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チャンバラ, also commonly spelled " chambara", meaning "sword fighting" films,Hill (2002). denotes the Japanese film genre called samurai cinema in English and is roughly equivalent to Western and swashbuckler films. Chanbara is a sub-category of jidaigeki, which equates to Historical drama. Jidaigeki may refer to a story set in a historical period, though not necessarily dealing with a samurai character or depicting swordplay.
While earlier samurai period pieces were more dramatic rather than action-based, samurai films produced after World War II have become more action-based, with darker and more violent characters. Post-war samurai epics tended to portray psychologically or physically scarred warriors.Silver (1977), p. 37. Akira Kurosawa stylized and exaggerated death and violence in samurai epics. His samurai, and many others portrayed in film, were solitary figures, more often concerned with concealing their martial abilities, rather than showing them off.
Historically, the genre is usually set during the Edo period (1600–1868). The samurai film hence often focuses on the end of an entire way of life for the samurai: many of the films deal with masterless rōnin, or samurai dealing with changes to their status resulting from a changing society.
Samurai films were constantly made into the early 1970s, but by then, overexposure on television, the aging of the big stars of the genre, and the continued decline of the mainstream Japanese film industry put a halt to most of the production of this genre. Japan: A New Wave (retrieved on 07/13/2008)
Chanbara also refers to a martial arts sport similar to fencing.
Akira Kurosawa is the best known to western audiences, and similarly has directed the samurai films best known in the West. He directed Seven Samurai, Rashomon, Throne of Blood, Yojimbo and many others. Toshirō Mifune, arguably Japan's most famous actor, often starred in Kurosawa's films. Mifune himself had a production company that produced samurai epics, often with him starring. Two of Kurosawa's samurai movies were based on the works of William Shakespeare, Throne of Blood ( Macbeth) and Ran ( King Lear). A number of his films were remade in Italy and the United States as westerns, or as action films set in other contexts.Silver (1977), p. 44. His film Seven Samurai is one of the most important touchstones of the genre and the most well known outside Japan. It also illustrates some of the conventions of samurai film in that the main characters are rōnin, masterless ronin, free to act as their conscience dictates. Importantly, these men tend to deal with their problems with their swords and are very skilled at doing so. It also shows the helplessness of the peasantry and the distinction between the two classes.
Masaki Kobayashi directed the films Harakiri and Samurai Rebellion, both cynical films based on flawed loyalty to the clan.
Kihachi Okamoto films focus on violence in a particular fashion. In particular in his films Samurai Assassin, Kill! and Sword of Doom. The latter is particularly violent, the main character engaging in combat for a lengthy 7 minutes of film at the end of the movie. His characters are often estranged from their environments, and their violence is a flawed reaction to this.
Hideo Gosha, and many of his films helped create the archetype of the samurai outlaw. Gosha's films are as important as Kurosawa's in terms of their influence, visual style and content, yet are not as well known in the West. Gosha's films often portrayed the struggle between traditional and modernist thought and were decidedly anti-feudal. He largely stopped making chambara, switching to the Yakuza genre, in the 1970s. Some of his most noted movies are Goyokin, Hitokiri, Sanbiki no Samurai and Kedamono no Ken ("Sword of the Beast").
Kenji Misumi was active making samurai films from the 1950s to the mid-1970s. He directed roughly 30 films in the genre, including some the Lone Wolf and Cub films, and a number in the Zatoichi and Sleepy Eyes of Death series.
An excellent example of the kind of immediacy and action evident in the best genre is seen in Gosha's first film, the Three Outlaw Samurai, based on a television series. Three farmers kidnap the daughter of the local magistrate in order to call attention to the starvation of local peasants, a rōnin appears and decides to help them. In the process, two other rōnin with shifting allegiances join the drama, the conflict widens, eventually leading to betrayal, assassination and battles between armies of mercenary rōnin.White, p. 1.
Recently another director, Keishi Ōtomo, has directed a live-action adaption of Nobuhiro Watsuki's manga series Rurouni Kenshin, which tells the story of a former Ishin Shishi named Himura Kenshin (formerly known as "Hitokiri Battōsai" (人斬り抜刀斎). After the end of the Bakumatsu, he becomes a rōnin wandering Japan's countryside, offering protection and aid to those in need as atonement for the murders he once committed as an assassin. The film was a huge critical and commercial success. Rurouni Kenshin was theatrically released on August 25, 2012, in Japan, grossing over $36 million in the country and over $60 million worldwide as of November 2012. It was released on home media on December 26, 2012. The film has been licensed for distribution in over 60 countries in Europe, the Americas and Asia. The movie premiered in North America as an opening selection for the 2012 LA EigaFest on December 14, 2012. Two sequels titled and were released in 2014.
Mifune later played analogous roles in two films released in 1970, the Zatoichi film Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo (as 佐々大作 Sasa Daisaku), and Machibuse (as 鎬刀三郎 Shinogi Tōzaburō = "ridges on a sword" Tozaburo), the two 1972-1974 TV series Ronin of the Wilderness and Yojimbo of the Wilderness (as 峠九十郎 Tōge Kujūrō = "Mountain pass" Kujuro), the 1975 TV series The Sword, the Wind, and the Lullaby (as 砦十三郎 Toride Jūzaburō = "Fortress" Juzaburo), the 1976 TV series Ronin in a Lawless Town (as ミスターの旦那 Misutā no Danna = "Mister customer"), the 1981 TV movie series The Lowly Ronin (as 春夏秋冬 Shunka Shūtō = "Spring-Summer Autumn-Winter"), and the 1983 TV movie The Secret of Cruel Valley (as 素浪人 Surōnin = "Lowly rōnin").
Also, looking at the historical setting of the film the audience can take cultural contextGalloway, Patrick, Stray Dogs & Lone Wolves: The Samurai Film Handbook, (Berkeley: Stone Bridge P, 2005), 16–17. of the samurai in that certain period. For instance, the Sengoku period (1478–1603) saw Japan torn by civil war as daimyō warlords fought for control of land. In the Tokugawa period (1603–1868), peace from civil war meant there were no wars for the samurai to fight and some samurai became rōnin, masterless warriors left to struggle to survive. In the Meiji period (1868–1912), we see a decline of the hereditary existence of the samurai and the rise of westernization. In this period the ideal of the samurai and the code of bushido are popularized into the military warrior's belief. The time frame meant changes in the sorts of conflicts for the samurai to fight and film would capture their resistance against overwhelming odds.
A recurring conflict the ideal samurai encounters is the ninjō and giri conflict.Galloway, Patrick, Stray Dogs & Lone Wolves: The Samurai Film Handbook, (Berkeley: Stone Bridge P, 2005), 18. Ninjō is the human feeling that tells you what is right and giri is the obligation of the samurai to his lord and clan. The conflict originated from overwhelming control of the Tokugawa bakufu government over the samurai's behavior. Often samurai would question the morality of their actions and are torn between duty and conscience. This conflict transcends eras in samurai films and can create the perception of the protagonist as being the moral underdog or steadfast warrior. In The Last Samurai, Katsumoto is no longer of use to his emperor and sentenced to self-disembowelment. He goes against his duty to follow through with his sentence and flees to fight his final rebellion against the central government's army. Ninjo and giri conflict is dynamic to the character of the samurai.
The samurai warrior is often synonymous with his or her own sword. Although swordsmanship is an important aspect of warfare, idealizing the samurai and the sword as having a bond is an invented ideal, although it is popularized in many dramas. The Edo period saw a change in the type of warfare, as combat shifted from the bow and arrow to close range combat with handheld weapons, and competitive sword competition.
There are a number of themes that occur in samurai film plots. Many feature roaming masterless samurai, seeking work or a place in society. Others are period historical tales of true characters. Others show tales of clan loyalty.
A number of western movies have re-told the samurai movie in a Western context, particularly Spaghetti Westerns. Italian director Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars and Walter Hill's Last Man Standing are both remakes of Yojimbo. Clint Eastwood's Man with No Name character was modeled to some degree on Mifune's wandering rōnin character that appeared in so many of his films. The Hidden Fortress influenced George Lucas when he made Star Wars. Seven Samurai has been remade as a Western and a science fiction context film, The Magnificent Seven and Battle Beyond the Stars. Other samurai influenced western movies include Charles Bronson and Toshirō Mifune in Red Sun (1971), David Mamet's Ronin (with Jean Reno and Robert De Niro), Six-String Samurai (1998) and (1999).White, p. 2.
Seven Samurai was highly influential, often seen as one of the most "remade, reworked, referenced" films in cinema. It made the "assembling the team" trope popular in movies and other media; this has since become a common trope in many action movies and heist films. The visuals, plot and dialogue of Seven Samurai have inspired a wide range of filmmakers, ranging from George Lucas to Quentin Tarantino. Elements from Seven Samurai have been borrowed by many films, with examples including plot elements in films such as Three Amigos (1986) by John Landis, visual elements in large-scale battle scenes of films such as (2002) and The Matrix Revolutions (2003), and borrowed scenes in George Miller's (2015).
The Zatoichi character was re-made as Blind Fury in the United States, starring Rutger Hauer as a blind swordsman living in the modern US. Most recently, The Last Samurai (2003), the story being loosely based on the true historical French officer Jules Brunet assisting Japanese samurai in rebellion against the Emperor.
| Orochi | Buntaro Futagawa | 1925.11.20 | |
| Humanity and Paper Balloons | Sadao Yamanaka | 1937.08.25 | |
| The 47 Ronin | Kenji Mizoguchi | 1941.12.01 1941.12.11 | |
| Jakoman and Tetsu | Senkichi Taniguchi | 1949.07.11 | |
| Rashomon | Akira Kurosawa | 1950.08.25 | |
| Conclusion of Kojiro Sasaki: Duel at Ganryu Island | Hiroshi Inagaki | 1951.10.26 | This was the first time that Toshirō Mifune played Musashi Miyamoto. |
| Vendetta for a Samurai | Kazuo Mori | 1952.01.03 | |
| Gate of Hell | Teinosuke Kinugasa | 1953.10.31 | |
| Seven Samurai | Akira Kurosawa | 1954.04.26 | |
| Samurai Trilogy | Hiroshi Inagaki | 1954.09.26 1955.07.12 1956.01.01 | The first film won a Special/Honorary Award at the 1955 Academy Awards for outstanding foreign language film. |
| Throne of Blood | Akira Kurosawa | 1957.01.15 | A Japanese version of Macbeth. |
| The Hidden Fortress | 1958.12.28 | A key-inspiration for Star Wars | |
| Samurai Saga | Hiroshi Inagaki | 1959.04.28 | A Japanese version of Cyrano de Bergerac. |
| The Gambling Samurai | Senkichi Taniguchi | 1960.03.29 | |
| Castle of Flames | Tai Kato | 1960.10.30 | A Japanese version of Hamlet. |
Sanjuro
| Akira Kurosawa | 1961.04.25 1962.01.01 | A Fistful of Dollars was based on the first film. |
| The Tale of Zatoichi | Kenji Misui | 1962.04.12 | Debut of the character Zatoichi, who would go on to appear in 28 more films. |
| Harakiri | Masaki Kobayashi | 1962.09.16 | Won a prize at the Cannes Film Festival. |
| Hiroshi Inagaki | 1962.11.03 | ||
| Three Outlaw Samurai | Hideo Gosha | 1964.05.13 | |
| Samurai Assassin | Kihachi Okamoto | 1965.01.03 | |
| Sword of the Beast | Hideo Gosha | 1965.09.18 | |
| The Sword of Doom | Kihachi Okamoto | 1966.02.25 | |
| Samurai Rebellion | Masaki Kobayashi | 1967.05.27 | This won the Fipresci Prize at the Venice Film Festival. |
| The Saga of Tanegashima | Kazuo Mori | 1968.05.18 | |
| Kill! | Kihachi Okamoto | 1968.06.22 | |
| Samurai Banners | Hiroshi Inagaki | 1969.03.01 | |
| Red Lion | Kihachi Okamoto | 1969.10.10 | |
| Shinsengumi | Tadashi Sawashima | 1969.12.05 | |
| Goyokin | Hideo Gosha | 1969.05.01 | |
| Hitokiri (Tenchu) | 1969.08.09 | ||
| Mission: Iron Castle | Kazuo Mori | 1970.02.07 | |
| The Ambitious | Daisuke Itō | 1970.02.14 | |
| Incident at Blood Pass | Hiroshi Inagaki | 1970.03.21 | |
| Shogun's Samurai | Kinji Fukasaku | 1978.01.21 | |
| The Fall of Ako Castle | 1978.10.28 | ||
| Kagemusha | Akira Kurosawa | 1980.04.26 | Nominated for a best foreign film Oscar. |
| The Bushido Blade | Tsugunobu Kotani | 1981 | |
| Legend of the Eight Samurai | Kinji Fukasaku | 1983.12.10 | |
| Ran | Akira Kurosawa | 1985.06.01 | A Japanese version of King Lear. Won Oscar for Best Costume Design; won 25 other awards and 15 nominations. |
| Shintaro Katsu | 1989.02.04 | Directed, written and starring Shintaro Katsu. | |
| Heaven and Earth | Haruki Kadokawa | 1991.02.08 | |
| Journey of Honor | Gordon Hessler | 1991.04.27 | Produced, written and starring Sho Kosugi. Final samurai role for Toshiro Mifune. |
| 47 Ronin | Kon Ichikawa | 1994.10.22 | |
| After the Rain | Takashi Koizumi | 1999.09.05 | Written by Akira Kurosawa. Received a Japanese Academy Award in 1999 |
| The Twilight Samurai | Yōji Yamada | 2002.11.02 | Nominated for a best foreign film Oscar. |
| When the Last Sword Is Drawn | Yōjirō Takita | 2003.01.18 | |
| Zatoichi | Takeshi Kitano | 2003.09.02 | Directed by and starring Takeshi Kitano, this film was the Silver Lion award winner at the Venice Film Festival. |
| The Hidden Blade | Yōji Yamada | 2004.10.30 | |
| Love and Honor | 2006.12.01 | ||
| Castle Under Fiery Skies | Mitsutoshi Tanaka | 2009.09.12 | |
| 13 Assassins | Takashi Miike | 2010.09.25 | |
| Sword of Desperation | Hideyuki Hirayama | 2010.07.10 | |
| Ichimei | Takashi Miike | 2011.10.15 | |
Rurouni Kenshin
| Keishi Ōtomo | 2012.08.25 2014.08.01 2014.09.13 | |
| Samurai's Promise | Daisaku Kimura | 2018.09.28 | |
| Kubi | Takeshi Kitano | 2023.05.23 |
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