from http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/20051027/en_usatoday/everybodyssamuraifighting :

Quote:

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Samurai films are on a hot streak at the movies, on TV and on DVD.

A DVD invasion arrives this week in the Rebel Samurai Sixties Swordplay Classics box set (Criterion, $100, or $30 sold separately), which includes Samurai Spy (1965), Sword of the Beast (1965), Samurai Rebellion (1967) and Kill! (1968).


Some new prints of the samurai films that were struck to produce the DVDs have been shown at film festivals in New York and Washington, D.C., and are scheduled for Cambridge, Mass., (Nov. 4-10) and San Francisco (Dec. 2-22).


Several also are being broadcast on the Independent Film Channel as part of its Samurai Saturdays series (Kill! airs Saturday at 8 a.m. ET/5 a.m. PT). In March, IFC will air the Japanese-produced Samurai 7 series, a sci-fi animé takeoff on Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai.


A subset of the martial arts genre, samurai films have been made since the early 1930s in Japan. They gained international status when renowned directors such as Kurosawa (Rashomon) explored the genre.


Interest in Japanese pop culture and easy access to the films on DVD is driving the resurgence.


"It seems they're just now, at the dawn of the 21st century, finally receiving the mainstream appreciation in the U.S. that is their due," says Patrick Galloway, author of Stray Dogs & Lone Wolves: The Samurai Film Handbook.


"The popularity has always been there, and when (samurai films) have properly been revived, they have always done well," says Michael Jeck, an expert on Japanese films who coordinated the American Film Institute's samurai cinema series, now in Silver Spring, Md.


Seven Samurai remains a top-requested DVD in Criterion's 300-plus library and sells steadily on Amazon.com. "I have to think that ( Quentin Tarantino's) Kill Bill films spotlighted the genre for many of the uninitiated," says Amazon.com's DVD editor Doug Thomas.


Swordplay is only part of the attraction of samurai films. "What you have in a samurai battle is close-in, bladed warfare, the good guy going against the bad guy face to face," Jeck says. "You have kinetic energy, balletic grace and brutal force, all conjoined."


A foreign cousin of the American Western, samurai films "have struck a chord with U.S. audiences," IFC's George Lentz says.


Director John Sturges adapted Seven Samurai to make The Magnificent Seven; Sergio Leone adopted Kurosawa's Yojimbo to create Clint Eastwood's "The Man with No Name" in three films; and George Lucas says The Hidden Fortress (1958) inspired Star Wars.


More recently, Tarantino has cited the movies starring the blind swordsman Zatoichi as an influence for his Kill Bill films. And Tom Cruise took up his sword in 2003's The Last Samurai.


These films owe a debt to the counterculture anti-heroes in Criterion's Rebel Samurai box set. "They are asking themselves 'Is there a time when how I'm supposed to act conflicts with what I know is right?' It's not just a guy with a sword," says co-producer Marc Walkow. "Life and death are at stake."


A new class of filmmakers is carrying on the tradition:


•Shinobi, a special-effects-infused samurai/ninja flick by director Ten Shimoyama, is playing well in Japanese theaters.


• Yoji Yamada, nominated by the Japanese Film Academy as best director for The Hidden Blade (2004, due on DVD in January), begins work on a new film, One-Line Samurai, early next year.


•When the Last Sword Is Drawn, the winner of last year's Japanese Academy Award for best picture, arrives on DVD Dec. 27.

These directors "are revitalizing samurai cinema by making lyrical films divorced from mythology, presenting the samurai as realistically as possible," Galloway says. "We're witnessing a new chapter in the genre."

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Thought it was interesting.

Yep, the joys of Combining a duty filled Japanese gentleman with a sharp pointy weapon can never be underestimated

'When the Last Sword Is Drawn' is stunning, but to my mind, the greatest Samurai Movie that I have ever seen has to be 'Twighlight Samurai' Absolute poetry from beginning to end, and one of my favourite films in any language/genre.
There is a sub-category of Samurai film not mentioned in the article- 'Chambara'. These are the lurid gory action oriented Samurai movies, by far the most famous being the 'Lone Wolf and Cub' series (themselves based on popular manga books). The first 3 movies in the series were condensed into 'Shogun Assassin' which gets a strong reference in Kill Bill pt2, as well as being the only non horror title on the infamous 'Video Nasty' list in the UK in 1984. It was only passed by the censors and made legal to own in Britain some 17 years later!!
The 'Lady Snowblood' movies also got a lot of press for their influence on Kill Bill, even going so far as having their themetune as the accompaniment to Oren Ishi's (Lucy Liu) Death (in the snow of course)
Another noteable entry in the samurai movie list is 'Zatoichi' as interpreted by Kateshi 'Beat' Kitano. This is a unique movie, right down to the tap dance finale!!(I kid you not).

Knock on benefits of the trend towards Japanese culture in MA movies, is the re-issuing of the 'Streetfighter' movies, starring Sonny Chiba. After years of post Matrix wire-work and bullet time, the visceral and efficient choreography in these cult classics is a breath of fresh air.
Also, the earlier Kitano movies- Hanna B, Sonnatine, Violent Cop, Brother (an east meets west gangster movie with omar Epps- highly recommended), are also recieving the attention they deserve outside of japan.

For my money, the article is a little late, I think the Japanese art resurgence in film will now diminish back to cult status and arts-movie theatres where it has been for years. The next thing we will see is an Invasion of Thai and Korean Action movies. Ong-Bak, Fighter in the Wind, and Oldboy being recent successes in Britain and the US.
How long it is before audiences are lured back to 'wire-shu' acrobatics is anyones guess, but I am glad that Stern faces and quick kills have had their place in the spotlight

Takeshi Kitano was great in 'Kikujiro' (not an action movie - it's a drama with dark humor).

'Sanjuro' was another good Mifune samurai movie, it serves as a sequel to 'Yojimbo'.

Skip the East Coast throwdown...it's popcorn and samurai for me! Two years ago, I couldn't rent my 'usual' holiday fare (I take a week off at Xmas and watch movies, do the holiday thing). So, wandering through the foreign section, decided on watching 'Seven Samurai'. Had never seen it, wasn't really into foreign flicks...and then said 'what the heck'. Walked out with an arm full of samurai movies and had a 'Kurosawa Christmas'.

Thinking of doing the same thing this year. Any suggestions on a group of movies that 'must' be seen together would be appreciated.

Harlan's 'Samurai Christmas' media bonanzai:
http://gr.bolt.com/games/ps2/action/onimusha_2_santa.jpg

* "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence"

* THE TWILIGHT SAMURAI ('Tasogare Seibei')

* Sanbiki no samurai

books for a samurai christmas:
- 'The Samurai's Daughter'
- Samurai Santa: ('SANTAKURO')

brief history of Christmas in Japan
http://www.christmasarchives.com/wjapan.html

Kintama, where the heck do you come up with this stuff?!

That Christmas in Japan link was fascinating. I had no idea that they had been celebrating Christmas since the 1500's. I love this forum.

your welcome.
wish I could say I knew all of this stuff off the top of my head...I don't. here's the secret: I only know enough about something to be able to search for it.

example: nobody thinks to search for yoda+rap, but I know yoda ain't no booty-cheddar...he fa real, yo.
http://www.dailyhaha.com/_vids/Yoda_Rapping_Star_Wars.htm

i have noticed there is a huge thing for samurai now. its just part of the japanese-culture craze.

i also think people want there MA films with some realism now and less of the bullet time stuff.