Samurai Films I Have Seen
by deadpoolwins | created - 30 Jul 2013 | updated - 30 Jul 2013 | Publicthis is a list of all the samurai films ive seen, the intention here is to get you guys to tell me what other films i should watch.
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1. Seven Samurai (1954)
Not Rated | 207 min | Action, Drama
Farmers from a village exploited by bandits hire a veteran samurai for protection, who gathers six other samurai to join him.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Tsushima, Yukiko Shimazaki
Votes: 366,762 | Gross: $0.27M
2. Yojimbo (1961)
Not Rated | 110 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
A crafty ronin comes to a town divided by two criminal gangs and decides to play them against each other to free the town.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Eijirô Tôno, Tatsuya Nakadai, Yôko Tsukasa
Votes: 131,333
3. Sanjuro (1962)
Not Rated | 96 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
A crafty samurai helps a young man and his fellow clansmen trying to save his uncle, who has been framed and imprisoned by a corrupt superintendent.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Keiju Kobayashi, Yûnosuke Itô
Votes: 41,120
4. 13 Assassins (2010)
R | 141 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A group of assassins come together for a suicide mission to kill an evil lord.
Director: Takashi Miike | Stars: Koji Yakusho, Takayuki Yamada, Yûsuke Iseya, Ikki Sawamura
Votes: 68,595 | Gross: $0.80M
5. 13 Assassins (1963)
Not Rated | 125 min | Adventure, Action
A group of samurai plan to assassinate a sadistic feudal lord.
Director: Eiichi Kudô | Stars: Takayuki Akutagawa, Chiezô Kataoka, Kôtarô Satomi, Ryôhei Uchida
Votes: 1,043
6. Harakiri (1962)
Not Rated | 133 min | Action, Drama, Mystery
When a ronin requesting seppuku at a feudal lord's palace is told of the brutal suicide of another ronin who previously visited, he reveals how their pasts are intertwined - and in doing so challenges the clan's integrity.
Director: Masaki Kobayashi | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Ishihama, Shima Iwashita, Tetsurô Tanba
Votes: 68,623
7. Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai (2011)
Not Rated | 128 min | Drama
A tale of revenge, honor and disgrace, centering on a poverty-stricken samurai who discovers the fate of his ronin son-in-law, setting in motion a tense showdown of vengeance against the house of a feudal lord.
Director: Takashi Miike | Stars: Koji Yakusho, Munetaka Aoki, Naoto Takenaka, Hikari Mitsushima
Votes: 9,151 | Gross: $0.08M
8. Bunraku (2010)
R | 124 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
The story of a a young man who has spent his life searching for revenge only to find himself up against a bigger challenge than he originally bargained for.
Director: Guy Moshe | Stars: Josh Hartnett, Demi Moore, Woody Harrelson, Gackt
Votes: 20,488
9. Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999)
R | 116 min | Crime, Drama
An African-American Mafia hit man who models himself after the samurai of old finds himself targeted for death by the mob.
Director: Jim Jarmusch | Stars: Forest Whitaker, Henry Silva, John Tormey, Cliff Gorman
Votes: 96,946 | Gross: $3.31M
10. The Hidden Blade (2004)
R | 132 min | Drama, History, Romance
A 19th Century samurai, held in low esteem due to an action by his late father, must resolve his history with a maid and with his close friend.
Director: Yôji Yamada | Stars: Masatoshi Nagase, Takako Matsu, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Yukiyoshi Ozawa
Votes: 7,201 | Gross: $0.04M
11. The Hidden Fortress (1958)
Not Rated | 126 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Lured by gold, two greedy peasants unknowingly escort a princess and her general across enemy lines.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Misa Uehara, Minoru Chiaki, Kamatari Fujiwara
Votes: 42,229
12. Kagemusha: The Shadow Warrior (1980)
PG | 162 min | Drama, History, War
A petty thief with an utter resemblance to a samurai warlord is hired as the lord's double. When the warlord later dies the thief is forced to take up arms in his place.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Ken'ichi Hagiwara, Jinpachi Nezu
Votes: 38,167
13. The Last Samurai (2003)
R | 154 min | Action, Drama
Nathan Algren, a US army veteran, is hired by the Japanese emperor to train his army in the modern warfare techniques. Nathan finds himself trapped in a struggle between two eras and two worlds.
Director: Edward Zwick | Stars: Tom Cruise, Ken Watanabe, Billy Connolly, William Atherton
Votes: 470,986 | Gross: $111.11M
14. Love and Honor (2006)
PG-13 | 122 min | Drama, History, Romance
A look at the relationship between a young blind samurai (Kimura) and his wife, who will make a sacrifice in order to defend her husband's honor.
Director: Yôji Yamada | Stars: Takuya Kimura, Rei Dan, Mitsugorô Bandô, Takashi Sasano
Votes: 4,284 | Gross: $0.02M
15. Ran (1985)
R | 160 min | Action, Drama, War
In Medieval Japan, an elderly warlord retires, handing over his empire to his three sons. However, he vastly underestimates how the new-found power will corrupt them and cause them to turn on each other...and him.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu, Daisuke Ryû
Votes: 136,170 | Gross: $4.14M
16. Rurouni Kenshin Part I: Origins (2012)
TV-MA | 134 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A former assassin who has resolved to never kill again has his vow sorely tested.
Director: Keishi Otomo | Stars: Takeru Satoh, Emi Takei, Yû Aoi, Munetaka Aoki
Votes: 29,009
17. Samurai Assassin (I) (1965)
122 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
February 17 to March 3, 1860, inside Edo castle. A group of assassins wait by Sakurada Gate to kill the lord of the House of Ii, a powerful man in the Tokugawa government, which has ruled ... See full summary »
Director: Kihachi Okamoto | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Keiju Kobayashi, Michiyo Aratama, Yûnosuke Itô
Votes: 2,507
18. Shogun Assassin (1980)
R | 85 min | Action, Adventure
When the wife of the Shogun's Decapitator is murdered and he is ordered to commit suicide by the paranoid Shogun, he and his four-year-old son escape and become assassins for hire, embarking on a journey of blood and violent death.
Directors: Robert Houston, Kenji Misumi | Stars: Tomisaburô Wakayama, Kayo Matsuo, Minoru Ôki, Shôgen Nitta
Votes: 11,234
19. Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance (1972)
Not Rated | 84 min | Action, Adventure
The story of a Ronin (i.e. a masterless samurai) who wanders the countryside of Japan with his small child, having various adventures.
Director: Kenji Misumi | Stars: Tomisaburô Wakayama, Fumio Watanabe, Gô Katô, Tomoko Mayama
Votes: 8,875
20. Samurai Fiction (1998)
111 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
A noble young samurai searches for a thief who has stolen a precious treasure and killed one of his clansmen and meets an older samurai who tries to deter him from the violence of revenge.
Director: Hiroyuki Nakano | Stars: Morio Kazama, Mitsuru Fukikoshi, Tomoyasu Hotei, Tamaki Ogawa
Votes: 2,759
21. Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (1954)
Not Rated | 93 min | Action, Adventure, Biography
Depicts the early life of the legendary warrior Musashi Miyamoto; his years as an aspiring warrior, an outlaw and finally a true samurai.
Director: Hiroshi Inagaki | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Mariko Okada, Rentarô Mikuni, Kurôemon Onoe
Votes: 9,508
22. Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple (1955)
TV-PG | 104 min | Action, Adventure, Biography
Musashi Miyamoto returns to Kyoto after years of absence. After a series of fights against the Yoshioka School, he challenges its master to a duel.
Director: Hiroshi Inagaki | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Mariko Okada, Kôji Tsuruta, Kaoru Yachigusa
Votes: 6,961
23. Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island (1956)
TV-PG | 105 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Musashi Miyamoto is challenged to a duel by a confident swordsman Sasaki Kojiro. He agrees to fight him in a year's time.
Director: Hiroshi Inagaki | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Mariko Okada, Kôji Tsuruta, Kaoru Yachigusa
Votes: 6,698
24. Samurai Rebellion (1967)
Not Rated | 128 min | Drama
The mother of a feudal lord's only heir is kidnapped away from her husband by the lord. The husband and his samurai father must decide whether to accept the unjust decision, or risk death to get her back.
Director: Masaki Kobayashi | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Yôko Tsukasa, Gô Katô, Tatsuyoshi Ehara
Votes: 14,084
25. Chushingura (1962)
207 min | Action, Drama, History
After their lord is tricked into committing ritual suicide, forty-seven samurai warriors await the chance to avenge their master and reclaim their honor.
Director: Hiroshi Inagaki | Stars: Yûzô Kayama, Chûsha Ichikawa, Toshirô Mifune, Tatsuya Mihashi
Votes: 2,239
26. Yagyu Clan Conspiracy (1978)
130 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
After the Tokugawa shogun's death by poisoning, his sons Iemitsu and Tadanaga compete for the shogunate, dividing the land into warring factions. Iemitsu's mentor, betrays all to secure Iemitsu's power, leading to widespread conflict.
Director: Kinji Fukasaku | Stars: Kinnosuke Nakamura, Shin'ichi Chiba, Hiroki Matsukata, Teruhiko Saigô
Votes: 1,667
27. The Sword of Doom (1966)
Not Rated | 120 min | Action, Drama
Through his unconscionable actions against others, a sociopath samurai builds a trail of vendettas that follow him closely.
Director: Kihachi Okamoto | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Michiyo Aratama, Yûzô Kayama, Yôko Naitô
Votes: 12,067
28. Sword of the Beast (1965)
Not Rated | 85 min | Action, Drama
After killing a counselor of his clan, a fugitive samurai befriends a couple poaching the shogun's gold in the mountains.
Director: Hideo Gosha | Stars: Mikijirô Hira, Gô Katô, Shima Iwashita, Toshie Kimura
Votes: 3,091
29. The Tale of Zatoichi (1962)
Not Rated | 95 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
The adventures of a blind, gambling masseur who also happens to be a master swordsman.
Director: Kenji Misumi | Stars: Shintarô Katsu, Masayo Banri, Ryûzô Shimada, Hajime Mitamura
Votes: 5,904
30. Throne of Blood (1957)
Not Rated | 110 min | Drama
A war-hardened general, egged on by his ambitious wife, works to fulfill a prophecy that he would become lord of Spider's Web Castle.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Minoru Chiaki, Isuzu Yamada, Takashi Shimura
Votes: 55,933
31. The Twilight Samurai (2002)
129 min | Drama, Romance
As the feudal Japan era draws to a close, a widower samurai experiences difficulty balancing clan loyalties, 2 young daughters, an aged mother, and the sudden reappearance of his childhood sweetheart.
Director: Yôji Yamada | Stars: Hiroyuki Sanada, Rie Miyazawa, Nenji Kobayashi, Ren Ôsugi
Votes: 25,497
32. When the Last Sword Is Drawn (2002)
Not Rated | 143 min | Drama, History
A samurai goes to extraordinary lengths to provide for his family.
Director: Yôjirô Takita | Stars: Kiichi Nakai, Kôichi Satô, Yui Natsukawa, Takehiro Murata
Votes: 5,360
33. Kill! (1968)
Not Rated | 115 min | Action, Comedy, Drama
Two ronin - an ex-samurai and an ex-farmer - get caught up in a local official's complex game of murder and betrayal.
Director: Kihachi Okamoto | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Etsushi Takahashi, Yuriko Hoshi, Tadao Nakamaru
Votes: 3,174
34. The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi (2003)
R | 116 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
The blind masseur/swordsman comes to a town in control of warring gangs, and while bunking with a farming family, he meets two women with their own agenda.
Director: Takeshi Kitano | Stars: Takeshi Kitano, Tadanobu Asano, Yui Natsukawa, Michiyo Yasuda
Votes: 51,523 | Gross: $0.85M
35. Zatoichi (1989)
Not Rated | 116 min | Action, Drama
Older, wiser but still a wandering loner, the blind, peace-loving masseur Ichi seeks a peaceful life in a rural village. When he's caught in the middle of a power struggle between two rival... See full summary »
Director: Shintarô Katsu | Stars: Shintarô Katsu, Kanako Higuchi, Takanori Jinnai, Ryûtarô Gan
Votes: 1,875
36. Samurai Champloo (2004–2005)
TV-MA | 24 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
Fuu, a waitress who works in a teahouse, rescues two master swordsmen, Mugen and Jin, from their execution to help her find the "samurai who smells of sunflowers."
Stars: Kazuya Nakai, Ginpei Sato, Ayako Kawasumi, Steve Blum
Votes: 55,363
37. Rashomon (1950)
Not Rated | 88 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The rape of a bride and the murder of her samurai husband are recalled from the perspectives of a bandit, the bride, the samurai's ghost and a woodcutter.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Machiko Kyô, Masayuki Mori, Takashi Shimura
Votes: 180,396 | Gross: $0.10M
38. Samurai Jack (2001–2017)
TV-MA | 23 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
A samurai, sent through time, fights to return home and save the world.
Stars: Phil LaMarr, Mako, Kevin Michael Richardson, Jeff Bennett
Votes: 59,599
39. Samurai 7 (2004)
TV-PG | 702 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
A small village gets raided by bandits every harvest season. The villagers can't take it anymore, and decide to recruit samurais to defend them in exchange for rice. Will the villagers find who would defend them from the bandits?
Stars: R. Bruce Elliott, Christopher Sabat, Sean Teague, Colleen Clinkenbeard
Votes: 4,433
40. Sword of the Stranger (2007)
Not Rated | 103 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
A swordsman from a strange land is caught in a struggle between morality, righteousness, and devotion as he reluctantly agrees to take a raggedy boy and his dog to a remote, Buddhist temple.
Director: Masahiro Andô | Stars: Tomoya Nagase, Yuri Chinen, Kôichi Yamadera, Akio Ôtsuka
Votes: 18,297
41. Dororo (2007)
139 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
A female warrior who was raised as a man joins a young samurai's quest to recover 48 of his body parts from 48 demons and to avenge her parents death.
Director: Akihiko Shiota | Stars: Satoshi Tsumabuki, Kô Shibasaki, Kiichi Nakai, Yoshio Harada
Votes: 2,974
42. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
R | 111 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
After awakening from a four-year coma, a former assassin wreaks vengeance on the team of assassins who betrayed her.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Daryl Hannah, Michael Madsen
Votes: 1,193,587 | Gross: $70.10M
43. Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)
R | 137 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
The Bride continues her quest of vengeance against her former boss and lover Bill, the reclusive bouncer Budd, and the treacherous, one-eyed Elle.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah
Votes: 805,309 | Gross: $66.21M
44. The Warrior's Way (2010)
R | 100 min | Action, Drama, Fantasy
A warrior-assassin is forced to hide in a small town in the American Badlands after refusing a mission.
Director: Sngmoo Lee | Stars: Jang Dong-Gun, Kate Bosworth, Geoffrey Rush, Danny Huston
Votes: 27,254 | Gross: $5.66M
45. Gintama: The Movie (2010)
TV-14 | 96 min | Animation, Action, Comedy
The silver-haired samurai Sakata Gintoki investigates the disappearance of a legendary sword named Benizakura while his partners Kagura and Shimura Shinpachi try to find out what has happened to Gintoki's friend, Kotaro Katsura.
Director: Shinji Takamatsu | Stars: Tomokazu Sugita, Daisuke Sakaguchi, Rie Kugimiya, Akira Ishida
Votes: 2,266
46. Kibakichi: Bakko-yokaiden (2004)
R | 97 min | Action, Fantasy, Horror
A werewolf samurai walks the countryside, finding himself in the middle of a village of monsters who feed on human flesh.
Director: Tomoo Haraguchi | Stars: Ryûji Harada, Miki Tanaka, Mubu Nakayama, Masaki Katô
Votes: 503
47. Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal (1999)
TV-MA | 118 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
In the era of Japan's Meiji Restoration, an assassin regains his humanity.
Stars: Mayo Suzukaze, Junko Iwao, Nozomu Sasaki, Masami Suzuki
Votes: 16,192
48. Rurouni Kenshin: Reflection (2001–2002)
Not Rated | 83 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama
Kenshin and Kaoru are married. Kenshin leaves Kaoru with their son, Kenji, to lead a revolution in China. But both of them suffer from a seemingly incurable disease. 15 years later, Kenshin... See full summary »
Stars: Mayo Suzukaze, Miki Fujitani, Mîna Tominaga, Yûji Ueda
Votes: 4,369
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