Samurai Extravaganza

[Ed, Ego and Superego]

TCM has Rashomon and Yojimbo on tonight.   Be there or commit seppuku from shame.

-Ed

[dean]

Do I have to commit seppuku because I don't have TCM nor am in the states?  Or will watching my copies of Ran, Red Beard and Seven Samurai suffice?  I await your honorable answer!

[Scott]

Watced parts of YOJIMBO (1961) last night and clearly saw scenes taken directly from YOJIMBO in the movie by Sergio Leone FISTFUL OF DOLLARS (1963). Like the undertaker scene were Mifune kills two and cuts off the arm of another and tells the undertaker to "prepare two coffins, make that three." and the finale scene where Mifune is injured and in the barrel watching the two gangs kill each other. In the book SOMETHING TO DO WITH DEATH they tell how Kurosawa wrote Leone a letter congradulating Leone on a fine movie. Leone was so happy to be recognized by Kurosawa that he showed everyone the letter, but hadn't read the rest of the sentence "congradulations on the film, but it's my film".  Leone made nothing from FISTFUL OF DOLLARS, but was allowed to make A FEW DOLLARS MORE by the studio. YOJIMBO is a very fine movie and I hope to watch the whole thing. Saw parts of it last night before and after the DOG THE BOUNTY HUNTER special.

[Ed, Ego and Superego]

Dean,
We'll give you a pass on the suicide.  You have done plenty with the homework movie watching.  
-Ed

[Doc Daneeka]

I feel ready...

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[daveblackeye15]

I think Seven Samurai is better than Rohsomon, which is better than Yojimbo.

[trekgeezer]

I don't know how many folks have satellite, but one of my favorite channels is IFC. Every week they have Samurai Saturday. I didn't notice what was on this morning, but last week they were showing Seven Samurai and I just caught part of Yojimbo there.

They also routinely show many of the Zatoichi the Blind Swordsman series of films from the 60's and 70's starring Shintaro Katsu. Ichi is a blind massuer who travels the country fighting injustice.

They show many other Samurai films.

[Yaddo 42]

I loved the few Zatoichi films I've seen And even enjoyed the disc of episode of the TV series I picked up, even if they were weak compared to the films.

Like westerns here, I love how there can be high, middle and low brow samurai films. For all the great Kurosawa films, Musashi Miyamoto series, and versions of the 47 Ronin or Cushchingura, there are films like the Zatoichi or Lone Wolf and Cub series that are well made popcorn films and exploitation sex and violence stuff like the Hanso the Razor films plus stuff like Samurai Resurrection which play off events from Japanese history and bring in horror and sueprnatural elements.

I'd also recommend the 60s B&W classic Sword of Doom. Feature some familiar faces (like Mifune in a supporting role) in story about a corrupt and decandent samurai spiralling down a dark and self-destructive path, with a fantastic ending. But after seeing it I read that in the source story or novel, there was much more story after this and the whole story was a tale of redemption.