Zatoichi

[scruffycat]

Okay so I got Zatoichi from cdwow this week, I really enjoyed it too. I would like to watch a few more films similar to this but I don't really know anything about the genre. What can people recommend?

[Juria]

The first person to say Kill Billl I will Kill Them

Try Bichunmu, Musa and any of the Akira Kurosawa movies like Seven Samurai etc (but the akira movies are in black and white if that puts you off)

Will you stretch to chinese style swordfight movies?

[Popo]

I thought it was a really silly movie. A friend told me that's what Beat Takeshi movies are like, but maybe I just don't get his style (mentally ill fat naked man running around is supposed to be funny? ). Apart form the silly stuff it was a pretty good movie though.

[scruffycat]

I was also hoping nobody would mention Kill Bill or Crouching Tiger I do like Akira Kurosawa movies, but I am really interested in more modern intelligent samurai type films. Not to sure about chinese sword fight flicks though, but as long as it has a good story behind it I guess I don't really mind too much.

[Melon_Bread]

Try the Baby Cart series of films or get Shogun Assassin I've seen it cheap on DVD everywhere.

[mr.miffed]

Azumi.

Versus.

Modern violent, slick samurai movies.

[Beertiger]

fuck the mucus buggers Kill Bill is an ace movie, a bit more serious but still awesome fun.

and i wonder if Crouching Tiger would've been more of a hit if it didn't go "mainstream" over here. I know how elitists hate anything that only 1 other person knows about.

i still want to see Versus just to see which way i swing.

is it just samurai flicks you're after?

[scruffycat]

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed both Kill Bill and Crouching Tiger but I already have them. The films don't have to be strictly samurai but I'm not really looking for mindless swordfighting flicks from the 70's if that makes sense Paradigm has pointed me out in the direction of the Lone Wolf series and Versus looks pretty cool too.

[taiAtari]

Versus is cool but it is the definition of 'mindless'and is not really a samurai but more a yakuza/zombie movie. A far more thoughtfull movie is the recent 'Twilight Samurai'. Gohatto tackles the subject of gay samurai. Azumi on the other hand is great for ott action. Samurai fiction is a cool but weird samurai/rock movie.

[vincenzo]

Hero maybe?? chinese but they fight wiv swords n stuf!!!11

[mr.miffed]

Oh yeah I forgot about gohatto, its a wonderful little film!

Susumu Terajima and Tadanobu Asano are both in it!

It some really cool kendo stick practice session stuff and its really nice to see a sensitive portrayal of gay characters in such an unlikely setting.

Kitano is at his twitchy faced best conveying vast oceans of emotion and feeling by staring blankly at the camera, how the fuck does he do that?

[Popo]

A far more thoughtfull movie is the recent 'Twilight Samurai'.

Saw that recently, not very high on big all-action fights but yea, like you say, a thoughtful movie.

[Lovelyman]

Any that rely more on characters and good plots and stuff than pure cheese/violence?

Especially well shot beautiful settings?

Quite fancy a really good one myself to watch!

Beautiful stars a bonus

[mr.miffed]

Any that rely more on characters and good plots and stuff than pure cheese/violence?

Especially well shot beautiful settings?

Quite fancy a really good one myself to watch!

Beautiful stars a bonus

Gohatto- lovely japanese village setting, lots of talking and realistic fights that are few and far between, the samurai they all fancy is a pretty boy.

[Idonex]

Thirding Twilight Samurai

[DonnieDarko]

Hero (with Jet Li) is supposed to be fantastic,

check out 'Sympathy for Mr Vengence' and 'Hana-bi' on IMDB and see if they appeal

[Ren]

I thought it was a really silly movie. A friend told me that's what Beat Takeshi movies are like, but maybe I just don't get his style (mentally ill fat naked man running around is supposed to be funny? ). Apart form the silly stuff it was a pretty good movie though.

Thats just totaly wrong! zatoichi is very diffrent from the usual beat takeshi movie.

Check out sonatine, hanna bi or kids return to see more of the usual beat takesi films you'll see that zatoichi has very little in comon with these

[heroes for sale]

The original Zatoichi film series is much better than Beat Takeshi's remake. It's less flashy, but the Zatoichi character in it is far more developed and likeable. He comes across as a superhuman mumbling idiot in this new film.

See the following for a dose of intelligent samurai flicks:

Harakiri (aka: Seppuku)

Samurai Rebellion (Featuring Toshiro Mifune from Seven Samurai)

Samurai I, II & II - Musashi Miyamoto Trilogy (Mifune's biggest role)

Genroku Chushingura

Remember, DDDHouse.com is your friend.

[Ren]

Try a movie called "when the last sword is drawn" can't remeber who directed it cause a friend is borrowing it atm it's only a cupple years old though so should be easy to find

[Rowan Morrison]

Thats just totaly wrong! zatoichi is very diffrent from the usual beat takeshi movie.

I don't know, I think it's unmistakably Takeshi. I was going to reply to the original post and say that if you want films along the lines of Zatoichi, don't seek out more samurai films, seek out more Takeshi films. Zatoichi combines the offbeat slapstick of Takeshi's TV work (most explicitly committed to film in "Getting Any?") with the moments of meditative calm and mono no aware found in just about every Beat movie from "A Scene at the Sea" to "Dolls".

From the soundtrack-synched workers at the start of the film through Zatoichi's relationship with his 'landlady' to the dance finale, I doubt you'll find a samurai film that is reminiscent of "Zatoichi". But you will find echoes of it in every Beat Takeshi film, regardless of genre.

I would kick off with "Boiling Point", "Hana-Bi" and "A Scene at the Sea" (which is my favourite and an astonishing film). These are all very different films and they are all different from "Zatoichi", but I would hope you'd find what you're after in each of them.

That's not to say there aren't many fine samurai films out there, many of which have been mentioned above. But do explore the wider Kitano spectrum, it won't disappoint.

[Juria]

Remember, DDDHouse.com is your friend.

Hmm is it thought? They sell 'HONG KONG' disks What are the subtitles like?

[Tet]

Like your man said above, the original movies are great. Shintaro Katso Zatoichi movies are pretty good too, and can be found in cheapish box sets in HMV/Virgin etc. for no more than £20 for 3 DVDs.

There is a Zatoichi boxset, a Kill Bill style boxset which includes Zatoichi vs one armed swordsman (and Lady Snowblood, which QT obviously ripped off),and a great samourai boxset which has 3 Toshiro Mifune movies: Zatoichi meets Yojimbo, Red Lion and Ambush at blood pass.

All good.

[scruffycat]

Oh dear, I can see I shall be spending a lot of money over the next few months. Thanks for all the suggestions though.

[bucket]

Hana-bi is a very, very good Kitano film.

More votes for Twilight Samurai and When The Last Sword Was Drawn.

If you fancy seeing an even more bizzare side to Kitano look for Takeshi's Castle on Challenge TV. Just watch it on mute and you should be fine, Craig Charles is a twat.

[Rowan Morrison]

Hmm is it thought? They sell 'HONG KONG' disks What are the subtitles like?

Occasionally hilarious, which is a bonus. The worst I've seen have been on The Hidden Fortress, but you can generally tell from the stature of the film what you're going to get. "Big" releases like Ju-On 2 and Ping Ping will be fine, and more obscure titles (or cheap ones, such as their Kurosawas, which can often be had for £2 or so) may well be less comprehensible. But crucially, the price is always right, when compared with UK discs and especially when compared with Japanese discs.

[Codger]

Definately get Hero. One of the best asian films I've ever seen. A top story, great acting and a big budget makes for an excellent fantasy film. Much better than similar films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

[The Liberal Elite]

Hmm is it thought? They sell 'HONG KONG' disks What are the subtitles like?

What kind of pirate puts region encoding on their discs? an idiot pirate, that's who.

and their ghibli discs are pretty legit looking, if you ask me.

[Juria]

So are we just exploiting the Chinese whenever we buy from them then? The subs are bad, trust me

[Rowan Morrison]

So are we just exploiting the Chinese whenever we buy from them then? The subs are bad, trust me

Well, trust me, not always. On DDDhouse, I generally have one of two results:

1) Subs are fine.

2) Subs are poor, but the disc cost under £2.

I'm happy with either of those results. You get occasional subtitle blips even on the "expensive" discs, of course, but if you're liable to be upset by something like that, well, I've got no idea where you're coming from, so I can't help.

[Badger]

WOW!

Just saw this at a tiny local art cinema, where it was only on for two nights. A wonderful way to spend £4.50, and a fantastic film. It's like watching SOul Calibur in real life for 2 hours...lol....

And the 'comedy moments' of weirdness seem to be reminiscent of Kitano's 'Kikujiro' about a small child going with a neighbour to try and visit his mother....very different to his violent stuff, but I swear the chubby chap playing the village idiot in Zatoichi could be the same guy playing a chubby biker in Kikujiro, and ending up nearly naked and getting hit on the head in both films...