Sengoku jieitai (1979)

A squadron of Japanese Self-Defense Force soldiers find themselves transported through time to their country's warring states era, when rival samurai clans were battling to become the ... See full summary »

Director:

Kôsei Saitô

Writers:

Ryo Hanmura (novel), Toshio Kamata

Stars:

Shin'ichi Chiba, Jun Etô, Moeko Ezawa

2 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Shin'ichi Chiba	...	Lt. Yoshiaki Iba (as Sonny Chiba)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jun Etô	...	Nobuhiko Ken
Moeko Ezawa	...	Widow Yui
Ryô Hayami	...	Kazumichi Morishita
Noriko Honma	...	Old Woman
Koji Iizuka	...	Shokichi
Masashi Ishibashi	...	Hosokawa Fujitaka
Toshitaka Itô	...	Seaman Harumi Takashima
Haruki Kadokawa	...	Sanada Masayuki
Takuzô Kadono	...	Seaman Toshishige Suga
Hiroshi Kamayatsu	...	Mokichi Nemoto
Gorô Kataoka	...	Tategawa Katsuzo
Hiroshi Katsuno	...	Track Coach
Tadashi Katô	...	Sgt. Hideo Shimizu
Kenzô Kawarasaki	...	Koji Kano

Storyline

A squadron of Japanese Self-Defense Force soldiers find themselves transported through time to their country's warring states era, when rival samurai clans were battling to become the supreme Shogun. The squad leader, Lt. Iba, sees this as the perfect opportunity to realize his dream of becoming the ruler of Japan. To achieve this, he teams his troops up with those of Kagatori, a samurai daimyo who also aspires to become Shogun. Are either of these power-hungry warriors to be trusted?

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Plot Keywords:

samurai | japan | soldier | no credits | fighting style | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

January 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

G.I. Samurai

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kadokawa Haruki Jimusho

Technical Specs

Runtime:

139 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Version of Sengoku jieitai 1549 (2005)

User Reviews

Tanks vs Samurai ( who wins ?)

I would firstly say that somehow I remember seeing this movie in my early childhood, I couldn't read the subtitles and I thought Sonny Chiba was Sean Connery. But I did really like the concept. If you are not able to at least partially suspend your adult scepticism and embrace your inner seven your old you may want to avoid this movie. That said, having just watched the restored 137 minute version on DVD I have to say I enjoyed it, though not as much as when I was seven ( I remembered the ending ).

There are aspects of the movie that are worthy of criticism , the first 15 minutes and final 15 minutes both have some really comic moments, my favourite being the contrast between scenes acted out in the final 10 minutes and the curious choice of backing music ( listen to the lyrics ).

For an action film there is a great deal of focus on the personal stories of certain soldiers and the social dynamics of the squad as the strain of their time travel takes its toll. By the ending of the movie I had decided that this was a good thing, when seven I though the 'relationship' guff was a bad thing.

For an action film there is also plenty of gratifying gory action, especially a couple of epic battle scenes between the platoon and hordes of Shogun era warriors. The makers of the movie have ensured that as many deaths as possible are bloody and, lets face it, humorous. I thought this was a splendid aspect of the movie when I was a kid, and I am not ashamed to say that I still do.

I also like the fact that the modern day soldiers in general don't spend the movie walking on egg shells trying to avoid altering the space time continuum, they've got heavy calibre machine guns, mortars, rocket launchers, a tank and a helicopter and they're hell bent on making feudal Japan theirs. Which is what I'd like to think any vigorous IMDb user would do in their boots.

In short the movies worth watching, it makes the viewer regret that there are not more movies made with a similar premise, and at the same time offers some hefty hints as to why a movie like G.I. Samurai is so unique.