Samurai Films (Ken-Geki)
by benedikt-entner | created - 23 Sep 2015 | updated - 08 Dec 2018 | PublicA list of Samurai films that are somewhat true to the historic time period.
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1. The Hidden Blade (2004)
R | 132 min | Drama, History, Romance
A 19th Century samurai, held in low esteem due to an action by his late father, must resolve his history with a maid and with his close friend.
Director: Yôji Yamada | Stars: Masatoshi Nagase, Takako Matsu, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Yukiyoshi Ozawa
Votes: 7,202 | Gross: $0.04M
2. Yojimbo (1961)
Not Rated | 110 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
A crafty ronin comes to a town divided by two criminal gangs and decides to play them against each other to free the town.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Eijirô Tôno, Tatsuya Nakadai, Yôko Tsukasa
Votes: 131,357
3. The Twilight Samurai (2002)
129 min | Drama, Romance
As the feudal Japan era draws to a close, a widower samurai experiences difficulty balancing clan loyalties, 2 young daughters, an aged mother, and the sudden reappearance of his childhood sweetheart.
Director: Yôji Yamada | Stars: Hiroyuki Sanada, Rie Miyazawa, Nenji Kobayashi, Ren Ôsugi
Votes: 25,508
4. Love and Honor (2006)
PG-13 | 122 min | Drama, History, Romance
A look at the relationship between a young blind samurai (Kimura) and his wife, who will make a sacrifice in order to defend her husband's honor.
Director: Yôji Yamada | Stars: Takuya Kimura, Rei Dan, Mitsugorô Bandô, Takashi Sasano
Votes: 4,284 | Gross: $0.02M
5. The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi (2003)
R | 116 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
The blind masseur/swordsman comes to a town in control of warring gangs, and while bunking with a farming family, he meets two women with their own agenda.
Director: Takeshi Kitano | Stars: Takeshi Kitano, Tadanobu Asano, Yui Natsukawa, Michiyo Yasuda
Votes: 51,533 | Gross: $0.85M
6. Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance (1972)
Not Rated | 84 min | Action, Adventure
The story of a Ronin (i.e. a masterless samurai) who wanders the countryside of Japan with his small child, having various adventures.
Director: Kenji Misumi | Stars: Tomisaburô Wakayama, Fumio Watanabe, Gô Katô, Tomoko Mayama
Votes: 8,878
7. Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx (1972)
Not Rated | 81 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Trailed by a clan of female ninja, Ogami is paid to assassinate a clan traitor accompanied by three killers known as the Gods of Death.
Director: Kenji Misumi | Stars: Tomisaburô Wakayama, Kayo Matsuo, Minoru Ôki, Akiji Kobayashi
Votes: 6,860
8. Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades (1972)
R | 89 min | Action, Drama
Ogami Itto volunteers to be tortured by the yakuza to save a prostitute and is hired by their leader to kill an evil chamberlain.
Director: Kenji Misumi | Stars: Tomisaburô Wakayama, Gô Katô, Yûko Hama, Isao Yamagata
Votes: 5,606
9. Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril (1972)
Not Rated | 81 min | Action, Thriller
Ogami is hired to kill a tattooed female assassin. Gunbei Yagyu, an enemy samurai, happens upon Ogami's son, and sees his chance for revenge.
Director: Buichi Saitô | Stars: Tomisaburô Wakayama, Yoichi Hayashi, Michi Azuma, Akihiro Tomikawa
Votes: 4,959
10. Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in the Land of Demons (1973)
Not Rated | 89 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Five warriors challenge Ogami to duels. Each holds a part of information needed to complete the assassination of a mad clan leader.
Director: Kenji Misumi | Stars: Tomisaburô Wakayama, Michiyo Yasuda, Akihiro Tomikawa, Shingo Yamashiro
Votes: 4,624
11. Lone Wolf and Cub: White Heaven in Hell (1974)
Not Rated | 83 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
In the sixth and final film of the Lone Wolf and Cub series, the final conflict between Ogami Itto and the Yagyu clan is carried out.
Director: Yoshiyuki Kuroda | Stars: Tomisaburô Wakayama, Akihiro Tomikawa, Junko Hitomi, Gorô Mutsumi
Votes: 4,299
12. Seven Samurai (1954)
Not Rated | 207 min | Action, Drama
Farmers from a village exploited by bandits hire a veteran samurai for protection, who gathers six other samurai to join him.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Tsushima, Yukiko Shimazaki
Votes: 366,828 | Gross: $0.27M
13. Kagemusha: The Shadow Warrior (1980)
PG | 162 min | Drama, History, War
A petty thief with an utter resemblance to a samurai warlord is hired as the lord's double. When the warlord later dies the thief is forced to take up arms in his place.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Ken'ichi Hagiwara, Jinpachi Nezu
Votes: 38,174
14. The Sword of Doom (1966)
Not Rated | 120 min | Action, Drama
Through his unconscionable actions against others, a sociopath samurai builds a trail of vendettas that follow him closely.
Director: Kihachi Okamoto | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Michiyo Aratama, Yûzô Kayama, Yôko Naitô
Votes: 12,071
15. Ran (1985)
R | 160 min | Action, Drama, War
In Medieval Japan, an elderly warlord retires, handing over his empire to his three sons. However, he vastly underestimates how the new-found power will corrupt them and cause them to turn on each other...and him.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu, Daisuke Ryû
Votes: 136,205 | Gross: $4.14M
16. Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (1954)
Not Rated | 93 min | Action, Adventure, Biography
Depicts the early life of the legendary warrior Musashi Miyamoto; his years as an aspiring warrior, an outlaw and finally a true samurai.
Director: Hiroshi Inagaki | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Mariko Okada, Rentarô Mikuni, Kurôemon Onoe
Votes: 9,509
17. Rashomon (1950)
Not Rated | 88 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The rape of a bride and the murder of her samurai husband are recalled from the perspectives of a bandit, the bride, the samurai's ghost and a woodcutter.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Machiko Kyô, Masayuki Mori, Takashi Shimura
Votes: 180,461 | Gross: $0.10M
18. Heaven and Earth (1990)
PG-13 | 125 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
In 16th century Japan, two samurai engage in massive battles across the countryside, one attempting to conquer and the other attempting to defend his land while repressing his love for a woman after taking a vow of celibacy.
Director: Haruki Kadokawa | Stars: Takaaki Enoki, Masahiko Tsugawa, Atsuko Asano, Naomi Zaizen
Votes: 1,141 | Gross: $0.31M
19. The Last Samurai (2003)
R | 154 min | Action, Drama
Nathan Algren, a US army veteran, is hired by the Japanese emperor to train his army in the modern warfare techniques. Nathan finds himself trapped in a struggle between two eras and two worlds.
Director: Edward Zwick | Stars: Tom Cruise, Ken Watanabe, Billy Connolly, William Atherton
Votes: 471,113 | Gross: $111.11M
20. Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai (2011)
Not Rated | 128 min | Drama
A tale of revenge, honor and disgrace, centering on a poverty-stricken samurai who discovers the fate of his ronin son-in-law, setting in motion a tense showdown of vengeance against the house of a feudal lord.
Director: Takashi Miike | Stars: Koji Yakusho, Munetaka Aoki, Naoto Takenaka, Hikari Mitsushima
Votes: 9,155 | Gross: $0.08M
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