Samurai/Martial Arts (Wuxia) Film

Here's a DVD Beaver comparison of House of Flying Daggers: http://www.compare.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDCompare8/houseofflyingdaggers.htm :applaud:

According to DVD Beaver Criterion will release a new DVD of Seven Samurai in 2005. Criterion hasn't given any official announcement though.

And Criterion Collection DVD of Kagemusha will be released march 29 (this may have been mentioned before here on forum)

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Shurayuki-hime wrote:According to DVD Beaver Criterion will release a new DVD of Seven Samurai in 2005. Criterion hasn't given any official announcement though.

That's good news and bad news: Looks like I might be double-dipping on this title... :(

And Criterion Collection DVD of Kagemusha will be released march 29 (this may have been mentioned before here on forum)

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Heh, I just mentioned this on the Japanese Movie thread. :)

I was at movies yesterday (watching Saw) and there was an announcement that Seven Samurai will be shown here in a couple of months. I get to see that on big screen. This totally unbelievable because I live in a small town where we have only one movie theatre and it usually shows only big Hollywood films. :say_cool:

Shurayuki-hime wrote:I was at movies yesterday (watching Saw) and there was an announcement that Seven Samurai will be shown here in a couple of months. I get to see that on big screen. This totally unbelievable because I live in a small town where we have only one movie theatre and it usually shows only big Hollywood films. :say_cool:

Very cool. :woot:

Here's an updated DVD Beaver comparison of House of Flying Daggers: http://www.compare.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDCompare8/houseofflyingdaggers2.htm :woot:

bmwracer wrote:Basically, it's a biography about Japan's most famous samurai/swordsman, Miyamoto Musashi. The NHK series is 49 (!) episodes long and is jam-packed with stars: Yonekura Ryoko, Nakama Yukie, Uchiyama Rina, Tstusumi Shinichi, Kitano Takeshi, Miyazawa Rie, and Ichikawa Shinnosuke as Miyamoto Musashi...

You mention "jam-packed with stars", but how did you forget to mention Abe Hiroshi :shocked:!

Akakage wrote:AME AGARU (AFTER THE RAIN)
Based on the last screenplay written by the late legendary Akira Kurosawa. This is a beautifully shot film with a quiet and yet moving story that shed light on a Samurai's life. Directed by Takashi Koizumi who worked as Kurosawa's assistant director for 28 years. Starring Akira Terao, Yoshiko Miyazaki, Shiro Mifune, et al. This marks Koizumi's directorial debut.

I saw "Ame Agaru" just a few days ago, and despite it being somewhat short I found it very very very very very... (long time after) very very very very good!
A personal note, i've yet to see iai as good as in "Ame Agaru". (Maybe it's cause I haven't seen many with it :doh:). But to me small things like not forcing the sword back in the 'saya' with all your might, makes a big difference, I personally can't stand to watch as people in movies does that, but Ame Agaru does everything in that connection perfectly!

I recommend everyone watching it.

Takenobu wrote:You mention "jam-packed with stars", but how did you forget to mention Abe Hiroshi !

You are so right...! :banghead: :banghead:

Gomen nasai.

No worries, but I just "almost" laugh whenever I see him in any drama, even in Musashi, when I think of his other roles especially as: "Ueda Jiro" :hehe:

Takenobu wrote:No worries, but I just "almost" laugh whenever I see him in any drama, even in Musashi, when I think of his other roles especially as: "Ueda Jiro" :hehe:

Heh, easily one of his best roles. What a goof he is. :applaud: :hehe:

DVD Beaver comparison of Hero: http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDCompare9/hero.htm

DVD Beaver comparison of Shaolin Soccer: http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDCompare9/shaolin_soccer_.htm

I thought I'd revive this thread a little because I've watched a few episodes of Tomisaburo Wakayama's "Mute Samurai" TV series.

In episode 9 it features a young caucasian girl maybe about 10 years old, with blue eyes and (reddish) blonde hair. Her Japanese pronunciation is pretty good (she may have dubbed though). She's credited as "Sylvia Walker".

It's so unusual to see westerners in Japanese TV shows, particularly when they aren't minor characters ... and they're kids.

It would be interesting to find out if she ever acted in anything else and what she's up to today. She'd probably be in her early 40s. I did a couple web searches but it isn't an easy one.

Sheesh... I've seen a lot of these films over the years.

Perhaps the FUNNIEST martial arts film I've seen is either Wing Chun or Drunken Master. :hehe:

Wing Chun:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111800/

Drunken Master:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080179/



Both films feature good martial arts and a lot of laughs. :applaud:
-PCM

I saw Wing Chun a couple years ago and didn't like it so much back then. Maybe I should give it another chance, as I didn't really understand the greatness of HK humour at that time (HK humour is like coffee: looks bad, tastes bad at first, and then you become an addict :rofl: )

But Drunken Master is awesome. Simon Yuen's character is one of the most memorable ones in kung fu movie history. Snake in the Eagle's Shadow is great too. Maybe even better than Drunken Master...

I've seen a few Japanese Swordplay/Period TV shows:

Abarenbo Shogun
Avengers
Hatchobori 7
Mute Samurai
Three Swordsmen
Zatoichi

They're usually pretty brainless, but fun. I think of the ones I've seen, the only really good one was Abarenbo Shogun, just because Matsudaira Ken has such a great personality. The Zaotichi TV shows I've seen were ok, but the movies really outshone them. Mute Samurai with Tomisaburo Wakayama, was good in parts, but very flawed. I don't think it really worked well to have the main character be mute. Tomisaburo came off more like a zombie.

Avengers and Hatchobori 7 were both pretty average, IMHO. And Three Swordsmen was downright silly (the bamboo bazooka! :) ). I still found them watchable though. I'll watch almost anything with a swordfight in it.

They all pretty much follow the formula that the good guys obliterate the bad guys at the end of the show. Fun stuff.

Anyone else seen these? Any good shows I missed that should be seen?

The 1978 dorama Yagyu Conspiracy is an excellent chambara TV series. The initial season had 39 episodes (yikes, approaching Taiga drama length) and revolves around the infamous Yagyu clan and its efforts to serve the Shogunate. It stars Sonny Chiba (he plays Yagyu Jubei, he of the famous eye patch and extraordinary fighting skills) and members of his Japan Action Club (JAC), such as Etsuko Shihomi and Hiroyuki Sanada. The episodes have some thought to them, and there are plenty of well choreographed fighting sequences, which is what you'd expect from Chiba's JAC. Unlike the Zatoichi TV series (I agree with a previous reviewer who said the theatrical releases were far superior to the TV episodes), where the plot of each episode was basically the same, the stories in the Yagyu Conspiracy series were interesting and diverse. A second season was made in 1982 which consisted of 26 episodes, and it was also very good. Speaking of Sonny Chiba, he was in one of the best swordfighting scenes I have ever seen in the movie Fall of Ako Castle (Ako Jo Danzetsu), directed by Kinji Fukasaku. It's yet another retelling of the 47 Ronin story, and it's one of the best versions imo.

shin2 wrote:The 1978 dorama Yagyu Conspiracy is an excellent chambara TV series. The initial season had 39 episodes

Sounds intriguing, but with so many episodes and being from so long ago, it sounds like it would be hard to find with english subs (which I need :( ) But I'll keep my eye out for it.

I agree about "Fall of Ako Castle", that was a good movie.

loris wrote:Sounds intriguing, but with so many episodes and being from so long ago, it sounds like it would be hard to find with english subs (which I need :( ) But I'll keep my eye out for it.

Actually, it was broadcast in SoCal with English subs around that time... I taped a lot of those episodes, but unfortunately I didn't have the foresight to save most of them... All I have are the last eight episodes. :puppydog:

You might try this site: http://www.ninjadojo.com/... I think there's a link that has The Yagyu Conspiracy available on VHS/DVD, but it's really pricey...

bmwracer wrote:You might try this site: http://www.ninjadojo.com/... I think there's a link that has The Yagyu Conspiracy available on VHS/DVD, but it's really pricey...

Thanks for the link. What's up with that site though, they used the blink tag on a paragraph of text! ... eek. For some reason, they link to the movie of the Yagyu Conspiracy at imdb (a/k/a Shogun's Samurai), which I have seen.

They also call Japanese "Japos". hmm.