List of Notable Samurai Films
| Title | Director | Release Date | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orochi | Buntaro Futagawa | 1925 | |
| Humanity and Paper Balloons | Sadao Yamanaka | 1937 | |
| The 47 Ronin | Kenji Mizoguchi | 1941 | |
| Jakoman and Tetsu | Senkichi Taniguchi | 1949-07-11 | |
| Rashomon | Akira Kurosawa | 1950-08-25 | |
| Conclusion of Kojiro Sasaki-Duel at Ganryu Island | Hiroshi Inagaki | 1951-10-26 | This was the first time that Toshirō Mifune played Musashi Miyamoto. |
| Vendetta for a Samurai | Kazuo Mori | 1952-01-03 | |
| Gate of Hell | Teinosuke Kinugasa | 1953-10-31 | |
| Seven Samurai | Akira Kurosawa | 1954-04-26 | |
Samurai Trilogy
|
Hiroshi Inagaki |
|
|
| Throne of Blood or Spider Web Castle | Akira Kurosawa | 1957-01-15 | A Japanese version of Macbeth. |
| The Hidden Fortress | Akira Kurosawa | 1958-12-28 | A key inspiration for Star Wars |
| Samurai Saga | Hiroshi Inagaki | 1959-04-28 | |
| The Gambling Samurai | Senkichi Taniguchi | 1960-03-29 | |
| Yojimbo or The Bodyguard | Akira Kurosawa | 1961-04-25 | A Fistful of Dollars was based on this film |
| Tsubaki Sanjuro or Sanjuro | Akira Kurosawa | 1962-01-01 | |
| Harakiri | Masaki Kobayashi | 1962-09-16 | Won a prize at the Cannes Film Festival. |
| Chushingura | Hiroshi Inagaki | 1962-11-03 | |
| Three Outlaw Samurai | Hideo Gosha | 1964 | |
| Sword of the Beast | Hideo Gosha | 1965 | |
| Samurai Assassin or Samurai | Kihachi Okamoto | 1965 | |
| Sanshiro Sugata | Seiichiro Uchikiro | 1965 | This is a remake of Akira Kurosawa's films Sanshiro Sugata and Sanshiro Sugata Part 2. |
| The Sword of Doom | Kihachi Okamoto | 1966 | |
| The Adventure of Kigan Castle | Senkichi Taniguchi | 1966 | |
| Samurai Rebellion | Masaki Kobayashi | 1967 | This won the Fipresci Prize at the Venice Film Festival. |
| Kill! | Kihachi Okamoto | 1968 | |
| Samurai Banners | Hiroshi Inagaki | 1969 | |
| Red Lion | Kihachi Okamoto | 1969 | |
| Band of Assassins | Tadashi Sawashima | 1969 | |
| Goyokin | Hideo Gosha | 1969 | |
| Hitokiri (Tenchu) | Hideo Gosha | 1969 | |
| Watch Out Crimson Bat | Hirokazu Ichimura | 1969 | |
| Mission: Iron Castle | Kazuo Mori | 1970 | |
| Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo | Kihachi Okamoto | 1970 | |
| The Ambitious | Daisuke Itō | 1970 | |
| Incident at Blood Pass | Hiroshi Inagaki | 1970 | |
| Shogun's Samurai | Kinji Fukasaku | 1978 | |
| The Fall of Ako Castle | Kinji Fukasaku | 1978 | |
| Kagemusha | Akira Kurosawa | 1980 | Nominated for a best foreign film Oscar. |
| The Bushido Blade | Tsugunobu Kotani | 1981 | |
| Legend of the Eight Samurai | Kinji Fukasaku | 1984 | |
| Ran | Akira Kurosawa | 1985 | Japanese adaptation of King Lear. Won Oscar for Best Costume Design; won 25 other awards and 15 nominations. |
| Shintaro Katsu's Zatoichi or
Zatoichi: Darkness Is His Ally |
Shintaro Katsu | 1989-02-04 | Directed, written and starring Shintaro Katsu. |
| Heaven and Earth | Haruki Kadokawa | 1991-02-08 | |
| 47 Ronin | Kon Ichikawa | 1994 | |
| The Twilight Samurai | Yôji Yamada | 2002-11-02 | Nominated for a best foreign film Oscar. |
| When the Last Sword Is Drawn | Yojiro Takita | 2003-01-18 | |
| Zatoichi | Beat Takeshi | 2003-09-02 | Directed by and starring Beat Takeshi, this film was the Silver Lion award winner at the Venice Film Festival. |
| The Last Samurai | Edward Zwick | 2003-11-22 | |
| The Hidden Blade | Yôji Yamada | 2004-10-30 | |
| Love and Honor | Yôji Yamada | 2006-12-01 | |
| Castle Under Fiery Skies | Mitsutoshi Tanaka | 2009 | |
| 13 Assassins | Takashi Miike | 2010 | |
| Sword of Desparation | Hideyuki Hirayama | 2010-7-10 | |
| Ichimei | Takashi Miike | 2011 |
Read more about this topic: Samurai Films
Famous quotes containing the words list of, list, notable, samurai and/or films:
“Every morning I woke in dread, waiting for the day nurse to go on her rounds and announce from the list of names in her hand whether or not I was for shock treatment, the new and fashionable means of quieting people and of making them realize that orders are to be obeyed and floors are to be polished without anyone protesting and faces are to be made to be fixed into smiles and weeping is a crime.”
—Janet Frame (b. 1924)
“Every morning I woke in dread, waiting for the day nurse to go on her rounds and announce from the list of names in her hand whether or not I was for shock treatment, the new and fashionable means of quieting people and of making them realize that orders are to be obeyed and floors are to be polished without anyone protesting and faces are to be made to be fixed into smiles and weeping is a crime.”
—Janet Frame (b. 1924)
“In one notable instance, where the United States Army and a hundred years of persuasion failed, a highway has succeeded. The Seminole Indians surrendered to the Tamiami Trail. From the Everglades the remnants of this race emerged, soon after the trail was built, to set up their palm-thatched villages along the road and to hoist tribal flags as a lure to passing motorists.”
—For the State of Florida, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)
“I am the scroll of the poet behind which samurai swords are being sharpened.”
—Lester Cole, U.S. screenwriter, Nathaniel Curtis, and Frank Lloyd. Prince Tatsugi (Frank Puglia)
“Television does not dominate or insist, as movies do. It is not sensational, but taken for granted. Insistence would destroy it, for its message is so dire that it relies on being the background drone that counters silence. For most of us, it is something turned on and off as we would the light. It is a service, not a luxury or a thing of choice.”
—David Thomson, U.S. film historian. America in the Dark: The Impact of Hollywood Films on American Culture, ch. 8, William Morrow (1977)