Stories of sword-wielding feudal foot soldiers are a staple of Japanese film history. Samurai films, also called Chanbara, or “sword fighting” films, are a type of jidaigeki (Japanese era dramas). Like American westerns, the Chanbara genre peaked before the 1970s before saturating the market and experiencing decline. popularity. Although fewer samurai films are made today than in the 1950s and 1960s, some of the most productive samurai films are from the 1980s, 1990s, and even the 21st century. Although samurai films can exist in any genre, they straddle the line between drama, war, and action. The major samurai films feature great combat scenes, are emotionally powerful, and offer a window into the codes and norms of feudal Japan. While there are many samurai films, this list is intended to be an introduction to the genre and showcase the most productive samurai films of all time.
Samurai existed from the 12th century until the Meiji era at the end of the 19th century, which means that most of the films on this list are period films. However, this list takes a fairly broad approach for what can be considered a samurai film. He defines samurai films as films that feature at least one character known as a samurai. This is another way how Chanbara films are regularly recognized. However, the rating took into account the criteria of the genre and how samurai film enthusiasts would enjoy the film, as well as the quality of the film overall.
Samurai videos have been made in Japan since the silent film era, but many of the most memorable ones date back to the post-World War II era. Samurai videos have influenced other genres, especially Western videos, and many of the westerns are remakes or heavily influenced by Chanbara’s videos. Many Westerners came to the genre through the legendary director Akira Kurosawa, who helped shape it. He has directed nine of the samurai films throughout his decades-long career and is the most prominent director on this list. He also had a long relationship with Toshirō Mifune, who is arguably the most important samurai movie actor and the actor who seems to be the top on this list.
The legend of the 8 samurai gloriously dates back to the 80s. The film seems more like a fantasy film than a jidaigeki. It’s over the top but also kind of dinner for the eyes. The film follows a princess who will have to defeat an evil queen. and break the curse that weighs on her family.
Directed by Kinji Fukasaku, the film stars Hiroko Yakushimaru, Hiroyuki Sanada and Sonny Chiba. It’s in Toshio Kamata’s 1982 novel Shin Satomi Hakkenden and is lately streaming for free on Tubi and Plex.
Also called Rurouni Kenshin Part I: Origins, the film is based on a manga of the same name. It spawned 3 sequels and a prequel. While not each and every Rurouni Kenshin movie is great, there’s a lot to love about the series.
Directed by Keishi Ōtomo, the film stars Takeru Satoh and Emi Takei. It follows a wandering swordsman who seeks to atone for his afterlife by protecting a woman from a drug dealer in the early Meiji era. The film has wonderful combat choreography, and while it sometimes drags on, it’s a strangely clever live-action adaptation. Lately it is available to stream on Netflix.
The only animated film on this list, Sword of the Stranger, follows a boy who hires a ronin to take him and his dog to protection in a temple during the bloody Sengoku period. The film features very good animation and impressive combat scenes.
Sword of the Stranger was up for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, but has not yet been chosen. From the final fight scene to the Lone Wolf and Cub dynamic, it’s clear that Sword of the Stranger has a kind of respect for Chanbara’s past films. It is available to stream on Crunchyroll.
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai is an outlier. It is a foreign co-production between the United States, France, Germany and Japan and stars Forest Whitaker. The film follows a hitman who, in the spirit of a samurai, has sworn allegiance to a gangster. It’s a weird movie that shouldn’t work, but it does.
Although it’s not a jidaigeki and arguably more of a mafia movie than a samurai movie, it features samurai pillars like Yamamoto Tsunetomo’s Hagakure and a fencing scene. While other action films, such as Jean-Pierre Melville’s Le Samouraï (1967), and possibly many westerns, share qualities with Chanbara cinema, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai is by far the maximum variety of films that viewers will have to see for themselves if a film is filmed. mainly in New Jersey with a soundtrack by Wu-Tang Clan. RZA is a samurai movie, but while it shouldn’t count, Ghost Dog is a wonderful movie for fans of police dramas and samurai movies. Lately it has been streaming on Max.
Hollywood westerns and samurai movies have a long history. Many iconic westerns have been influenced by samurai movies. Unforgiven is a version of this quote, as it is a remake of Clint Eastwood’s 1992 western of the same title set in Meiji era Japan.
Directed by Lee Sang-il and starring Ken Watanabe, the film follows a former samurai enlisted to claim bounty for two men who disfigured a sex worker. While the remake doesn’t beat the original in this case, Unforgiven is a lovely film that will pay homage to a Western classic. Unforgiven is available to rent on Amazon Prime and Apple TV.
Lady Snowblood is rarely a samurai movie in many ways, but it is considered to be such. While it’s not a typical samurai movie, it’s an underrated gem worth watching for any fan of jidaigeki movies. Based on the manga of the same name, the film follows a woman who takes revenge on the men who raped her mother and killed her brother.
The film directed by Toshiya Fujita and starring Meiko Kaji. Lady Snowblood inspired Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill and explores the same themes of revenge and female rage. Currently, the film has a hundred percent score on Rotten Tomotoes and is available to stream on Max. .
Directed by Hideo Gosha, Goyokin follows a ronin who hopes to prevent a massacre as atonement for the massacre of a small village. The film is also known as The Steel of Vengeance in the United States.
The film stars Tatsuya Nakadai, Tetsurō Tamba, Yōko Tsukasa, and Nakamura Kinnosuke. Toshiro Mifune was the first to appear in the film, but was replaced by Nakamura. The movie is brutal and the combat scenes are really what’s worth watching. Gosha released some other samurai films from the same year, Hitokiri, which is also wonderful, perhaps more confusing for audiences who don’t know Japan’s history intimately. Unfortunately, Goyokin is not available for streaming.
Samurai Fiction is a samurai comedy that plays with the tropes of Chanbara’s past films. This movie is weird and possibly not for everyone, but from its black-and-white cinematography to its rock and roll soundtrack, it oozes style. The film follows a young samurai and his friends as they try to retrieve a stolen sword.
Although it is a comedy, Samurai Fiction has a certain respect for the genre and many references to previous films. The sword stolen in the film was even borrowed from Toshiro Mifune’s estate. The film’s iconic opening series is also referenced in Kill Bill Vol. via Quentin Tarantino. 1. Unfortunately, it is not available for streaming lately.
Unlike the 2013 film 47 Ronin (which is not good) or the 1958 film The Loyal 47 Ronin (which is fine), The 47 Ronin is one of the first chanbara films. The film follows the mythical 47 Ronin as they avenge the death of their lord during the Tokugawa shogunate.
First, the film was intended to be government propaganda aimed at reinforcing patriotism in wartime; however, director Kenji Mizoguchi took it in a much more discreet direction. The film is very long and did not do well at the box office (especially since it was released the week before the attack on Pearl Harbor). It originally premiered in two parts and did not air in the United States until two decades later. However, it is a charming and fundamental film. All 47 Ronin are available to stream on Tubi for free and Max with a subscription.
Hideo Gosha’s first film, Three Outlaw Samurai, is a prequel to a 1963 television series of the same name. However, it’s a strangely well-directed and impressive movie that you don’t have to watch the TV series to love.
The film follows three swordsmen who protect an organization of peasants who are holding a local lord’s daughter for ransom until their taxes are reduced. This seems like a new interpretation of the themes of authority and power. Three Outlaw Samurai (along with another film on this list, Kill!) influenced Rian Johnson while he was writing Star Wars: The Last Jedi. The film is available to stream on the Criterion Channel.
Perhaps Kwaidan is not considered a samurai movie. It is a horror anthology and features 4 unrelated ghost stories; however, two of the stories, Hoichi the Earless and The Black Hair, tell stories of samurai. While other films by director Masaki Kobayashi are more obviously samurai films, Kwaidan is among the most interesting.
Kwaidan is based primarily on Lafcadio Hearn’s 1904 collection of folk stories, Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things. Although technically a horror movie, Kwaidan is not so scary and stands out much more for its good looks and strangeness. It won the Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Kwaidan is streaming lately on Max.
Kill! is a parody of the samurai genre. However, it is very deadpan in its comedy technique, which would possibly confuse some viewers, especially those who are unfamiliar with the genre’s tropes.
The film follows a guy tired of being a samurai and a farmer who longs for something more. Surprisingly, Kill! is in the same original story as Akira Kurosawa’s Sanjuro. However, it takes on a much more comical dimension. Directed by Kihachi Okamoto, Kill! It stars Tatsuya Nakadai Etsushi Takahashi. Kill!is airing lately on Max.
When the Last Sword is Drawn examines the lives of two samurai through flashbacks and the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate. The film directed by Yōjirō Takita and starring Kiichi Nakai and Kōichi Satō.
The film was nominated for 11 Japanese Academy Awards and won three, in addition to Best Picture. In his review of Empire, William Thomas wrote, “With its understated palette, soulful music, and melancholy tone, Takita’s character-centered drama deserves the same good fortune it has earned in Japan. Unfortunately, it’s not available for streaming lately.
Onibaba is a horror film set in the Nanboku-chō era, a civil war. Directed by Kaneto Shindō, the film follows two women who loot the corpses of fallen samurai to survive, the guy who stands between them and a mysterious demonic mask.
Although there are other “ghost stories” on this list, Onibaba is the only horror film. While it’s not too scary by today’s standards, it’s creepy and unsettling in a way that will be etched in viewers. The film is one of Willem Dafoe’s favorites. Onibaba is recently available to stream on Max.
There are six films in the Lone Wolf and Cub film series and the first one, Sword of Vengence, is arguably the best. Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance follows a disgraced wandering executioner and his three-year-old son during the Edo period. Directed by Kenji Misumi, the film stars Tomisaburo Wakayama, Akihiro Tomikawa, Fumio Watanabe, and Shigeru Tsuyuguchi.
Some will possibly know the film (especially in the West) from the 1980 film Shogun Assassin. Shogun Assassin is a type of Frankenstein-style film consisting of a remake of Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance and its sequel Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart on the River Styx. While Shogun Assassin is a cult crop and grindhouse, Sword of Vengeance is better. Lately it’s been streaming on Max.
Ugetsu is a masterpiece of the golden age of Japanese cinema. However, this is another movie that is not usually considered a samurai movie. The film follows a hopeful samurai seduced by a ghost. It may not be a typical samurai movie. , but definitely worth a visit. Although it is known as a “ghost story”, it is not a horror film. Rather, it is a delicate look at the themes of lust, arrogance, and the position of women in society.
Directed by prolific filmmaker Kenji Mizoguchi, Ugetsu won the Pasinetti Award and the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival before being nominated for the Academy Award for Best Black and White Costume Design. The movie is available to stream on Tubi for Loose and Max with a subscription.
Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto, also called Musashi Miyamoto, is the first film in the Samurai trilogy by director Hiroshi Inagaki. Although all 3 films are classics of the Samurai genre, the first film is arguably the best. It is based on the novel Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa, loosely based on the life of real-life swordsman, Miyamoto Musashi.
The film follows a soldier who has a fugitive as he is trained in the way of the samurai. It stars Toshiro Mifune, Rentarō Mikuni and Kuroemon Onoe. The film won a special/honorary Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Lately it also has a score of one hundred percent on Rotten Tomatoes (although this is based on very few reviews). Lately, the movie is available to stream on Max.
There are more than twenty “Zatoichi” films starring Shintaro Katsu in the 1960s and 1970s. Notable films in the series include Zatoichi Goes to the Fire Festival (the 21st and highest-ranked film), The Tale of Zatoichi (the first film in the series), and Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo (a bizarre but fun crossover with the famous Akira). Kurosawa’s character played by Toshiro Mia laughs). However, Zatoichi’s most productive film might really be Zatoichi’s 2003 reboot, called The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi.
Directed, written, and starring Takeshi “Beat Takeshi” Kitano, the film follows the titular blind swordsman as he defends a village from a local yakuza war. The film is everywhere. There’s plenty of comedy, action, a subplot about the Muderous geisha that ages strangely well for 2003, and a still-impressive dance scene. It shouldn’t work as well as it used to, but it does. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival. where he won the Silver Lion for Best Director. Zatoichi is available to sign up for on YouTube, Amazon Prime, Google Play, and Apple TV.
The Hidden Fortress is one of many samurai classics directed by Akira Kurosawa and starring Toshiro Mifune. The film follows peasants turned war profiteers who meet a general and a princess hiding in the mountains with a sum of gold.
Most notably, The Hidden Fortress features special effects via Eiji Tsuburaya, a Japanese practical effects pioneer who has become known for his paintings on the early Godzilla films. The Hidden Fortress also greatly influenced 1977’s Star Wars; Both films share plot points, camera shots, and much more. It is available to stream on Max.
Teinosuke Kinugasa’s The Gates of Hell follows a samurai who hopes to marry a woman he met and discovers that she is already married to the Heiji Rebellion. The film stars Kazuo Hasegawa and Machiko Kyō. It has action scenes, but it’s more character-focused. because it examines themes of obsession and passion.
Part of the film’s legacy lies in the use of color. While many of the earliest samurai films were shot in black and white, Gate of Hell uses Technicolor. The cinematography is wild in its use of bright colors, making the film a must-see. The film won two Academy Awards: Best Foreign Language Film and Best Costume Design. It is currently 93% off on Rotten Tomatoes. It is available to rent on Amazon Prime and Apple TV.
Made a year after The Hidden Fortress, Throne of Blood is a film directed by Akira Kurosawa, starring Toshiro Mifune and with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Throne of Blood is a version of Shakespeare’s Macbeth set in feudal Japan with elements of Noh theatre.
At the time of its release, it was one of the most expensive Japanese films ever made, and more than 60 years later, it is still visually stunning. Kurosawa has directed several adaptations of Shakespeare (another even appears on this list), and Throne of Blood is considered one of the most productive film adaptations of a Shakespeare play. It was even adapted to the level of the 2010 Oregon Shakespeare Festival. It is currently available to stream for free on Plex or Max with a subscription.
If you’re looking for a lot of action, The Twilight Samurai probably isn’t the movie you need to watch. The movement is quite slow and silent. The film is set just before the Meiji Restoration, at the end of the feudal system, unlike many other samurai films (which take place before).
Directed by Yoji Yamada and starring Hiroyuki Sanada and Rie Miyazawa, the film tells the story of a low-level samurai working as an accountant whose sleepy life is interrupted when a woman from his afterlife comes to town. The Twilight Samurai has won 12 Japanese Academy Awards. Awards and also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Unfortunately, it is not available for streaming as of late.
Rashomon is synonymous with the narrative device fostered through the film, “The Rashomon Effect,” which describes the narrative use of other perspectives on the same event. However, it can also be said that it is a wonderful samurai movie. Written and directed by Akira Kurosawa, Rashomon is a Jidaigeki film that follows the same story of the rape of a bride and the murder of a samurai from multiple perspectives, adding a thief, the bride, a lumberjack, and the ghost of the samurai.
Rashomon helped identify Kurosawa and was one of the first Japanese films to be celebrated by foreign critics after its premiere at the Venice Film Festival. It won an Honorary Award at the Academy Awards (as it predated the Academy’s International Film category) and is still enjoyed. Hoy. La film is currently 98% off on Rotten Tomatoes. Lately it is available to stream for free on Tubi or with a subscription on Max.
Directed by Kihachi Okamoto, The Sword of Doom follows the descent into madness of an amoral samurai in an era of violence. The film stars Tatsuya Nakadai, Yūzō Kayama, Michiyo Aratama, and Toshiro Mifune.
The film is as hauntingly beautiful as it is violent. Although this film is very graphic, the combat scene that might be the most memorable is not the one between two samurai, but rather the main character attacking the wire walls of a house. He is heartbreaking and will stay with the viewer long after watching him. In an essay for Criterion, Geoffry O’Brien wrote: “In an era of Japanese cinema. . . when even samurai shots of the maximum regime tended to look very elegant, The Sword of Doom stands out for the rigor and pictorialism of the calligraphy of its large screen compositions” It is available to rent on Amazon Prime and Apple TV.
One of several films directed by Masaki Kobayashi on this list, Samurai Rebellion is a superbly erudite look at the rigidity of feudal society. The film follows a samurai who disobeys his extended family for family reasons and the consequences that follow.
The film stars Toshiro Mifune, Yoko Tsukasa, Go Kato, and Tatsuya Nakadai. Roger Ebert said of the film: “It’s a film of grace, good looks and a fierce moral debate, the story of a resolution in favour of romance and against the samurai code. Lately it has one hundred percent of Rotten Tomatoes. Lately it has been broadcast on Criterion Channel.
It’s hard not to fill this list with Akira Kurosawa’s films. He is prolific and has become synonymous with Japanese cinema and, specifically, samurai films. While his early samurai films are arguably more famous, Ran is a true epic. Ran is a version of William Shakespeare’s King Lear combined with the legends of the daimyō Mōri Motonari.
The scale of the film is impressive and Kurosawa had a hard time directing it. Although he announced the concept of Ran in 1975, he was unable to secure funding. In 1980, he made Kagemusha as a kind of proof-of-concept for the kind of large-scale epic he hoped to achieve. If Kagemusha is a perfect film, Ran far surpasses it. The film was nominated for 4 Academy Awards and won for Best Costume Design. Lately it is streamed on BFI Player Classics.
Directed by Takashi Miike, Thirteen Assassins is a remake of the 1963 Eiichi Kudo film of the same name. The film follows an organization of assassins (including twelve samurai) who plot to assassinate the leader of an extended family before he is named. member of the Shogunate Council in the late Edo period.
13 Assassins is the rare remake that is better than the original. While Miike has directed other samurai films, including 2017’s Blade of the Immortal, 13 Assassins is by far his best film. The film balances history and violence on an epic scale. The ultimate war scene is ambitious, with an incredibly long running time and stunning visuals. The film is nominated for 10 Japanese Academy Awards and won 4 of them. The film stars Koji Yakusho, Takayuki Yamada, Sōsuke Takaoka, Hiroki Matsukata, Kazuki Namioka and Gorō Inagaki. Lately it is streaming for free on Tubi, Peacock and Pluto TV. , as well as Hulu, Amazon Prime and Disney with subscription.
Another film by the legendary Akira Kurosawa and starring Toshiro Mifune, Yojimbo follows an unnamed ronin, later named Sanjuro, as he unleashes a gang war on a small village controlled by criminals. The film’s popularity led Kurosawa to rework his next film, Sanjuro. (a samurai vintage in its own right). While Sanjuro was originally intended to be a direct adaptation of the new Hibi Heian, Kurosawa reworked the script to introduce the popular character of Yojimbo.
Yojimbo was also very influential outside of Japan. It was unofficially remade into two spaghetti westerns, Sergio Leone’s 1964 classic, A Fistful of Dollars, and 1966’s Django. The cantina scene in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope comprises an homage to Yojimbo and is also referenced in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Lately it has been streaming on Max.
Without a doubt, director Masaki Kobayashi’s masterpiece Harakiri is cited as one of the most productive samurai films ever made. The film follows a Tokugawa shogunate-era ronin who asks to perform seppuku (or harakiri), a ritualized form of suicide. in the mansion of a local lord.
The film takes an unflinching look at authority, strength, and glory. Harakiri is currently the highest-rated film on Letterboxd and has one hundred percent on Rotten Tomatoes. There is a remake of Harakiri, 2012’s Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai directed by Takashi Miike in 3D. Although strangely good, the original is much better. Harakiri from 1962 is available to rent on Apple TV.
Akira Kurosawa’s latest film on this list, Seven Samurai, is a masterpiece. It has been widely identified as “the most important foreign-language film ever made”. Seven Samurai tells the story of a village who hire a samurai organization to cover the Sengoku era in Japan.
The film is one of the most productive Japanese films of all time and incredibly influential. It is a favorite of many directors, including Martin Scorsese and Andrei Tarkovsky. The “building a team” trope of the Seven Samurai influenced the heist film genre. It has also directly affected animated films like The Mercenary Seven, Star Wars and perhaps even Pixar’s A Bug’s Life. Unfortunately, the original negative of the film was lost. However, in 2016, Toho completed a 4K recovery of the film’s second-generation detailed positives and third-generation duplicate negatives. The 4K recovery was also recently postponed in some theaters in July 2024. Lately it is also streaming on Max.
Conclusion
From sword fights to horror, thrills and codes, there is a lot to love in samurai and chanbara movies. From Kurosawa epics to comedic parodies, the films on this list show what makes samurai movies great.
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