How could you leave out Heaven and Earth (1990 film)? Some of the best 1v1 and army battles with Samurai. Here is the link: czcams.com/video/ex-h3f2peqE/video.html
He’s one of the few directors that made movies into art. Real art that could change the world. Sadly movie makers stopped making art because they’re more interested in changing the world. They fail to realize only real art can do that.
I disagree. I don't know why when it comes to Japan everyone fetishizes eveything and exaggerates it to all absurdity. Yes, they are good films but they are not that great. There are literally thousands that came before that are much better. And this applies to eveything from Japan. Up until the 20th century the Japanese were worse than the Nazi, for centuries. They murdered millions. Even today they are super racist and xenophobic. Japanese culture is cold and unfriendly. Japanese food is bland and boring. But for some reason there is a culture of ignoring real history, real cultural facts, and fetishizing the Japanese as some sort of cute fictional "pandas" to be elevated above others. It's so absurd. There is nothing wrong with liking Japanese culture but the exaggeration, the lack of any criticism as if they are perfect, just the lack of common sense is ridiculous. And the way simp boys freak out when people like me speak the truth, is childish.
Couldn’t agree more that Seven Samurai is one of if not the greatest movies of all time. I realized everything you ever wanted to learn about life can be found in this masterpiece of a movie. Love, honor, courage, regret, sorrow, the list goes on. Duplicated many times but never even close to the original.
Thanks for this compilation. I remember watching a lot of samurai movies when I was in college back in the mid 70's. It brings back memories. A local art cinema used to have samurai marathons and show 4 or 5 movies back to back. I remember a number of the movies that you mention in this clip and others including Zato Ichi (the blind swordsman... I think some of those were from a Japanese TV series) and the strange "Baby Carriage in the Land of Demons". Obviously, I needed English subtitles to understand what was going on. But, because these were movies made for a Japanese audience it gave one some insights into Japanse attitudes, culture, and mindset. I thought Toshiro Mifune was great.
Indeed Zatoichi! We're contemporaries in that regard. I spent hours and hours over days and days at Bleecker St. Cinema's Zatoichi marathon back then! Now Kurosawa and, Rashomon in particular. It is a tour de force of Japanese surrealist cinema, made even more surreal when seen in another language with subtitles! To clarify: My father was living in Mexico City when it came out in 1950, he was fluent in Spanish so, subtitles were not a problem, yet even then, Rashomon was convoluted enough that he still had problems figuring out "Who Done IT?" Then my grandmother visited him along with two of his cousins who neither spoke nor read any Spanish at all. My grandmother could read Spanish competently but not fluently. My father warned them that this film was beyond comprehension perhaps even if you spoke Japanese and would be as indecipherable as a swamp in the dark for them. Interestingly enough, the three of them returned from seeing the film, with their own conclusions as to what it was about and, "Who Done IT?" and ALL were as divergent as you could imagine and yet ALL were equally valid. A testament to Kurosawa's GENIUS as a visual storyteller!!!
Thank you so much! This is a truly inspired collection! I could think of other samurai battles, but I could not rank them above these! I have been a fan of samurai movies since Kurosawa's "Rashomon" in 1959 - your selection is impeccable!
Mifune vs Nakadai in Samurai Rebellion is my favorite samurai duel ever - mostly because of insane psychological tension in the deadly battle between friends. And yes, Seven Samurai is the greatest samurai movie ever made... 70 years old, but so powerful and incredibly realistic like a documentary. Anfortunately this raw style is gone from cinema today.
A good selection! Seven Samurai was my first introduction to Japanese cinema back in the early 90s and is definitely towards the top of my list. I currently own @25 dvds/Blu-ray’s of Kurosawa’s filmography and think he’s one of the greatest directors of all time. But I have to be honest, once I grew older, hopefully wiser, and started to appreciate subtext and meaning, Harakiri easily makes my top 5 favorite movies of all time regardless of sword fights. Don’t get me wrong, I love the action, but the messaging class systems, honor, hypocrisy, futility, etc, that Kobayashi filmed are just spot on and brilliant.
Bravo! 7 Samurai by far the best! For me one moment always stands out. The lone Samurai Master, alone in the forest at the edge of a thin stream of water: The fluidity and grace of the way his sword flows from his scabbard as he unsheathes it, in the same way as water flows! It's a brief scene and Kurosawa only has him do this move two times in short order
You left out zatoichi. Love his series as the blind swordsman. Also you just have ito ogami as an honorable mention when in my opinion is the best samurai movies bar none.
I’m glad you included seven samurai in the honorable mention. It is my #1 pick. It showed the true nature between a master and the lesser skilled yet arrogant .It’s the best martial arts movie of all time.
I had a handle somewhere 'Kyuzo' because of the scene and a later one where Kyuzo volunteers to go out by himself to get one the bandit's rifles. He tells the others "I will do it myself' and then, boom, there he goes.
Your list is top tier. If I had some time I'm sure I could find others from over the years. And most would say best is subjective but yours are what I'd agree are "the" best. I grew up watching these movies on the weekends after cartoons were over.
I love the fight in the middle of Duel At Ichiogi Temple when Musashi is ambushed by a horde of men at night and defeats them by cleverly using the environment, like the rice paddies, so he just faces one at a time.
These are well selected films, some of my own favorites. One of my top films is "Tasogare Seibe". For me, this is one of the best films ever made, and the sword fights are the most realistic I've ever scene.
I've watched Ran. It's incredible, just a brilliant film. I've lost count of the amount of times I've watched The Seven Samurai. Cool vid my man. You know, I wouldn't call myself a Kurosawa fanboy, but I have watched more of his films than I realised.
Really well done list. My only disagreement is that I think the Sanjuro scene is a little too high on the list (despite my love for the movie). But I'm just stoked that you included it at all. Definitely agree that it's criminally underrated.
I love the final scene in Throne of Blood. Just the drama and the fearful respect of the foot soldiers as they eventually corner and watch their lord and master Washizu make his last stand. And the shocking end to his life is the final stroke of magical genius that is Kurosawa.
The other name for this genre is “chanbara”, which refers to the sound of clashing blades. As Zatoichi and Lady Snowblood show, it doesn’t always focus on samurai, but does involve sword fights and often examines or questions the role of violence in society.
Thought a version of "Zatoichi" would have made the cut. I think it was made in the 1980's by a renowned Japanese Director in the eponymous role. Solo swordsman taking on gangs, climatic fight etc. One of the best is in a Gambling Den where the blind Zatoichi is cheated & the croupier says, "What are you going to do about it, old man?" Easy.... in a trice he's cut off the croupier's arms just below both elbows & then sorts out the heavies. Ace Film.
Awesome list! Certainly can't argue with the top 5, but for my top 10 I think I'd have at least one Ichikawa Raizo flick in there. Probably the scene from Betrayal, where he straight up has to peel his fingers off his broken sword handle.
Samurai Banners had some good ones! Im glad tou showed the og blood splut from Sanjuro. After seeing so many over the years (in cinema) its easy to forget that one. i remember Sanjuro being almost comedic at times? But it has been a long time since ive seen it. Then again , Hidden Fortress was damn funny at times!
I've been watching Ninja and Samurai films since the late 1970s, as a boy, and only The Twilight Samurai and Ninja Scroll (early 1990s animation) strike my fancy. I think partly because I am a tragic romantic at heart. Pure fighting and killing are meaningless to me. Bad choreography only add to it. And, let's face it, movies envisioned, choreographed, and shot in the 1930s to 70s, could hardly be that realistically choreographed. It's mostly movies from the 1990s onward, with modern techniques and technologies, plus first rate directors, that movie choreography truly started to resemble or surpass reality (think of most Tom Cruise stunts: they are so real, they really surpassed reality, due to the multi million visual & audio technologies involved)... And, yes, NINJA SCROLL incorporated that exaggerated blood spurt from that early classic, SANJURO, 1962, BURST OF BLOOD to the very fullest... Both TWILIGHT SAMURAI and NINJA SCROLL, however, were about family and tragic star-crossed lovers, respectively... with violence and politics being mere backgrounds. Most Western audiences and commentators didn't understand the Twilight Samurai, so they kept saying it has to do with the guy/father/Samurai returning home late, during twilight hours. That had nothing to do with the actual title. The title really was about the two little, motherless girls --- as ELDERLY women (only seen briefly at the very last few seconds of the movies, when they went to see their beloved father's grave) --- paying homage to their father, a tragic Samurai living out the last days of a Japanese society in the process of transitioning from its rigid, feudal way into the modern era.... with the girls/elderly women loving telling the audiences what an odd, loving, & modern father theirs was, even though he was a true Samurai by heart.... In the old, rigid, & feudal days of Japan, no father, much less a Samurai, would love and care for two little daughters as much as their father here, the girls/elderly women conveyed to us, the viewers. Their loving step mother, TOMOE (this, we could only assume, since she came to care for the two little motherless girls, upon her return to her ancestral family) --- a tragic woman of her own, who also was their father's good childhood friend growing up in the same village, who was married off but who was returned to her family because she couldn't have children for her husband --- added to the bittersweetness of the time-era the Japanese were going through... Anyway, the two childhood friends (who were now starting to be more than friends, TOMOE and The Twilight Samurai, played by Hirioki Sanada, who also played in Tom Cruise and Keanu Reeves latest movies) walking, each feeling the tragedies and disappointments in life, under a moonlit night, with snow falling... with an exquisite children's lullaby by the late organist Isao Tomita.... ... THE TWILIGHT SAMURAI truly was an exquisitely, cleverly written, acted, and directed film, with many different layers.... Very few films from Japan could beat it... czcams.com/video/PChw2fw9d4w/video.html
it was nice of you to include sword of the stranger in honorable part. that was very good animated movie specially the scene of the bridge the 1st confrontation
It seems that you, the viewers of this CZcams video, do not understand much about this performance. Since I am Japanese, I will explain it to you. This performance is not about the actor who cuts, but about the actor who is being cut. The actor on the receiving end of the cut is the one who is performing the "shield/ tate" act, and he trains himself to perform it daily. That is why the performance looks so powerful!
How could you not include anything from Samurai 1, 2, or 3, the epic story of one of the most legendary samurai, Musashi Miyamoto? Tons of great fight scenes.
Hitokiri /Goyokin / Samurai Fiction / immediately come to mind ....... if you're gonna nod in the honorable mentions to Lone Wolf and Cub you have to throw in some scenes form the oringinal Zatoichi series and personally I think there some strong scenes in Ichi the version played by the blind woman and a few excellent scenes from Kitano's The Blind Swordsman Zatoichi / there could be so many others to mention but it's all kind of a hopeless task as like with most "best of" lists one can always think of examples that don't "make it" as it's all so subjective.
We totally agree with your sentiment regarding the subjectivity of this topic. That’s why we always ask viewers to give their own list in the comments. What is your personal top 10? We would love to hear that
Beat Takeshi's Zatoichi IS BY FAR Zatoichi on CRACK!!! There will be NO other that comes close! Zatoichi is and will always be the grandest of ridiculous and fun cinema!
@@greenjoseph4 Ah, quite right. Let's see.... Ran was King Lear....... You're right, Hidden Fortress was a stand-alone plot. I have a Library of 40,000+ movies, hard to remember ALL their plots off the top of my head.
I'm a huge fan of Akira Kurosawa's masterpieces- I watched them from an early age, because my mum was a huge fan. Yojimbo is my favorite. It all come together - the character, the acting, the music and how nature - the sound of the winds - is an integral part of the film. Recognized Tatsuya Nakadai from " Sword of doom" in Yojimbo as Unosuke - one of the gang members who has come back with an european gun. You just sensed that there where something dangerous and erratic about him.
A nice list. I have seen most of the movies mentioned. However, in my opinion, you left out the best Samurai battle scene: Toshiro Mifune as Miyamoto Musashi in Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island (1956). The final fight between Musashi and Kojiro Sasaki (Koji Tsuruta) should have been #1 (or at least tied with Seven Samurai's final battle).
Agreed, though the Musashi Trilogy is considered a TOP rank Japanese B-Movie genre series of films. Undeserving, yet can you imagine if Kurosawa had made them? Mifune IS Miyamotosan without debate! Ganryu is a classic. One: In the mythology, Musashi took an oar from the boat in which he traveled to the island and carved out a Katana with which he fought. Two: on taking to the beach as he'd delayed his arrival, the sun was behind him and then as they faced off, (this is murky because it's been decades since I read this) Three: his opponent, the master of the "Swan Cut?" was it, threw his scabbard to the ground and Musashi gave him an out saying, "You have already lost." As he'd been so cavalier and disrespectful as to throw his scabbard away. Four: His opponent engaged, and Musashi felled him in the first stroke, bringing his carved from an oar katana down upon his head crushing his skull.
You have set before yourself an impossible task, limiting the number to ten and having a single best. It means you completely left out Heaven and Earth as well as Chushingura and Twilight Samurai. Even a top ten list of Kurosawa Samurai Battles would have been a Herculean task!
Very good list. The rain of arrows at the end of "Throne of Blood" is quite something, as well. As it also is the astounding 40-minute-long battle at the end of "Beach of the War Gods"... Which videogame is the one at 0:46? It looks pretty cool.
The final duel in "Sanjuro" is cinematic perfection, even with the malfunctioning blood pump. Amé Agaru (After The Rain) has a great segment of the protagonist performing Mugai-ryu kata whilst travelling in the woods. "Shogun Assassin III" when Ito Ogami leads an opponent into a pond, and switches from a right to left hand grip, and opens his abdomen with yokogiri, from the unprotected side. "13 Assassins" when Ogura and his Master take on all-comers and cut down like 30 guys; as Ogura finally succumbs to his wounds, he sees his Master still barely fighting, crushing an enemy's head with a rock. "Izu", killing the giant monk. That movie is a trip, for a samurai flick.
Personally I would like to recommend 'Samurai_Reincarnation' (Ma-kai Ten-show) 1981. Old actor Tomi-Saburo Wakayama showed a realistic hitting movements in his fights.
I watched my first samurai movie many many decades ago that gave me a deep impression on Japanese martial films. Two man were fighting and a little boy hug on the older man’s leg handicapping him. The old man seems not to be harming the boy. I think he was the kid’s granddad, and was fighting with the little boy’s father(his son-in-law), who was not taking advantage of his son’s attempt to stop the fighting. I have always wondered what the name of that film is.
Without a doubt you missed one of the greatest, Ame Agaru, "After The Rain". It was written by Kurosawa and directed by his former assistant director of 28 years, Takashi Koizumi, 5 years after Kurosawa's death.
I agree with your top three, no top ten lol. 7 Samurai is amazing, in fact I showed this to my sons, and they have watched it several times since. Quite an impression eh?
Maybe it's me, but the end of Sword of Doom is perfect, and not in the bs artsy way that The Sopranos ended. He had never faced an enemy more dangerous to himself than his own impulsive and immoderate self, let the world line up and try. The film reads to me like someone way too good at killing for his own good seeking limits and testing reality. We don't get to see the end, we should contemplate the journey.
What is your top 10 list of best Samurai battles? We would love to know yours 👇
No. one MYAMOTO MUSASHI best ever lived
How could you leave out Heaven and Earth (1990 film)? Some of the best 1v1 and army battles with Samurai. Here is the link: czcams.com/video/ex-h3f2peqE/video.html
Lone Wolf and Cub
Nice....but I got Sword of Doom at top of list..and I'm suprised there was nothing from any of the Zatoichi episodes
Blind Swordsman!
I think every one of Kurosawa's movies is perfect.
It's not just entertainment, it's an experience. Pure genius!
He’s one of the few directors that made movies into art. Real art that could change the world. Sadly movie makers stopped making art because they’re more interested in changing the world. They fail to realize only real art can do that.
"Dodes'ka-den" is criminally underrated.
I disagree. I don't know why when it comes to Japan everyone fetishizes eveything and exaggerates it to all absurdity. Yes, they are good films but they are not that great. There are literally thousands that came before that are much better. And this applies to eveything from Japan. Up until the 20th century the Japanese were worse than the Nazi, for centuries. They murdered millions. Even today they are super racist and xenophobic. Japanese culture is cold and unfriendly. Japanese food is bland and boring.
But for some reason there is a culture of ignoring real history, real cultural facts, and fetishizing the Japanese as some sort of cute fictional "pandas" to be elevated above others. It's so absurd.
There is nothing wrong with liking Japanese culture but the exaggeration, the lack of any criticism as if they are perfect, just the lack of common sense is ridiculous. And the way simp boys freak out when people like me speak the truth, is childish.
@@ODB11Bwatch more films…
I am not sure if anyone may understand or appreciate the few movies he made in his late years.
Couldn’t agree more that Seven Samurai is one of if not the greatest movies of all time. I realized everything you ever wanted to learn about life can be found in this masterpiece of a movie. Love, honor, courage, regret, sorrow, the list goes on. Duplicated many times but never even close to the original.
My No.1 is a final battle scean of
”Twilight samurai”.
I can feel the real dynamics of life in that fight.
Thanks for this compilation. I remember watching a lot of samurai movies when I was in college back in the mid 70's. It brings back memories. A local art cinema used to have samurai marathons and show 4 or 5 movies back to back. I remember a number of the movies that you mention in this clip and others including Zato Ichi (the blind swordsman... I think some of those were from a Japanese TV series) and the strange "Baby Carriage in the Land of Demons". Obviously, I needed English subtitles to understand what was going on. But, because these were movies made for a Japanese audience it gave one some insights into Japanse attitudes, culture, and mindset. I thought Toshiro Mifune was great.
Indeed Zatoichi! We're contemporaries in that regard. I spent hours and hours over days and days at Bleecker St. Cinema's Zatoichi marathon back then! Now Kurosawa and, Rashomon in particular. It is a tour de force of Japanese surrealist cinema, made even more surreal when seen in another language with subtitles! To clarify: My father was living in Mexico City when it came out in 1950, he was fluent in Spanish so, subtitles were not a problem, yet even then, Rashomon was convoluted enough that he still had problems figuring out "Who Done IT?" Then my grandmother visited him along with two of his cousins who neither spoke nor read any Spanish at all. My grandmother could read Spanish competently but not fluently. My father warned them that this film was beyond comprehension perhaps even if you spoke Japanese and would be as indecipherable as a swamp in the dark for them. Interestingly enough, the three of them returned from seeing the film, with their own conclusions as to what it was about and, "Who Done IT?" and ALL were as divergent as you could imagine and yet ALL were equally valid. A testament to Kurosawa's GENIUS as a visual storyteller!!!
Thank you so much! This is a truly inspired collection! I could think of other samurai battles, but I could not rank them above these! I have been a fan of samurai movies since Kurosawa's "Rashomon" in 1959 - your selection is impeccable!
Mifune vs Nakadai in Samurai Rebellion is my favorite samurai duel ever - mostly because of insane psychological tension in the deadly battle between friends. And yes, Seven Samurai is the greatest samurai movie ever made... 70 years old, but so powerful and incredibly realistic like a documentary. Anfortunately this raw style is gone from cinema today.
A good selection! Seven Samurai was my first introduction to Japanese cinema back in the early 90s and is definitely towards the top of my list. I currently own @25 dvds/Blu-ray’s of Kurosawa’s filmography and think he’s one of the greatest directors of all time.
But I have to be honest, once I grew older, hopefully wiser, and started to appreciate subtext and meaning, Harakiri easily makes my top 5 favorite movies of all time regardless of sword fights. Don’t get me wrong, I love the action, but the messaging class systems, honor, hypocrisy, futility, etc, that Kobayashi filmed are just spot on and brilliant.
Thanks so much for this movie scene compilation! Kurosawa was pure genius, one of a kind.
Thank you for sharing. Good selections. I loved them all.
Bravo! 7 Samurai by far the best! For me one moment always stands out. The lone Samurai Master, alone in the forest at the edge of a thin stream of water: The fluidity and grace of the way his sword flows from his scabbard as he unsheathes it, in the same way as water flows! It's a brief scene and Kurosawa only has him do this move two times in short order
The Seven Samurai, Yojimbo and The Samurai Trilogy are my favourite samurai films and all of them from 1950s
Lone wolf and cub is my favorite samurai story.
All of my favorites are here. Mifune, Nakadai, Tamba Tetsuro, great action.
You left out zatoichi. Love his series as the blind swordsman. Also you just have ito ogami as an honorable mention when in my opinion is the best samurai movies bar none.
Love that series
Zatoichi is a masseuse, not z samurai?
Shintaro-san had great hip movements necessary for good use of a katana.
Exactly
Zotochia vs yojimbo.
First time I see this channel. Very professional and to the point.
I’m glad you included seven samurai in the honorable mention. It is my #1 pick. It showed the true nature between a master and the lesser skilled yet arrogant .It’s the best martial arts movie of all time.
I had a handle somewhere 'Kyuzo' because of the scene and a later one where Kyuzo volunteers to go out by himself to get one the bandit's rifles. He tells the others "I will do it myself' and then, boom, there he goes.
@@rhstpchld that’s funny. And cool. 🤝
I remember watching Shintaro on TV in the 60's in glorious black and white. I love this genre.
Your list is top tier. If I had some time I'm sure I could find others from over the years. And most would say best is subjective but yours are what I'd agree are "the" best. I grew up watching these movies on the weekends after cartoons were over.
I love the fight in the middle of Duel At Ichiogi Temple when Musashi is ambushed by a horde of men at night and defeats them by cleverly using the environment, like the rice paddies, so he just faces one at a time.
Bad ass list, made me wanna re-watch some of those, thanks
These are well selected films, some of my own favorites.
One of my top films is "Tasogare Seibe". For me, this is one of the best films ever made, and the sword fights are the most realistic I've ever scene.
I've watched Ran. It's incredible, just a brilliant film. I've lost count of the amount of times I've watched The Seven Samurai. Cool vid my man.
You know, I wouldn't call myself a Kurosawa fanboy, but I have watched more of his films than I realised.
When the last sword is drawn is absolutley one of my favorite samurai movies of all times. Would defenite go in in this list
Good list
Excellent commentary
Perfect final choice
Enjoyed it a lot, thank you.
Thank you my friend! I've added some movies to my list!
Cannot argue the list or the order - great job!
Fun to watch, thanks!
Well done! Thanks for lifting up this genre. Kurosawa dominated, as is fitting. Mifune Nakadai appeared many times of course. Very satisfying.
Well choreographed Samurai battles are the best.
Really well done list. My only disagreement is that I think the Sanjuro scene is a little too high on the list (despite my love for the movie). But I'm just stoked that you included it at all. Definitely agree that it's criminally underrated.
Wow this video was well put together
Great selection of scenes and movies
I love the final scene in Throne of Blood. Just the drama and the fearful respect of the foot soldiers as they eventually corner and watch their lord and master Washizu make his last stand. And the shocking end to his life is the final stroke of magical genius that is Kurosawa.
The other name for this genre is “chanbara”, which refers to the sound of clashing blades. As Zatoichi and Lady Snowblood show, it doesn’t always focus on samurai, but does involve sword fights and often examines or questions the role of violence in society.
Thought a version of "Zatoichi" would have made the cut. I think it was made in the 1980's by a renowned Japanese Director in the eponymous role. Solo swordsman taking on gangs, climatic fight etc. One of the best is in a Gambling Den where the blind Zatoichi is cheated & the croupier says, "What are you going to do about it, old man?" Easy.... in a trice he's cut off the croupier's arms just below both elbows & then sorts out the heavies. Ace Film.
Awesome list! Certainly can't argue with the top 5, but for my top 10 I think I'd have at least one Ichikawa Raizo flick in there. Probably the scene from Betrayal, where he straight up has to peel his fingers off his broken sword handle.
I watched most of the movies ,thanks ...a lot sentimental reviews.
Thanks for the list. I recall watching a cracking samurai film years ago but couldn’t remember the name.
Thankfully it’s number six on your list.
Thoughtful. Thank you
Kurosawa was a genius!
Samurai Banners had some good ones! Im glad tou showed the og blood splut from Sanjuro. After seeing so many over the years (in cinema) its easy to forget that one. i remember Sanjuro being almost comedic at times? But it has been a long time since ive seen it. Then again , Hidden Fortress was damn funny at times!
Yes , totally awesome! Thank you !
I can't believe there was no mention of Ame Agaru - After the Rain (1999). One of the best samurai movies there is with some good fight scenes.
Glad to see 13 Assassins make the honorable mention list - best of the modern movies that I've seen... fun list!
I am surprised you didn’t mention The Twilight Samurai. Only 2 fight scenes in the movie but the bucolic atmosphere of the movie is legendary.
Yes, great film.
I've been watching Ninja and Samurai films since the late 1970s, as a boy, and only The Twilight Samurai and Ninja Scroll (early 1990s animation) strike my fancy. I think partly because I am a tragic romantic at heart. Pure fighting and killing are meaningless to me. Bad choreography only add to it.
And, let's face it, movies envisioned, choreographed, and shot in the 1930s to 70s, could hardly be that realistically choreographed.
It's mostly movies from the 1990s onward, with modern techniques and technologies, plus first rate directors, that movie choreography truly started to resemble or surpass reality (think of most Tom Cruise stunts: they are so real, they really surpassed reality, due to the multi million visual & audio technologies involved)...
And, yes, NINJA SCROLL incorporated that exaggerated blood spurt from that early classic, SANJURO, 1962, BURST OF BLOOD to the very fullest...
Both TWILIGHT SAMURAI and NINJA SCROLL, however, were about family and tragic star-crossed lovers, respectively... with violence and politics being mere backgrounds.
Most Western audiences and commentators didn't understand the Twilight Samurai, so they kept saying it has to do with the guy/father/Samurai returning home late, during twilight hours.
That had nothing to do with the actual title.
The title really was about the two little, motherless girls --- as ELDERLY women (only seen briefly at the very last few seconds of the movies, when they went to see their beloved father's grave) --- paying homage to their father, a tragic Samurai living out the last days of a Japanese society in the process of transitioning from its rigid, feudal way into the modern era.... with the girls/elderly women loving telling the audiences what an odd, loving, & modern father theirs was, even though he was a true Samurai by heart....
In the old, rigid, & feudal days of Japan, no father, much less a Samurai, would love and care for two little daughters as much as their father here, the girls/elderly women conveyed to us, the viewers.
Their loving step mother, TOMOE (this, we could only assume, since she came to care for the two little motherless girls, upon her return to her ancestral family) --- a tragic woman of her own, who also was their father's good childhood friend growing up in the same village, who was married off but who was returned to her family because she couldn't have children for her husband --- added to the bittersweetness of the time-era the Japanese were going through...
Anyway, the two childhood friends (who were now starting to be more than friends, TOMOE and The Twilight Samurai, played by Hirioki Sanada, who also played in Tom Cruise and Keanu Reeves latest movies) walking, each feeling the tragedies and disappointments in life, under a moonlit night, with snow falling... with an exquisite children's lullaby by the late organist Isao Tomita....
... THE TWILIGHT SAMURAI truly was an exquisitely, cleverly written, acted, and directed film, with many different layers.... Very few films from Japan could beat it...
czcams.com/video/PChw2fw9d4w/video.html
it was nice of you to include sword of the stranger in honorable part. that was very good animated movie specially the scene of the bridge the 1st confrontation
The cinematography is out of this world.
Granse video!❤❤❤
Excellent!
It seems that you, the viewers of this CZcams video, do not understand much about this performance.
Since I am Japanese, I will explain it to you.
This performance is not about the actor who cuts, but about the actor who is being cut.
The actor on the receiving end of the cut is the one who is performing the "shield/ tate" act, and he trains himself to perform it daily.
That is why the performance looks so powerful!
How could you not include anything from Samurai 1, 2, or 3, the epic story of one of the most legendary samurai, Musashi Miyamoto? Tons of great fight scenes.
Agreed. The Samurai Trilogy is right up there!
Very nice. Excellent essay.
thanks for the list. very good films some of them i didn`t konw them thanks from spain
Perfect list.
I have the Criterion Collection for Sanjuro, Yohimbo and Seven Samurai. All classics!
Excellent 🔥❤️
What a Great Lineup 😳
Good shit!
The tensions are awesome in these old flicks
The number one. Zatohichi 2003
Very sad young people have missed out of all these classic movies. I love them all but Lone wolf and cub was the best, imo.
Teshero Mufune is still my favorite actor. Not sure if I spelled his name correctly but I love all his work
Koyiro and Musashi Miyamoto fight was the real great one in history of real samurai.
Great list. I think one of the most realistic sword fight is in one of the clips. War
Great list, I just wish I saw "princess blade" on here too
We just watched Ikiru…not a samurai movie but a masterpiece
Hara-Kiri (1962) duel scene is my favorite
The greatest samurai movie ever made.
Hitokiri /Goyokin / Samurai Fiction / immediately come to mind ....... if you're gonna nod in the honorable mentions to Lone Wolf and Cub you have to throw in some scenes form the oringinal Zatoichi series and personally I think there some strong scenes in Ichi the version played by the blind woman and a few excellent scenes from Kitano's The Blind Swordsman Zatoichi / there could be so many others to mention but it's all kind of a hopeless task as like with most "best of" lists one can always think of examples that don't "make it" as it's all so subjective.
We totally agree with your sentiment regarding the subjectivity of this topic. That’s why we always ask viewers to give their own list in the comments.
What is your personal top 10? We would love to hear that
Beat Takeshi's Zatoichi IS BY FAR Zatoichi on CRACK!!! There will be NO other that comes close! Zatoichi is and will always be the grandest of ridiculous and fun cinema!
"The Hidden Fortress" was Kurasawa's take on "Macbeth" by Shakespeare.
The "Lady Snowblood" movies were masterpieces of cinematography.
You’re thinking Throne of Blood…
@@greenjoseph4 Ah, quite right.
Let's see....
Ran was King Lear.......
You're right, Hidden Fortress was a stand-alone plot.
I have a Library of 40,000+ movies, hard to remember ALL their plots off the top of my head.
Good list. I would have added "When the last sword is drawn" too
The movie "crazy samurai vs 400", the entire 90 min movie is a fight scene shot in one take with no cut-away. It is exhausting just to watch
Excellent
I'm a huge fan of Akira Kurosawa's masterpieces- I watched them from an early age, because my mum was a huge fan. Yojimbo is my favorite. It all come together - the character, the acting, the music and how nature - the sound of the winds - is an integral part of the film. Recognized Tatsuya Nakadai from " Sword of doom" in Yojimbo as Unosuke - one of the gang members who has come back with an european gun. You just sensed that there where something dangerous and erratic about him.
I think that one of the Best Samurai Movies was The Samurai Trilogy and the Epic Battle Duel at Ganryu Island....One of My favorites...
A nice list. I have seen most of the movies mentioned. However, in my opinion, you left out the best Samurai battle scene: Toshiro Mifune as Miyamoto Musashi in Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island (1956). The final fight between Musashi and Kojiro Sasaki (Koji Tsuruta) should have been #1 (or at least tied with Seven Samurai's final battle).
Ditto
Agreed, though the Musashi Trilogy is considered a TOP rank Japanese B-Movie genre series of films. Undeserving, yet can you imagine if Kurosawa had made them? Mifune IS Miyamotosan without debate! Ganryu is a classic. One: In the mythology, Musashi took an oar from the boat in which he traveled to the island and carved out a Katana with which he fought. Two: on taking to the beach as he'd delayed his arrival, the sun was behind him and then as they faced off, (this is murky because it's been decades since I read this) Three: his opponent, the master of the "Swan Cut?" was it, threw his scabbard to the ground and Musashi gave him an out saying, "You have already lost." As he'd been so cavalier and disrespectful as to throw his scabbard away. Four: His opponent engaged, and Musashi felled him in the first stroke, bringing his carved from an oar katana down upon his head crushing his skull.
Double ditto
You have set before yourself an impossible task, limiting the number to ten and having a single best. It means you completely left out Heaven and Earth as well as Chushingura and Twilight Samurai. Even a top ten list of Kurosawa Samurai Battles would have been a Herculean task!
The Twilight Samurai 2002 starring Hiroyuki Sanada, excellent fight scenes, a favorite movie of mine
Very good list. The rain of arrows at the end of "Throne of Blood" is quite something, as well. As it also is the astounding 40-minute-long battle at the end of "Beach of the War Gods"... Which videogame is the one at 0:46? It looks pretty cool.
The final duel in "Sanjuro" is cinematic perfection, even with the malfunctioning blood pump.
Amé Agaru (After The Rain) has a great segment of the protagonist performing Mugai-ryu kata whilst travelling in the woods.
"Shogun Assassin III" when Ito Ogami leads an opponent into a pond, and switches from a right to left hand grip, and opens his abdomen with yokogiri, from the unprotected side.
"13 Assassins" when Ogura and his Master take on all-comers and cut down like 30 guys; as Ogura finally succumbs to his wounds, he sees his Master still barely fighting, crushing an enemy's head with a rock.
"Izu", killing the giant monk. That movie is a trip, for a samurai flick.
Personally I would like to recommend 'Samurai_Reincarnation' (Ma-kai Ten-show) 1981. Old actor Tomi-Saburo Wakayama showed a realistic hitting movements in his fights.
I watched my first samurai movie many many decades ago that gave me a deep impression on Japanese martial films.
Two man were fighting and a little boy hug on the older man’s leg handicapping him. The old man seems not to be harming the boy. I think he was the kid’s granddad, and was fighting with the little boy’s father(his son-in-law), who was not taking advantage of his son’s attempt to stop the fighting.
I have always wondered what the name of that film is.
Sword of Doom snow ❄️ battle scene!
The spear duel in The Hidden Fortress is my favorite...
Nice.
Without a doubt you missed one of the greatest, Ame Agaru, "After The Rain".
It was written by Kurosawa and directed by his former assistant director of 28 years, Takashi Koizumi, 5 years after Kurosawa's death.
True, it has the best or among the best quality sword fights ever
I haven’t heard of this movie. Cool. Appreciate the recommendation. I will definitely have a look.
The snow fight from Sword of Doom is my favourite.
Inagaki’s Samurai Trilogy would deserve a mention. And “Kill!” has some good scenes too.
The battles in Ghost Of Tsushima are fantastic as well, they resemble those scenes from movies ....
(Toshiro Mifune is the greatest actor of all time)
I agree with your top three, no top ten lol. 7 Samurai is amazing, in fact I showed this to my sons, and they have watched it several times since. Quite an impression eh?
Musashi duel against Kojiro, from Iroshi Inagawa trilogy is missing. Also, Musashi x Baiken, master of Kusarigama, beautiful demonstrativo of the art.
Have you watched, “When the Last Sword is Drawn”? Epic samurai movie. Many sword battles and big battles and a great movie.
That scene from seven samurai is the epitome of a samurai movie. It should have number one in the list.
"'The sword untested in battle is like the art of swimming learned on dry land" - from Harikiri The Musashi Trilogy also includes some epic battles.
Maybe it's me, but the end of Sword of Doom is perfect, and not in the bs artsy way that The Sopranos ended. He had never faced an enemy more dangerous to himself than his own impulsive and immoderate self, let the world line up and try. The film reads to me like someone way too good at killing for his own good seeking limits and testing reality. We don't get to see the end, we should contemplate the journey.
Awesome mentions. What about Roshomon?
Nice
What about "Samurai" Legend of Musashi 1955? Also starring Toshiro Mifune. It won an academy award after all.
Good list. I suggest also the final scene of Yojimbo.
Shogun assassin aka lone wolf with cub is a cult classic!