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Japanese samurai cinema (jidaigeki) seems to have followed a somewhat similar arc in popularity as Westerns did in the U.S. This is not too surprising since two genres tended to play off each other's themes and sometimes plots. Like Westerns, the output of the genre seemed to wane from the early eighties until the late 90's. But recently there's been a slew of new jidaigeki. Some of it is revisiting old stories while others are breaking new ground in the genre with plots and characters that better connect with modern sensibilities. "The Hidden Blade" falls in that latter category.

"The Hidden Blade", directed by Yoji Yamada and released in 2004, follows a very similar story architecture to Yamada's previous film, "The Twilight Samurai". In fact they're so similar fans of the film usually choose to champion one over the other. While "The Twilight Samurai" may capture a bit of the accurate period social mores, to me it seems like a trial run for making it's richer and more humane younger cinematic sibling. "The Hidden Blade's" plot is also more varied/textured.



If you like jidaigeki for the outrageous characters and wild swordplay, you want to give this one a miss. But if you're looking for a solid, engrossing period drama with characters who really draw you into their lives, this is one of the best. It follows the life of a low caste samurai, his struggle to figure out how make a love affair between castes work, and the challenge of having his clan call on him to kill his best friend, now a rogue criminal. It also has a few really great, memorable light moments.

Here's the link to the trailer for the film: [link]

I guess this entry in my "seven summaries" is the last of the rich, humanitarian films on my list. The next few fall into perhaps my favorite category: the period adventure comedy!

  • Mood: Winter Downs
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  • Reading: "Edge of Infinity" Ed. J. Strahan
  • Watching: The end of "Last Resort"
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December 3, 2012
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:icondeepblu742:
Perhaps you could also explore the immediate post-war Nippon period of Yakuza films that came up from the 50's until the early 2000's as well. Also some Hong Kong's more notable Triad style films could possibly be a fix or sorts, although I'd steer away from some of the more overwrought John Woo/Chow Young Fat stuff. They often dealt with heroic Joseph Campbell mythos of loners and ancient honor codes being outmoded by modern amorality and subsequent the classic good vs. evil battles. Granted the violence in those films can rarely show the same chivalry or mastery of skill that the samurai's bushido inspired swordplay had.

Some wonderful features here!
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:iconarcas-art:
*Arcas-Art Dec 5, 2012  Professional General Artist
I rather liked 80's and 90's HK crime dramas :) I had a bit of a man-crush on Chow Yun Fat.
I've seen some 50's and 60's Japanese crime dramas - mostly the stuff carried by Criterion. Not a lot.
I'll admit there's an element of idealism and romance in samurai cinema that I enjoy.... but I equally enjoy works that totally deconstruct it as well.
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