50 Best Samurai Films of All Time (by Paste Magazine)
A list created by sleestakk
WORK IN PROGRESS *
First thoughts: this is a super predictable, obvious list of with the bare minimum of observation or research.
1-3: PRE-MUROMACHI | BEFORE THE 14th CENTURY A.D.
4-10: THE AGE OF CIVIL WAR | 1460s – 1603
11-48: THE EDO PERIOD | ca. 1603 – 1860s
49-61: THE END OF THE SAMURAI | LATE 19th CENTURY
There are 61 entries in the list bc the original list includes trilogies and series counted as single entries. They have been split into individual entries.
https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2017/08/the-50-best-samurai-films-of-all-time.html?a=1
Movies on 50 Best Samurai Films of All Time (by Paste Magazine) List| Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail, The | Akira Kurosawa | 1952 |
| Gate of Hell | Teinosuke Kinugasa | 1953 |
| Rashomon | Akira Kurosawa | 1950 |
| Throne of Blood | Akira Kurosawa | 1957 |
| Hidden Fortress, The | Akira Kurosawa | 1958 |
| Ran | Akira Kurosawa | 1985 |
| Heaven and Earth | Haruki Kadokawa | 1990 |
| Master Spearman, The | Tomu Uchida | 1960 |
| Kagemusha | Akira Kurosawa | 1980 |
| Legend of the Eight Samurai | Kinji Fukasaku | 1983 |
| Harakiri | Masaki Kobayashi | 1962 |
| 47 Ronin, The | Kenji Mizoguchi | 1941 |
| Chûshingura | Hiroshi Inagaki | 1962 |
| Yojimbo | Akira Kurosawa | 1961 |
| Sanjuro | Akira Kurosawa | 1962 |
| Tale of Zatoichi, The | Kenji Misumi | 1962 |
| Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo | Kihachi Okamoto | 1970 |
| Actor's Revenge, An | Kon Ichikawa | 1963 |
| Gonza the Spearman | Masahiro Shinoda | 1986 |
| Red Beard | Akira Kurosawa | 1965 |
| Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance | Kenji Misumi | 1972 |
| Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx | Kenji Misumi | 1972 |
| Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades | Kenji Misumi | 1972 |
| Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril | Buichi Saito | 1972 |
| Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in the Land of Demons | Kenji Misumi | 1973 |
| Lone Wolf and Cub: White Heaven in Hell | Yoshiyuki Kuroda | 1974 |
| Shogun Assassin | Robert Houston, Kenji Misumi | 1980 |
| After the Rain | Takashi Koizumi | 2000 |
| Dora-heita | Kon Ichikawa | 2000 |
| Samurai Assassin | Kihachi Okamoto | 1965 |
| Samurai Wolf | Hideo Gosha | 1966 |
| Goyokin | Hideo Gosha | 1969 |
| Seven Samurai | Akira Kurosawa | 1954 |
| Zatoichi | Takeshi Kitano | 2003 |
| 13 Assassins | Takashi Miike | 2010 |
| Incident at Blood Pass | Hiroshi Inagaki | 1970 |
| Sword of the Beast | Hideo Gosha | 1965 |
| Kill! | Kihachi Okamoto | 1968 |
| Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto | Hiroshi Inagaki | 1954 |
| Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple | Hiroshi Inagaki | 1955 |
| Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island | Hiroshi Inagaki | 1956 |
| Samurai Rebellion | Masaki Kobayashi | 1967 |
| Three Outlaw Samurai | Hideo Gosha | 1964 |
| Hidden Blade, The | Yôji Yamada | 2004 |
| Samurai Saga | Hiroshi Inagaki | 1959 |
| Samurai Fiction | Hiroyuki Nakano | 1998 |
| Sazen Tange and The Secret of the Urn | Hideo Gosha | 1966 |
| Bloody Spear at Mount Fuji | Tomu Uchida | 1955 |
| Sword of Doom, The | Kihachi Okamoto | 1966 |
| Satan's Sword | Kenji Misumi | 1960 |
| Satan's Sword: The Dragon God | Kenji Misumi | 1960 |
| Satan's Sword III: The Final Chapter | Kazuo Mori | 1961 |
| Lady Snowblood | Toshiya Fujita | 1973 |
| Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance | Toshiya Fujita | 1974 |
| Assassination | Masahiro Shinoda | 1964 |
| Shinsengumi: Assassins of Honor | Tadashi Sawashima | 1969 |
| Red Lion | Kihachi Okamoto | 1969 |
| When the Last Sword Is Drawn | Yojiro Takita | 2003 |
| Tenchu! | Hideo Gosha | 1969 |
| Twilight Samurai, The | Yôji Yamada | 2002 |
| Unforgiven | Lee Sang-il | 2013 |