Legend of the Eight Samurai (1984)

A martial arts feature inspired by the 1814 epic Japanese novel, Nanso Satomi Hakkenden. The LEGEND OF EIGHT SAMURAI depicts the story of young princess Shizuhime (Yakushimaru) living in feudal Japan, facing the threats of the sinister forces of the Hikita Clan. The Hikita leader, Lady Tamazusa, wants the princess for a blood sacrifice that will sustain the evil witch’s youthful appearance. When Shizuhime is kidnapped by the clan, only the Hakkenshi, eight samurai warriors endowed with the virtues of Confucianism, can save her from certain death. Bonus Features: Sonny Chiba Bio| Scene Selection. Specs: DVD5; Dolby Digital Mono; 130 minutes; Color; 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio; MPAA – NR; Year – 1983; SRP - $9.99.

Would have been better to seen the subtitle version.

The dub is pretty bad. A subtitled version would have been better. January 31, 2007

Soft PG-13/Case-study for Carl Jung

First, this film has nothing to do with the Kurosawa classic that has one less Samurai. In the movie the band is referred to as ninjas, and I am not sure why they rendered the title differently. If they are trying to cash in on the famous movie, this makes sense in a Dilbert marketing sort of way. If they are trying to move away from the ninja image associated with 1980's movies and the turtles, forget about it--we've moved past it all.

What impressed me about this movie was its ability to manage an intricate story with many characters, and still keep me riveted to the screen. Personally, I would have cut the eight down to three. As it is, some the ninjas seem to be numeric placeholders. If they had made the movie a half an hour longer, the could have fleshed out the people. However, since their individual back-stories are not essential to the plot, it is well they are not elaborated upon.

Although the special effects seem hokey by 21st Century standards (and even by 1983 standards), I was able to look past them and saw what the effects were pointing to: a tale of family honor, revenge, magic (magia and goetia), and a brooding fate.

It is this omnipresent (and omnivorous) fate that wrangles me the most. To Americans, fatalism has negative connotations. It implies that someone else is in control, and may not have our best interests at heart. And so much of Japanese religion is devoted to submissing to fate that it is distasteful. How do you really know if it is fate? And since we all have some cosmic doom hanging over us, is that why the Japanese spend so much psychological energy to beautify things?

So I found the two incidents of redemption and fate-breaking a breath of clean air. Artistically, watching Shinbei move from a ne're-do-well Han Solo, to becoming a zombie-ghoul to becoming a hero for the rightwise born princess. My favorite charter is the no-name red Samurai who breaks from the Evil Witch's ranks, and goes over to Princess Shizuhime's raiders.

I liked the glowstones. They are a common image, found in The Dark Crystal, the Silmarillion, the Lensmen, Kabbalah, and the Book of Mormon. Jung has a lot to say about stones and identities in "Man and His Symbols." Hint: the eight ninjas stone-bearers become stones at the end of the movie.

One last note: Most Americans chuckle at the princess who had to marry a dog (reversing Elvis's lamentation), but Frazer points out that such thaumaturgic marriages were common in the ancient world ("The Golden Bough," Ch. XII).

I would rate this movie PG-13, due to several scenes of graphic violence (a cheek being cut, and a beheading), and partial nudity (we see the backside of a woman emerging from a pool), which seems to have been edited to American sensibilities. As it stands, it is a soft PG-13. January 21, 2007

What's Up with the Cover Photo!!???

Does anyone know why a scene of Toshiro Mifune as Musashi in "Samurai Trilogy" is on the cover of this DVD!?? December 13, 2006

It's not THAT bad...(WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS!!)

I personally liked the movie...Ok, so it was kinda corny at times, but it had it's 'alright' moments:
1. The look on the princess's face when she agreed to eat the snake (you got to admit, the look WAS pricless)
2. When Shinbei goes riding through the village calling out, "BRING ME THE GIRLS!!"
3. When Shinbei was kicked out of the group and the princess gives him her flute...
4. When Shinbei finds out the evil witch is his mother!!!
5. When the evil witch goes in the bath (that looks alot like tomato soup!)fully clothed, and comes out young and...naked..then she takes a drink of the tomato bath...mmm..
6. When Shinbei becomes evil and tries to kill the princess and then gets struck by lightning and wakes up and makes love to the her.
7. Not to forget the fantastic fight scene at the end of the film where all but Shinbei and the princess die, not to mention all the wonderful ways they died...

So, all-in-all, the best actor in the whole movie was Hiroyuki (henry) Sanada (who played the main character) and Sonny Chiba really did suck, but seems to get ALL the CREDIT!! >_< probibly a good thing so not damage Hiroyuki's wonderful future as an actor...over all I think this was a fun, corny, mindless kind of movie that you really don't have to think about..just enjoy! ^_^
October 11, 2005

Very silly

Legend of the Eight Samurai is just as bad as you'd think it should be. The plot bounces around in a most confusing fashion, but who cares about what's going on, anyway? The word Samurai is interchanged with Ninja in this story. The cast includes such characters as The Princess, Necktie Ninja, pantsless Samurai, unloved lady ninja, Elvis Samurai, The Evil Queen, the old lady who tears her own face off, and a bevy of poisonous women. Throw in tentacles and glowing blue balls, and the MST3K-style jokes happen all on their own. For ease of comprehension, all you need to remember is that the way of the Samurai is death, and expect a final deathcount of Shakespearian proportions. December 14, 2004

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