Samurai
The Twilight Samurai (2002)
8.1/10
Director: Yoji Yamada
Starring: Hiroyuki Sanada, Rie Miyazawa, Nenji Kobayashi, Ren Osugi, Mitsuru Fukikoshi
Set in the late nineteenth century as the feudal Shogun period was giving way to the Meiji Restoration, Seibei Iguchi (Hiroyuki Sanada) is a low-ranki... Read more
Tokyo Gore Police (2008)
6/10
Director: Yoshihiro Nishimura
Starring: Eihi Shiina, Itsuji Itao, Yukihide Benny, Jiji Bu, Keisuke Horibe, Ikuko Sawada,...
"Possibly the goriest, craziest, most eye-blowing, chunk-spewing, head-exploding sci-fi movie of all time". So said the New York Post after watching t... Read more
Yojimbo (1961)
8.3/10
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Starring: Eijiro Tono, Seizaburo Kawazu, Toshiro Mifune
Kurosawa's first full-length comedy. Toshiro Mifune is the unemployed samurai warrior who comes to a small village torn apart by two warring factions... Read more
Zatoichi (2003)
7.6/10
Director: Takeshi Kitano
Starring: Takeshi Kitano, Tadanobu Asano, Michiyo Ogusu, Yui Natsukawa
Aka "The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi". The sightless Zatoichi - hero of over two dozen films from 1962 to 1989 - is revived by scripter/director/star Ta... Read more
Zatoichi 16: The Outlaw (1967)
Director: Satsuo Yamamoto
Starring: Shintaro Katsu, Rentaro Mikuni
Zatoichi, played of course by the brilliant Shintaro Katsu, wanders into yet another village in turmoil as rival gambling houses are putting the squee... Read more
Zatoichi 23: At Large (1972)
Director: Kazuo Mori
Starring: Shintaro Katsu, Rentaro Mikuni, Hisaya Morishige, Etsushi Takahashi, Fujio Morit...
One of the best of the original series of 25, this sees our blind hero deliver the baby of a dying mother (and breastfeed it!), then set off to find t... Read more
Zatoichi 24: In Desperation (1972)
Director: Shintaro Katsu
Starring: Shintaro Katsu, Kiwako Taichi, Kyoko Toshizawa, Yasuhiro Koume, Fujio Morita
Directed by the actor who plays Zatoichi, this is possibly the darkest and most sombre of the series; the yakuza are meaner and the body count is high... Read more
Zatoichi 25: Zatoichi's Conspiracy (1973)
Director: Kimiyoshi Yasuda
Starring: Shintaro Katsu, Yukiyo Toake, Takashi Shimura
After a long absence, Zatoichi returns to his home village, expecting to be greeted as a hero, only to find few actually remember him. Ostensibly the... Read more
Zatoichi 26: Darkness Is His Ally (1989)
Director: Shintaro Katsu
Starring: Shintaro Katsu, Kanako Higuchi, Takanori Jinnai, Yudai Okumura
This 26th instalment capped one of Japan's most loved and enduring movie franchises. With a gap of more than 15 years between this and number 25, Ich... Read more