Directed by Kihachi Okamoto • 1968 • Japan
Starring Tatsuya Nakadai, Etsushi Takahashi, Yuriko Hoshi
In this pitch-black action comedy by Kihachi Okamoto, a pair of down-on-their-luck swordsmen arrive in a dusty, windblown town, where they become involved in a local clan dispute. One, previously a farmer, longs to become a noble samurai. The other, a former samurai haunted by his past, prefers living anonymously with gangsters. But when both men discover the wrongdoings of the nefarious clan leader, they side with a band of rebels who are under siege at a remote mountain cabin. Based on the same source novel as Akira Kurosawa’s SANJURO, KILL! playfully tweaks samurai film convention, borrowing elements from established chanbara classics and seasoning them with a little Italian western.
Up Next in Samurai
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Adventures of Zatoichi
ZATOICHI #9
Directed by Kimiyoshi Yasuda • 1964 • JapanThe blind swordsman wanders into a town to celebrate the New Year. There, he befriends a young woman whose father has gone missing; as he tries to help her find him, he becomes entangled in a web of corruption and a series of tragic twists ...
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Zatoichi’s Flashing Sword
ZATOICHI #7
Directed by Kazuo Ikehiro • 1964 • JapanThe blind swordsman is shot and nursed back to health by kind strangers. He soon discovers that his saviors are caught between sparring crime lords; bound by honor, Zatoichi stays to ensure their safety. Along the way, we learn more about the ...
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Bandits vs. Samurai Squadron
Directed by Hideo Gosha • 1978 • Japan
Tatsuya Nakadai stars as a vengeful ex-samurai commanding a gang of outlaws in an attack on the castle of his former master.
