Toshirō Mifune was such a talented actor. Just like Clint Eastwood defined Westerns, Mifune and Akira Kurosawa defined samurai films. He and Kurosawa also inspired a number of Westerns.
Can't overlook Tatsuya Nakadai. Without him Kobayashi would have still been a great filmmaker, but his performances are what elevate the best of his films. He also played just as many key roles in Kurosawa's samurai films.
I think Sword of Doom deserves to be somewhere on this list. I have not seen several of these films but Sword of Doom left a lasting impression on me. It was cinematic in a way that transcended many of the films on this list, in my humble opinion.
Seven Samurai is in my opinion, one of the greatest films of all time. Few other films have been copied nearly as much as Seven Samurai. In fact, I'd say it's the most copied film. Not only is the action and storytelling fantastic, but the plot is beautifully written. The characters all mean something and have inspired numerous characters we have today.
Liam, Kurosawa was highly influential in many ways on many genera. Shichinin no Samurai is pretty clearly his masterpiece, but there are others that are similarly influential. For instance, watch _Red Beard_ which is a Meiji era set medical drama. Or _Stray Dog_ which is a post-war cop drama that has had a lot of influence on cop buddy movies. It isn't done for laughs, but it does begin many of the tropes. (Younger, headstrong cop who is a military veteran of WWII has is pistol stolen, and it starts to be used in crimes. An older more experienced cop helps him track it down. And so forth.)
want to know what funny toshiro is a samurai in bleach and mifune is a samurai in naruto even his name alone make people model samurai character based of him
+captain weeaboo yes, I already knew that even though I'm not very fond of anime xd Mifune was also the name of the starting character in a video game called the way of the samurai ;)
Toshiro Mifune, Sonny Chiba, and Hiroyuki Sanada. Three of the best Japanese actors of their time playing samurai roles in their respective films. Awesome!
Should have removed all the Kurosawa movies and made a separate list. So many good samurai movies out there, but Akira is his own class. Good list. Number 1 is best movie ever.
@@mistyshadow100 Respectfully disagree. It is so good that it influenced hundreds of movies and is blatantly copied by many more. The Magnificent Seven, The Last Starfighter are rewrites. I just watched The Mandalorian and one episode was a Seven Samurai rip off. It looks common because it has been copied many, many times.
@@logoseven3365 yea like I said pop culture. I dont care much for modern star wars and haven't watched any of them. The magnificent seven is another over hyped movie. Just because pop culture says its the best does not make it so. 7 Samurai was one of his earlier works and you can tell. The scenes are poorly lit and confusing, it's drawn out and by the time we reach the end I have already thought I just watched the next guy to die, die in a scene prior. The story does makes up for the poor quality technical issues. Its a great movie, but Ran is a master piece. Throne of blood is a master piece and Dreams is still one of the greatest ideas ever brought to life on movie screens. Each to their own I guess. Sword of Doom is better and its not even a Kurosawa movie.
Sword of doom. A film where the main character is the villain, you dont see that kind of movies very often. That fight in the snow and that ending. A real masterpiece.
The Seven Samurai is actually my all time favorite movie. I was very young when I first saw it and just loved it. About that time I also saw Throne of Blood and Dersu Uzala which I also liked a lot although Throne of Blood was almost too frightening back then.
If you're only watching one movie, it's gotta be Harakiri! While 7 samurai is great too, it's a little long for anyone who isnt used to 3 hour flicks. Plus the duels in Harakiri are very well put together. I'm sure you'll see how the ghost of tsushima takes cinematic influences from the duels in Harakiri. The main thing I want to warn you about is that it's a pretty damn depressing movie, but a badass movie nonetheless.
Probably one of my favorite watchmojo lists of all time, but seriously, how could you leave out Ran?? Not even an honorable mention?? Shame on you guys....
The Box set? I was so excited when I found that like 10 years ago. I saw Shogun Assassin as a kid so seeing the full original Japanese movies was just great. The two Lady Snowblood movies are also good and there was a series of movies where the actor who plays Ogami in Baby Cart is a perverted samurai inspector who uses sex torture on the criminals. It's actually pretty good in a 70's exploitation kind of way, I can't remember the name but it's out there..
True. Week ago I was in a plane from Tokyo to Helsinki, and Zatoichi was in the selection and so was the Last Samurai. Watched them both. Different, but good movies both.
I watched the one MIfune is in. It is good for me, everthing is in which MIfune makes an appearance the man is a marvel, even if he were nto too good in something if it happned, I woudl still always want to see him. He plays his drunken character well in Zatoichi meets Yojimbo, but I am sorry, I just do not like Katsuro.
Something like 20 sequels (all good) and a tv series show that Zatoichi is beloved. But to be fair he's not Samurai even if his movies are often considered Samurai movies.
Hara Kiri, no question for me, I love Samurai Rebellion with Mifune also directed by Kobayashi, the Zatoichi series, Throne of Blood and of course Lone Wolf and Cub, my introduction to the genre, for which I’ll be forever grateful. Nothing beats Mifune though, my favorite actor ever.
Shichinin no Samurai is not only the best samurai movie, it's one of the best movies ever. It's a masterpiece, a work of art. It will live forever, long enough to be fully appreciated. It will outlive all of you reading this. But I still love you all. See ya'll.
@@MysteriousPerson1991The key word here is fiction. They changed alot of things to make this an entertaining story, but I wouldn't reference this movie as being anywhere close to actual history.
@@darrelltblake Oh yeah, I know it’s not historically accurate. But saying it’s a bad movie because it stars a white guy sounds dumb. Maybe I’m misreading his claim. It’s just I really like the movie.
Such an underrated movie.. I enjoy it more with every watch... First review I ever saw of it called it braveheart goes to Japan.. Which is a horrendous comment
7 samurai is OK but my number one is Shogun(1980) the first British to become a samurai in 1600. Richard Chamberlain who played as the real William Adams who was a ship pilot, a samurai, samurai retainers, a Japanese wife, land owner, and hundreds of servants.
Anything with the great Toshiro Mifune made a great Samurai movie. From 7 Samurai, to Yohimbo, Sanjuro, The Hidden Fortress, Red Beard, you name it.. RIP Mifune.
Sword of Doom was a great movie but it pissed me off when I learned it was the first movie of what was supposed to be a trilogy. The other two were never made.
I finished Seven Samurai. It is a 3.5hr long movie, and must be experienced in a single sitting to be powerful. The main focus is self-sacrifice for the greater good. But if viewed over the course of several days the meaning is ultimately lost. One loses the severity of the situation the farmers are in, and therefor lose the importance of the Samurai.
Liam, you are absolutely correct, The 2013 version sucked. I know that because I saw The 1962 version directed by Hiroshi Inagaki, Chūshingura, an excellent movie. But I just watched the 1941 version here on youtube, ruclips.net/video/KiCWrDMZZFk/видео.html&ab_channel=menatil, and was blown away. It easily belongs in a top ten list.
The last samurai was a superb fil and should of gotten a spot. Its story,acting,fight scenes,over all tone were a masterpiece and honestly, tom cruise's best performance
I like "Last Samurai", don't get me wrong. But the true last samurais, in my book, are Saito Hajime/Goro Fujita and Kawakami Gensai. The anime and real life action movie "Rurouni Kenshin" is based on both samurai and the history surrounding them during the Meiji Revolution in the 1850's is much richer (to me personally, at least) than the storyline of "Last Samurai". I also find it strange that none of the "Rurouni Kenshin" movies nor the trilogy as a whole are on this list.
***** Depends on who you ask, really. Chambara means "sword fighting" movies, so I think it should count. But I've heard discussions/arguments that "samurai movies" should only include actual samurai (ronin, too, as masterless samurai) characters and themes, i.e. the Kurosawa epics. I guess it's up to you to decide whether the genres of "sword fighting" and "samurai" movies are mutually exclusive. Me, I'm a huge fan of Zatoichi. I figure if the movie is set in the samurai period and has samurai in it, then it should count.
I think you have your order wrong, 9 should be 1, and "When the Last Sword is Drawn" should be in the list. The list should also include "After the Rain". Oh, and all references to the 'The Last Samurai" should be deleted.
So glad 13 Assassins made the list! IMO the best recently made, samurai era period movie that I've seen in a long time. Brilliant acting from the always incredible Kōji Yakusho and one of Miike's best films. That final battle... holy shit!!! So amazing. Also kudos for including Harakiri, one of my all time favorite samurai films. A true masterpiece that everyone who likes classic samurai films must see.
I am surprised that Hidden Fortress 🏯 wasn't one of the honorable mentions, especially since it was the inspiration behind the very first Star Wars movie.
Good list. See Akira Kurosawa's last screenplay turned into his best movie, "After the Rain." Harikari and Hittokiri are amazing as well. Baian the Assassin deserves a look.
Great list, I wanted more Kurosawa films at least mentioned but then i remembered a lot of his films that have Samurai in them aren't really "Samurai movies" (Roshomon, Kagemusha, Ran)
Was hopping in the comments to say - it at the very least deserves an Honourable Mention, but I suppose it may have been overlooked due to the sheer number of Kurosawa classics they had to consider; a topic like this could easily appear to be "top 10 Kurosawa Samurai films", so it may be on purpose...who knows? Personally Ran is my favourite, but ah well. A further reminder how subjective these lists can be c:
+Jim Roberts Ran was pretty good, but I'm surprised that Kagemusha wasn't on the list either. [Of course, I'm surprised they didn't link Yojimbo to Bruce Willis's Last Man Standing either.]
Goyokin, Seven Samurai, Hara Kiri, Samurai Rebellion, Yojimbo, Sanjuro, Twilight Samurai, Chushingura, Samurai Trilogy and Samurai Assassin. There are others but not in the league of this list of ten.
Mifune vs Nakadai in Samurai Rebellion is the most beautiful and dramatic samurai duel in cinema, imao. But yes, Seven Samurai is #1 as a whole movie, there is no doubt.
Sanjuro deserves a place in the bottom five. It's a good message of what a samurai should be and actually is, when the samurai (Toshiro Mifune) comes across his foil in a lady who tells him that a good samurai keeps his sword in its sheath. Mifune is so humbled by this lady that he actually allows him to be used as a step to climb over a wall to escape. In the end, he tries to communicate this to his young samurai followers in an awesome display of an unsheathed sword. The last scene is the most powerful image in samurai movies.
I think it flat out should’ve made the list. That movie defines what it means to be underrated and under appreciated. It’s amazing and so much damn fun.
Excellent (if incomplete) list. Thank you for including Lone Wolf and Cub, and Twilight Samurai. Based on the many comments, this list could have easily been expanded to fifteen (including Ran, and Zatoichi).
I had the pleasure of twice interviewing Toshiro Mifune, once in Boston and once in Tokyo at his production company and, like himself, the actors he admired were of the same ilk: Mitchum, etc. but he said the one he most liked working with was David Niven although Red Sun with Charles Bronson was fun .... "one mosquito .......(cut) .... no mosquito.". A good list but Sword of Doom has to be in the 10 and Sword of the Beast.
As much as I love The Last Samurai, I am happy that it's an honorable mention. Though it kinda sucks that they didn't mention that movie with the Blind Samurai.
+crazyangst12 Fun fact: Shintaro Katsu, the original Zatoichi, was Tomisaburo Wakayama's older, boozing, drug addict brother. Tomisaburo Wakayama played the lead in #10: Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in the Land of Demons
You have forgotten about Rurouni Kenshin trilogy witch I guess Is one of the best samuray movies even though there are only a few samuray clasic scenes cause the time discussed there is from the end of Tokugawa and the end of samuray, and the begining of Meji era when swords weren't permited to be caried in street in all Japan...
Himura Kenshin is not a samurai, he is a swordsman that was an assassin. Samurai serve a Lord as master and obeys without hesitation. Kenshin is a ronin.
@@vincentprice713 Kenshin is a hitokiri. Actually Kenshin did serve a master. When he was the battousai, he was with the Imperialists specifically the Choshu clan under Katsura Kogoro. He is in essence a samurai just not for the shogunate. Kenshin was based on Kawakami Gensai one of the 4 hitokiris of the Bakumatsu. Kawakami was a samurai but also a hitokiri. When Kenshin abandons his sword after the battle of Toba-Fushimi he becomes a rurouni or wanderer. Rurouni Kenshin is still considered a samurai movie.
Akira kurosawa had a great impact on other directors and filmmakers. Clint Eastwood's line of get 3 coffins ready in For a Fistful of Dollar is from one of Kurosawa's movies.
@@juanantoniogragasin1685 being a fan/expert on something doesnt automatically make you an elitist. Being an elitist is when you are a much bigger fan/expert on something than the average person and this makes you think your opinions are superior and that everything normies like is automatically overrated and mainstream.
@@Luca-bv5ic That's what I said didn't I? I am a big fan or elitist whatever you want to call it. People are smart enough to know what elitist means so you really didn't need to explain what it means. Just respect my opinion.
@@juanantoniogragasin1685 I think you misunderstood buddy. I'm not calling you an elitist. My previous comment was literally explaining why you're not an elitist.
wow i remember watching the seven samurai as a kid on vhs... then i got to rewatch it again on blueray recently now that i am older and start to understand that the film is gold.... that movie deserve its top ranking in this countdown.
For me, Seven Samurai is out there on its own and it's a bit unfair to put it in a list of greats. Nothing can top it. Yojimbo is a terrific film and has everything. Mifune's character displays wry humour, a great sense of honour (even though that honour is a bit shabby), and great courage. Likewise in Sanjuro. He plays off the greed and lust for power of others in order to (superficially) make some money. But it's far deeper than that. Kurosawa was a cinematic genius, often imitated, but never bettered.
Also After The Rain. A truly wonderful pic. Btw, have you done a review of Korean period dramas? They really are doing some excellent films nowadays. War of Arrows, The Admiral, Musa The Warrior and so many more.
Akira Kurosawa is as long as my experience with cinema goes one of the best directors of all time. Only his influence could be enough... Ran is a masterpiece, not to mention non samurai movies like the incredible Ikiru. Saying that, to me, and that is a personal preference, best samurai movie is Harakiri (Seppuku) 1962 by Masaki Kobayashi. A great story, a tragic samurai profoundly humane, the movie "breathes" in such a way that as all truly good movies makes you believe... The aspect ratio 2.35 to 1 is also helpful to the beauty of cinematography... There is so much to say, but if you haven't yet, just watch it...
Twilight Samurai should be higher, at least in the top 5. It's the "Unforgiven" of Samurai Films, and it does something that very few of the films on the list does: It portrays human beings authentically, with heart and beauty. The same director's "Hidden Blade" and "Love and Honor" are also very good.
wow. you honorable mentioned "the last white samurai" and not Zatoichi (classic), Love and Honor(sister film to twilight samurai), or Hidden Fortress(frame work for star wars). this was on point till i saw tom cruise.
Last white samurai was an entertaining non classical movie for fun. Kill Bill was also for fun too. Seven samurai is the very best classical artistic cultural honourable show piece for appreciation.
For me:
10- zatoichi
9- kagemusha
8- rashomon
7- yojimbo
6- ran
5- samurai rebelion
4- Throne of blood
3- the sword of doom
2- seven samurai
1- Harakiri
Harakiri , is the best film of the all time !!!
Half of this your awesome list aren't even samurai films my friend
@@massi6528 They are
@@eliasmartins2152 I agree i have watched 90% of the top 250 Imdb movies,but Harakiri is the best of all
Forgot to mentioned the original Harakiri movie in 1962
Toshirō Mifune was such a talented actor. Just like Clint Eastwood defined Westerns, Mifune and Akira Kurosawa defined samurai films. He and Kurosawa also inspired a number of Westerns.
Mifune was more talented actor then Eastwood.
Can't overlook Tatsuya Nakadai. Without him Kobayashi would have still been a great filmmaker, but his performances are what elevate the best of his films. He also played just as many key roles in Kurosawa's samurai films.
There would be no “man with no name” without “Yojimbo”
Funnily enough. A fistful of dollars was actually inspired by Yojimbo
@@UnreasonableOpinionshe and mifune are such a great duo. Loved them in sword of doom, yojimbo and high and low
I'm so thankful for Toshirô Mifune's existence.
I can't agree with you more. The greatest Japanese actor of all time!
@@thanatos1387 He also appeared in a mexican movie, "Animas Trujano".
you said it friend.
Yes, the man was a true marvel.
Let's not forget Nakadai Tatsuya either, his frequent partner (often archnemesis) in these films, and of course a star in many of them.
For me Harakiri (1962) is my Number #1.Not just the best samurai movie but the best movie ever! Stunning and most powerful film ever!
Heartbreaking tho
I think Sword of Doom deserves to be somewhere on this list. I have not seen several of these films but Sword of Doom left a lasting impression on me. It was cinematic in a way that transcended many of the films on this list, in my humble opinion.
I agree with you. Mesmerizing but goes off the rails in second half as do so many films.
Seven Samurai is in my opinion, one of the greatest films of all time. Few other films have been copied nearly as much as Seven Samurai. In fact, I'd say it's the most copied film. Not only is the action and storytelling fantastic, but the plot is beautifully written. The characters all mean something and have inspired numerous characters we have today.
Liam, Kurosawa was highly influential in many ways on many genera. Shichinin no Samurai is pretty clearly his masterpiece, but there are others that are similarly influential. For instance, watch _Red Beard_ which is a Meiji era set medical drama. Or _Stray Dog_ which is a post-war cop drama that has had a lot of influence on cop buddy movies. It isn't done for laughs, but it does begin many of the tropes. (Younger, headstrong cop who is a military veteran of WWII has is pistol stolen, and it starts to be used in crimes. An older more experienced cop helps him track it down. And so forth.)
True....Great Movie!
One of the greatest of all times, No doubt.
Not an opinion....but a fact!
Couldn’t agree more. My all time favorite. It’s a rare film that has all of the human condition in it.
Toshiro Mifune was one of the greatest Japanese actors of his time. I'm glad he took part of many of these masterpieces :)
want to know what funny toshiro is a samurai in bleach and mifune is a samurai in naruto even his name alone make people model samurai character based of him
+captain weeaboo yes, I already knew that even though I'm not very fond of anime xd Mifune was also the name of the starting character in a video game called the way of the samurai ;)
The Greatest of all times
Toshiro Mifune, Sonny Chiba, and Hiroyuki Sanada. Three of the best Japanese actors of their time playing samurai roles in their respective films. Awesome!
Totally agree
You forgot tatsuya nakadai 😉
Perfect words for Seven Samurai "Timeless masterpiece" Seen over 100 times for the beautiful scenery, acting and how they lived.
My favourite film.
Should have removed all the Kurosawa movies and made a separate list. So many good samurai movies out there, but Akira is his own class. Good list. Number 1 is best movie ever.
you have a good point, a list of 10 best non-Kurosawa Samurai movies would be interesting, as would a list of the 10 best non-Samurai Kurosawa films.
Harakiri is better
just pop nonsense, not even nearly Akira's best film by a long shot.
In spirit of samurai, sword of doom beats it to death
@@mistyshadow100
Respectfully disagree. It is so good that it influenced hundreds of movies and is blatantly copied by many more. The Magnificent Seven, The Last Starfighter are rewrites. I just watched The Mandalorian and one episode was a Seven Samurai rip off.
It looks common because it has been copied many, many times.
@@logoseven3365 yea like I said pop culture. I dont care much for modern star wars and haven't watched any of them.
The magnificent seven is another over hyped movie. Just because pop culture says its the best does not make it so.
7 Samurai was one of his earlier works and you can tell.
The scenes are poorly lit and confusing, it's drawn out and by the time we reach the end I have already thought I just watched the next guy to die, die in a scene prior. The story does makes up for the poor quality technical issues.
Its a great movie, but Ran is a master piece. Throne of blood is a master piece and Dreams is still one of the greatest ideas ever brought to life on movie screens.
Each to their own I guess. Sword of Doom is better and its not even a Kurosawa movie.
Sword of doom. A film where the main character is the villain, you dont see that kind of movies very often. That fight in the snow and that ending. A real masterpiece.
The Seven Samurai is actually my all time favorite movie. I was very young when I first saw it and just loved it. About that time I also saw Throne of Blood and Dersu Uzala which I also liked a lot although Throne of Blood was almost too frightening back then.
You are correct SEVEN SAMURAI IS BEST
As much as I admire and respect Kurosawa, one of the best directors of all time... "Harakiri" is my favorite...
Man, I wanna watch at least one of these before Ghost of Tsushima comes out.
same
That's why I am here.
Seven Samurai never disappoints
If you're only watching one movie, it's gotta be Harakiri! While 7 samurai is great too, it's a little long for anyone who isnt used to 3 hour flicks. Plus the duels in Harakiri are very well put together. I'm sure you'll see how the ghost of tsushima takes cinematic influences from the duels in Harakiri. The main thing I want to warn you about is that it's a pretty damn depressing movie, but a badass movie nonetheless.
@@Monchyyy Harakiri means suicide, for anyone who's interested.
Probably one of my favorite watchmojo lists of all time, but seriously, how could you leave out Ran?? Not even an honorable mention?? Shame on you guys....
Lone Wolf and Cub: get rid of the dubbed version - go pure only sub!! The wholes series of his journey is a classic.
I have the whole series on DVD!
i have seen the first 3 so far, but what have they to do with samurai.
Yeah man, it sounds awful, I never heard that before..
The Box set? I was so excited when I found that like 10 years ago. I saw Shogun Assassin as a kid so seeing the full original Japanese movies was just great. The two Lady Snowblood movies are also good and there was a series of movies where the actor who plays Ogami in Baby Cart is a perverted samurai inspector who uses sex torture on the criminals. It's actually pretty good in a 70's exploitation kind of way, I can't remember the name but it's out there..
andy7666 he also played the Yakuza boss in Black Rain.
Tale of Zatoichi is a beloved film. I highly suggest anyone check it out.
True. Week ago I was in a plane from Tokyo to Helsinki, and Zatoichi was in the selection and so was the Last Samurai. Watched them both. Different, but good movies both.
I watched the one MIfune is in. It is good for me, everthing is in which MIfune makes an appearance the man is a marvel, even if he were nto too good in something if it happned, I woudl still always want to see him. He plays his drunken character well in Zatoichi meets Yojimbo, but I am sorry, I just do not like Katsuro.
Something like 20 sequels (all good) and a tv series show that Zatoichi is beloved.
But to be fair he's not Samurai even if his movies are often considered Samurai movies.
Harakiri would have been my number one. It’s commentary and deconstruction of Samurai romanticism is amazing.
It’s an amazing film, one of the best I’ve seen.
Hara Kiri, no question for me, I love Samurai Rebellion with Mifune also directed by Kobayashi, the Zatoichi series, Throne of Blood and of course Lone Wolf and Cub, my introduction to the genre, for which I’ll be forever grateful. Nothing beats Mifune though, my favorite actor ever.
Seven Samurais and 13 Assassins, love those two films.
47 Ronin the original 1960's version should be on here.
link?
1941 was the first 47 Ronin,watched it on youtube yesterday,part 1,3hrs 40mins.....yikes!!!
I agree
1967Rev
Just saw it. Awesome story. Fantastic production
I was waiting for them to say it the whole time
Shichinin no Samurai is not only the best samurai movie, it's one of the best movies ever. It's a masterpiece, a work of art. It will live forever, long enough to be fully appreciated. It will outlive all of you reading this. But I still love you all. See ya'll.
Understatement of the century.
Seven Samurai is one of the greatest films ever made, period. In a 100 years it'll still be watched and praised. Absolute masterpiece.
No one can deny that "The Last Samurai" is an awesome movie. Almost made me cry at the end
Paul Mooney hated it.
"Maybe they'll produce my film: 'The Last N...a on Earth' starring Tom Hanks."
Paul Rooney doesn’t know that it is a fictionalized version of a true story.
Yes, that was a great movie.
@@MysteriousPerson1991The key word here is fiction. They changed alot of things to make this an entertaining story, but I wouldn't reference this movie as being anywhere close to actual history.
@@darrelltblake Oh yeah, I know it’s not historically accurate. But saying it’s a bad movie because it stars a white guy sounds dumb. Maybe I’m misreading his claim. It’s just I really like the movie.
you are here because you want to prep for Ghost of Tsushima
admit it
How’d you know lmao
Nani?
Shiiiit 😂😂😂😂 u goood
yeahh
Stop reading people’s mind pls
Everyone whos hating The last samurai , you even watched it? It has one of the best soundtracks ever ( Hans Zimmer stuf ) and its just good!
Thank you !! finally someone said the right thing ( one of the greatest sound tracks ever by Hans Zimmer )
Such an underrated movie.. I enjoy it more with every watch... First review I ever saw of it called it braveheart goes to Japan.. Which is a horrendous comment
@@dannyb9209 Lol people who like the last samurai obviously never seen an akira Kurosawa film
@@maciek8159 except I have and have seven samurai, yojimbo, rashamon and sanjuro on dvd... Last samurai is a good film
I will not bring shame to my family by watching a samurai movie with Tom Cruise playing as the Samurai.
😉
7 samurai is OK but my number one is Shogun(1980) the first British to become a samurai in 1600. Richard Chamberlain who played as the real William Adams who was a ship pilot, a samurai, samurai retainers, a Japanese wife, land owner, and hundreds of servants.
Anything with the great Toshiro Mifune made a great Samurai movie. From 7 Samurai, to Yohimbo, Sanjuro, The Hidden Fortress, Red Beard, you name it.. RIP Mifune.
Sword of Doom was a great movie but it pissed me off when I learned it was the first movie of what was supposed to be a trilogy. The other two were never made.
What is swordofdoom? :-)
Tatsuya Nakadai is intense!
I want to see it in color. I've seen "Gate of Hell" and the visuals are astonishing.
That explains a lot. i _thought_ that ending was inexplicably abrupt.
yes, is a masterpiece withouth a real ending....is sad
I finished Seven Samurai. It is a 3.5hr long movie, and must be experienced in a single sitting to be powerful. The main focus is self-sacrifice for the greater good. But if viewed over the course of several days the meaning is ultimately lost. One loses the severity of the situation the farmers are in, and therefor lose the importance of the Samurai.
This goes to show Akira Kurosawa was a master of his art
So much so that he inspired Spielberg and Lucas
Heck yeah, Seven Samurai is a masterpiece. I love hidden fortress as well.
All the people here saying 47 Ronin (2013) are ridiculous. Watch a movie older than 10 years old for christ's sake
What are you gettin at? What's ridicules about the 47 ronin so I know what your talking about
It's an extremely poor film that doesn't hold any merit to what the 47 Ronin was actually about
Liam, you are absolutely correct, The 2013 version sucked. I know that because I saw The 1962 version directed by Hiroshi Inagaki, Chūshingura, an excellent movie. But I just watched the 1941 version here on youtube, ruclips.net/video/KiCWrDMZZFk/видео.html&ab_channel=menatil, and was blown away. It easily belongs in a top ten list.
Base on a TRUE EVENT, right?.
I hope people return in 2023, to tell you that they did as you said and watched 47 Ronin.
The last samurai was a superb fil and should of gotten a spot. Its story,acting,fight scenes,over all tone were a masterpiece and honestly, tom cruise's best performance
I like "Last Samurai", don't get me wrong.
But the true last samurais, in my book, are Saito Hajime/Goro Fujita and Kawakami Gensai.
The anime and real life action movie "Rurouni Kenshin" is based on both samurai and the history surrounding them during the Meiji Revolution in the 1850's is much richer (to me personally, at least) than the storyline of "Last Samurai".
I also find it strange that none of the "Rurouni Kenshin" movies nor the trilogy as a whole are on this list.
I have two samurai movie favorites: "The Seven Samurai" and "The Red Sun."
Really? no Zaotachi? Wow....
Zatoichi wasn't a samurai. He was a blind masseuse who just happened to be lethal with a blade.
So the Zatoichi films are not considered Samurai films? Got to call BS on that.
***** Depends on who you ask, really. Chambara means "sword fighting" movies, so I think it should count. But I've heard discussions/arguments that "samurai movies" should only include actual samurai (ronin, too, as masterless samurai) characters and themes, i.e. the Kurosawa epics.
I guess it's up to you to decide whether the genres of "sword fighting" and "samurai" movies are mutually exclusive. Me, I'm a huge fan of Zatoichi. I figure if the movie is set in the samurai period and has samurai in it, then it should count.
there are too many zatoichi and its not easy to pick one episode
Fight Zatoichi Fight!
You missed the “the hidden fortress “ by Akira Kurasava . Star Wars is based on this movie
Star Wars is nothing like that movie tf
@@dexter2178 Gorge Lucas took many inspirations from those kinds of films. Read up on it.
The hidden fortress is one of my favorite films i would recommend it
not all movies that have a princess are similar to star wars..
Lucas explicitly cites the movie as inspiration for the Star Wars story. It's not speculation.
Tom Cruise should never be mentioned in the same list nor sentence as the great honorable Toshirô Mifune
i even wondered why it was on the honorable mentions? was it because of being a box office hit. gimme a break.
lol so true. its just weird for real....
Toshiro mifune is a legend
Tom cruise is great but not in a level of Mr. Mifune
I think you have your order wrong, 9 should be 1, and "When the Last Sword is Drawn" should be in the list. The list should also include "After the Rain". Oh, and all references to the 'The Last Samurai" should be deleted.
Though Seven Samurai is Brilliant, you left Ran off the list. A true dishonour.
Kagemusha also. Sword of Doom. Chushingura also. The one with Toshiro Mifune in a small but important role.
Yes - Inagaki's "Chushingura" is one of the greatest movies of all time.
Frankly, if they were being truly fair Kurosawa would take up most of the list.
True... was about to write that myself...
Giusto, bravo!
So glad 13 Assassins made the list! IMO the best recently made, samurai era period movie that I've seen in a long time. Brilliant acting from the always incredible Kōji Yakusho and one of Miike's best films. That final battle... holy shit!!! So amazing.
Also kudos for including Harakiri, one of my all time favorite samurai films. A true masterpiece that everyone who likes classic samurai films must see.
I am surprised that Hidden Fortress 🏯 wasn't one of the honorable mentions, especially since it was the inspiration behind the very first Star Wars movie.
Thank you for reminding me if this great movie.
Good list. See Akira Kurosawa's last screenplay turned into his best movie, "After the Rain." Harikari and Hittokiri are amazing as well. Baian the Assassin deserves a look.
1954 - Seven Samurai
1989 - Zatoichi
2012 - Rurouni Kenshin
2003 - The blind swordsman Zatoichi
2013 - The Last Samurai
2014 - Rurouni Kenshin - Kyoto inferno
2014 - Rurouni Kenshin - The Legend ends
2017 - Blade of the Immortal
2021 - Rurouni Kenshin - The Beginning
2021 - Rurouni Kenshin - The Final
I was wondering when someone will mention about rurouni kenshin
Great list. I would put Twilight Samurai higher though, that movie is an absolute masterpiece.
Great list, I wanted more Kurosawa films at least mentioned but then i remembered a lot of his films that have Samurai in them aren't really "Samurai movies" (Roshomon, Kagemusha, Ran)
WHAT ABOUT RAN?!?! That is the best adaptation of Shakespeare's King Lear ever put to film!
+Jim Roberts Maybe not classed as a samurai movie
Was hopping in the comments to say - it at the very least deserves an Honourable Mention, but I suppose it may have been overlooked due to the sheer number of Kurosawa classics they had to consider; a topic like this could easily appear to be "top 10 Kurosawa Samurai films", so it may be on purpose...who knows? Personally Ran is my favourite, but ah well.
A further reminder how subjective these lists can be
c:
+Jim Roberts Ran was pretty good, but I'm surprised that Kagemusha wasn't on the list either. [Of course, I'm surprised they didn't link Yojimbo to Bruce Willis's Last Man Standing either.]
+FullBlown really then why did the great Kuraswa use his McBeth
Ran wasn't a true Samurai movies
it was more so a western depiction (to feed the majority)
4:50 The most epic and dramatic Mifune vs Nakadai scene. It's about how duty beats friendship.
Goyokin, Seven Samurai, Hara Kiri, Samurai Rebellion, Yojimbo, Sanjuro, Twilight Samurai, Chushingura, Samurai Trilogy and Samurai Assassin. There are others but not in the league of this list of ten.
Hiden Fortress 👌🏻
Zatoichi 👌🏻
Ran 👌🏻
Zatoichi is just one of the best movies and series ever, come on guy!
The Rurouni Kenshin films are probably the best live action adaptations of an anime.
Mifune vs Nakadai in Samurai Rebellion is the most beautiful and dramatic samurai duel in cinema, imao. But yes, Seven Samurai is #1 as a whole movie, there is no doubt.
Sanjuro deserves a place in the bottom five. It's a good message of what a samurai should be and actually is, when the samurai (Toshiro Mifune) comes across his foil in a lady who tells him that a good samurai keeps his sword in its sheath. Mifune is so humbled by this lady that he actually allows him to be used as a step to climb over a wall to escape. In the end, he tries to communicate this to his young samurai followers in an awesome display of an unsheathed sword. The last scene is the most powerful image in samurai movies.
Three Outlaw Samurai should’ve been at least an honorable mention.
I agree
I think it flat out should’ve made the list. That movie defines what it means to be underrated and under appreciated. It’s amazing and so much damn fun.
Heaven and Earth sould be there. Real story, amazing production...
seven samurai is an awesome movie. im glad it was number 1. toshiro mifune was so funny in that movie.
I think his funny performance wasnt really the highlights of the movie, but ok
@@artantic he never said it was dipshit
1. Rashomon
2.The hidden blade
3. Love and honor
Even as a honorable mention, you soiled your list with that Tom Cruise abomination.
Excellent (if incomplete) list. Thank you for including Lone Wolf and Cub, and Twilight Samurai. Based on the many comments, this list could have easily been expanded to fifteen (including Ran, and Zatoichi).
I had the pleasure of twice interviewing Toshiro Mifune, once in Boston and once in Tokyo at his production company and, like himself, the actors he admired were of the same ilk: Mitchum, etc. but he said the one he most liked working with was David Niven although Red Sun with Charles Bronson was fun .... "one mosquito .......(cut) .... no mosquito.". A good list but Sword of Doom has to be in the 10 and Sword of the Beast.
I think there's a big lack of samurai movies out there
well either quality or quantity
Gladiator movies, too. Joey, do you like movies about gladiators?
SonOfRohan the ones that do exist are probably the best movies..
The Wolverine would've potentially be one of the best Western Samurai films but it's the third act that ruined the whole film.
Seriously? There are thousands, if you count movie serials and movies made for television.
5 Stars you actually got this one spot on!
+Carl Fuggiasco
nº10 is nº1
7 Samurai the best of all time. The real masterpiece ☺
Harakiri. Masterpiece.
As much as I love The Last Samurai, I am happy that it's an honorable mention. Though it kinda sucks that they didn't mention that movie with the Blind Samurai.
+crazyangst12 Zatoichi...
+crazyangst12 Fun fact: Shintaro Katsu, the original Zatoichi, was Tomisaburo Wakayama's older, boozing, drug addict brother. Tomisaburo Wakayama played the lead in #10: Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in the Land of Demons
I think there are at least 26 entries in the Zatoichi series.
You have forgotten about Rurouni Kenshin trilogy witch I guess Is one of the best samuray movies even though there are only a few samuray clasic scenes cause the time discussed there is from the end of Tokugawa and the end of samuray, and the begining of Meji era when swords weren't permited to be caried in street in all Japan...
Exactly!
Himura Kenshin is not a samurai, he is a swordsman that was an assassin. Samurai serve a Lord as master and obeys without hesitation. Kenshin is a ronin.
@@vincentprice713 Kenshin is a hitokiri. Actually Kenshin did serve a master. When he was the battousai, he was with the Imperialists specifically the Choshu clan under Katsura Kogoro. He is in essence a samurai just not for the shogunate. Kenshin was based on Kawakami Gensai one of the 4 hitokiris of the Bakumatsu. Kawakami was a samurai but also a hitokiri. When Kenshin abandons his sword after the battle of Toba-Fushimi he becomes a rurouni or wanderer. Rurouni Kenshin is still considered a samurai movie.
agree, its awesome
@@rumblefish9 i stand corrected, I forgot about that and/or didn't think of it. I am so happy to be wrong.
Akira kurosawa had a great impact on other directors and filmmakers. Clint Eastwood's line of get 3 coffins ready in For a Fistful of Dollar is from one of Kurosawa's movies.
I’m so proud of y’all getting it right. Seven samurai is the greatest samurai movie to date.
Zatoichi instead of Last Samurai should have been honorable mention.
Normies: The Last Samurai is only an honourable mention?!
Elitists: Why is The Last Samurai here?!
Nah man I'm a big fan of Samurai history and films and I do believe it deserves an Honorable mention.
But yeah this list left out a lot of good films.
@@juanantoniogragasin1685 being a fan/expert on something doesnt automatically make you an elitist. Being an elitist is when you are a much bigger fan/expert on something than the average person and this makes you think your opinions are superior and that everything normies like is automatically overrated and mainstream.
@@Luca-bv5ic That's what I said didn't I?
I am a big fan or elitist whatever you want to call it. People are smart enough to know what elitist means so you really didn't need to explain what it means.
Just respect my opinion.
@@juanantoniogragasin1685 I think you misunderstood buddy. I'm not calling you an elitist. My previous comment was literally explaining why you're not an elitist.
@@Luca-bv5ic Yeah I am saying that I'm an elitist........
You know what let's just leave it here.
I actually watched the anime that was inspired by Seven Samurai: Samurai 7. A great anime, if I do say so myself.
Maybe you mean it the other way. The Kurosawa film inspired that anime. You are funny.
Rose Camposano
That’s what he said
There were several samurai movies done using a blind samurai. Those were my favorite.
Chushingura needs to be here. The Inagaki color version. Maybe the best Samurai film ever along with the Seven Samurai
wow i remember watching the seven samurai as a kid on vhs... then i got to rewatch it again on blueray recently now that i am older and start to understand that the film is gold.... that movie deserve its top ranking in this countdown.
Sword of Doom would have definitely made my list.
Yojimbo is my favourite!! Glad to see it at No.2
Yojimbo and Sanjuro, for me.
For me, Seven Samurai is out there on its own and it's a bit unfair to put it in a list of greats. Nothing can top it. Yojimbo is a terrific film and has everything. Mifune's character displays wry humour, a great sense of honour (even though that honour is a bit shabby), and great courage. Likewise in Sanjuro. He plays off the greed and lust for power of others in order to (superficially) make some money. But it's far deeper than that. Kurosawa was a cinematic genius, often imitated, but never bettered.
There's three films kept ringing in my mind and they all are classics.
3rd Sword of Doom
2nd Yojimbo
1st Sanjuro
Also After The Rain. A truly wonderful pic. Btw, have you done a review of Korean period dramas? They really are doing some excellent films nowadays. War of Arrows, The Admiral, Musa The Warrior and so many more.
I loved "After the rain". Such a brilliant movie (but it's not an "action" movie).
And I *love* all of these!
(Minus that crap with Tom Cruise)
Kurosawa is god.
One of the greatest directors of all time.
@MrMcCoGo please elaborate
Kojima is god
For me, #1 is Seppuku (or Harakiri)
Chushingura is also worth mentioning
It's MUSASHI not MUSHASHI !
It would be nice if the narrator were able pronounce Japanese better.
It's obvious this narrator can't speak a single word of Japanese. She even murdered Kurosawa's given name.
The only reason I went scrolling down. Fucking finally someone knows.
very disappointed. no zatoichi the blind swordsman?
So glad to see that yojimbo/sanjuro are not forgotten!
13 assassins and 7 samurai. my top list.
Akira Kurosawa is as long as my experience with cinema goes one of the best directors of all time. Only his influence could be enough... Ran is a masterpiece, not to mention non samurai movies like the incredible Ikiru. Saying that, to me, and that is a personal preference, best samurai movie is Harakiri (Seppuku) 1962 by Masaki Kobayashi. A great story, a tragic samurai profoundly humane, the movie "breathes" in such a way that as all truly good movies makes you believe... The aspect ratio 2.35 to 1 is also helpful to the beauty of cinematography... There is so much to say, but if you haven't yet, just watch it...
I heartily second this movie. It's an amazingly gritty depiction of some of the less honorable samurai and the harsh living conditions of the time.
Loved the Lone Wolf and Cub series. But I'm surprised Shogun Assassin wasn't on the list.
Twilight Samurai should be higher, at least in the top 5. It's the "Unforgiven" of Samurai Films, and it does something that very few of the films on the list does: It portrays human beings authentically, with heart and beauty.
The same director's "Hidden Blade" and "Love and Honor" are also very good.
Coincidentally there's an "Unforgiven" Samurai film that's also very enjoyable starring Ken Watanabe 👍👍
I'm bummed Ran didn't make the list, but the nod to When The Last Sword is Drawn made me extremely happy.
sword of doom must be in top5
Rashomon, Kagemusha and Ran should have been included. Also, shout out to Zatoichi.
Which episode of Zatoichi? Weren't there 26 films with Katsu Shintaro?
wow. you honorable mentioned "the last white samurai" and not Zatoichi (classic), Love and Honor(sister film to twilight samurai), or Hidden Fortress(frame work for star wars). this was on point till i saw tom cruise.
Last samurai was heavily influenced by Shogun. A mini series in 1980. It is a really good watch. The book is awesome as well.
Last white samurai was an entertaining non classical movie for fun. Kill Bill was also for fun too. Seven samurai is the very best classical artistic cultural honourable show piece for appreciation.
in my days I was mesmerized by samurai moves it just electrified me
Seven Samurai my first samurai movie. It will always be #1.
For me HARAKIRI is number one .
Where is Zatoichi?
+humantiger72 I wanted to ask the same thing and there it is. That is the best and not even an honorable mention... srsly?
+humantiger72 Ichi isn't a samurai
He kills one and he was, wasnt he?
TheSeaRoach nah hes part time Yakuza, wandering swordsman, gambler, massuse, low class bad ass dude
He isn't samurai but a swordsman and a yakuza
Harakiri should be at top 1
And then comes 7 samurai.
Strange matter is, you didn't even take the name of zatoichi ......