I am Japanese. You said, "I like this actor," which you introduced last. The actor is Noriyuki Higashiyama, who came forward to be the person in charge of closing the agency and dealing with the deep darkness of the agency's scandal, and declared that he would completely retire from acting. He was a member of the agency, but due to a scandal involving the agency's president, who has already passed away, there was no person in charge, and as he was the actor who had been there the longest, he was forced to take responsibility for the agency's scandal instead, and retired from acting. He is now working behind the scenes at a new production company. I also think that he has very good qualities as an actor. He was especially needed for period dramas. He played the role of Nakamura Mondo in the TV drama "Hissatsu Shigotonin." This is also a great period drama, so please watch it. I'm so glad that you like period dramas so much. Thank you.
Thank you. I appreciate the information. It seems like Higashiyama is as honorable as the samurai he plays in films. He took the blame. It's a shame because he's an excellent actor. I'll check out your recommendations.
By the way, there's an 8-episode samurai miniseries called "The seven swords fights of Mondonosuke Tsuchiia" . You can find it here on RU-vid in the SAMURAI VS NINJA channel. It's kinda good and the message is also very useful for interpersonal relations: don't be a bad person and if someone treats you wrong don't avenge." It's cinematography is also very beautiful.
I looked to "after the rain" some years ago, it was available in my town's library, and the clark told me "you're the one who asked for it". I do appreciate this movie, a great movie indeed. Since I watched it several times, and it's always a huge pleasure to watch it...
Honorable mention goes to Samurai Wolf. One of the most underrated samurai films from the Golden era. A great example of a director working with a small budget but pushing him to be creative.
@bushidoblues9302 it's about a ronin samurai that wanders into a town run by bandits. It feels like Yojimbo with a smaller budget, but it is dripping with style. Hideo Gosha directed this film and made a sequel, Samurai Wolf II, a year after. It's available on Blu-ray, and I think for streaming as well.
@@bushidoblues9302 Stripped down black and white, sparse, spare masterpiece. Almost feels like a Yojimbo sequel in look and feeling. Has a straight up world class duel, too. Both Wolf and its sequel are directed by Gosha, so it's an honest surprise to me that you haven't already seen them. Don't hesitate.
I have only seen Sword of Desperation and its definitely one of my favorite samurai movie so I am so excited to search out and watch the rest of it. For that I have subscribe to your channel and to me that is the highest compliment.
@@bushidoblues9302 Interesting. I have the series and I believe I purchased it from Samurai DVD but that has to be over a decade ago. Definitely get your hands on at least the first film. It's a must for fans of Katsu Shintaro.
Higashiyama Noriyuki, the star of On River's Edge, is an interesting character who deserves a biopic made about him. He started his career as a teen idol who inserted backflips and summersaults into his dance routine at a very young age. He was scouted by the infamous Johnny Kitagawa (who was such a powerful figure in Japanese show business that his Harvey Weinstein style misbehavior with young boys in his production company did not become public until after his death). He went from singer to TV actor to news caster, excelling in every role. After Johnny Kitagawa's scandal broke, Higashiyama was also accused of sexual harassment. There was also speculation that he was one of Kitagawa's numerous victims. Rumors were inevitable since he had worked silently under Kitagawa since childhood. He was eventually picked to run the company that Kitagawa left behind.
When I watch any modern popular western film I realise these Japanese historical dramas aren't slow, and neither was 1950s Hollywood. It's the correct pace. Modern films feel like watching a trailer. Instead of a good amount of masterful shots they use many many inferior shots and have them be too short to be analyzed; like a magician's sleight of hand.
This was a good list. I have seen 9 out of 10 of these with the exception of After The Rain which I will check out now. Another lesser known contemporary Samurai film that could be on this list is Shundo released in 2013. The movie stars Hira Takehiro (Hira Mikijiro's son) who is a very capable actor.
Great list, thank you! One I would highly recommend is Kenji Misumi's stone-cold masterpiece "Sword Devil" 剣鬼, (1965). Visually striking with an interesting premise, beautiful, mellow, but with intense climax battles like so many of the greats.
Hey are you going to review the bounty hunter trilogy movies sometime since radiance films just released them. It has are boy Tomisaburo Wakayama in them. Thanks.
Honestly, I really disliked sword of Desperation, some cool bits but none of the execution landed for me. Granted I had higher expectations than average after the Hidden Blade, twilight samurai, love and honor and the Samurai I loved.... but still. Ronin Gai needs more love, glad to see it hone here. I would buy a 4k of it in a heartbeat .... if criterion bothered to release it that way. Was hoping to see When the Last Sword is Drawn on the list since no one I have talked to has even known of it and even after having watched samurai movies for 30 years now it still stands out as the best.
Oh that film about Mishima is by Paul Schrader right? That's been on my watchlist for yyyyeeeeaarss! 😭 I don't know anything about him or why he was controversial - is Schrader's film a good place to start?
Tatsuya Nakadai is amazing! As are most of the actors in those movies. Japanese actors don't really get the worldwide acknowledgement they deserve, probably because of the language barrier.
I tend to enjoy films like the ones listed here PRECISELY because of the slow-burn. As a viewer, I’m allowed to invest time in the characters- their faults, their ticks, their relationships, etc…and when the action DOES hit, it feels more organic than not. Drawing one’s sword should be a matter of grave consequence, and I personally think much of that gravity is lost when we see indiscriminate and frequent draws like some unintentional parody of the American Old West. Good list! 🙇♂️👍🍻
Skip Keanu? I didn't see Rinko Kikuchi in your recommendation. One time I went to Shinagawa station to catch the shinkansen for a castle trip but the line was shutdown further down because of a typhoon. I google mapped-places of interest and ended up walking over to the graves of The 47 Ronin.
Not exactly related, but I looked through your videos and didn't see anything about Blue Eyed Samurai. I could be mistaken on this though. If not, any chance it may be reviewed?
I always enjoy and appreciate your Samurai Film Reviews. Have you seen "The Legend and The Butterfly" 2023? I liked it and view as a Samurai Love Drama. Also I'm not impressed with the new Shogun and I've read the book and and seen the old TV series a few times and think they are better than this new adaptation. Sanada as a Samurai actor is nothing compared to the likes of Mifune, Nakadai. or even Yakiuho. Yes I've seen Twlight Samurai. I only saw 3 Shogun episodes on FX before I cancelled out. I wasn't going to pay to watch it any further. Also you need to work on your Japanese Language pronunciation some. Try to watch " Cherry Tree On The Hill" that I bought by mistake instead of At The Rivers Edge. TR
There was a Japanese TV show titled Please Hire Me, and that's After The Rain was loosely based off of. The movie was beautiful,but the TV series was annoying...lol
Just like a Westerner wanting to watch all slash and blood instead of appreciating the beauty and culture of Japan and the respect of Bushido in its history. The gorgeous scenery of Japan and the beautiful costumes are enough to watch these movies. That’s what Westerners just don’t get about Japanese culture and the samurai. I’d never watch the current Shogun movie just as I didn’t watch The Last Samurai (which is disgusting to even be named a samurai film) because whenever Westerners are into these films it’s never as good or authentic because they make sure to give Westerners prime screen time and leading roles. You’d be angry if a Japanese drama based on American or British history gave a Japanese a starring role. Ridiculous!
@@bushidoblues9302 It's more kinda like "shogoon" instead of a "gun"... Hope that sums it up for ya... It's just an issue about the vocals, you pronounce it just like an American 'cause you are one in fact... But it's a bit annoying
