Samurai Banners, starring Mifune Toshiro

Samurai Banners

Japanese, English subtitles

1969, 166 minutes

4 Stars

The Netflix blurb describing this movie is totally messed. And, in a way, she found the title also misleading. Rainy Day expected lots of classic sword fights, and instead had chaotic wars, with the Samurai Banners being on the fighters. According to one reviewer on Netflix, it is a prequel to the Kurosawa movie, Kagemusha, which Rainy Day saw and enjoyed. Mifune Toshiro is the lead in this movie and, as usual, his performance is excellent. If you like epic stories, fictionalized history, and the strategies leading up to and fighting of wars, this is definitely a movie you will enjoy. Just don't expect the romance and fatal sword fight between the two men who love the same woman.

For a clip of Samurai Banners, click here. This clip shows the entertainment leading up to the assassination of Lord Suwa. Gives you a chance to practice your French;-)

Chusingura (47 Samurai)

Chusingura (47 Samurai)

Japanese, English subtitles

1962, 207 minutes

5 Stars

This widescreen movie, made in 1962, looks like something made in 2002. The colors were brilliant, and unlike the earlier version of 47 Samurai that Rainy Day watched, this movie could actually be seen. It is the fictionalized account of Lord Asano who refuses to bribe a crooked official, is provoked until he draws his sword in the Shogun's palace, and therefore must commit seppuku. This time, we get to see what led up to the provocation and why 47 of the now masterless Asana Samurai seek revenge, and what happens to them. This movie is not for the impatient, it takes us through many subplots before leading us to the climax. The settings are realistic, the costuming superb, the swordsmanship appears to be of the classical style, what happens when a clan is abolished. A must see movie!

Rainy Day could find no trailer for this particular movie online. There are several articles, and trailers for similar movies, all you have to do is Google Chusingura.

War of the Shaolin Temple

War of the Shaolin temple

Mandarin, English Dubbing

1989, 94 minutes

3 Stars

Rainy Day really dislikes dubbing in a movie. And this movie was no exception. Had she noticed the movie was in English, she would not have requested it. Filmed at the Shaolin Temple, it was fun to watch the first hour or so. However, Rainy Day couldn't get past the sound effects – the swishing of the swords sounded like so many ducks quacking. The choreography was marvelous, the story not so much. If you like over acting, and 'over dying' this is your cup of tea. If you like the Chinese language and subtitles, this is not your cup of tea. And the music left a great deal to be desired. If you can up with put the story, the fight scenes are top drawer. Or, perhaps Rainy Day should say, top duck?

Click here for a short excerpt.

The Legend and the Hero

The Legend and the Hero

Mandarin, English subtitles (not well done)

2008, 8 discs- 38 episodes

No star rating

Rainy Day is giving up watching series. They take forever to tell the story. Now, admittedly, if she only saw one episode per night or week, perhaps she would think kinder thoughts. The acting, costuming, etc. were pretty good, but Rainy Day just could not get into the story. The evil emperor wants the beautiful woman for his concubine. She doesn't want to go, as she's in love with someone else. Now, admittedly, when a woman became the Emperor's concubine life, as she knew it was pretty well over, and not necessarily for her good. Rainy Day must be in a mood of some sort, her solution, instead of having to go through 38 episodes of a Chinese soap opera? Hey, he wanted her beauty; she could scar her face.

Click here for a You Tube posted trailer (violent)

Legend of Guan Gong

Legend of Guan Gong

Mandarin, English Subtitles

28 episodes, 6 discs

Rainy Day watched the first 3 episodes, and decided to put off watching the rest of disc 1, or any of disc two. The costuming, etc., were great, but the episodes seemed a tad slow. Where there were swordfights (taking place in roughly 200 CE there best not be guns), and the fights were beautifully choreographed, the story was slow. Perhaps, if Rainy Day watched one episode a day...? She may try them again, but thinks she will look for the book, Romance of the Three Kingdoms in English instead. this is an historical novel/movie and Guan Gong or Guan Yu has become deified as a God of War in the Chinese pantheon of Gods, and is still worshipped today. Because she did not watch the whole of it, or even the majority, Rainy Day has not rated it.

Book and Sword

Book and Sword

Cantonese, English Subtitles

2002, 2 discs

4 Stars

This watched more like a TV soap opera than a movie. A lot (and Rainy Day means A LOT) of action and sword fighting, but not a great deal to offer in the way of story. From a book by Louis Cha/Jin Yong, it is a story of the Han trying to throw off the Manchu. It is not for everyone, and if you are expecting Hero, Crouching Tiger, etc, Rainy Day is afraid you will not enjoy it. However, Rainy Day did enjoy it. The fight scenes were great (lots of fly-by-wire stuff). Rainy Day isn't sure if it was the editing, or the low budget, or both, but it seemed choppy. Some conjecture the original ran for several episodes, and the two discs here for slightly less than 3 hours. Fights scenes: 5 stars, story: 3 stars.

Click here for Shaolin fight scene. (no subtitles, but, do you need them for a fight?)

Hana, the Reluctant Samurai

Hana: The Tale of a Reluctant Samurai

Japanese, English Subtitles

2005, 125 Minutes

5 Stars

Rainy Day was quite surprised when she started watching this DVD. The background story is about the 47 Ronin of the previous movie she watched. This tells the story of a young Samurai, who's father's death wish is for his son to seek revenge, and kill the man who killed him. The young man is torn. He is a low ranking Samurai, sworn to commit revenge, and really wants only to teach young children, and any one else who wants to learn, to read and write. The people in this movie are interesting and likable, and Rainy Day sat spell-bound waiting to see how the young man would resolve his situation. A good movie to see how the poor lived versus the usual well-off Samurai and Daimyo. A movie of peace, community and humanity.

Click here for trailer.

Snow Flower, review by Dame Judith

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

2011, 120 minutes

3 Stars

Unlike the novel, the movie expanded the basic story line to juxtapose the original story line of two women growing up separately in China circa 1880 against the movie's newly introduced two women growing up in present-day Hong Kong.

Thereby presenting the viewer with flashbacks among four different women's histories, and switchbacks between two sets of women's stories.  Hello? Do we now suspect why the movie reviewers were lukewarm about the movie version? 

Beautifully filmed as only what we Hollywood-fed movie goers term "foreign films" always seem to do.

The film is a blend of English and translated-Chinese captioning.

If feminine friends are key in your life, watch the movie.

I think I'm going to re-read the book. Click here for trailer.

I was intrigued by the historical binding of girls' feet and pacts between "sisters of the heart forever."

 How easily the story now "translated" to me. Have you seen the movie? Read the book? Did you find the translation as easy as I?

47 Ronin

47 Ronin

Japanese, English subtitles

1994, 129 Minutes

3 Stars

Many reviewers on Netflix rated this movie at 2 or 3 stars.  There is another movie out, about the same history that Rainy Day has not yet seen, Chushingura. 47 Ronin is a typical story of Samurai revenge, with a great deal of time spent on character development, and not so much on action, culminating at the end with the requisite sword battle. The photography, for the most part, was the most engaging except for the final battle, which took place at night, and much of it inside, and was just too dark to see and fully enjoy. If you have a bad cold, and don't want to tax your brain with 'thinking' movie, this is fine.  There are many samurai movies out there that are better. Good acting, good look into the life of Samurai. Based on history.