [8/2004] for $13.99 Miramax color VHS [8/2004] for $24.99 Maverick soundtrack CD [4/2004] for $13.49 full credits from IMDb official movie website |
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"Kill Bill: An Unofficial Casebook" [2005] by D.K. Holm Glitter Books pb [2/2005] for $17.95 |
16 'Kill Bill' swords at Amazon Sports & Outdoors
"The Last Samurai"
[Warner Bros. Dec 2003]
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Co-written & directed by Edward Zwick; co-written by John Logan & Marshall Herskovitz; starring Ken Watanabe, Tom Cruise, Billy Connolly, Tony Goldwyn, Timothy Spall, Hiroyuki Sanada & Koyuki; Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actor, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Sound
Warner widescreen DVD [5/2004] 2 disks for $19.47 Warner color DVD [5/2004] 2 disks for $19.47 Warner VHS dubbed in Spanish [5/2004] out of stock/used Warner color VHS [5/2004] priced for rental market Elektra/Asylum soundtrack CD [11/2003] for $13.49 full credits from IMDb official movie website |
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"The Last Samurai: The Official Movie Guide" [2003] from Warner Bros. Pictures General 10¼x9½ pb [12/2003] for $10.47 General 10¾x9¾ hardcover [12/2003] for $24.95 |
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"The Last Samurai: The Life & Battles of Saigo Takamori" [2003] by Mark Ravina The true story of the warrior rebel depicted inaccurately in the movie. John Wiley & Sons 9x6.3 pb [11/2003] for $16.97 |
"Rebel Samurai Collection"
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Criterion b&w/color DVD [10/2005] for $89.99
includes Hideo Gosha's "Sword of the Beast" [1965], Masahiro Shinoda's "Samurai Spy" [1965], Masaki Kobayashi's "Samurai Rebellion" [1967] starring Toshirô Mifune {see below} & Kihachi Okamoto's "Kill!" [1968] starring Tatsuya Nakadai & Etsushi Takahashi |
"Samurai Fiction" [Japan 1998]
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Co-written & directed by Hiroyuki Nakano; starring Morio Kazama, Mitsuru Fukikoshi, Tomoyasu Hotei, Tamaki Ogawa, Mari Natsuki, Naoyuki Fujii & Ken Osawa
Media Blasters color DVD [9/2003] for $26.96 full credits from IMDb |
"Samurai Rebellion" {aka 'Jôi-uchi: Hairyô tsuma shimatsu"}
[Toho/Mifune Japan May 1967, USA Sept 1967]
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The son of an aging samurai is ordered to marry the local lord's mistress, though she has born the lord a son. The newlyweds fall in love. When the lord's elder son dies, and he demands that the mistress return with his heir, the samurai rebels. The clan orders suicide, then attempts to kill the family, and the samurai takes the matter to the capitol at Edo.
Directed by Masaki Kobayashi; starring Toshirô Mifune, Yôko Tsukasa, Tatsuyoshi Ehara, Etsuko Ichihara, Tatsuya Nakadai, Shigeru Kôyama, Michiko Otsuka, Tatsuo Matsumura & Isao Yamagata
Criterion widescreen b&w DVD [10/2005] for $26.99 Homevision b&w VHS [6/2000] for $28.45 full credits from IMDb |
"Sanjuro" aka 'Tsubaki Sanjûrô'
[Japan Jan 1962; US release May 1963]
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A sequel to "Yojimbo"; a group of determined, idealistic young men enlist a scruffy, cynical samurai to clean up their town. Co-written & directed by Akira Kurosawa; starring Toshirô Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Takashi Shimura & Kamatari Fujiwara
Criterion widescreen b&w DVD [1/2007] for $34.99 
Home Vision letterbox b&w DVD [9/99] for $26.99 Home Vision widescreen b&w VHS [3/95] for $29.95 full credits from IMDb |
"Seven Samurai" {aka 'Shichinin no samurai'}
[Japan April 1954; USA Nov 1956]
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Now considered a classic movie. Poor farmers hire a samurai to defend their village from bandits. He brings along six others, who defend the village against 40 attackers in a climactic, epic battle.
Co-written & directed by Akira Kurosawa [1910-98]; starring Toshirô Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Yoshio Inaba, Minoru Chiaki, Daisuke Katô, Seiji Miyaguchi & Isao Kimura
Criterion remastered b&w DVD [9/2006] 3 disks for $42.99 Home Vision b&w DVD [3/99] for $31.99 Home Vision b&w VHS [7/93] 2 tapes / out of prodn/used full credits from IMDb remade as a Western: "The Magnificent Seven" [1960] movie & sequels on VHS & DVD • full credits from IMDb |
futuristic "Samurai 7" anime series on I.F.C. { requires Flash }
"Sword of Doom" {aka 'Dai-bosatsu tôge'}
[Toho Japan Jan 1966, USA July 1966]
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A mad samurai with an unbeatable 'silent style' wreaks havoc over several years. Action highlights include Mifune's fight in the snow and the final bloodbath in a burning building.
Directed by Kihachi Okamoto; written by Shinobu Hashimoto from a novel by Kaizan Nakazato; starring Tatsuya Nakadai, Yuzo Kayama, Michiyo Aratama, Toshirô Mifune, Yôko Naito, Tadao Nakamaru & Ichirô Nakaya
Criterion Collxn widescreen DVD [3/2005] for $22.46 Home Vision widescreen b&w VHS [3/95] for $29.95 full credits from IMDb |
"Twilight Samurai" {aka 'Tasogare Seibei'}
[Japan 2002, USA April 2004]
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A quiet, slightly sentimental masterpiece, about a feudal village of 19th Century Japan phasing into the new ethos & economics of the Meiji Restoration.
Co-Written & directed by Yoji Yamada; based on sections of 3 Shuhei Fujisawa novels; starring Hiroyuki Sanada, Rie Miyazawa, Min Tanaka, Nenji Kobayashi & Keiko Kishi; Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film; won 12 Japan Film Academy Awards, won 7 Kinema Junpo Awards
Empire Pictures color DVD [12/2004] for $19.99 full credits from IMDb official movie website |
"Yojimbo" ('The Bodyguard')
[April 1961; US release Oct 1962]
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Prequel to "Sanjuro": A wandering samurai plays off two gangs against each other; based on the 1929 novel "Red Harvest" by Dashiell Hammett.
Co-written & directed by Akira Kurosawa [1910-98]; starring Toshirô Mifune, Eijirô Tono, Seizaburô Kawazu, Kyu Sazanka, Kamatari Fujiwara, Takashi Shimura & Tatsuya Nakadai; listed on Time Magazine's All-TIME 100 Movies (10/2005)
Home Vision widescreem b&w VHS [9/94] for $29.95 Home Vision widescreem b&w DVD [9/99] for $25.49 full credits from IMDb remade as Western "A Fistful of Dollars" [1964] movie & sequels on VHS & DVD • full credits from IMDb remade as "Last Man Standing" [1996] on VHS & DVD • full credits from IMDb |
Documentary Videos
"Secrets of The Samurai Sword" [P.B.S./W.G.B.H./Nova documentary aired Oct 2007]
video/DVD not yet available • not listed at IMDb {2007} •
PBS official movie site
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"Japanese Swordsmanship"
Vol 1: "The Art of The Samurai" [2003] Featuring Hanshi Ken Penland Pro-Active color DVD [3/2003] out of stock/used Vol. 2: "Iaido - The Art of Fast Draw!" [2004] Featuring Hanshi Ken Penland Yamazato color DVD [9/2004] for $29.95 Vol. 3: "Tameshigiri - The Art of Cutting" [2004] Featuring George Alexander Yamazato color DVD [12/2004] for $29.95 |
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"The Eight Deadly Samurai Sword Cuts of Miyamoto Musashi" [2004] by George Alexander Boxed Set: Yamazato color DVD [12/2004] 3 disks for $99.95 Vol 1: Yamazato color DVD [9/2004] for $39.95 Vol 2: Yamazato color DVD [11/2004] for $39.95 Vol 3: Yamazato color DVD [11/2004] for $39.95 |
Books
Sun Tzu & the Art of War [circa 500 BCE]
at Maison d'Être Philosophy Bookstore
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"Hagakure: The Book of The Samurai" [Sept 1716] by Yamamoto Tsunetomo; translated by William Scott Wilson Kodansha Intl pb [3/92] for $9.00 Kodansha Intl hardcover [10/79] out of print/used |
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"Bushido: The Way of The Samurai" - Based on the 'Hagakure' by Yamamoto Tsunetomo Edited by Justin F. Stone; translated by Minoru Tanaka Square One 8½x5½ pb [10/2001] for $9.95 |
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"Samurai Sword: A Handbook" [1958] by John M. Yumoto Tuttle 8½x6¼ hardcover [6/72] for $14.93 |
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"Bokken: Art of The Japanese Sword" [1980] by Dave Lowry Ohara Publns 9x6 pb [6/80] for $11.90 The 'bokken' is the wooden practice sword of Japanese martial arts.
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"The Japanese Sword: A Comprehensive Guide" [1983] by Kanzan Sato, translation by Joe Earle Kodansha America 10¼x7 hardcover [6/83] for $26.40 |
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"The Way of The Samurai" [1983] by Richard Storry, with photographs by Werner Forman Salem House 11½x8½ hardcover [1/86] out of print/used Putnam hardcover pb [10/83] out of print/used |
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"The Samurai Film" [1984] by Alain Silver
Overlook 10x6¾ pb [6/86] for $11.01 Overlook 10x7¾ pb [10/2006] for $20.40 Overlook hardcover [3/84] for $23.95 Overlook 10x8 hardcover [11/2005] for $34.00 |
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"The Art of Japanese Swordsmanship: A Manual of Eishin-Ryu Iaido" [1994] by Nicklaus Suino Weatherhill pb [6/94] for $16.47 |
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"The Craft of The Japanese Sword" [1997] by Leon & Hiroko Kapp and Yoshindo Yoshihara Kodansha Intl. 10¼x7½ hardcover [7/97] for $23.58 |
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"Japanese Cinema: The Essential Handbook" [1998] by Thomas Weisser & Yuko Mihara Weisser Vital Books 8¼x5.4 pb [8/98] for $13.97 |
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"Code of the Samurai: A Modern Translation of The Bushido Shoshinsu by Taira Shigesuke" [1999] Translation by Thomas Cleary, illustrated by Oscar Ratti Tuttle 7¾x5¼ hardcover [7/99] for $10.47 |
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"A Hundred Years of Japanese Film" [2002] by Donald Richie Kodansha 8.4x7 hardcover [2/2002] for $21.00 |
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"Samurai: An Illustrated History" [2002] by Mitsuo Kure Tuttle 12½x9.3 hardcover [5/2002] for $23.77 |
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"Iaido Sword: Kamimoto-Ha Techniques of Muso Shinden Ryu" [2003] by Richard Babin Paladin Press 11¼x8¾ pb [1/2003] for $32.97 |
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"Samurai: The World of The Warrior" [2003] by Stephen Turnbull Osprey 9½x7½ pb [6/2006] for $12.89 Osprey 10¼x7¾ hardcover [10/2003] for $22.76 |
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"Silver Screen Samurai: The Best of Japan's Samurai Movie Posters" [2004] by Cocoro Books of Japan D.H. Publng 10¼x8 pb [2/2004] for $15.56 |
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"Stray Dogs & Lone Wolves: The Samurai Film Handbook" [2005] by Patrick Galloway Stone Bridge Press 9x7 pb [5/2005] for $14.96 |
Samurai Film Links
foreign movie poster catalog at AllPosters [dot] com
Foreign Films [dot] com
Independent Film Channel 'Samurai Saturdays' schedule
samurai swords & bokken & other gear at Amazon Sports & Outdoors
Samurai / Period Drama Films entry at Wikipedia
Yakuza Films entry at Wikipedia
a really funny samurai movie image (in a new window)
Visit Our Other Online Film Festival Pages
Ayn Rand Film Festival at Magic Lantern
Existentialist Film Festival at Maison d'Être Philosophy Bookstore
Films Noir Festival at BlackHat Mystery Bookstore
Human Rights Film Festival at Magic Lantern
Oscar-Winning Western Movies Page at 'Readers of the Purple Sage'
Philosophy Film Festival at Maison d'Être Philosophy Bookstore
Pirate Film Festival at Magic Lantern
Political Film Festival at Magic Lantern
Railroad Film Festival at Spirit of America
Shakespeare On Film at Magic Lantern
War [& Anti-War] Film Festival Pages at Magic Lantern
Western Movies Film Festival at 'Readers of the Purple Sage'
... and others on the Online Film Festivals Index Page
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