20 Best Samurai Movies
by freakmovie-96-565550 | created - 02 Sep 2014 | updated - 02 Sep 2014 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Seven Samurai (1954)
Not Rated | 207 min | Action, Drama
Farmers from a village exploited by bandits hire a veteran samurai for protection, who gathers six other samurai to join him.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Tsushima, Yukiko Shimazaki
Votes: 366,775 | Gross: $0.27M
2. Rashomon (1950)
Not Rated | 88 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The rape of a bride and the murder of her samurai husband are recalled from the perspectives of a bandit, the bride, the samurai's ghost and a woodcutter.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Machiko Kyô, Masayuki Mori, Takashi Shimura
Votes: 180,421 | Gross: $0.10M
3. Yojimbo (1961)
Not Rated | 110 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
A crafty ronin comes to a town divided by two criminal gangs and decides to play them against each other to free the town.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Eijirô Tôno, Tatsuya Nakadai, Yôko Tsukasa
Votes: 131,340
4. Ran (1985)
R | 160 min | Action, Drama, War
In Medieval Japan, an elderly warlord retires, handing over his empire to his three sons. However, he vastly underestimates how the new-found power will corrupt them and cause them to turn on each other...and him.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu, Daisuke Ryû
Votes: 136,181 | Gross: $4.14M
5. Sanjuro (1962)
Not Rated | 96 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
A crafty samurai helps a young man and his fellow clansmen trying to save his uncle, who has been framed and imprisoned by a corrupt superintendent.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Keiju Kobayashi, Yûnosuke Itô
Votes: 41,123
6. The Sword of Doom (1966)
Not Rated | 120 min | Action, Drama
Through his unconscionable actions against others, a sociopath samurai builds a trail of vendettas that follow him closely.
Director: Kihachi Okamoto | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Michiyo Aratama, Yûzô Kayama, Yôko Naitô
Votes: 12,067
7. Throne of Blood (1957)
Not Rated | 110 min | Drama
A war-hardened general, egged on by his ambitious wife, works to fulfill a prophecy that he would become lord of Spider's Web Castle.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Minoru Chiaki, Isuzu Yamada, Takashi Shimura
Votes: 55,937
8. Samurai Rebellion (1967)
Not Rated | 128 min | Drama
The mother of a feudal lord's only heir is kidnapped away from her husband by the lord. The husband and his samurai father must decide whether to accept the unjust decision, or risk death to get her back.
Director: Masaki Kobayashi | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Yôko Tsukasa, Gô Katô, Tatsuyoshi Ehara
Votes: 14,087
9. Kagemusha: The Shadow Warrior (1980)
PG | 162 min | Drama, History, War
A petty thief with an utter resemblance to a samurai warlord is hired as the lord's double. When the warlord later dies the thief is forced to take up arms in his place.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Ken'ichi Hagiwara, Jinpachi Nezu
Votes: 38,170
10. Harakiri (1962)
Not Rated | 133 min | Action, Drama, Mystery
When a ronin requesting seppuku at a feudal lord's palace is told of the brutal suicide of another ronin who previously visited, he reveals how their pasts are intertwined - and in doing so challenges the clan's integrity.
Director: Masaki Kobayashi | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Ishihama, Shima Iwashita, Tetsurô Tanba
Votes: 68,632
11. The Hidden Fortress (1958)
Not Rated | 126 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Lured by gold, two greedy peasants unknowingly escort a princess and her general across enemy lines.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Misa Uehara, Minoru Chiaki, Kamatari Fujiwara
Votes: 42,233
12. The Steel Edge of Revenge (1969)
PG | 124 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A guilt-haunted samurai warrior attempts to stop a massacre taking place.
Director: Hideo Gosha | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Tetsurô Tanba, Yôko Tsukasa, Ruriko Asaoka
Votes: 2,618
13. Kill! (1968)
Not Rated | 115 min | Action, Comedy, Drama
Two ronin - an ex-samurai and an ex-farmer - get caught up in a local official's complex game of murder and betrayal.
Director: Kihachi Okamoto | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Etsushi Takahashi, Yuriko Hoshi, Tadao Nakamaru
Votes: 3,175
14. Yagyu Clan Conspiracy (1978)
130 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
After the Tokugawa shogun's death by poisoning, his sons Iemitsu and Tadanaga compete for the shogunate, dividing the land into warring factions. Iemitsu's mentor, betrays all to secure Iemitsu's power, leading to widespread conflict.
Director: Kinji Fukasaku | Stars: Kinnosuke Nakamura, Shin'ichi Chiba, Hiroki Matsukata, Teruhiko Saigô
Votes: 1,667
15. Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in the Land of Demons (1973)
Not Rated | 89 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Five warriors challenge Ogami to duels. Each holds a part of information needed to complete the assassination of a mad clan leader.
Director: Kenji Misumi | Stars: Tomisaburô Wakayama, Michiyo Yasuda, Akihiro Tomikawa, Shingo Yamashiro
Votes: 4,619
16. Chushingura (1962)
207 min | Action, Drama, History
After their lord is tricked into committing ritual suicide, forty-seven samurai warriors await the chance to avenge their master and reclaim their honor.
Director: Hiroshi Inagaki | Stars: Yûzô Kayama, Chûsha Ichikawa, Toshirô Mifune, Tatsuya Mihashi
Votes: 2,239
17. The Hidden Fortress (1958)
Not Rated | 126 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Lured by gold, two greedy peasants unknowingly escort a princess and her general across enemy lines.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Misa Uehara, Minoru Chiaki, Kamatari Fujiwara
Votes: 42,233
18. When the Last Sword Is Drawn (2002)
Not Rated | 143 min | Drama, History
A samurai goes to extraordinary lengths to provide for his family.
Director: Yôjirô Takita | Stars: Kiichi Nakai, Kôichi Satô, Yui Natsukawa, Takehiro Murata
Votes: 5,360
19. The Twilight Samurai (2002)
129 min | Drama, Romance
As the feudal Japan era draws to a close, a widower samurai experiences difficulty balancing clan loyalties, 2 young daughters, an aged mother, and the sudden reappearance of his childhood sweetheart.
Director: Yôji Yamada | Stars: Hiroyuki Sanada, Rie Miyazawa, Nenji Kobayashi, Ren Ôsugi
Votes: 25,500
20. 13 Assassins (2010)
R | 141 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A group of assassins come together for a suicide mission to kill an evil lord.
Director: Takashi Miike | Stars: Koji Yakusho, Takayuki Yamada, Yûsuke Iseya, Ikki Sawamura
Votes: 68,599 | Gross: $0.80M
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