Though it may be a cliche to think of Japanese cinema as being hugely composed of Samurai films, the truth is that Japan has indeed produced a large number of Samurai movies and some of them are quite well done.
Much like the western offers American movie producers a historical time period ripe for presenting idealized stories of cowboys, the Samurai provide a similarly valuable historical reference point for Japanese cinema.
Reviews of Japanese movies that contain Samurai action scenes are all linked from this page. Older Samurai movies are listed again on the Black & White directory page. Akira Kurosawa's Samurai films are listed here in addition to his own directory page. Significant dramas that are set during the age of the Samurai, but rely much more on story than swordplay and combat for their impact [such as Samurai Rebellion and The Twilight Samurai (review coming soon)], can also be found in the Drama Category.
For Japanese Language Students
Japanese friends have advised me that Samurai movies are likely to feature an older style of dialogue that you might not want to emulate too closely. I still enjoy practicing picking out words in Samurai movies, but be careful you don't learn to speak too much like a Samurai. It is probably a good idea to mix in a variety of film genres when practicing Japanese listening comprehension. -Dan
Savage Japan Movie Reviews
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Drama~~~Comedy~~~Samurai~~~Adult
Action~~~Animation~~~B&W~~~Kurosawa
