Shinsengumi Chronicles

Saga of the Vagabonds

August 1959 •Japanese

Lord Taro must deliver a money chest but is robbed by brigands led by Jibu. One of Jibu's men, Rokuro, steals the money from Jibu, but after meeting and befriending Taro, Rokuro decides to return the money to Taro. But Taro's unscrupulous brother Jiro falsely accuse Taro of the theft, and Taro reactively joins the outlaw band and encourages them to steal from the nobles and give to the poor.

Zatoichi

September 2003 •Japanese

Blind traveler Zatoichi is a master swordsman and a masseur with a fondness for gambling on dice games. When he arrives in a village torn apart by warring gangs, he sets out to protect the townspeople.

Echoes of a Ronin

March 2015 •Danish

Bushido - the way of the warrior - is a Japanese philosophy with a moral code followed by samurai. But even the strictest concepts of honor can be overridden by jealousy, love and revenge. It is experienced by a child whose eyes see things they shouldn't at all.

Shadow Boxer

November 2012 •English

When a young man finds himself alone in a club after hours, he pretends he's in a martial arts movie only to be interrupted by his crush, leaving him embarrassed. But has the power of his imagination brought something dark to life?

Guitar Men: The Darkest Secret of Rock 'n Roll

June 2007 •German

Tatara Samurai

May 2017 •Japanese

In 16th century Japan, a young man has to choose between becoming a master steel maker like his father and grandfather before him, or becoming a samurai so that he can help protect his village from attacks by the various clans which want the high-quality steel made there.

Gintama: The Movie 2: The Final Chapter: Be Forever Yorozuya

July 2013 •Japanese

What would have happened if the Shiroyasha never existed? Edo is thrown to chaos by a mysterious cause. Sakata Gintoki, now lives in a world where the future has changed, without him. What has happened to the Yorozuya? Gintoki, who is now a ghost of the past, must once again carry the burden in order to save his friends. He must finish the biggest job ever, which may be the final job of Yorozuya.

A Spectacular Showdown

August 1959 •Japanese

One of the great stories from Japan’s rich history comes to life in this true tale of the bloody showdown between two rival yakuza gangs in the 1840’s. The battle between Boss Sukegoro of Iioka and Boss Shigezo of Sasagawa has been portrayed many times, most notably in the first Zatoichi film, where the blind man befriends the tubercular ronin Hirate Miki, before cutting him down in one of the great duels in cinema history. This all-star extravaganza pulls out all the stops, with appearances by virtually all of the great actors and actresses from Toei’s studio at the time. Ichikawa Utaemon’s portrayal of the kind-hearted, noble yakuza boss Shigezo of Sasagawa contrasts sharply with the devious Sukegoro of Iioka. Corrupt as he may have been, his men were all willing to give up their lives for him.

The Last Samurai

December 2003 •English

Nathan Algren is an American hired to instruct the Japanese army in the ways of modern warfare, which finds him learning to respect the samurai and the honorable principles that rule them. Pressed to destroy the samurai's way of life in the name of modernization and open trade, Algren decides to become an ultimate warrior himself and to fight for their right to exist.

Samurai Shodown 2

June 1999 •Japanese

The story mainly revolves on Nakoruru and her humanistic ideals: she believes that anyone with a heart has the right to live peacefully. Shiki, though apparently free from Yuga's influence, is recognized as a threat for the sorceress' return and it was through Nakoruru's reasoning that previously saved her life from Haohmaru. Nakoruru finds her and then struggles to peacefully defend her from her pursuers, which include Haohmaru, Galford, and Asura.

Aoi Secret Book

March 1958 •Japanese

A Golden Age drama depicting the exploits of passionate patriot Uotaro Toge in the midst of a mysterious standoff over the Secret Book of Aoi, which will determine the rise or fall of the 350,000-koku Mito clan, and showcasing swashbuckling swordsmanship.

Snow White and the 7 Samurai

March 2024 •English

Left for dead by her rich and powerful stepmother, Snow White is taken in by a team of assassins who train her in their ways of fighting. As her stepmother becomes more and more powerful, Snow White and the samurai take up arms to topple her once and for all.

Shinobi: Heart Under Blade

September 2005 •Japanese

Even though Gennosuke and Oboro are from rival ninja villages, they are secretly in love. At an annual conference with the Lord, it is dictated that a competition--a fight to the death--will take place between the five best shinobi from each village. Gennosuke and Oboro's love is made even more impossible when they each got picked as the leader of the five to represent their respective villages.

Date Masamune the One-Eyed Dragon

July 1942 •Japanese

The life, adventures and exploits of warlord Date Masamune the One-eyed Dragon: his early youth as an aggressive warrior, the battles he won until subduing almost all his enemies, the lonely comprehension of knowing that he actually can not take over the whole country because he was born too late.

Trouble Over Swords and Women: A Woman's Mind

November 1951 •Japanese

Trouble Over Swords and Women: Sword Light and Shooting Star

November 1951 •Japanese

film directed by Tai Katô

Yojimbo

April 1961 •Japanese

A nameless ronin, or samurai with no master, enters a small village in feudal Japan where two rival businessmen are struggling for control of the local gambling trade. Taking the name Sanjuro Kuwabatake, the ronin convinces both silk merchant Tazaemon and sake merchant Tokuemon to hire him as a personal bodyguard, then artfully sets in motion a full-scale gang war between the two ambitious and unscrupulous men.

Samurai Fiction

October 1998 •Japanese

A warrior-in-training and his bumbling friends go in pursuit of a stolen sword.

Top Knot Detective

April 2017 •English

In the early 1990s, a Japanese samurai detective series was aired in Australia and became a cult success. Titled in Japan Ronin Suiri Tentai (meaning roughly Deductive Reasoning Ronin), it was soon known in the West as Top Knot Detective. The original series was legendary in Japan, a cultural train wreck led by Takashi Tawagoto, a crazy writer, producer, director and lead actor; one who could not act, fight or write at all.

Sanjuro

January 1962 •Japanese

Toshiro Mifune swaggers and snarls to brilliant comic effect in Kurosawa's tightly paced, beautifully composed "Sanjuro." In this companion piece and sequel to "Yojimbo," jaded samurai Sanjuro helps an idealistic group of young warriors weed out their clan's evil influences, and in the process turns their image of a proper samurai on its ear.