LEGEND OF THE 8 SAMURAI-(1983)-This is a entertaining fantasy based on an actual Japanese legend. It features Sonny Chiba as one of the Eight but really doesn't have any martial arts. The real star is Hiroyuki Sanada (aka Duke/Henry Sanada) who plays Shinbei. For some reason, the eight legendary samurai are referred to as ninjas. I guess they were more popular in the early '80's. The TV show THE MASTER with Lee Van Cleef debuted the next year. Shinbei captures a princess and battles a giant snake and centipede. The two major villans are great and the SFX aren't too bad. The director, Kinji Fukasaku (who died in 2003) was also responsible for THE GREEN SLIME and MESSAGE FROM SPACE.
SAMURAI SPY-(1965)-I saw this Japanese period piece on IFC recently. It's a pretty cool sword drama involving two clans who constantly betray each other. Samurai Sarutobi tracks down a spy named Nojiri while the mysterious Sakon has his own agenda. A bit talky but it doesn't take away from the overall plot.
Thanks for reading!
1 comment:
I rented TAKE A HARD RIDE but it wasn't the film I thought I was renting. I was therefore very frustrated and nearly exploded when I took it back to the store and the girl there wouldn't let me swap...
U like MMA? That's Bullshido. http://realbullshido.blogspot.com/
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