The Movie: Hideo Gosha's impassioned redemption story tells the tale of a reclusive ronin (a samurai without a master to you and I) wracked by guilt over a massacre ordered by his former clan lord. When he learns that the fiendish old man is planning to repeat the trick, he resolves that there will be no more innocent-slaying on his watch…
The Samurai: Samurai are rarely care-free, happy go lucky sorts, and so it is with Magobei Wakizaka, a skilled swordsman disillusioned with his path in life on account of the corruption of his former master. As is often the case in samurai movies, a shot at redemption presents itself sooner rather than later.
Why It's Great: it's a tightly plotted story containing the usual conflict between duty and conscience, beautifully shot and containing some stand-out battle scenes. The imagery is also worthy of note, with Gosha using a recurring flock of crows to good effect. Plus, Tatsuya Nadakai makes for an excellent crusading avenger…
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Comments
FBSHarrigan
May 3rd 2012, 7:33
This is a pretty solid list, and it is awesome to see Kurosawa not only on the list multiple times, but at the top of it. Miike's 13 Assassins is one of the instances of an excellent remake; it may even trounce the original. Though easily his most normal movie, it still has some of the unnerving Miike flair to it. This could be a good lesson to Hollywood on how to actually succeed at a remake. http://www.videodetective.com/movies/13-assassins/264830
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MoodyMonkey
May 3rd 2012, 7:58
Ashamed to admit i have heard of hardly any of these but will definitely be checking all of them out, thanks TF. I think Twilight Samurai is on netflix at the moment.
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wibble
May 3rd 2012, 8:25
No Zatoichi? Takeshi Kitano's masterpiece ought to be there.
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wibble
May 3rd 2012, 8:38
Shame the list is limited to just 15, since Versus (yakuza v undead samurai) and Azumi are both guilty pleasures.
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FBMThompso9
May 3rd 2012, 10:45
13 assassins should be first it blows away everything else
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irish
May 3rd 2012, 11:26
I watched a very good one last night. illusion of blood http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061208/ A mixture of samurai and the supernatural I would also add to list of best samurai movies Zatôichi nidan-kiri
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irish
May 3rd 2012, 11:30
ah i see illusion of blood is a remake of one called The-ghost-of-Yotsuya
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FBMBurgess79
May 3rd 2012, 12:17
13 assassins is decent but does not beat Seven Samurai which is one of the greatest achievements in cinematic history. Remember it was made in the 50's. The techniques and action sequences are mind blowing for the time. So ahead of its time. My only argument with this list is none of the original Zatoichi films are in there or Lady Snowblood or Hanzo the Razor.
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youngnedyoung
May 3rd 2012, 14:56
Sad there's no Zatoichi, old or new. One of my favourites, regardless of genre.
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Hadouken76
May 3rd 2012, 17:08
Ninja Scroll! :D
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McSerious
May 3rd 2012, 19:22
Ghost Dog is an absolutely awful film! I'm a huge Whitaker fan but that was disgraceful! Azumi and Versus are good fun, but perhaps don't deserve to be on this list like Zatoichi does... It divides opinion but I do think The Last Samurai deserves to be here,
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FBCSiple
May 3rd 2012, 20:09
"For a Fistful of Dollars" was a scene-for-scene remake of "Yojimbo."
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FBCSiple
May 3rd 2012, 20:12
...a Western based on a samurai picture made by an Italian in Spain.
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FBSBrand
May 3rd 2012, 21:39
Really good list. I would have liked to see Sword of Doom there, but having Samurai Rebellion at a high spot makes me happy.
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FBCRamirez
May 7th 2012, 3:46
solid list. all the important ones are there and in place.
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senormusashi
Aug 14th 2012, 23:11
Zatoichi isn't on this list as Zatoichi is not a samurai.
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