what was the last movie you watched?

[Capt. Factorial]

I mean, yes, other than Seven Samurai, Rashomon, and Ran.

But for sure, make time for Harakiri - the movie, not the practice.

I will also chime in and put forward a full recommendation for all four of these films. I would also vouch for The Hidden Fortress, which is an amazing watch when you know going in that it's the plot basis for Star Wars.

If you want Samurai-adjacent films, I can recommend two from the '60s that have just a ton of flair. Tokyo Drifter (1966) is technically a Yakuza film, but the story line is really a throwback to the Ronin (i.e. "freelance Samurai") genre. The second is Le Samourai (1967), a French-Italian co-production featuring Alain Delon as hitman in an intriguing interpretation of the "samurai" genre. Both of these movies just have style for days.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

or Seijun Suzuki's Tokyo Drifter which is a 1960's yakuza movie but has a lot of samurai movie DNA in its makeup.

You jerk. I was writing that up and you just steal my thunder. Boo!

 

[Löwenherz]

Seven Samurai is great for sure but I'm going to go against the grain and blaspheme that I actually like the 1960 version of The Magnificent Seven with Yul Brenner and Steve McQueen more than the movie its based on.

You’re right. That is blasphemy.

But I also can never get any of my friends to watch a 3 1/2 hour black-and-white movie with subtitles from the 50s. Hard sell, so maybe you’re onto something.

 

[Löwenherz]

The second is Le Samourai (1967), a French-Italian co-production featuring Alain Delon as hitman in an intriguing interpretation of the "samurai" genre. Both of these movies just have style for days.

Top 3 movie for me and the source of the quote in my signature. But Melville flat out made up all the supposed samurai connections off the top of his head.

If you’re going that route, I would recommend Jarmusch’s Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999) with Forest Whitaker as a double feature for a more played-straight “samurai in the modern world” interpretation.

 

[hrdboild]

You jerk. I was writing that up and you just steal my thunder. Boo!

Oh no! I guess I'm not as original in my thinking as I purport to be?

It's also worth noting (as I'm sure you and @Löwenherz already know) that Akira Kurosawa originally got the idea for Yojimbo from a pulp crime novel by Dashiell Hammett (either The Glass Key or Red Harvest, depending on who you ask) so taking things full circle back to noir-inflected crime fiction is a logical next step for one of his directing peers to make. This cross-pollination between genres (western, gangster, and samurai films primarily) is one of my favorite aspects of 1960s filmmaking.

 

[Löwenherz]

Oh no! I guess I'm not as original in my thinking as I purport to be?

It's also worth noting (as I'm sure you and @Löwenherz already know) that Akira Kurosawa originally got the idea for Yojimbo from a pulp crime novel by Dashiell Hammett (either The Glass Key or Red Harvest, depending on who you ask) so taking things full circle back to noir-inflected crime fiction is a logical next step for one of his directing peers to make. This cross-pollination between genres (western, gangster, and samurai films primarily) is one of my favorite aspects of 1960s filmmaking.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

Oh no! I guess I'm not as original in my thinking as I purport to be?

No, no, you're just as original as I am! That's a good thing!

 

[admira1]

Just watched Superman last night! Really dang good, highly recommend!

 

[Warhawk]

Just watched Superman last night! Really dang good, highly recommend!

Interesting. I saw the trailer and thought it looked pretty meh. I have a friend checking it out - I'll see what he thinks.

 

[kingsboi]

thank you to Lowen, Hrdboild & Capt for the recommendations, quite a list. Found Sanjuro (1962) on Youtube so that will be the next one to check out

 

[hrdboild]

No, no, you're just as original as I am! That's a good thing!

Well I chose to hold my tongue for the next 11 picks until it was my turn again, but you may be more right than you know since you're the first person to draft a video game that I had intended to make one of my selections.