![]() ![]() 1185, when Japan’s rule truly went over to the shogunate system. The slim 60-minute movie tells a story set in A.D. It’s hard to imagine it being considered so offensive. officials for a number of years for its portrayal of samurai. We’ll be hearing much more from Akira Kurosawa throughout this list, so it’s worth it to have a look at one of his earliest films-one created as the United States took over Japan in the wake of the Second World War. For the purposes of our list, here are the films dealing with samurai before the rise of the shogun (and the horrific century of bloody civil war that followed). The Muromachi Period encompasses the bulk of the movies in this list, but this part deals with the handful that occur in earlier times, before the ceaseless age of war that followed. Most of the movies we’re looking at here occur after the rise of the shogunate-a central government based on a military dictatorship run by the shogun, rather than the emperor. The samurai weren’t just warriors in colorful armor, but a whole societal class that arose to support the mounted archers who dominated the battlefields of medieval Japan. PRE-MUROMACHI | BEFORE THE 14th CENTURY A.D. In the interest of keeping things tight, we’ve excluded anime entries, but for a definitive list that includes some animated samurai action, check out Paste’s 100 Best Anime Films. And because this genre is so deeply steeped in the history of its homeland, we’ve also arranged this list in a loose sort of historical chronological order and added some context that might help clarify the settings of some of the movies. We’ve formed this list with a careful eye toward the classic jidaigeki (Age of Civil War period piece) and chambara (swordfighting) films that typify the genre in Japan, but also to some of the weird and subversive outliers that challenge audience expectations or the mythic idea of the samurai code. It is with solemn bushido reverence that I invite you to join us as we dive into 50 films that exemplify this mightiest of genres. And fans of film history in general will delight in tracing the lineage of some of the West’s cinematic touchstones to their forebears in the East, as well as some stellar Eastern adaptations of Western canon. Action junkies get to watch riveting combat with cool-looking swords. If operatic drama is more your speed, you can sit back and watch committed actors dine upon lavish scenery. Fans of period pieces will love the intricate set design, costuming and portrayals of towering historical figures in the midst of epic conflict. ![]() Samurai flicks really have something for everyone. The American Western falls more or less within the bounds of the 19th Century, yet samurai films offer centuries of warfare, palace intrigue and a drawn-out end of an era for the history and film buff to chew on. This is a broad genre, just from a the standpoint of how much history falls within it. And it’s why we’re so excited to present Paste’s list of the 50 Best Samurai Films of All Time. That self-abnegation in service of something greater than oneself is the question at the heart of the works of generation after generation of directors as they revisit the samurai film. I believe it might be that at the core of every samurai is the code of bushido, the feudal Japanese equivalent of chivalry, with its one edict above all else: If the time should call for it, protect your lord with your life. What is it about the samurai that captivates Westerners? The armor and swords, the reverent attitude and the reputation for supreme competence in warfare are all pretty impressive, but they don’t get to the heart of it. ![]()
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