Samurai Marathon: Kill!

On our recent trip to Toronto and Algonquin park we read about a Kurosawa marathon happening in major cities in the US. Lamenting that we wouldn't be able to see these stunning, classic films on the big screen we decided to do the next best thing: have our own "Samurai Marathon" in the comfort of our own home. It wouldn't be quite the same, but still a lot of fun.

Kill! (Kihachi Okamoto, 1968)

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Rating: Q=6, P=5 / Average OJ

Scale 1=3, Scale 2=3, Scale 3=3, Scale 4=2

Samurai, Action, Adventure

Kill! is essentially another version of Sanjuro--both films borrowing from the short story 17 Days at Fort Mountain. The plot gets a bit confusing here and there, but the characters are so memorable that they help you along. You just have to love the determination and grit of Genta and the goofiness and simplicity of Hanji.

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Samurai Marathon: Zatoichi

Zatoichi (Takeshi Kitano, 2003)

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Rating: Q=6, P=5 / Average OJ

Scale 1=3, Scale 2=3, Scale 3=2, Scale 4=3

Samurai, Comedy, Action

A fun film--a departure from the very serious samurai films we'd been watching. Zatoichi pays tribute to samurai films, but also lightens the mood with silly and even outrageous moments. There is extreme blood and gore, but also music and dance and great gags. Pure escape.

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Samurai Marathon: Samurai Rebellion

On our recent trip to Toronto and Algonquin park we read about a Kurosawa marathon happening in major cities in the US. Lamenting that we wouldn't be able to see these stunning, classic films on the big screen we decided to do the next best thing: have our own "Samurai Marathon" in the comfort of our own home. It wouldn't be quite the same, but still a lot of fun.

Samurai Rebellion (Masaki Kobayashi, 1967)

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Rating: Q=7, P=7 / Obsession

Scale 1=3, Scale 2=4, Scale 3=4, Scale 4=3

Samurai, Action, Drama, Complex Relationships

I was not expecting to be so thoroughly engrossed in this film, but I really was. Kobayashi is a brilliant storyteller and knows exactly how to create tension. And there is so much of it! A timeless (unfortunately) of what happens when power goes unchecked. We all need to watch this film and remember its message.

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