Love and Honor (2006)

Since it is also based on a story by Shuhei Fujisawa, Love and Honor is naturally compared to Twilight Samurai and Hidden Blade, Yoji Yamada's two previous films adapted from the same author. Though like those other two movies it includes a sword duel, it is really about a husband and wife and the world …

Sukiyaki Western Django (2007)

“Don't think you're gonna play Yojimbo” someone tells the man with no name (Hideaki Ito) in Sukiyaki Western Django; he then turns around and does exactly that, destroying two gangs fighting over a town that according to legend is filled with gold. But he is dressed in a version of Django's outfit and carries two …

Hana / Hana yori mo naho (2006)

Even more unexpected that Yoji Yamada's turn to jidai-geki was Kore'eda's sudden interest in not just the jidai-geki but the Chusingura story in particular. Along the way, he has discovered community and comedy and even a bit of romance, which had not been much of a factor in his earlier films (or later movies that …

When the Last Sword is Drawn / Mibu gishi den (2003)

When the Last Sword is Drawn takes us back to the Shinsengumi, but in a far more romanticized and sentimentalized form than we have usually seen. Told in flashbacks, it follows Yoshimura, a fictional character, seen first when he joined the company's ranks, then in later flashbacks filling in his life before he came to …

Taboo / Gohatto (1999)

The Shinsengumi had disappeared from Japanese films for the most part around 1970, so it is something of a surprise to see them reappear as a major subject in Gohatto. Even more surprising is that it is a movie by Oshima, who had never shown any previous interest in jidai-geki or in films with sword-play …

Yagyu Clan Conspiracy / Shogun’s Samurai/ Yagyu ichizoku no inbô (1978)

After 15 years of modern-dress yakuza related movies, in 1978 Kinji Fukasaku suddenly turned to Japanese historical dramas, with a version of the Chusingura story and Yagyu Clan Conspiracy. The brutal realism and kinetic energy of his yakuza films had revived and redirected an entire genre, but Yagyu Conspiracy looks like the work of a …

Orochi / Serpent (1925)

As one of the very few surviving silent jidai-geki, Orochi can take on an importance it may not necessarily deserve. It is tempting to see it as typical or representative of the chanbara genre, but the story-line suggests that it was anything but typical for any era. Despite the hero's sword prowess, it isn't really …

Masamune Date the One-Eyed Dragon / Hawk of the North / Dokuganryu Masamune (1942)

Released in mid-1942, Dokuganryu Masamune was obviously intended to appeal to the Japanese warrior spirit by portraying the early career of one of history's great warriors. As such, it is precisely the kind of movie that the Occupation forces ordered destroyed after 1945 at the same time they banned any new ones in similar vein. …

Blind Menace / Agent Shiranui / Shiranui kengyo (1960)

Blind Menace marks Shintaro Katsu's first outing as a blind masseur, but this is no warm-up for Zatoichi. The blind man he plays is one of the most despicable leads of the era, a commoner with limitless greed and ambition and a complete lack of scruples. If I were to pick an American film to …