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) ListMen 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 |