Top 10 Underrated Samurai Films

so with all the hype over the new series Shogun I notic that now a lot of people are looking for some good Samurai movies to watch and instead of just telling you about the same list as everyone else I want to tell you about some underrated gems and even though these are underrated I'll say they're just as good if not better than the ones that you always hear about and if you want to own or watch any of these movies you can get all of them on sumurai DVD . and for watching this video you can use the code Bido blues at checkout that way you get yourself a nice discount so without wasting any more of your time let's get straight to it so the 47 Ronin is probably Japan's most famous story it's the perfect example of heroism and honor but it was also a true story and if you want the best movie just showing this event there's quite a few but the fall of aquo Castle I believe does it the best and this isn't the most action-packed movie though you probably shouldn't be watching Samurai movies if you want action that's just a heads up but this is a long film it's just under three hours and the first two hours do involve only a few fights but it's not really a big issue because this story is fascinating because it is true but the last 45 minutes of this film is just a giant battle and actually a lot of it was choreographed by Sunny cha himself anyway this film when you watch it it's just really well made and it's also directed by kji fukasaku that's the same director that gave us Battle Royale and some of the best Yakuza movies ever and it also has some just heavy hitter actors son cha toir mfun anyway it's a great film but it is a bit overstuffed there's a lot going on in it but if you're interested in knowing the story of the 47 Ronin skip the ker Reeves one and watch this this is the best movie about that of [Music] that and next we have summarize promise and this is a 2018 movie and it's director used to be the cinemat grapher who works for fakira corala so when you watch it the visuals very much look like a corala film and this is just a beautiful looking film and there's just many shots of Nature and it really likes to highlight just support seasons of the Japanese Countryside and also just the acting in this is just quite good it's very natural and it's free of that almost anime overly dramatic acting that you see in many any modern Japanese films here the acting is closer to the classic Cawa or even Hollywood and the music too I have to mention it's quite good it is different though it sounds almost Western and I could swear that they play The Godfather theme or at least it's something very similar somehow it works though I'm going to make him an aw CA F but again the film is a bit on the lower Pace side it's very calm and quiet similar to Twilight samurai or any of the other shuhi fujisawa adaptations and the narrative is a little confusing but I will say it does pay off in the ends this has one of the greatest final standoffs it's Unforgettable and I'm pretty surprised it's not mentioned more and real fast the story of this follows a skilled Samurai and he comes back to his hometown and he finds his wife dead and then we find out that he was gone because he was exiled and actually he was implicated in a bit of a financial and even romantic Scandal and this broke up the Friendship of four friends who used to study together since childhood and he must now face all this also while coping with his wife's death so it's a serious story but it does get quite good and it's interesting definitely check this one [Music] out and next we have ronian guy so this is definitely a Hidden Gem and it's a pretty simple story follows the four Misfit Ronin and they're fighting to protect the local brle it's sort of like the anti- S Samurai but it's actually a really fun film and I always think of my friend Jay Tilton with this one because he's the one that first told me about it he said that he enjoyed it because it was basically the story about Misfits and none of the characters are really likable but that's what kind of works about it and no matter how many of these movies you watch this one will always stand out and it's because it's sort of a strange comedy it's like a comedy hybrid and it just has these very different and odd characters and again just one very satisfying finale and if there ever was a Hidden Gem it would definitely be this one so definitely check it [Music] out and next we have hitokiri so shuro KATU tatsuya Nakai and yukoh Mishima all in one film and that should be enough to just make you want to watch it and there is just something about this film that you can't really explain and I just remember the first time I watched it I just really couldn't stop thinking about it I think I watched it again straight after that and maybe it's just the Mystique around it the fact that it has Yu-Gi-Oh machima in it it sort of gives it this eeriness and that's just because of the stigma around that actor if you can look him up they even made a movie about him he's pretty interesting but I'll say that hok Kiri is definitely one of goa's best films in fact it might be one of the best Samurai chambara films ever made but be warned before you watch it because it is sort of a complicated story there's a lot of different intricate plot details that you really have to pay attention to and it could definitely be hard to follow if you're just unfamiliar with 19th century Japanese history but I'll say it's definitely worth it just for its dark atmosphere it's also got some great bloody combat and of course just its legendary cast and next we have the return also known as Kiko so the return in many ways it's like its title it's a return of tatsuya Nakai and there's something great about just seeing him at an old age just playing the same roles that he always did and I just found this movie just really emotional and it's because he's one of my favorite actors of all time and I pretty much grew up watching his kir corala films also just watching him in movies like Hariri Samurai Rebellion he's been in so much stuff but here he really shows how age can mean nothing you could still be a badass in your 90s and in the film he plays this older Yakuza member and he's returning to his hometown for one last mission and the rest you just have to watch to see for yourself it's very emotional it's also really wellmade it's actually a TV movie but you would never know that it's just a stunning performance by one of the greatest actors of all time I often put this one in my top lists and just like everything on this list it's unfortunately not well known enough and next we have buraki unbroken Samurai and this is set in the chaotic years leading up to the mai restoration of 1868 and this depicts the rise and fall of the notorious shinen Umi so I remember when this film was coming out we were waiting a while and it was cited as being the greatest Samurai movie in years and after just finally being able to watch it translated I got to say I can't disagree this is a big well produced epic of a film and has that very polished historical drama look to it and I really just like this one a lot especially just how it shows sort of the rise and fall the shinsen and sort of the bad things that they were doing it teaches you a lot it's educational and I really like the protagonist in this and it's interesting because we follow the second in command to the shinen gooy and he was a pretty interesting character but the actor really just does such a great job playing him so definitely check this one out especially if you're just into that time period with the Shin Andi because that really is just an interesting time it was very chaotic there was a lot going on and it was the same time period that Ron Kenshin took place in and I'll also add that this movie has some great big scale battle sequences and also just some great sword fights and even sparring a lot of good stuff in this definitely don't miss it and next we have sword of desperation so there's actually a lot of Samurai films that like to focus on the harsh practices of Bushido but sort of desperation takes that concept to another level it's just a really captivating story it's similar to hiri and it's also a adaptation of a shui fujisawa and fujisawa adaptations are always good so if you ever see that name attached anything just see it don't even question it and the script with this one it actually unfolds with two different time frames and they both focus on this captain of a powerful Dao and right in the beginning we witness him killing his Lord's concubine and we're not really sure why and for some reason he only gets a minor punishment for doing this he gets house arrest for one year and then we get a time Jump and it takes place in the past and what it does is it ansers all the questions that lead up to that and it kind of also lets you put some things together so it's really just interesting how this film is set up and how you kind of have to put some things together yourself and it's just really wellmade and again it is on the slow side like most of Fuji's adaptations but it also C minates in one of the greatest stools ever filmed and this fight blew me away the first time I saw it because when it finally takes place it's just sudden and it's captivating and my only real problem with the film is that there is a few cultural things that I didn't fully understand but even so I just really enjoyed it definitely check it out and next we have uzumasa Limelight and this one's interesting because it's not really a Samurai movie but it's more so a movie about Samurai movies and what's also interesting is it's sort of a remake of a Charlie Chaplain film and the story is about this older actor and he specializes in Samurai films except he specializes in playing the guy guy who gets killed in the film usually by the main actor and apparently this is a specialist job and he's a specialist in doing this and no one could die in the sword fight as acrobatically or dramatically as he does but at age 70 he's getting too old for the job and he sadly reduced to just being a street performer and he finds himself being the teacher of this young extra who wants to be an actress and it's just an interesting concept of both old and young old teaching the young and sort of just moving on and what I like about this movie is that it brings to light a member that's involved with film that isn't very well known we all know about actors stars and directors but what about the smaller parts in films that are just as important and just after watching this I'm never going to view the guy who dies in swordfight the same way now I know that there's an artistic level to it so this is really just a love letter to the genre but also just the film itself and especially to everyone involved and all parts come together both big and small to create something [Music] great and next we have after the rain this is the 1999 film not to be confused with the anime so in 1993 director kir Court Salah made its final film which was madao and after this he would leave the director's chair this was after he suffered an injury to his spine and this forced him to spend the final years of his life in a wheelchair and just after Decades of film making his career as a director had finally come to an end yet he wasn't done just yet at least artistically He Still Remains active as a screenwriter but unfortunately things would worsen and then the following years his health just gradually declines and this would more and more restrict him from being creative but on September 6th 1999 airo Corella passed away of a stroke and this was the death of just this legendary filmmaker internationally people were mourning however his legacy would continue to live on and this is just thanks to the overwhelming praise from his audience and just many of the people that worked were fakira coras Sawa they went on to honor him and one such movie was made to be based on Akira coras sawa's last screenplay and it would eventually be brought to life in the samurai film after the rain and after the rain is tekashi koizumi's directorial Debut and before this he worked as an assistant director on various kurala films this included kagam Musha and Ron and what's beautiful about after the rain is it's an example of an apprentice following in the footsteps of his teacher and at the same time though it also honors his teacher's Legacy and when you watch this movie it just looks and feels like a carala film and for me this is just a comfort movie If I ever just want to just relax and watch something beautiful I'll just put this film in I'll even pause it at certain moments to just admire it it's almost like a moving painting and I also just really like its quiet and calm pacing again a lot of these movies are like this on this list that's just what I'm into but because it's such a calm film when it actually does have a sword fight it's a lot more powerful and actually leaves an impact on you and this just has some of the greatest [ __ ] choreography and it actually uses Real buo Techniques and I've even heard of martial arts schools using this film to actually teach anyway this is an absolute mustat definitely check it [Music] out and last on the list we have at River's Edge so at River's Edge is this little film that I've really been hyping up on my channel for a few years now and it's another shui Fuji saw adaptation and by now you know I love his adaptations they're always good and unfortunately no one in the world has seen this movie and that amazes me and what I love about this film so much is that it's simple but it does a lot with its Simplicity and it's message is simple it's basically that it's hard to be a samurai a life where at any moment's notice you might have to make a really hard decision and it could even mean death and the story is about this very skilled Samurai and he gets ordered to kill his best friends and they send him because he's the only one that's skilled enough to defeat him but there's also more to it his sister is married to his best friend and she was also trained by the same Master growing up which is her father but also the friend traveling with the main character happens to be in love with his sister so when it comes down to it his friends might also be drawing his sword at him too and I just think this is such a captivating premise it's not overly complicated but it's interesting and throughout the film you're not confused you know exactly what's going on but how it turns out you may not expect and it's just filled with some great characters and they really really just carry the film but I especially just really like the main actor I wish this guy was in more stuff I've only seen him in two things but to me he embodies what I believe a man should be like and that's when you're faced with a hard decision you just do it you don't complain and I also just love the cinematography I think it's just a beautiful looking film and I especially just really like the music it's really great and out of all these shoi Fuji Sal adaptations this one is my favorite and it just has everything I love about his stories the quietness they're peaceful yet they're engaging and they have all this great drama going on and they always pay it off of a great fight at the end and this film is hard to find in fact all all the films on this list are pretty hard but you could get all of them on Samurai dvd.com and you could get a discount on them by using the code Bushido blues at checkout anyway that was my list of the most underrated Samurai films and I didn't include the obvious ones that are on every list you know hiri Samurai Rebellion sword of Doom Lone Wolf and Cub pretty much every course saw Samurai film those films you should already know about but once you've seen all those then you have these really great ones to also check out anyway let me know in the comments any ones I missed and like always thanks for watching [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music]

Channel: Bushido Blues

Views: 39,031

Keywords: Samurai, Shogun, Underrated, Top 10, Akira Kurosawa, 47 Ronin, Fall of Ako Castle, Baragaki, After the Rain, Unbroken Samurai, Samurai's Promise

Id: wVZxL92wXMo

Length: 21min 38sec (1298 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 19 2024