Movies about samurai - from dawn to dusk

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

In the minds of the modern viewer, the classic samurai appears as a fearless Japanese warrior, with a calm, impassive face. He is dressed in a kimono and is skilled with a katana.

Such an impression was made by films about samurai by such masters as Akiro Kurosawa, Yojiro Takita, Kihachi Okamoto. Most viewers are familiar, first of all, with A. Kurosawa's masterpiece "Seven Samurai" in 1954, the plot of which became the basis of one no less famous remake and many lesser known ones. Kurosawa's subsequent work in this genre - "The Bodyguard" - is also a kind of classic story about a skillful, cunning, invincible lone hero who defeats all enemies in various ways. The large-scale and dramatic historical film “Shadow of a Warrior”, which tells about the fate of a small man who, by the will of fate, became the double of a dead powerful daimyo, was released in 1980. The events of the picture unfold against the backdrop of an internecine war between the Oda and Takeda clans at the end of the 16th century. And the final scene of the famous battle of Nagashino marks the victory of firearms over the traditional weapons of the samurai. It was A. Kurosawa who created the best filmsabout samurai, the work of other masters is less noticeable.

Meeting of West and East

Over time, Western directors began to make their own films about samurai. The plots of such paintings are based, as a rule, on the clash of two subcultures - Western and Eastern. Terence Young's "Red Sun" with the magnificent A. Delon and P. Bronson in the lead roles can be safely attributed to them. The joint American-Japanese series "Shogun" consistently, "from scratch" introduces the viewer along with the main character, the Englishman John Blackthorn (R. Chamberlain), with the customs, customs, culture and life events of medieval samurai.

The crown of this story is, of course, "The Last Samurai" with Tom Cruise in the title role. The film recreates the events of the "traditional" samurai uprising in 1877. The character of T. Cruz, an American who has adopted the original, colorful culture of the samurai, himself becomes a member of their closed clan. He takes part in the last battle (the battle of Shiroyama) of the rebels with government troops, in which most of the samurai die from the modern small arms of the imperial troops. Algren (T. Cruz) assists a samurai leader in a traditional suicide (seppoku).

Sunset Samurai

In the past decade, traditional samurai films have rarely made it to the big screen. A large number of works are published (often in the style of "fantasy"), using samurai paraphernalia, code, style, etc. These are both parts of "KillBill" by K. Tarantino, "The Way of the Warrior" by Lee Seung-mu, "The Matrix" by Andy Wachowski and many other films. "Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai" is a rather interesting film both in terms of the choice of the actor for the main role and the originality of the plot. Of the new films, perhaps only "Thirteen Assassins" by Takashi Miike fully corresponds to the category "Films about samurai".

To our great regret, this ancient Japanese martial art has become a thing of the past, and shoguns, samurai warriors have become the property of cinema. And modern men should adhere to the code of honor of Japanese warriors.