Samurai Films Read Online Free
Author: Roland Thorne
performance in each is testament to his impressive range.
Nakadai continues to work. He runs his own actors studio, Mumeijuko , and also appears in films, on television and on the stage.
SHINTARO KATSU
Most famous for his role as Zatoichi the blind swordsman, Shintaro Katsu was a huge star in Japan throughout the 1960s and 70s. Katsu was born into the acting profession, his family a successful kabuki (traditional Japanese theatre) troupe. In the 1950s he made the transition to cinema, working for Daiei Studios. His role as Zatoichi in the 1960s made him immensely popular, and the Zatoichi series continued into the 1970s and 80s. Katsu’s warm and charismatic performance as the blind swordsman endeared him to audiences, but he was also capable of many other roles, such as the cruel villain he played in Incident at Blood Pass .
Katsu formed his own production company, which produced the popular Lone Wolf and Cub series, starring his older brother, Tomisaburo Wakayama.
THE INFLUENCE OF SAMURAI FILMS ON WORLD CINEMA
The influence the samurai film has had on world cinema is unquestionable. Themes from samurai films have been adopted both directly and indirectly by Hollywood; the never-ending American Ninja series of films (1985–1993) and recent would-be blockbuster The Last Samurai (2003) are both good examples of this. The relationship samurai films have with Hollywood’s most famous genre, the western, is a bit more complicated. Some classic westerns owe their origins to samurai films: Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai was remade as The Magnificent Seven (1960), while Yojimbo was remade by Sergio Leone in Italy as A Fistful of Dollars (1964), beginning the popular spaghetti western genre. It should be noted, however, that Kurosawa, the man who invented the modern samurai film, lists John Ford, the master of the classic western, as one of his influences. Kurosawa was able to create something unique, using Ford’s films as one of his many inspirations. His work would then have a similar effect on directors of westerns in the 1960s. The samurai and western genres clearly share a very close relationship, but are distinct enough that they should remain separate.
The influence of samurai films in Hollywood was not limited to westerns. Many contemporary directors have a great deal of admiration for samurai films, and this has influenced their work in a variety of other genres. George Lucas’s original Star Wars film, A New Hope (1977), was inspired in part by Kurosawa’s The Hidden Fortress . Similarly, Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill Volume 1 (2003) and Volume 2 (2004) borrow heavily from samurai films, specifically Lady Snowblood . It is not only mainstream American films which have been influenced by the genre. Jim Jarmusch, a highly acclaimed alternative director, made his own tribute to samurai films, titled Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999), an interesting film placing the samurai’s unique moral code in the context of a modern American mob assassin.
BEGINNINGS AND THE 1950s
The samurai film evolved from some of the earliest Japanese films, which were filmed kabuki theatre performances. A traditional form of Japanese theatre, kabuki features carefully choreographed movements set to music and singing. Although graceful and beautiful, kabuki choreography is highly stylised, and lacks the sense of realism that films are able to convey.
It was another form of theatre choreography which would lead to the birth of the samurai film. The Shinkokugeki school of popular theatre, which had been around since 1912, distinguished itself with realistic and athletic swordplay, a stark contrast to the slow and graceful choreography of the filmed kabuki performances. The more realistic and faster-paced stage fencing had proven popular with audiences, and Makino Shozo, a highly successful producer of filmed kabuki performances, saw the potential of the Shinkokugeki productions and began to make films using their
Nakadai continues to work. He runs his own actors studio, Mumeijuko , and also appears in films, on television and on the stage.
SHINTARO KATSU
Most famous for his role as Zatoichi the blind swordsman, Shintaro Katsu was a huge star in Japan throughout the 1960s and 70s. Katsu was born into the acting profession, his family a successful kabuki (traditional Japanese theatre) troupe. In the 1950s he made the transition to cinema, working for Daiei Studios. His role as Zatoichi in the 1960s made him immensely popular, and the Zatoichi series continued into the 1970s and 80s. Katsu’s warm and charismatic performance as the blind swordsman endeared him to audiences, but he was also capable of many other roles, such as the cruel villain he played in Incident at Blood Pass .
Katsu formed his own production company, which produced the popular Lone Wolf and Cub series, starring his older brother, Tomisaburo Wakayama.
THE INFLUENCE OF SAMURAI FILMS ON WORLD CINEMA
The influence the samurai film has had on world cinema is unquestionable. Themes from samurai films have been adopted both directly and indirectly by Hollywood; the never-ending American Ninja series of films (1985–1993) and recent would-be blockbuster The Last Samurai (2003) are both good examples of this. The relationship samurai films have with Hollywood’s most famous genre, the western, is a bit more complicated. Some classic westerns owe their origins to samurai films: Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai was remade as The Magnificent Seven (1960), while Yojimbo was remade by Sergio Leone in Italy as A Fistful of Dollars (1964), beginning the popular spaghetti western genre. It should be noted, however, that Kurosawa, the man who invented the modern samurai film, lists John Ford, the master of the classic western, as one of his influences. Kurosawa was able to create something unique, using Ford’s films as one of his many inspirations. His work would then have a similar effect on directors of westerns in the 1960s. The samurai and western genres clearly share a very close relationship, but are distinct enough that they should remain separate.
The influence of samurai films in Hollywood was not limited to westerns. Many contemporary directors have a great deal of admiration for samurai films, and this has influenced their work in a variety of other genres. George Lucas’s original Star Wars film, A New Hope (1977), was inspired in part by Kurosawa’s The Hidden Fortress . Similarly, Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill Volume 1 (2003) and Volume 2 (2004) borrow heavily from samurai films, specifically Lady Snowblood . It is not only mainstream American films which have been influenced by the genre. Jim Jarmusch, a highly acclaimed alternative director, made his own tribute to samurai films, titled Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999), an interesting film placing the samurai’s unique moral code in the context of a modern American mob assassin.
BEGINNINGS AND THE 1950s
The samurai film evolved from some of the earliest Japanese films, which were filmed kabuki theatre performances. A traditional form of Japanese theatre, kabuki features carefully choreographed movements set to music and singing. Although graceful and beautiful, kabuki choreography is highly stylised, and lacks the sense of realism that films are able to convey.
It was another form of theatre choreography which would lead to the birth of the samurai film. The Shinkokugeki school of popular theatre, which had been around since 1912, distinguished itself with realistic and athletic swordplay, a stark contrast to the slow and graceful choreography of the filmed kabuki performances. The more realistic and faster-paced stage fencing had proven popular with audiences, and Makino Shozo, a highly successful producer of filmed kabuki performances, saw the potential of the Shinkokugeki productions and began to make films using their
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