#Jidaigeki Movies

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

BEHIND-THE-SCENES FROM THE GOLDEN AGE OF JAPANESE CINEMA -- LUNCH-TIME ON THE SET.

PIC INFO: Spotlight on classic Japanese actors Toshiro Mifune (who played the title actor) and Yuzo Kayama (samurai youth Iori Izaka), enjoying their meal on the set of "Sanjuro" (1962), co-written & directed by Akira Kurosawa.

Source: https://x.com/mutokuten/status/1428768677323739147.

[mcpirita]

NINJA SCROLL, dir. Yoshiaki Kawajiri (1993)

[omercifulheaves]

Yojimbo (1961)

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羅生門 / Rashomon (1950) | dir. Akira Kurosawa.

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Lady Snowblood (1973) dir. Toshiya Fujita

[redsamuraiii]

Golden Kamuy (2024)

When you've been through a lot that changes you and no one you knew recognize you anymore.

[cinemaobscura]

Lady Snowblood | 修羅雪姫 (1973) dir. Fujita Toshiya

[vraisetzen]

before he was toranaga, sanada hiroyuki was the beautiful okuda ukyōnosuke in sure death 4: revenge (1987) ✨

[schlock-luster-video]

On October 25, 2003, Kill Bill Volume 1 debuted in Japan.

Here's some new Chiaki Kiriyama art to celebrate!

[asceneoutofaserbianfilm]

Onibaba (Kaneto Shindō, 1964)

[ogradyfilm]

Recently Viewed: Kubi

[The following review contains MAJOR SPOILERS; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!]

Kubi is a film of deliciously compelling contradictions. A period drama with little regard for “historical accuracy,” it reimagines the Sengoku Era as only Takeshi Kitano could: drenched in gore and dripping with homoeroticism. It is simultaneously his most cynical work and his funniest, deconstructing the borderline mythological status attributed to various real-world figures by depicting them not as cunning strategists or Machiavellian masterminds, but rather as mentally unstable psychopaths competing for underserved power.

Kitano himself, for example, leans into his comedic roots by playing Toyotomi Hideyoshi as a bumbling, insecure country bumpkin whose political ambitions are constantly thwarted by his utter lack of finesse when it comes to court intrigue and samurai etiquette; his schemes and machinations depend entirely upon the competence of such unwaveringly loyal subordinates as Kanbei Kuroda (Tadanobu Asano in a role that is essentially the antithesis of his sniveling, amoral character in Shogun)—many of whom he impulsively has assassinated as soon as he perceives their intelligence to be a threat. Ryo Kase, meanwhile, delivers an unapologetically theatrical performance as Oda Nobunaga; a far cry from the brilliant tactician of popular folklore, there is no grand design behind this hedonistic tyrant’s plans of conquest and “unification”—he simply revels in bloodshed, wantonly and remorselessly abusing peasants and fellow nobles alike.

The movie’s depiction of violence is equally subversive. The spectacular battle sequences are chaotic and harrowing, evoking Orson Welles’ Chimes at Midnight (and, consequently, the derivative cinematic epics helmed by Ridley Scott and Mel Gibson); there is no honor or glory in war—just men clumsily flailing about in the mud and filth, their suffering serving no greater purpose. On other occasions, however, the carnage delves into outright absurdist humor. In one scene, for instance, Hideyoshi grows increasingly impatient as he waits for a vanquished foe to commit ritual suicide—an excruciatingly prolonged joke that satirizes the pomp, poetry, and idealism traditionally associated with bushido.

[FINAL WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW!]

This irreverent attitude towards death culminates in a hilariously brutal, ironic punchline. Following the decidedly gruesome climax, Hideyoshi searches for his chief rival’s corpse amidst a veritable mountain of human remains. Unable to make a successful identification, he lashes out in impotent frustration, inadvertently kicking the correct severed head like a soccer ball—whereupon the screen abruptly and unceremoniously cuts to black. Roll credits.

An appropriately cruel conclusion to such a gleefully grotesque dissection (hell, damn near evisceration) of the typical tropes, clichés, and conventions of the jidaigeki genre.

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

 "SWIFT AS THE WIND... QUIET AS A TO FOREST... FIERCE AS A FIRE... IMMOVABLE AS A MOUNTAIN."

PIC INFO: Resolution at 960x2727 -- Spotlight on an ultra-rare Japanese two panel movie poster for Akira Kurosawa's classic w/ Nakadai (style C) (Note: This size Japanese poster was made in two pieces intended to overlap)

Date: 1980

Country: Japan

Size: STB Tatekan (20x58)

SOHACHIRO TSUCHIYA: "You know the master's banner. What is printed there?"

TAKEMARU: [Reciting the slogan on the Takeda clan's banner] "Swift as the wind... Quiet as a forest... Fierce as fire... Immovable as a mountain."

SOHACHIRO TSUCHIYA: "The lord is that mountain. Both in battle and at home, he is steadfast, like a mountain. When his army advances, first the horsemen attack, swift as the wind. Second, the lancers raise a forest of spears, advancing with silent resolve. Third, more horsemen engulf the enemy ranks, as mercilessly as fire. And the lord is always behind them, watching over them, immovable as a mountain. That is why our army, from general to foot soldier, can fight so resolutely... Immovable as a mountain. The lord is that mountain. So we call him "the mountain.""

-- "KAGEMUSHA" screenplay by Akira Kurosawa & Masato Ide

Source: https://posteritati.com/poster/15282/kagemusha-original-1980-japanese-stb-tatekan-movie-poster.

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Throne of Blood 蜘蛛巣城 (1957) Akira Kurosawa.

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Samurai Rebellion (1967)

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13 Assassins (2011) Review: A Modern Masterpiece in Samurai Cinema

13 Assassins, directed by Takashi Miike, is an electrifying revival of the samurai film genre. It stands as a modern counterpart to classics like Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai, blending reverence for tradition with a willingness to push boundaries. Miike’s direction is as precise as it is chaotic, delivering a film that speaks to the soul of the samurai ethos while challenging our understanding of…

[minayuri]

Machiko Kyō as Lady Wakasa in Ugetsu (1953) | 雨月物語