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50 Classic Samurai (Chambara, Jidaigeki) Films By StephenClark [7 more lists]
50 Classic Chambara and Jidaigeki style samurai films. Of course there are countless more but this is a good place to start for anyone interested in this genre. I intend to do more films in groups of 50 in the future until someday I can compile most if not all of these amazing films.
- Stephen Clark
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Three Outlaw Samurai
1964Hideo GoshaChambara“ 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 „ - 2
Destiny's Son
1962Kenji MisumiChambara“ The same year he directed the first of the Zatoichi series, Kenji Misumi directed this tale based on a famous novel by Renzaboro Shibata. With an eye for composition, Misumi created an amazing bit of visual cinema.The story follows the adult life of Shingo, a humble orphan raised by a low ranking samurai. He decides to to wander Japan for three years and returns with an unexpected new skill; he can bring swordsmen to their knees quaking in fear just with a sword pose. This technique, unfortunately brings tragedy to Shingo's family and he ends up wandering in misery after they are killed by jealous samurai.There are marked similarities with Misumi's later film, "Ken Ki" which is also based on a book by Renzaboro Shibata. Unfortunately in this film, unlike "Ken Ki" and like many other films based on a famous novel, much of the story seems to be told in short hand as if the audience is expected to be familiar with the story and characters already. It's a testament to Misumi's talent that the movie works so well visually, we can forgive the odd jumps in time and the sparse character development. Curious since the movie is unusually short for a Japanese film. By 40 minutes in the movie settles down and everything works much better dramatically. Some of the shots are amazing masterpieces of composition. The action is well done.Author: Chung Mo from NYC „ - 3
1969Hideo GoshaChambara“ Gosha knocks it out of the park in this tale of an honorable samurai at odds with his former clan and their evil deeds. After a shipment of shogunate gold crashes on a beach near a village, the Sabai clan led by a brutal chamberlain (Tetsuro Tanba) hatch a plan to steal the gold and slaughter all the villagers, to eliminate witnesses. The chamberlains best friend and brother in law Magobei (Tasuya Nakadai) is outraged by such brutality and severs ties to his clan. Leaving behind his home and wife he becomes a Ronin doing sword demonstrations for money. One night assassins try to kill him, he learns that his former clan intends to repeat their murderous plans, and fearing his interference they order him killed. Finding help from a government spy (Kinnosuke Nakamora), and the sole survivor of the first massacre (Ruriko Asaoka) Magobei commits himself to stopping his former clan no matter what the cost.Stephen Clark „ - 4
Sword Devil
1965Kenji MisumiChambara“ Kenji Misumi is best known for his work on the Zatoichi series and the legendary Lone Wolf films. His eye for nature combined with his flare for stylistic violence makes him one of the masters of the samurai film heyday of the 1960's. This movie comes right in the middle of it all.This is the story of a man of mysterious parentage who ends up the adopted son of an elderly low-ranking samurai. The man has a special talent for growing flowers which brings him into the employ of the vassals of an insane lord. The vassals are hoping that a beautiful garden will calm the crazed lord. The man eventually becomes a secret assassin for the head vassal who is trying to prevent the lord's insanity from becoming public.Lots of great sword work, excellent color photography and good acting. The film follows the samurai genre closely with a good amount of political intrigue but the excellent direction by Misumi keeps the pace going at a good clip. There is a supernatural element to the story but it's very low key so if you are looking for a good Japanese ghost or demon story, this isn't going to do it. If you are content with an intriguing variation on the samurai drama, this is recommended.Author: Chung Mo from NYC „ - 5
Samurai Wolf
1966Hideo GoshaChambara“ Stark, stylistic and no fooling around. Solid samurai action as a wandering ronin, "The Vicious Wolf", wanders into a volatile situation at a remote relay post. Of course there's a couple of beautiful woman and nasty political intrigue involved. Interesting characters abound many are master killers with fearsome reputations. The Vicious Wolf is a quirky character with a bizarre fighting style but his intentions are good if you get past his lack of bathing and his tendency to announce that he has no money after eating at an inn or using the services of a prostitute.Director Gosha is clearly the stylistic inspiration for many Italian western directors, more so than Kurosawa. Too bad most spaghetti westerns never even came close to this film.Excellent sword fighting, great photography, unique direction and a good cast. Recommended.Author: Chung Mo from NYC „ -
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Samurai Wolf 2
1967Hideo GoshaChambara“ Highly enjoyable sequel to the excellent Samurai Wolf. "Furious Wolf" this time is caught in the intrigue between a crooked gold mine owner and a mysterious swordsman who resembles his long dead father. Once again there's a beautiful woman involved and lots of furious sword fights.The Samurai Wolf films have a number of similarities to the Lone Wolf and Son series of the seventies and a bit of debt to the Zatoichi series. First, the eccentric sword work of Furious Wolf is very much in the vein of Zatoichi while not imitating it. Second, the geysers of blood that erupt from vanquished villains foretell the much more absurd blood-letting of Lone Wolf.Once again the photography is excellent and the cast is as good. The story is a little convoluted and Furious Wolf is less in control of the situation compared to the first film. Also there are strong thematic repetitions that shouldn't have been so obvious. This is probably one of the reasons Samurai Wolf didn't continue as a series. The curious western tinged musical theme from the first film is repeated over and over for better or worse. Gosha's direction is less inspired this time but still great.Author: Chung Mo from NYC „ - 7
Samurai Rebellion
1967Masiki KobiyashiChambara“ Samurai Rebellion is a stellar example of Japanese cinema in the 1960's. It also serves as a reminder that Kurosawa was not the only master filmmaker making movies in Japan, in fact there were several directors who were pushing not just Chambara but cinema in general to another level. Masaki Kobayashi was certainly one of these. A samurai film that replaces emphasis on action with lush and beautiful shot composition, rich characters, and a terrific plot. As well as a performance By Toshiro Mifune that will break all previous conceptions you may have had of this actor. Mifune plays Isaburo Sasahara, a loyal samurai with an overbearing wife he married for position instead of love. He is visited by the clan steward who tells him that one of the ladies in waiting at the castle has displeased the lord. The lord has ordered that Lady Ichi be married to Isaburo's son Yogoro. Having little choice Yogoro accepts the marriage to Lady Ichi. After some time Isaburo comes to like Ichi and Yogoro and her fall in love and have a child. It is then that a series of circumstances leads the lord to demand Ichi back. Isaburo is moved by his son's love for his bride, something he never had and convinces his son they should not give Ichi up. Their defiance of the lord even causes the rest of their family to turn against them, leaving father and son all alone in their fight for Ichi.Stephen Clark „ - 8
The Betrayal
1966Tokuzo TanakaChambara“ Tokuzo Tanaka's dark masterpiece is the story of a young samurai asked to make the ultimate sacrifice for his clan. After the son of a high ranking member of the clan murders a visiting dojo challenger from an opposing clan, Takuma (Raizo Ichikawa) a young honorable samurai is asked by his future father in law to take the blame for this murder and go into hiding for a year after which he can return and his name will be cleared. Takuma accepts believing it is vital to the clans survival. While in exile the man who promises to clear his name dies and the only other man who knows the truth betrays him. Now a wanted criminal he is hunted by his former clan and by clan of the murdered samurai. Refusing to surrender he decides to fight to the death in an amazing final battle.Stephen Clark „ - 9
Seppuku
1962Masiki KobiyashiJidaigeki“ Seppuku or harakiri is a samurai ritual where an elderly samurai cuts his belly open with a small sword and makes a cross in his flesh. After cutting other samurai cuts his head of to end the pain. And like this a samurai will die honorably.Seppuku tells a story of one elderly samurai named Hanshiro Tsugumo who has lots of things to tell before his harakiri. He tells a story about his beautiful daughter and her life. You can tell that the other samurais aren't actually very pleased with his story telling because the man just doesn't know when to stop. When Hanshiro finally finishes his stories there won't be his harakiri. No, then a great battle will begin.The influence of Seppuku in modern cinema is obvious. The final battle sequence is lot like in Kill Bill vol.1. And that's not the only thing that is similar to some movies of this date.Tatsuya Nakadai does great job in Hanshiro's role and the rest of the cast aren't bad either. Visual aspects of Seppuku are beautiful and the movie itself is very tough provoking. Well it's hard for me to put all into words because of the language barrier but I'll just say this: Seppuku is amazingly deep and beautiful movie which criticizes the mindless samurai ritual they call harakiri. I'm sorry I can't say much - after all I am young and Finish so English doesn't come so naturally for me. But It's easy for me to say - go and watch Seppuku, it's truly a great movie.Author: Suomi Perkele „ - 10
Tenchu (Hitokiri)
1969Hideo GoshaChambara“ Hitokiri (which translates roughly as "assassination"), a/k/a "Tenchu" which translates roughly as "divine punishment") showcases Hideo Gosha at the top of his form. Do NOT miss this one, or Gosha's other classic, Goyokin! Hitokiri is not only one of Gosha's best films, it's one of the best "samurai/chambara" films ever made, and perhaps one of the best Japanese films ever exported.Be warned, all of the intricate plot details in Hitokiri can be a little hard to follow for those unfamiliar with 19th century Japanese history. Even so, the underlying human drama is obvious and open to all viewers. As per the norm for Gosha, Hitokiri provides yet another variation on his traditional theme of "loyalty to one's lord" vs. "doing the right thing". However, Gosha develops his favorite theme with such sophistication, that it's really _the_ movie to see (along with Goyokin, of course).I suppose it breaks down like this: If you want a simpler, more action-oriented tale, you might want to see Goyokin. However, if you want a more thoughtful, multilayered (albeit grim) drama, see this one.Author: Shinobrastafari „ - 11
Warring Clans
1963Kihachi OkamotoChambara“ Before "Samurai Assassin", "Sword of Doom" or "Kill!", director Okamoto helms this light hearted actioner that has just about every element from other chambara movies. Well photographed and meticulously planned, it's an impressive genre film.The film opens with action as the Iga ninja chase and attack a lone young man who turns out to be another Iga ninja but has quit the clan in search of a moral life. The young man defeats the ninja including the feared leader. Observing the fight is a wandering ronin who befriends the young man noting that while the man is a good fighter, he's ignorant of the ways of the world. Almost immediately they are greeted by an odd stranger who claims he will soon become the ruler of Japan. The stranger convinces them to join a passing armed delivery service headed by a young woman who's a short sword expert. And so it starts, complete with political intrigue, a stolen shipment of rifles, a ruthless pirate gang commanded by a beautiful princess and the return of the Iga ninja who have vowed to kill the young man.The film is very brisk and Okamoto's direction is stylish and experimental, especially in the editing. Shot in clear black and white and with a jazzy, quirky score by Masaru Sato, the film is a lot of fun despite the rather standard storyline.The fight scenes are extremely well shot with careful camera placement and sharp editing taking place of actual movement from the actors. Believe me, I'd rather see actors who can actually do the moves but here is an example of how to shoot a fight when the actors may not be the best. It works really well.Recommended.Author: Chung Mo from NYC „ - 12
Satans Sword
1960Kenji MisumiChambara“ The story follows the life of Ryunosuke Tsukue (played by Raizo Ichikawa), an amoral samurai and a master swordsman with an unorthodox style. Ryunosuke is first seen when he kills an elderly Buddhist pilgrim for no reason and with no apparent feeling. Later, he deliberately kills an opponent in a fencing competition that was intended to be non-lethal. This latter act forces him to leave his home town, but not before he fights his way through an ambush, killing perhaps a dozen samurai in the process. To make a living, Ryunosuke joins the Shinsengumi, a sort of semi-official police force made up of ronin that supports the Tokugawa shogunate through murder and assassinations. Through all his interactions, whether killing a man or at home with his mistress and their baby son, Ryunosuke rarely shows any emotion. His expression is fixed in a glassy stare that suggests a quiet insanity. Ryunosuke slowly descends into complete insanity in the final 15 minutes and the movie ends on a cliff-hanger note with a duel that isn't materialised.OK first things first, this is a Kenji Misumi picture, so it can't be all that bad. But in the same time it's obvious that Misumi here is still learning the ropes, his directing pretty much by-the-numbers, even though flashes of the brilliance he would show in consequent years are still evident. He was a contract director for Daei at the time, before the studio's bankruptcy. He would go on to craft perhaps the best series in the cinema's history, Lone Wolf and Cub. Here we see his early steps in the genre, totally bloodless in case you're wondering. I believe the first movie to introduce the arterial spray we all love is Kurosawa's Sanjuro that came out two years later.Now if you came all the way here to read this review, you should already be familiar with Kihachi Okamoto's masterpiece, Sword of Doom, from 1966. Okamoto's Daibosatsu Toge (as is the Japanese title) is a remake very faithful to the original. Going against every remake rule, it is also superior in every aspect. Raizo Ichikawa is not a patch on Tatsuya Nakadai, one of the most imposing actors I have ever seen. Everything from the b/w cinematography to the acting to the swordfights to the plot is three or four scales above in Sword of Doom. Misumi's earlier version comes very short by comparison. However if you HAVE seen Sword of Doom and you're a chambara fan, you could do a lot worse than check out Misumi's Satan's Sword.. Okamoto's remake follows Misumi's picture to the hilt, most scenes are almost identical in how they play out. Imagine Gus Van Sant's shot by shot remake of Psycho and you're close.OK now that we've got that out of the way, let's see what this one has going for it. Raizo Ichikawa leaves a lot to be desired (especially because one cannot help but picture Nakadai in the same role), but the movie is fairly entertaining, the swordfights are quite good (although there's no blood I repeat) and Misumi's exterior photography is good. The most important reason to get Misumi's Satan's Sword trilogy though is to see the story of Ryunosuke Tsuke evolving in the next two sequels. Okamoto's Sword of Doom was supposed to have sequels which never materialised, so if you were miffed by its abrupt ending, here's your only chance to see the conclusion of Tsukue's tragic story.Author: Chaos Rampant from Greece „ - 13
Satans Sword: Dragon God
1960Kenji MisumiChambara“ While Misumi would continue to improve his riffs as a top-drawer director, this second episode shows all of the hallmarks of the mature Misumi in its fight choreography, choice of establishing scenes and camera angles, and character development.Ryunosuke, having given up all attachments to his family and former associates, travels like a kite over central Japan, relentlessly pursued by coincidence and chance. Repeatedly confronted with his stunningly rapid karma, he seems to grow from the selfish, murderous young man of the first episode into an adult with a growing sense of responsibility for his actions.The way Misumi set up his shots is classic Japanese cinema, reminiscent of Inagaki and even Kurosawa at times. Notice the dojo scene, when young Hyoma accepts a lesson from the wise old Lord, who has seen Ryonosuke in action. The final group fight scene is perfect in its timing, style and economy. This is what the Chinese directors acknowledged in the documentary "Chop Socky Cinema," when they gave a nod to the Japanese directors of the early 60's for innovations in action choreography. Misumi would repeat this staging effect in almost all of his later work. Eight or ten enemies surround the hero, who stands quietly in the center until he mows everyone down with just a few strokes. This scenario is the heart of the Nemuri Kyoshiro (Sleepy Eyes of Death,) Zatoichi and Lone Wolf series, all shaped largely by Misumi.Like that other Kenji, Mizoguchi that is, Misumi was well-known for his ability to work effectively with women. He allowed his actresses to be interesting and more fully formed than the typical decorative set pieces of contemporaries. They bring a real world quality and depth to his films, one which is often missing in jidai geki.Volume 2 is a mini-masterpiece and one which we can, thankfully, enjoy without the inevitable comparisons to "Sword of Doom" and the splendid, intense Tatsuya Nakadai as Ryunosuke. This episode has plenty to recommend it to fans of chanbara.Author: Alice Frye from U.S „ - 14
Satans Sword: Final Chapter
1961Kazuo MoriChambara“ As was the case with Satan's Sword 2, the third entry begins where the second one left off. A short montage gives a short summary of the story (it came 1 year after the first two, so I guess audiences had to be oriented as to what it is they're watching), and then we're thrust headlong in yet another tale of revenge and death. Ryunosuke Tsuke is still hunted by his sworn enemy Hyoma Utsugi, whose brother he killed in the first episode. Whenever he tries to settle down and live peacefully (and such opportunities do arise), a combination of bad luck and bad kharma force him to continue on the path of self-destruction. It doesn't seem to make a difference whether or not he does the right thing or not. There's no stopping Ryunosuke's cursed fate. Just as he settles down with a young woman and her son and she genuinely shows affection for him, he has to save a young man who is accused unfairly of theft, and finds himself captured and forced to work for a corrupt official. There goes his first chance of peace. In another instance, after he flees with another woman who again seems to care for him, he murders a young girl for no reason, again upsetting the balance. In the end Ryunosuke, plagued by visions of those he killed, will face off with Hyoma in a spectacular ending.There appears to be a slight mix up here. IMDb states Kenji Misumi as the director but the copy I have gives another name. Anyways, whoever helmed Satan's Sword 3 was smart enough to leave the ending elusive. Indeed, there's no need for a definitive closure to the saga because we know that in the end it doesn't matter whether or not Rynosuke survives. He's already in h**l. And it doesn't matter whether or not Hyoma gets his revenge, because Ryunosuke's inner demons have taken care of that.If you've seen the previous two entries, you should know what to expect. The set pieces, costumes and cinematography are all spot on and even superior in this third entry. The final show down in the middle of a raging storm and flood is perhaps the best part of the series and gives that extra oomph to the ending. The swordfighting leaves something to be desired (still no sign of arterial sprayings), but Misumi (if he did direct the movie) was still new in the chambara game at this point and Raizo Ichikawa is no Toshiro Mifune. It's still adequate though. What drives the story is Ryunosuke's nihilistic character and Ichikawa has made him his own by now.Even though the whole series as a whole doesn't approach the epic success of something like Lone Wolf and Cub and is nowhere near as famous as Zatoichi, they're still well worth discovering by chambara enthusiasts. Good, solid entertainment with flashes of brilliance.Author: Chaos Rampant from Greece „ - 15 1965Hideo GoshaChambara“ This early Hideo Gosha jidai-geki that was released by Criterion opens quite abruptly with a ronin named Gennosuke being hunted down for having killed his clan's counsellor. We're at 1857, on the brink of the Meiji reformation that saw Japan opening to the west after years of seclusion and the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate. The central plot revolves around the struggle between the old and new in a country on the verge of change. Although short in duration (clocking in at 85 minutes), the story never lets up with numerous twists and a fast pace. A series of events will find Gennosuke and a prospector he meets along the way searching for gold in a mountain, until they get caught up in another clan's schemes. Nothing is what it seems though, and therein lies the beauty of Sword of the Beast. As the story progresses both forwards and backwards (with glimpses in Gennosuke's past in the form of flashbacks), the characters' motives are fully fleshed out and this provides the extra dramatic oomph that pushes Sword of the Beast above "merely OK" territory. Behind all the swordfighting (and there's enough of it to be enjoyed here, certainly not Lone Wolf and Cub though), Gosha has a story to communicate.With beautiful natural exteriors photographed in stark black and white, confident directing from Gosha, very good swordfighting scenes from actors who know their trade and decent performances all around, Sword of the Beast should appeal to all jidai-geki fans. It's neither as monolithic and tragic as Masaki Kobayashi's work from the same time nor as lyrical as Kurosawa's, but it stands somewhere in the middle, stripped to the essentials with a focus on story and theme.Author: Chaos Rampant from Greece „
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Yojimbo
1961Akira KurosawaChambara“ Classic samurai action pic; often imitated but never equalled. Mifune creates a memorable character (who appeared in a sequel) in the Ronin who decides the course of his life on the toss of a stick, and ends up risking his life to save a village full of peasants he finds revolting. It's possible to see "Yojimbo's" actions as either heroic or as the game of a bored warrior in need of amusement -- as often in Kurosawa's films, the fact that the characters' motives remain open to interpretation adds depth to the film.Wonderful images, and skillful direction that keeps the pace of the storytelling tight and tells most of the story through images -- this is the kind of film that is so good it can be watched a silent film without losing too much of its impact or meaning.I think that if Kurosawa had spent more of his time in litigation and less making movies, he might have made a living for the rest of his life off all the movies that have ripped off this movie. Certainly Eastwood's "Man with No Name" character owes a lot to Mifune's contribution; not only in Leone's films (the first of which borrows its entire plot from Kurosawa; a court settlement ensued which made sure Kurosawa made most of the profits from "Fistful of Dollars" in Asia his own) but also in Eastwood's best film as a director -- "High Plains Drifter", which borrows scenes such as Eastwood's rebuke of the villagers from "Yojimbo".The really funny thing about all this, and what not too many American critics or audiences have noted, is that "Yojimbo" is itself a western. All the ingredients for a western are here, and the film's plot and style obviously owe a debt to Zinnemann's "High Noon". "Yojimbo" even borrows the device of time, setting up a confrontation at 3:00 a.m. as shouted by the town crier. I like "Yojimbo" better than "High Noon", so I don't want to go too far into this line of thought...Author: FunkyFry from Oakland California „ - 17
Sanjuro
1962Akira KurosawaChambara“ Akira Kurosawa is probably the best Director in the entire History of film-making. He has not been that prolific given the amount of time he has spent making films, but many of these have subsequently been remade - Seven Samurai became the magnificent seven. Yoijimbo (the prequel to this one) became A fistful of dollars - and more recently last man standing. The hidden Fortress became Star Wars. Sanjuro marked the return of Toshiro Mifune as the Sardonic Ronin from Yoijimbo. Yet again, the photography is excellent - the period costumes and buildings beautiful to look at even in black and white. From one of the first scenes, in the grounds outside the Shrine, Mifune shows a 500% improvement in the art of Kenjutso - he must have been practicing night and day! But it is the character of Sanjuro itself that makes the film so absorbing. He is on the surface, a dirty, disrespectful abrasive man - but his deeds portray him as a hero - someone who once was a shining example of a Samurai and despite being put through the ringer still holds to a deeply rooted code of honor. When this shows however, he is most anxious to cover it up again..... The film involves a power struggle within a small city in Japan between the old faction and the new power-hungry one. It deals with false perceptions and truth. Two of the tenets that are at the heart of Kurosawa's films. This is a Gem - rent it - if you can, Buy it!Author: Dan Marcus „ - 18
Eleven Samurai
1966Eiichi KudoChambara“ Author: chaos-rampant from GreeceThe closing chapter in Eiichi Kudo's Samurai Revolution trilogy is a reworking of the same story as the previous two, Thirteen Assassins and The Great Duel. It's almost identical so if you're familiar with the other two you'll be able to guess every plot point in advance. I guess that puts Kudo in the good company of Howard Hawks as a director who has done the same movie three times.The novelty factor might have worn out by now, but Eleven Samurai is still a good example of the formal mid 60's chambara with a political vein running through it. The Abe clan is about to be abolished unjustly due to the rash actions of a nearby daimyo, who just so happens to be the former Shogun's son. A plot is devised by the Abe clan to assassinate him as he returns from Edo but things become complicated when a devious minister gets involved. The titular eleven samurai are trusted with carrying out the assassination and the protagonist leading them will be familiar to chambara enthusiasts as Kiba Okaminosuke from Hideo Gosha's Samurai Wolf. Sadly Kudo keeps things very black and white on the morality level by making the daimyo a spoiled, arrogant, petulant jerk-off so you have the good guys avenging their clan on one side and the villain on the other. The corrupt machinations of politics are personified (and condemned) in the form of the minister who instead of punishing the Shogun's son decides to abolish the Abe clan to avoid a scandal. Not really hard to sympathize with them. What makes up for the predictable plot and poorly developed drama is the final battle; there's very good DP work, rain and mud adding to the feeling and some decent swordsmanship going on so the film ends on a high note. If you've seen any of the previous two in Kudo's trilogy you should know exactly what to expect. Nothing ground-breaking for sure, but a solid, entertaining hour and a half to be had for chambara afficionados. „ - 19
Nemuri Kyoshiro: Enter Nemuri Kyoshiro, the Swordsman
1963Tokuzo TanakaChambara“ After Kyoshiro disposes of a half-dozen ambushers (and thus demonstrating his skill), their master, Lord Maeda, sends his ward Chisa to seduce him and set him agasinst his enemy, Chen Sun. Chen is trying to protect a document that, if revealed, will cause the downfall of Maeda's Clan, an event Chen would relish. Deception is piled upon treachery, and to solve the mystery, Kyoshiro must find a man who is already dead, and get him to reveal the secret of The Chinese Jade. „ - 20
Nemuri Kyoshiro: Adventure of Nemuri Kyoshiro
1964Kenji MisumiChambara“ At a teahouse in Edo, Kyoshiro befriends an old man, who turns out to be the finance commissioner for the Shogunate. The old mans desire to do good things for the peasants who suffer from the burden of high taxes brings him into conflict with Princess Takahime, the Shoguns daughter, who cares only for her own pleasures. When [the commissioner] is forced to eliminate her allowance, she marks him for death.Kyoshiro decides to protect his new friend but things soon get complicated and, after several failed attempts, the assassins decide that Kyoshiro has to be dealt with. Nemuri is lured into a trap by Uneme, a fortune teller who has agreed to help the Princess in exchange for the release of her incarcerated foreign missionary husband. Uneme drugs Nemuri's tea and ties him up but he manages to escape. „ - 21
Nemuri Kyoshiro: Full Moon Cut
1964Kimiyoshi YasudaChambara“ This is the third entry in the published Sleepy Eyes of Death series although there are a couple of Sleepy Eyes made in the 50's before The Chinese Jade. A typical story in the series is a collage of sub plots that involve Nemuri in one way or the other that get resolved progressively until we arrive at the climax where he squares off with the villain and his henchmen. Full Moon Cut involves a concubine of the Shogun who schemes to have her son become the sole heir to the throne, a poor commoner who wants revenge from said concubine's son for killing his father to test his swords and a woman Nemuri becomes romantically involved with until her husband returns from exile and is paid to kill him.The assortment of motley characters that often populate this kind of pulpy b-movie chambara aid or oppose Nemuri depending on which side they find themselves in but it's not completely a case of good-evil here. An example is a poor, honest samurai that is challenges Nemuri to a duel. Nemuri also rapes his antagonist's wife and as Ichikawa isn't the rough hewn and big type like Mifune or Katsu, we get the impression that something other than brute force is at play, maybe some sort of evil, sly charm.Even as he is confronted by the poor samurai that needs to kill him in order to pay back a debt of honour, a noble act in itself which partly confirms there's still hope for the samurai class, Nemuri doesn't stop his scathing attacks at the samurai principles he despises. This is not a "I will speak daggers... but use none" case though: the man is a hardass when it comes to using a sword and the movie ups the ante in terms of violence from the previous Sword of Adventure. There's a chopped head and limbs and a nice final fight on a burning bridge where Nemuri is framed by flames before he delivers the fatal blow, like some kind of sword devil (to use a Kenji Misumi title Ichikawa starred in one year later)Author: Chaos Rampant from Greece „ - 22
Nemuri Kyoshiro: Nemuri Kyoshiro at Bay
1964Kazuo IkehiroChambara“ Sword of Seduction is somewhat of a departure for the Sleepy Eyes of Death saga. Whereas the previous movies had typed Nemuri as a stray dog ronin, a sardonic fatalist without a past or future like Yojimbo, here we get to discover who he really is, his parents and the circumstances of his birth.If Sleepy Eyes of Death has the reputation of a dark and violent chambara (especially for its time), it is exactly because of movies like Sword of Seduction. I don't want to spoil the ending that reveals Nemuri's birth but the imagery associated with him literally types him as a sword devil (to borrow the title of a Kenji Misumi picture Ichikawa worked in the next year): the son of the black mass.This closure doesn't come out of left field though. Throughout the movie Nemuri almost literally cuts through the veils of hypocrisy and illusion: religion, politics, superstition, vanity. Each one in the form of a different subplot, all of which intersect at one point or another. The Christian missionary who renounces his faith for a drink of sake and the body of a woman (but also to save her brother), he gets his head chopped off by Nemuri. The demented daughter of the ex-Shogun who drugs and kills beautiful girls because she is deformed herself, her ugliness is exposed with a swift cut of Nemuri's sword during a Noh dance. The female fortune-teller that tries to seduce Nemuri as part of a weird sex ritual, she gets what's coming to her.Directed by Kazuo Ikehiro, Sword of Seduction doesn't stand out as a major technical or dramatic achievement of any kind. But on a sensory level, the ways it adds grim undertones in an already cynic serialized character and how it expands the mood and universe of the movie by introducing his past, it is largely a minor triumph. The violence is on par with the previous entry Full Moon Cut and this time around the actual technique evolves on a visual level: we get to see what exactly happens with Nemuri's sword in slow-motion as he traces the circle before he kills his opponent.If you're thinking of skipping the first three and watching this one first, I would advise against it. Nemuri, like any other serialized character from James Bond to Lone Wolf, has little character development from one entry to the next but it's cool to see the ways the style and story is moved forward.Author: Chaos Rampant from Greece „ - 23
Nemuri Kyoshiro: The Swordsman and the Pirate
1965Kenji MisumiChambara“ SWORD OF FIRE (1965), from the Sleepy Eyes of Death (aka Son of the Black Mass) Japanese samurai series, is notable for its assured direction by Kenji Misumi, lively screenplay by Seiji Hoshikawa, and expert swordplay which showcases the lead character's celebrated "Full Moon Cut" technique. Raizo Ichikawa stars as Kyoshiro Nemuri, a wandering red-haired ronin (unemployed samurai) who is the son of a Japanese woman impregnated by a Christian missionary. On his way to Edo (Tokyo), Nemuri encounters a woman, Nui Higaki, engaged in a knife fight with a man. His reluctant act of intervention gets him embroiled in a conspiracy involving the chief retainer of the Todo Clan and his attempt to cover up the theft of treasure from a pirate gang that he was supposed to deliver to the Shogun. Atobe Shogen, the retainer, manipulates various figures, including Nui Higaki, to eliminate the surviving pirates. Nemuri, caught up against his will, seeks to defend himself and, ultimately, the remnants of the pirate gang. In the course of it all, he realizes he'd helped the wrong person to live while refusing to intervene to help the right person.The key ingredients of the intrigue are not that crucial since we come into the story well after the fact and have little knowledge of the people involved. What's important, however, is the fascinating interplay of a host of scheming characters with shifting motives. Nemuri stands aloof from the action, sizing up all the characters and entering the fray only when forced to. He recalls the title character portrayed by Toshiro Mifune in Akira Kurosawa's YOJIMBO (1961), who carefully appraises the situation before deciding to play both ends against the middle. (YOJIMBO was based on an American detective novel, "Red Harvest," by Dashiell Hammett and was, in turn, the basis for Sergio Leone's Italian western, A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS, made in 1964.) Eventually Nemuri takes sides and reveals an unmistakable sentimental streak in a beautifully conceived line of dialogue near the end of the film. This puts him squarely in the tradition of private eyes like Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe (best seen in the 1946 film, THE BIG SLEEP), who juggled various corrupt parties while maintaining a pragmatic distance which veiled a code of justice awaiting the proper recipient. At the end of this film, Nemuri echoes his private eye predecessors' distaste for authority and cements his loner status by delivering a stinging rebuke to the head of the clan.While the film is not as bloody or over-the-top as Misumi's later works, most notably the Lone Wolf and Cub/Baby Cart films starring Tomisaburo Wakayama, it has a formal beauty that's less evident in those films. There are long takes, elegant compositions and great attention to the use of color, particularly red (beautifully captured in the stunning letter-boxed transfer available on tape). The swordfights are all efficiently staged for the wide screen with nearly all of the intricate action completed in magnificent single takes. There are plenty of such scenes, but they tend to be short and quick. Most of the suspense is generated by the constant tension and threat of violence in the frequent confrontations between opposing characters.Without giving anything away, the very last scene of the film (following the incidents cited above) may strike some as cold-blooded, although it will have others laughing with cruel glee. However, it closes the film on a distinct poignant note with its profound sense of lost opportunity and thwarted emotion.Author: Brian Camp Bronx NY „ - 24
Nemuri Kyoshiro: The Mysterious Sword of Kyoshiro
1965Kimiyoshi YasudaChambara“ When the fate of a mighty clan depends on finding the illegitimate son of the late Lord, Kyoshiro gets involved when it turns out that the little boy doesn't want to be a Daimyo - he wants to be a carpenter. But the clan elders know that unless the kid becomes their master (whether he likes it or not), their clan is doomed. Unfortunately for them, Kyoshiro owes the boy a favor. Director YASUDA Kimiyoshi was one of Japan’s finest filmmakers. He is best known for directing THE BLIND SWORDSMAN MEETS HIS EQUAL, but his brilliance is clearly shown in this film. This is one of the most exciting films in the Son of the Black Mass series. „ - 25
Nemuri Kyoshiro: The Mask of the Princess
1966Akira InoueChambara“ This is an excellent entry in the ever excellent "Nemuri Kyoshiro" aka "Sleepy Eyes of Death" series which continues/re-imagines a theme and character from "Sword of Seduction", (SEOD #4), of the completely mad disfigured Princess Kiku, who seeks to exact her revenge upon Kyoshiro for "pretending" to have sex with her one fateful night - watch and learn. Anyway, "The Princess' Mask" is one of the very best films in a series that rivaled "Zatoichi" in popularity throughout Japan. There's this one scene with a crazy girl who walks around town humming to herself and displaying a sign that says "I was raped by Nemuri Kyoshiro". When he follows her to a creepy rundown shack to find out what her glitch is, she wants to see Kyoshiro's "katana", (if you know what I mean). Being the total "Ho" that he is, (which the last reviewer would have no idea about being the total "Aho" that he is), Kyoshiro starts making out with the nutty nymphomaniac, and while she's tasting his tonsils her foot slowly slides across the floor to monkey-grab a thin, innocent looking bamboo reed which she quickly passes up to her hands and pulls out a thin, rapier-type sword hidden inside and starts slashing with intensity at our unarmed and disarmed hero. The crazy chick turns out to be a cunning assassin, the room in the dilapidated shack turns out to be a cage, and the whole thing turns out to be an elaborate trap with the masked Princess laughing like a loon as her guards start chucking spears at the trapped Kyoshiro... And that's all just in one scene! So, don't listen to fools who know nothing. Go get this DVD, (if you can), and dig the insane eye candy-colored world created by the great Raizo Ichikawa and Kenji Misumi of the original red-haired samurai, (obvious inspiration for Anime character Rurouni Kenshin), and "Son of the Black Mass", Nemuri Kyoshiro - O.G. Jidai-geki at its peak of perfection!Author: Makato64 from Edo „
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