Customer Reviews:
Samurai fantasy.......2007-07-31
I was expecting more traditional samurai films but these are all fantasy. G.I. Samurai is a time travel movie while the other two are more of the sword and sorcery type. I enjoyed them all even though Chiba is not the main star of the last two. This set comes in a nice case that opens up like a book. A good value for this set.
Customer Reviews:
Fantasy Samurai film.......2007-01-29
The film is not the typical samurai flick but instead it is a fantasy samurai, vampire-gore film. The legend of the eight samurai is a story about the satomi clan being cursed by evil. The evil is after the surviving satomi's clan princess to consume the princess skin so that they can enhance their beauty and offer the princess blood to their master. The princess only hope are the eight samurai who in karma each behold a magic ball crystal from the princess fukei hundred years ago. Each of the eight samurai came from adversity through either isolation, loneliness, and lose. Soon their life change when they found out that their hope and destiny lies on the princess.
The storyline is oustanding with great cast deliviring a solid performance. In addition, the special effect is great for its time. There is a quote on the back cover of the dvd that says "The Star Wars of Samurai Films" and indeed it is.
Adness provide us with high quality release of the film that made the original american version a waste of a classic film.
Grade: B+ Highly recommended!
A COMEDY CLASSIC.......2006-01-22
This film is comedy gold! How can anyone not like Sonny Chiba films? This film has incredibly hilarious action scenes even if that was not the intention of the film makers. If it makes me laugh its good! Come on Giant Centipede! A flying Snake! The whole group of bad guys akwardly laughing on top of a mountian, for what reason you dont know! If your not the serious type and you want a good laugh this is it. A whole PILE of CHEESE!!
Not great!.......2005-10-24
This film is about a Japense princess who escapes from her clan rivals, who mets up with bunch of samuri's who tries to protect her from the bad people. The kid from the movie Reincarnation of the Samuri is in this film. He was aful in that film and he is aful in this film. This movie has some very bad acting in it, and the actions in this movie was not very impressive. Only interesting character in this movie was the Rival dark prince who was very into taking females skin and use it as his own skin. You do not see this actually happing, though, you just hear him talk about it.
Average customer rating:
- Would have been better to seen the subtitle version.
- Soft PG-13/Case-study for Carl Jung
- What's Up with the Cover Photo!!???
- It's not THAT bad...(WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS!!)
- Very silly
|
Legend of the Eight Samurai
Starring:
Hiroko Yakushimaru ,
Hiroyuki Sanada ,
Sonny Chiba ,
Etsuko Shihomi , and
Yuki Meguro
Director:
Kinji Fukasaku
Manufacturer: Leisure Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD
 General
| Action & Adventure
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
General
| Martial Arts
| Action & Adventure
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
Chiba, Sonny
| ( C )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Fukasaku, Kinji
| ( F )
| Directors
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
4-for-3 All DVDs
| 4-for-3 DVD
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
DVDs Under $7.49
| Today's Deals in DVD
| Special Features
| DVD
| Video
Martial Arts
| Action & Adventure
| Today's Deals in DVD
| Special Features
| DVD
| Video
All Deals
| Today's Deals in DVD
| Special Features
| DVD
| Video
( L )
| Titles
| Features
| DVD
| Video
Similar Items:
-
Makai Tensho: Samurai Reincarnation
-
Ninja Wars
-
Sonny Chiba Samurai
-
The Sonny Chiba Collection: Shogun's Ninja
-
Goyokin
ASIN: B0000640UV
Release Date: 2002-04-17 |
Customer Reviews:
Would have been better to seen the subtitle version........2007-01-31
The dub is pretty bad. A subtitled version would have been better.
Soft PG-13/Case-study for Carl Jung.......2007-01-21
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.
What's Up with the Cover Photo!!???.......2006-12-13
Does anyone know why a scene of Toshiro Mifune as Musashi in "Samurai Trilogy" is on the cover of this DVD!??
It's not THAT bad...(WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS!!).......2005-10-11
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! ^_^
Very silly.......2004-12-14
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.
Average customer rating:
- Would have been better to seen the subtitle version.
- Soft PG-13/Case-study for Carl Jung
- What's Up with the Cover Photo!!???
- It's not THAT bad...(WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS!!)
- Very silly
|
Legend of the Eight Samurai
Starring:
Hiroko Yakushimaru ,
Hiroyuki Sanada ,
Sonny Chiba ,
Etsuko Shihomi , and
Yuki Meguro
Director:
Kinji Fukasaku
Manufacturer: Platinum Disc
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD
General
| Action & Adventure
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
General
| Martial Arts
| Action & Adventure
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
General
| Japan
| By Country
| Art House & International
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
Action & Adventure
| Japan
| By Country
| Art House & International
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
Chiba, Sonny
| ( C )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Fukasaku, Kinji
| ( F )
| Directors
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
4-for-3 All DVDs
| 4-for-3 DVD
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Japan
| Asian Cinema
| Foreign & International
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Martial Arts
| By Genre
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( L )
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Martial Arts
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| Special Features
| DVD
| Video
All Deals
| Today's Deals in DVD
| Special Features
| DVD
| Video
Similar Items:
-
Makai Tensho: Samurai Reincarnation
-
Ninja Wars
-
Sonny Chiba Samurai
-
The Sonny Chiba Collection: Shogun's Ninja
-
Goyokin
ASIN: B00005CDV7
Release Date: 2001-01-30 |
Customer Reviews:
Would have been better to seen the subtitle version........2007-01-31
The dub is pretty bad. A subtitled version would have been better.
Soft PG-13/Case-study for Carl Jung.......2007-01-21
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.
What's Up with the Cover Photo!!???.......2006-12-13
Does anyone know why a scene of Toshiro Mifune as Musashi in "Samurai Trilogy" is on the cover of this DVD!??
It's not THAT bad...(WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS!!).......2005-10-11
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! ^_^
Very silly.......2004-12-14
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.
Average customer rating:
- Would have been better to seen the subtitle version.
- Soft PG-13/Case-study for Carl Jung
- What's Up with the Cover Photo!!???
- It's not THAT bad...(WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS!!)
- Very silly
|
Legend of the Eight Samurai
Starring:
Hiroko Yakushimaru ,
Hiroyuki Sanada ,
Sonny Chiba ,
Etsuko Shihomi , and
Yuki Meguro
Director:
Kinji Fukasaku
Manufacturer: Vci Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD
General
| Action & Adventure
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
General
| Martial Arts
| Action & Adventure
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
General
| Art House & International
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
General
| Japan
| By Country
| Art House & International
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
Action & Adventure
| Japan
| By Country
| Art House & International
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
Japanese
| By Original Language
| Art House & International
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
Chiba, Sonny
| ( C )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Fukasaku, Kinji
| ( F )
| Directors
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
4-for-3 All DVDs
| 4-for-3 DVD
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
General
| Foreign & International
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Japan
| Asian Cinema
| Foreign & International
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Martial Arts
| By Genre
| Foreign & International
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Japanese
| By Original Language
| Foreign & International
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
DVDs Under $7.49
| Today's Deals in DVD
| Special Features
| DVD
| Video
Martial Arts
| Action & Adventure
| Today's Deals in DVD
| Special Features
| DVD
| Video
All Deals
| Today's Deals in DVD
| Special Features
| DVD
| Video
( L )
| Titles
| Features
| DVD
| Video
Similar Items:
-
Makai Tensho: Samurai Reincarnation
-
Ninja Wars
-
Sonny Chiba Samurai
-
The Sonny Chiba Collection: Shogun's Ninja
-
Goyokin
ASIN: B0000AC8MO
Release Date: 2003-07-29 |
Description
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.
Customer Reviews:
Would have been better to seen the subtitle version........2007-01-31
The dub is pretty bad. A subtitled version would have been better.
Soft PG-13/Case-study for Carl Jung.......2007-01-21
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.
What's Up with the Cover Photo!!???.......2006-12-13
Does anyone know why a scene of Toshiro Mifune as Musashi in "Samurai Trilogy" is on the cover of this DVD!??
It's not THAT bad...(WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS!!).......2005-10-11
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! ^_^
Very silly.......2004-12-14
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.
Average customer rating:
- Would have been better to seen the subtitle version.
- Soft PG-13/Case-study for Carl Jung
- What's Up with the Cover Photo!!???
- It's not THAT bad...(WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS!!)
- Very silly
|
Legend of the Eight Samurai
Starring:
Hiroko Yakushimaru ,
Hiroyuki Sanada ,
Sonny Chiba ,
Etsuko Shihomi , and
Yuki Meguro
Director:
Kinji Fukasaku
Manufacturer: Brentwood Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD
General
| Action & Adventure
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
General
| Martial Arts
| Action & Adventure
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
General
| Art House & International
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
General
| Japan
| By Country
| Art House & International
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
Action & Adventure
| Japan
| By Country
| Art House & International
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
General
| Drama
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
Chiba, Sonny
| ( C )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Fukasaku, Kinji
| ( F )
| Directors
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
4-for-3 All DVDs
| 4-for-3 DVD
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
General
| Foreign & International
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Japan
| Asian Cinema
| Foreign & International
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Martial Arts
| By Genre
| Foreign & International
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
DVDs Under $7.49
| Today's Deals in DVD
| Special Features
| DVD
| Video
( L )
| Titles
| Features
| DVD
| Video
Similar Items:
-
Makai Tensho: Samurai Reincarnation
-
Ninja Wars
-
Sonny Chiba Samurai
-
The Sonny Chiba Collection: Shogun's Ninja
-
Goyokin
ASIN: B0001MDQJE
Release Date: 2004-03-09 |
Customer Reviews:
Would have been better to seen the subtitle version........2007-01-31
The dub is pretty bad. A subtitled version would have been better.
Soft PG-13/Case-study for Carl Jung.......2007-01-21
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.
What's Up with the Cover Photo!!???.......2006-12-13
Does anyone know why a scene of Toshiro Mifune as Musashi in "Samurai Trilogy" is on the cover of this DVD!??
It's not THAT bad...(WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS!!).......2005-10-11
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! ^_^
Very silly.......2004-12-14
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.
Average customer rating:
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Dragon Princess/Legend of the Eight Samurai
Starring:
Sonny Chiba
Manufacturer: Platinum Disc
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD
General
| Action & Adventure
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
General
| Martial Arts
| Action & Adventure
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
( D )
| Titles
| Features
| DVD
| Video
4-for-3 Action & Adventure
| 4-for-3 DVD
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
4-for-3 All DVDs
| 4-for-3 DVD
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
ASIN: B0007XG338
Release Date: 2005-04-05 |
![12 MARTIAL ARTS MOVIES [6 DVDs / Over 18 Hours] Chinese Connection, Kung Fu: Punch Of Death, Dragon Princess, Samurai Reincarnation, Snake-Crane Secret, Duel Of The Iron Fists, Legend Of The Eight Samurai, Militant Eagle, Dragon Lee vs. The Five Brothers, Revenge Of The Drunken Master, General Stone, North & South Shaolin](http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/31KGXKY4ZML.jpg)
Average customer rating:
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12 MARTIAL ARTS MOVIES [6 DVDs / Over 18 Hours] Chinese Connection, Kung Fu: Punch Of Death, Dragon Princess, Samurai Reincarnation, Snake-Crane Secret, Duel Of The Iron Fists, Legend Of The Eight Samurai, Militant Eagle, Dragon Lee vs. The Five Brothers, Revenge Of The Drunken Master, General Stone, North & South Shaolin
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD
Martial Arts
| Sports
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
Product Features:
- Digitally Remastered For Superior Picture Quality
- Dolby Digital 5.1 Sound
- INTERACTIVE MENUS
- Chapter Stops / scene selections
ASIN: B000IG6G6S |
Average customer rating:
- I've Seen This As EIGHT Samurai, not Seven
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Legend of the Eight Samurai/Shogun's Ninja
Starring:
Sonny Chiba
Manufacturer: Diamond Ent. Corp.
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD
General
| Action & Adventure
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
General
| Martial Arts
| Action & Adventure
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
( L )
| Titles
| Features
| DVD
| Video
ASIN: B00005Q63X
Release Date: 2003-01-01 |
Customer Reviews:
I've Seen This As EIGHT Samurai, not Seven.......2003-05-31
This is a tough movie to follow, and a real departure for Chiba from the 80's kung-fu stuff. This is basically Kabuki theatre on film. I can't recommend it for kung fu fans, but it is an interesting piece of cheaply-available DVD fodder for Chiba fans.
Certainly worh the few dollars. Can't tell if it was filmed in widescreen or not for sure, but the DVD is full-frame.
DVD:
- The Terminal (Full Screen Edition)
- The Three Swordsmen
- The Thrillbillys
- The Triangle
- The Ultimate National Geographic World War II Collection (Untold Stories/The Battle for Midway/Pearl Harbor - Legacy of Attack)
- The Wild Angels/Hell's Belles
- This Is Kendo-d
- Tiger and Crane Shaolin Kung Fu
- TOMIKI AIKIDO - D
- Travel the Road, The Journey Begins
DVD
DVD
