Though it may be a cliche to think of Japanese cinema as being hugely composed of Samurai films, the truth is that Japan does indeed produce a large number of Samurai movies and a few of them are quite well done.
Much like the western offers American movie producers an historical time period ripe for presenting idealized stories of cowboys, the Samurai provide a similarly valuable historical reference point for Japanese cinema.
The legend of the Samurai in Japan is strongly romanticized and largely fictional, just as the cowboys seen in American cinema are often a far stretch from reality. But the fictional ideas that the Japanese have “made up” over time about Samurai do present great storytelling opportunities.
For Japanese Language Students
Japanese friends have advised me that Samurai movies are likely to feature an older style of Japanese dialogue that you might not want to emulate too closely. I still enjoy practicing picking out words in Samurai movies, but be careful you don’t learn to speak too much like a Samurai. It’s probably a good idea to mix in a variety of film genres when practicing Japanese listening comprehension.
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Reviews of Japanese movies that contain Samurai action scenes are all linked from this page. Older Samurai movies are listed again on the Black & White directory page. Akira Kurosawa’s Samurai films are listed here in addition to his own directory page. Significant dramas that are set during the age of the Samurai, but rely more on story than swordplay and combat, such as Samurai Rebellion and The Twilight Samurai, can also be found in the Drama Category.
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March 10, 2011
The currently available reviews can all be viewed from the main entrance page here.
I’m in the process of rebuilding this site and restoring the first 24 reviews after a meltdown at my previous hosting provider. This page will feature cover art links to use in selecting the reviews available in this category.
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