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Samurai Fiction Actors: Morio Kazama, Mitsuru Fukikoshi, Tomoyasu Hotei Director: Hiroyuki Nakano Number of Items: 1 Format: Color Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Running Time: 111 minutes Studio: Media Blasters, Inc Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2003-09-30 Buy from Amazon |
 "Not the classic samurai film..."Like one review on this film,I was turned off very early because of the tone of the film(to lighthearted for my taste). I'm a big fan of the Kuroswawa film epics,and this film(or so I thought),would be like that in every sense.The main character had no screen presence at all.The music score just didnt do it for me. Look at the making of the film,it was stated that this was a MTV generation film,they were right on the money.To bad I'm not of that generation...You cant always go by other people glowing recommendation,I should have gotten "Seven Samuari"..  "An artistic statement "Being a huge fan of samurai films, an Asian, and an art student, its no surprise that I truly enjoyed and appreciated this film. The camera work was lovely, I absolutely love black and white, and the story had enough elements; cliched, yes, but meant to be I think, to keep things running smoothly. The modern music also surprisingly worked pretty well, unlike in other efforts than have attempted to accompany newer music into a film with an old timeframe (A Knights Tale, for example). Come to think of it, the pop culture edge the film contained was actually quite cool and to me is what really helps this film standout from others in the genre. Many issues are touched upon, like revenge, redemption, friendship, peace, love, and honor, and its just fun to watch. A great way to occupy your time. Oh, and for the boring, uncreative, closed minded worker bee who gave this film one star WITHOUT even watching the entire film, I hope you enjoy the remainder of your life as a number in a world with a beauty you will never understand. "Nakano's Masterpiece"Samurai Fiction is a brilliant "re-imagining" of the Samurai film genre. It simultaneously honors and makes light of traditions of the Samurai films of the past, while stylistically striking off on its own. The black and white cinematography (originally color, but made Black and White per-Nakano's request) is truely striking! At times the white will be filled with a sharp, biting red tone. Indeed, the opening of the film (which was inspired by Seijun Suzuki's stylistic absurdities) where two samurai fight against a retro-60's-style-screen backlit with red was stolen and used in Kill Bill vol. 1 (but Tarrantino changed the color)! This really is a film not to be missed. Fans of the Samurai genre can appreciate the traditions honored by the film, and laugh along with Nakano at some of the absurdities of the genre. People unfamiliar with Samurai will still have a blast here, though, becuase the humor is universal and the characters are quite convincing. The film won praise and scowls for its use of a primarily rock-driven soundtrack in this jidai-geki, but I think it works brilliantly. It complements the film's visual style, helps to set the tone, and just sounds incredible! Kill Bill also took something from the soundtrack, as the original trailer music (the best song in either film, for me money!) was written and peformed by Hotei Tomoyasu (who stars in and provided the score for SF). Nakano has made othere interesting films, Red Shadow and Stereo Future are both very entertaining and have some strong aspects, but he has yet to make a film as all-around well done and satisfying as Samurai Fiction. A note on the DVD: Media Blasters has really begun to prove itself. I still remember when it was putting out bare-bones, letterboxed, menu-less DVDs (like Fudoh), but now that really know how to please audio/visual buffs! The transfer on Samurai Fiction is beautiful, and while it is not the best MB has done (Red Shadow, another period film from Nakano, has for my money their best transfer so far) it is on par with any major studio release. There are also some very interesting and entertaining extras on the second disc that take you behind the scenes to stand witness to Nakano's unique artistry. A must own DVD! "GREAT!!"In the long line of japanese samurai films Samurai Fiction stands apart from the rest. Music plays a big role here, interesting juxtiposition between B&W film and modern day japanese music. Sprikled with just a hint of color, humor, a love story, badge of honor plot and great cinematography.... it all comes together seemlessly. The only thing I didnt like was the "Making Of" special feature on the disk that reminded me of some bad hollywood hype commercial trying to convince the audience how "COOL' it is. That aside, it is a great DVD to own. "Awful...just awful."I shut this movie off after 15 minutes. It was unbearable to watch. The direction is heavy handed, the selected music is a mistake, and you can see the poorly applied rubber prothestics they used as make-up on the actors to imitate baldness. Also, the interchange of black and white footage with moments of color is anything but subtle. Even as a joke, this movie wore out its welcome quickly. |
