Samurai Movies
by radebartok | created - 03 Jan 2012 | updated - 01 Aug 2012 | PublicGreat Samurai Movies from Kurosawa to current that are worth watching.
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1. Shogun Assassin (1980)
R | 85 min | Action, Adventure
When the wife of the Shogun's Decapitator is murdered and he is ordered to commit suicide by the paranoid Shogun, he and his four-year-old son escape and become assassins for hire, embarking on a journey of blood and violent death.
Directors: Robert Houston, Kenji Misumi | Stars: Tomisaburô Wakayama, Kayo Matsuo, Minoru Ôki, Shôgen Nitta
Votes: 11,229
2. 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: 6,854
3. 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: 5,602
4. Shogun (1980 TV Movie)
159 min | Adventure, Drama, History
An English navigator becomes both pawn and player in the deadly political games in feudal Japan.
Director: Jerry London | Stars: Richard Chamberlain, Toshirô Mifune, Yôko Shimada, Furankî Sakai
Votes: 5,049
5. Throne of Blood (1957)
Not Rated | 110 min | Drama
A war-hardened general, egged on by his ambitious wife, works to fulfill a prophecy that he would become lord of Spider's Web Castle.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Minoru Chiaki, Isuzu Yamada, Takashi Shimura
Votes: 55,917
6. 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: 12,064
7. 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: 366,678 | Gross: $0.27M
8. 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: 470,873 | Gross: $111.11M
9. Samurai Assassin (I) (1965)
122 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
February 17 to March 3, 1860, inside Edo castle. A group of assassins wait by Sakurada Gate to kill the lord of the House of Ii, a powerful man in the Tokugawa government, which has ruled ... See full summary »
Director: Kihachi Okamoto | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Keiju Kobayashi, Michiyo Aratama, Yûnosuke Itô
Votes: 2,506
10. 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: 25,490
11. Yamada: Samurai of Ayothaya (2010)
Not Rated | 100 min | Action, Drama, History
Based on a true historic figure during Ayothaya Era, the film depicts the life of Yamada Nagamasa, a Japanese adventurer who gained considerable influence in Thailand and became the ... See full summary »
Directors: Nopporn Wartin, Nopporn Watin | Stars: Seigi Ozeki, Kanokkorn Jaicheun, Sorapong Chatree, Winai Kraibutr
Votes: 1,413
12. Harakiri (1962)
Not Rated | 133 min | Action, Drama, Mystery
When a ronin requesting seppuku at a feudal lord's palace is told of the brutal suicide of another ronin who previously visited, he reveals how their pasts are intertwined - and in doing so challenges the clan's integrity.
Director: Masaki Kobayashi | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Ishihama, Shima Iwashita, Tetsurô Tanba
Votes: 68,593
13. After the Flowers (2010)
107 min | Action, Drama
Ito is a young woman, but is not just a pretty face. She wields a sword better than a samurai; better than any man. That is until one day she finally finds someone who is her match on the ... See full summary »
Director: Kenji Nakanishi | Stars: Keiko Kitagawa, Masahiro Kômoto, Shuntarô Miyao, Akiko Aichiku
Votes: 276
14. Sakurada Gate Incident (2010)
137 min | History
The Sakurada Gate Incident recounts the story of Mito Domain Samurai coming off house arrest named Seki Tetsunosuke (played by Osawa Takao). He along with other prominent Mito Clansmen are ... See full summary »
Director: Jun'ya Satô | Stars: Takao Osawa, Kyoko Hasegawa, Minosuke Bandô, Akira Emoto
Votes: 86
15. 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: 51,522 | Gross: $0.85M
16. Zatoichi (1989)
Not Rated | 116 min | Action, Drama
Older, wiser but still a wandering loner, the blind, peace-loving masseur Ichi seeks a peaceful life in a rural village. When he's caught in the middle of a power struggle between two rival... See full summary »
Director: Shintarô Katsu | Stars: Shintarô Katsu, Kanako Higuchi, Takanori Jinnai, Ryûtarô Gan
Votes: 1,873
17. Zatoichi on the Road (1963)
PG | 85 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Zatoichi promises to deliver a maiden safely home but finds two dangerous gangs have a mysterious interest in the young girl.
Director: Kimiyoshi Yasuda | Stars: Shintarô Katsu, Shiho Fujimura, Ryûzô Shimada, Reiko Fujiwara
Votes: 1,984
18. 13 Assassins (2010)
R | 141 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A group of assassins come together for a suicide mission to kill an evil lord.
Director: Takashi Miike | Stars: Koji Yakusho, Takayuki Yamada, Yûsuke Iseya, Ikki Sawamura
Votes: 68,584 | Gross: $0.80M
19. 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: 4,282 | Gross: $0.02M
20. 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: 7,198 | Gross: $0.04M
21. When the Last Sword Is Drawn (2002)
Not Rated | 143 min | Drama, History
A samurai goes to extraordinary lengths to provide for his family.
Director: Yôjirô Takita | Stars: Kiichi Nakai, Kôichi Satô, Yui Natsukawa, Takehiro Murata
Votes: 5,359
22. 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
23. 47 Ronin (1994)
132 min | Action, Drama
A group of disgraced samurai plan a decade long revenge against a corrupt lord.
Director: Kon Ichikawa | Stars: Ken Takakura, Kiichi Nakai, Rie Miyazawa, Kôichi Iwaki
Votes: 559
24. 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: 136,125 | Gross: $4.14M
25. 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: 38,163
26. 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: 9,146 | Gross: $0.08M
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