Each new episode of Shōgun raises the stakes, deepens the political intrigue, and brings us closer to the brink of war. It’s a description that, years ago, would have applied to Game of Thrones, a show to which Shōgun has been compared ad nauseam. It’s not an inappropriate comparison. Both tout sprawling casts, sweeping locations, political intrigue, backstabbing, and characters residing in moral gray areas, ready to surprise and disappoint. Though, it may be more apt to compare the show to Japan’s Chanbara or samurai films.
Given Shōgun’s intensity and cliffhangers, waiting a week between episodes is excruciating. Digging back into Game of Thrones or even House of the Dragon might not scratch that Shōgun itch in the long days between installments.
Instead, let’s dive into samurai epics in and around the Edo period when Ieyasu Tokugawa unified Japan and built a shogunate that ruled for more than two centuries,...
Given Shōgun’s intensity and cliffhangers, waiting a week between episodes is excruciating. Digging back into Game of Thrones or even House of the Dragon might not scratch that Shōgun itch in the long days between installments.
Instead, let’s dive into samurai epics in and around the Edo period when Ieyasu Tokugawa unified Japan and built a shogunate that ruled for more than two centuries,...
- 3/26/2024
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
Craig Lines Oct 5, 2016
Hiroshi Inagaki's Samurai trilogy is a feast best enjoyed in one go. We revisit the groundbreaking films right here...
The 1950s are widely regarded as a golden age of Japanese Cinema. To enormously simplify a complex period in history (so we can get talking about swords and duels and all that badass stuff), a lot changed between the end of WWII in 1945 and the end of the Allied Occupation of Japan in 1952. Censorship was simultaneously lifted and imposed. The Occupation restrained Japan in terms of what it could say in films being produced (for example, anything that 'promoted feudal values' was not allowed), yet at the same time, exposed it to all kinds of western material that had been forbidden in the pre-war years. When the Americans left, the restrictions were lifted but the new influences survived, unleashing a tsunami of innovative, passionate cinema, much of...
Hiroshi Inagaki's Samurai trilogy is a feast best enjoyed in one go. We revisit the groundbreaking films right here...
The 1950s are widely regarded as a golden age of Japanese Cinema. To enormously simplify a complex period in history (so we can get talking about swords and duels and all that badass stuff), a lot changed between the end of WWII in 1945 and the end of the Allied Occupation of Japan in 1952. Censorship was simultaneously lifted and imposed. The Occupation restrained Japan in terms of what it could say in films being produced (for example, anything that 'promoted feudal values' was not allowed), yet at the same time, exposed it to all kinds of western material that had been forbidden in the pre-war years. When the Americans left, the restrictions were lifted but the new influences survived, unleashing a tsunami of innovative, passionate cinema, much of...
- 9/28/2016
- Den of Geek
It was released almost two months ago, but I finally got around to savoring Criterion's Blu-ray restoration of Hiroshi Inagaki's The Samurai Trilogy over the last couple of weeks. I've made mention of it in a few posts here and there, but i wanted to make a special point to give it it's own space considering the massive upgrade we are talking about here over the previously released 2004 DVD editions. I can't remember how long ago it was that I bought the DVD editions, but I bought them blind without having seen any of the three films -- Musashi Miyamoto (winner of the 1955 Best Foreign Language Oscar), Duel at Ichijoji Temple and Duel at Ganryu Island -- but watching them those years ago I remember enjoying the films, but not at all moved by the imagery. The DVD presentations were hardly impressive and Criterion's packaging doesn't suggest they were remastered in any way.
- 8/20/2012
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
By Allen Gardner
The Samurai Trilogy (Criterion) Director Hiroshi Inagaki’s sprawling epic filmed from 1954-56 is an early Japanese Technicolor masterpiece, rivaling the scope of filmmakers like David Lean and Luchino Visconti. Toshiro Mifune, Japan’s greatest actor, stars as real-life swordsman, artist and writer Musashi Miyamoto, following his growth from callow youth to disciplined warrior. The three films: the Oscar winning “Musashi Miyamoto,” “Duel at Ichijoji Temple,” and “Duel at Ganryu Island” are an incredible story of human growth, tender love and sublime, blood-soaked action. Not to be missed. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Interviews with translator and historian William Scott Wilson; Trailers. Full screen. Dolby 1.0 mono.
The 39 Steps (Criterion) Alfred Hitchcock’s 1935 story of spies, conspiracies and sexual tension put him on the map on both sides of the Pond. Robert Donat stars as an innocent thrust into a deadly plot alongside a cool blonde (Madeleine Carroll...
The Samurai Trilogy (Criterion) Director Hiroshi Inagaki’s sprawling epic filmed from 1954-56 is an early Japanese Technicolor masterpiece, rivaling the scope of filmmakers like David Lean and Luchino Visconti. Toshiro Mifune, Japan’s greatest actor, stars as real-life swordsman, artist and writer Musashi Miyamoto, following his growth from callow youth to disciplined warrior. The three films: the Oscar winning “Musashi Miyamoto,” “Duel at Ichijoji Temple,” and “Duel at Ganryu Island” are an incredible story of human growth, tender love and sublime, blood-soaked action. Not to be missed. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Interviews with translator and historian William Scott Wilson; Trailers. Full screen. Dolby 1.0 mono.
The 39 Steps (Criterion) Alfred Hitchcock’s 1935 story of spies, conspiracies and sexual tension put him on the map on both sides of the Pond. Robert Donat stars as an innocent thrust into a deadly plot alongside a cool blonde (Madeleine Carroll...
- 7/9/2012
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
Moviefone's New Release Pick of the Week "The Artist" What's It About? The Academy Awards' Best Picture of the Year just so happened to be a black-and-white silent film about a beloved actor who struggles to adjust to the advent of "talkies" in Hollywood. See It Because: Even without hearing a word he says, Jean Dujardin (Best Actor Oscar winner) brings a full and expressive performance as movie star George Valentin. And while the film's approach is decidedly old-fashioned, it's a real crowd-pleaser. Oh and also, Uggie the Dog pretty much upstages everybody. (Also Available on Redbox DVD & Blu-ray | Amazon Instant Video ) Family Release of the Week "Mirror Mirror" What's It About? Tarsem Singh ("The Fall," "Immortals") offers his own unique, stylized spin on the "Snow White" fairy tale, bringing Julia Roberts along as the Evil Queen. See It Because: Tarsem's style has always been distinct -- full of lush colors,...
- 6/25/2012
- by Eric Larnick
- Moviefone
Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: June 26, 2012
Price: DVD $59.95, Blu-ray $69.95
Studio: Criterion
Toshiro Mifune stars as a legendary 17th Century swordsman in The Samurai Trilogy.
The Samurai Trilogy, directed by Hiroshi Inagaki (The Rickshaw Man) and starring the inimitable Toshiro Mifune (Seven Samurai), was one of Japan’s most successful action-adventure film exports of the 1950s.
Based on the rousing, combat-filled novel by Eiji Yoshikawa that’s often called Japan’s Gone with the Wind, the sweeping Samurai Trilogy fictionalizes the life of the legendary seventeenth-century swordsman (and writer and artist) Musashi Miyamoto. Following him on his path from unruly youth to enlightened warrior, the three films—1954’s Oscar-winning Musashi Miyamoto, 1955’s Duel at Ichijoji Temple, and 1956’s Duel at Ganryu Island—come together as a passionate epic that’s equal parts tender love story and bloody action.
Issued previously on DVD by Criterion in 2004, these latest DVD and Blu-ray editions of...
Price: DVD $59.95, Blu-ray $69.95
Studio: Criterion
Toshiro Mifune stars as a legendary 17th Century swordsman in The Samurai Trilogy.
The Samurai Trilogy, directed by Hiroshi Inagaki (The Rickshaw Man) and starring the inimitable Toshiro Mifune (Seven Samurai), was one of Japan’s most successful action-adventure film exports of the 1950s.
Based on the rousing, combat-filled novel by Eiji Yoshikawa that’s often called Japan’s Gone with the Wind, the sweeping Samurai Trilogy fictionalizes the life of the legendary seventeenth-century swordsman (and writer and artist) Musashi Miyamoto. Following him on his path from unruly youth to enlightened warrior, the three films—1954’s Oscar-winning Musashi Miyamoto, 1955’s Duel at Ichijoji Temple, and 1956’s Duel at Ganryu Island—come together as a passionate epic that’s equal parts tender love story and bloody action.
Issued previously on DVD by Criterion in 2004, these latest DVD and Blu-ray editions of...
- 4/2/2012
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
A little late this week, mainly because of my own random b.s. that one goes through when attempting to juggle too many things at once. Try not to do it kids, because it means a Hulu article gets sidetracked a bit. A ton of stuff was added since I last was here, but unlike last week’s where I focused on 10 specific films that weren’t in the Collection, this time it’s a bunch of familiar (and not so) faces, be it in their great Eclipse sets or in Criterion’s own pantheon.
A huge thanks to who have already used this link to enjoy their own Hulu Plus and in turn keeping this series of articles up and running. We can always use the help, so please sign up using that specific link. Every little bit does keep this nice and polished. But enough about that. You...
A huge thanks to who have already used this link to enjoy their own Hulu Plus and in turn keeping this series of articles up and running. We can always use the help, so please sign up using that specific link. Every little bit does keep this nice and polished. But enough about that. You...
- 5/28/2011
- by James McCormick
- CriterionCast
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