Age of Samurai on Netflix...

[SteyrAUG]

Yeah kinda what SteyrAUG said and my input is so hard to compare to today just like the fathers of our country would shock many today if we hung out with them

For sure the brutality is alive today and one of the things about them is the dedication they still have the patriotism they still have the ritual the culture that is kept for the most part
which is fine or maybe to say understood as everyone should be proud of their own country but times change
Seen a few shows on the Yakuza that were interesting one was about the car culture they have and participate in

Agree on the racism SteyrAUG said BIG TIME Quite a few of my friends who are Japanese will say they are very racist in a polite way

I do plan on getting over there in a few years after kids are in college etc.. and spend a few years though just to live take in the culture as it intrigues me so much both the good and the bad of it

Yeah, if you practice classical Japanese fencing and have a working knowledge of their language, it is amazing what you will overhear. Kenjutsu attracts patriots like nothing else and in Japan "patriots" has a much different meaning than how we use it.

If you find yourself in Japan, Kyoto is more interesting than Tokyo and if you head south Okinawans are generally more "truly" considerate of foreigners and in some ways have a more interesting culture. The Okinawans still have their fresh today sushi counters while the Japanese have replaced nearly all of them with a 1950s fast food model automats.

[duece71]

That movie is amazing! The director, Takashi Miike, has done some truly bizarre movies since then. Find “Yakuza Apocalypse” and give it a watch. It’s weird on a level that’s hard to describe.


Sent from 80ms in the future

I will have to check it out. The Japanese seem to have an affinity for all things weird and tacky, especially on film. Another one to research is ‘Unit 731’, not a samurai movie but a brutal war movie showing torture during the Japanese armys occupation of China. It’s hard to watch.

[duece71]

One of the few remakes of classic 1960's chanbara that is as good or better than the original. If anyone wants to go deep into samurai mindset find the 1962 film "Harakiri", avoid at all costs the remake starring Keanu Reeves...despite the technical assistance of Stephen Turnbull...it's one of the worst films or remakes of a classic film related to anything samurai.

Another wonderful film is "Chushingura" aka The 47 Ronin with the 1962 version directed by Inagaki being the best. Again, there is sadly a Keanu Reeves remake that is absolutely terrible, even worse than Tom Cruise's "The Last Samurai" and that is a pretty dismal film. There is a two part version made in 1941 that is interesting as Japanese military propaganda and rather than tell the classic story of duty, honor and revenge they made a film emphasizing the noble concept of self sacrifice...nearly every character in the film tries to die for some greater good. It's pretty appalling in the context of the beginning of the wider Pacific War.

I will look for them and avoid the remakes. Yes, the “Last Samurai” was awful. A true samurai classic is Akiro Kurosawas “Ran”. It’s a take on Shakespeare’s king Lear and is an epic. I will also mention the 7 samurai as it too is incredible. Of course, the mini series ‘Shogun” with Tashiro Mifune and Richard Chamberlain is entertaining as well, even if it is dramatized fiction.

[Honu]

I will look for them and avoid the remakes. Yes, the “Last Samurai” was awful. A true samurai classic is Akiro Kurosawas “Ran”. It’s a take on Shakespeare’s king Lear and is an epic. I will also mention the 7 samurai as it too is incredible. Of course, the mini series ‘Shogun” with Tashiro Mifune and Richard Chamberlain is entertaining as well, even if it is dramatized fiction.

Kurosawa is a freaking legend have the criterion collection also a huge fan of his other stuff and funny enough Mifune is one of my fav actors
Have posted this here before but worth it again I reckon
The Samurai have made a impact on the world no doubt even well into western culture

[Honu]

Yeah, if you practice classical Japanese fencing and have a working knowledge of their language, it is amazing what you will overhear. Kenjutsu attracts patriots like nothing else and in Japan "patriots" has a much different meaning than how we use it.

If you find yourself in Japan, Kyoto is more interesting than Tokyo and if you head south Okinawans are generally more "truly" considerate of foreigners and in some ways have a more interesting culture. The Okinawans still have their fresh today sushi counters while the Japanese have replaced nearly all of them with a 1950s fast food model automats.

Thanks for tips

yeah southern most likely is more my style from what I have seen read known folks and weather wise
The Hawaiian islands have influence and since I was there till my 40s its not Japan but used to the influence that is around from many I hung out with who’s parents were still old school etc...

Funny I miss being able to buy fresh ahi block at the local stores

I used to take Goju-Ryu Karate starting back in my HS years so funny you mention the Okinawa thing which started me on the interest back then again lots of formality etc... as you know which I find interesting in their lifestyle

[SteyrAUG]

I will look for them and avoid the remakes. Yes, the “Last Samurai” was awful. A true samurai classic is Akiro Kurosawas “Ran”. It’s a take on Shakespeare’s king Lear and is an epic. I will also mention the 7 samurai as it too is incredible. Of course, the mini series ‘Shogun” with Tashiro Mifune and Richard Chamberlain is entertaining as well, even if it is dramatized fiction.

Kurosawa did Shakespeare a few times. "Throne of Blood" is MacBeth and while we are at it, The Magnificent Seven is a direct lift of the Seven Samurai, High Plains Drifter and For a Few Dollars More are a direct lift of Yojimbo and Sanjuro. But yes Ran is amazingly epic and all done before CGI. So Kurosawa did Samurai Shakespeare and his Samurai films were made into westerns.

[SteyrAUG]

Kurosawa is a freaking legend have the criterion collection also a huge fan of his other stuff and funny enough Mifune is one of my fav actors
Have posted this here before but worth it again I reckon
The Samurai have made a impact on the world no doubt even well into western culture

Thanks for posting that. Lucas heavily mined the genre, even the word "Jedi" comes from Jidai Gecki (Japanese Period Film). Of course Star Wars (1977) itself is also a lift from "The Magic Sword" and some Wagner opera.

[SteyrAUG]

Thanks for tips

yeah southern most likely is more my style from what I have seen read known folks and weather wise
The Hawaiian islands have influence and since I was there till my 40s its not Japan but used to the influence that is around from many I hung out with who’s parents were still old school etc...

Funny I miss being able to buy fresh ahi block at the local stores

I used to take Goju-Ryu Karate starting back in my HS years so funny you mention the Okinawa thing which started me on the interest back then again lots of formality etc... as you know which I find interesting in their lifestyle

Even more interesting is how that Okinawan formality / etiquette is more a product of their parent culture, China, than it is Japanese. Goju is basically Monk Fist Boxing / White Crane Boxing as practiced in Fukien Province, China in the 18th and 19th century. If you track down and read The Bubishi (best translation by Patrick McCarthy) it is a once secret text that was hand copied from Higashiona by his student Chojun Miyagi that explains the secrets of the style in detail. Uechi Ryu is a sister system to Goju that practices many of the same kata and also is Naha based and rooted in boxing styles brought back from Fukien province.