Top Samurai/Yakuza films
Classic and modern samurai and yakuza films. These are films that I liked. Many famous films are not in this list. It's a pretty long list and order has nothing to do with how much I liked them. Happy watching and please comment or recommend other films.
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- DirectorHideo GoshaStarsIsao NatsuyagiRyôhei UchidaJunko MiyazonoA charismatic ronin gets snared into a conflict between officials at a waystation, and gains the enmity of a group of thugs.
- DirectorHideo GoshaStarsIsao NatsuyagiIchirô NakataniBin AmatsuKiba is caught in the intrigue between a crooked goldmine owner, a cynical, betrayed swordsman, a manipulative lady and an arrogant dojo master.
- DirectorHideo GoshaStarsTatsuya NakadaiTetsurô TanbaYoshio HaradaAn aging Yakuza boss in the the late 18th century runs a thriving lantern and silk dying business. However, he is also a Hunter in the Dark, an shady underworld figure who unravels a mystery about a rival clan. His wife tries to protect what he wants to throw away. His new bodyguard has a missing memory. The truth lies within the code of the Yakuza, where honor and sacrifice are rewarded with a warriors death.
- DirectorHideo GoshaStarsTatsuya NakadaiKôshirô MatsumotoShima IwashitaKumokiri Nizaemon, a former samurai warrior, has abandoned his class to become the leader of a gang of thieves. He leads his outlaws in an attempt to rob the castle of his former clan.
- DirectorMasahiro ShinodaStarsTetsurô TanbaShima IwashitaEiji OkadaIn 1863, when Americans warships approach Japan, a enigmatic ronin becomes a important figure in a complex game of power between the Shogunate and the empire.
- DirectorTokuzô TanakaStarsRaizô IchikawaKaoru YachigusaShiho FujimuraA naively honorable samurai comes to the bitter realization that his devotion to moral samurai principles makes him an oddity among his peers and a very vulnerable oddity in consequence.
- DirectorSatsuo YamamotoStarsRaizô IchikawaSô YamamuraShiho FujimuraConfident that he has destroyed the Iga Ninja, the evil Oda Nobunaga continues his quest to conquer Japan. Meanwhile, Ishikawa Goemon (Ichikawa Raizo) has settled down with his wife and child, and wishes only to live in peace -- a wish that will not be granted. As mighty warlords battle and connive, Goemon must once again try to assassinate Nobunaga, in order to save the Bhuddist religious community that has come to mean so much to him. But the path to success is once again a twisted one, full of scheming samurai and nefarious traps!
- DirectorSatsuo YamamotoStarsRaizô IchikawaShiho FujimuraYûnosuke ItôA young ninja becomes embroiled in a plot to kill a tyrannical warlord. He journeys across feudal Japan, facing deceit, betrayal, and enemy ninja at every turn. Goemon must complete his mission, regain his honor, and survive.
- DirectorKazuo MoriStarsRaizô IchikawaAyako WakaoSaburô DateWhen we last saw the intrepid ninja Ishikawa Goemon (Raizo Ichikawa), he was about to be boiled alive. But a good ninja is both hard to find, and even harder to kill. With the help of the enigmatic Hattori Hanzo, Goemon lives to skulk another day, and sets his sights on bringing down the warlord who tried to turn him into soup -- Toyotomi Hideyoshi. And as always, in the background, the suble hand of Tokugawa Ieyasu is pulling strings as he plots to rule all of Japan!
- DirectorTokuzô TanakaStarsRaizô IchikawaSaburô DateMidori IsomuraTokugawa Ieyasu is the ruler of all Japan. But one last loose thread must be tied up before his domination is complete -- the destruction of the Toyotomi clan, now beseiged in Osaka castle. Ieyasu's ninja are the only ones who can penetrate the fortress, but unfortunately for Ieyasu, Kirigakure Saizo (Ichikawa) and the other Toyotomi ninja can just as easily get out. As armies of samurai maneuver for battle, the fate of the nation will be decided by a desperate struggle in the dark!
- DirectorKazuo IkehiroStarsRaizô IchikawaYukiko FujiShiho FujimuraIn part five of the 8-part Shinobi No Mono Ninja film series the heroic ninja Kirigakure Saizo (Raizo Ichikawa, of Sleepy Eyes of Death fame) serves the daimyo Sanada, played by Lone Wolf and Cub star Tomisaburo Wakiyama. They are assaulted by Ieyasu and his soldiers. They flee to an allied camp, and once there start plotting how to fight back and win the war. They come across a gun merchant with a unique, three-barrel gun, giving the holder incredible fire power. They begin to strategize ways to find out how the merchant selling these firearms has acquired them, hoping that possession of these weapons in their arsenal will lead to ultimate victory. The merchants of Tanegashima are the makers of the gun, and claim they have made it according to a blueprint gained from the only Western traders they are allowed to do business with, the Portuguese. The Sanada partisans know that can't be true because the 3-barrel gun is made of iron too fine for the Portuguese to have access to. They must unravel the secret of the "3-barrel gun". Kirigakure is sent to the Island city of Tanegishima to solve the mystery. Once there he will need all his ninja skills to survive, not only the Tanegishima cartel and their Chinese allies, but enemies from his past, in the form of the daughters of a slain enemy ninja. Can he get the job done and stay alive?
- DirectorHideo GoshaStarsTetsurô TanbaIsamu NagatoMikijirô HiraWhen poor peasants kidnap a magistrate's daughter to coerce him into reducing their unfair taxes, a wandering ronin decides to give them some help.
- DirectorHideo GoshaStarsMikijirô HiraGô KatôShima IwashitaAfter killing a counselor of his clan, a fugitive samurai befriends a couple poaching the shogun's gold in the mountains.
- DirectorEiichi KudôStarsTakayuki AkutagawaChiezô KataokaKôtarô SatomiA group of samurai plan to assassinate a sadistic feudal lord.
- DirectorSatsuo YamamotoStarsTatsuya NakadaiAyako WakaoGô KatôRecounts the events that the Mito Tengu Group undertook when they attempted to overthrow the Shogunate during the Bakumatsu Period.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsTatsuya NakadaiTsutomu YamazakiKen'ichi HagiwaraA petty thief with an utter resemblance to a samurai warlord is hired as the lord's double. When the warlord later dies the thief is forced to take up arms in his place.
- DirectorKô NakahiraStarsAkaji MaroHiroko ÔgiKazuko InanoA heretic painter works in Tosa at the end of the Edo period.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneMachiko KyôMasayuki MoriThe rape of a bride and the murder of her samurai husband are recalled from the perspectives of a bandit, the bride, the samurai's ghost and a woodcutter.
- DirectorHideo GoshaStarsShintarô KatsuTatsuya NakadaiYukio MishimaA destitute ronin allies himself with an established clan, but its ruthless leader tries to turn him into a mindless killer.
- DirectorHideo GoshaStarsTatsuya NakadaiTetsurô TanbaYôko TsukasaA guilt-haunted samurai warrior attempts to stop a massacre taking place.
- DirectorYôichi SaiStarsKen'ichi MatsuyamaKoyukiKaoru KobayashiThe adventurous story of a fugitive ninja.
- DirectorYasushi KikuchiKôki MatsunoStarsIsamu NagatoTetsurô TanbaHaruko WanibuchiYoung Lord Takenaka stands to succeed his father until a series of violent actions lead his retainers to believe that he has gone insane with blood-lust.
- DirectorSeiichirô UchikawaStarsIsamu NagatoTetsurô TanbaShima IwashitaThe adventures of a ronin, a samurai without a feudal lord, trying to achieve safety in a neighbouring domain.also know as dojo yabui which what some samurai did to "break" a kendo school by defeating its sensei. There is also a dojo yabui 2.
- DirectorMasahiro ShinodaStarsHiroshi AoyamaJun HamamuraOsamu HitomiThe legendary samurai Sasuke Sarutobi gets caught in a web of political intrigue, deception and espionage during the early 17th century.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneMisa UeharaMinoru ChiakiLured by gold, two greedy peasants unknowingly escort a princess and her general across enemy lines.Star wars "modernized" this film. The pov of the film is interesting as it is told by two of the weakest characters.