Samurai Fiction (SF: Episode One) poster & wallpaper
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Morio Kazama, Mitsuru Fukikoshi, Tomoyasu Hotei, Tamaki Ogawa, Mari Natsuki ... see more see more... , Taketoshi Naito , Kei Tani , Hiroshi Kanbe , Ken Osawa , Naoyuki Fujii , Fumiya Fujii

Simultaneous parodying and paying tribute to classic Japanese samurai films, Samurai Fiction marries a knowing satire of the dramatic elements of movies about traditional Japanese warriors with exciti... read more read more...ng, straightforward fight sequences. In 1696, the Shogun's samurai keep the peace in a divided land as Inukai (Mitsuru Fukikoshi) studies the way of the warrior. The son of his clan's hereditary leader, Inukai has a short temper and isn't especially smart; when his clan's prized traditional sword is stolen by their nemesis, Kazamatsuri (Tomoyasu Hotei), he's sent to look for it, but just to be safe, two other samurai are sent along -- Kurosawa and Suzuki. Kazamatsuri, however, makes short work of the two veteran warriors, and Inukai escaped, wounded, to the home of Mizoguchi (Morio Kazama). Mizoguchi welcomes him into his home, espousing the virtues of pacifisms, while his lovely daughter Koharu (Tamaki Ogawa) nurses him back to health. However, after Kazamatsuri re-emerges as a bodyguard for a female gambling tycoon, Okatsu (Mari Natsuki), Inukai realized he must meet Kazamatsuri again for a final battle. Tomoyasu Hotei, who plays the villain, is also a popular and acclaimed guitarist in Japan, and he also scored this film. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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81% liked it

6,530 ratings

Unrated, 1 hr. 51 min.

Directed by: Hiroyuki Nakano

Release Date: August 1, 1998

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DVD Release Date: October 15, 2003

Stats: 318 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (318)

  • animegirlaya
    July 18, 2011
    animegirlaya
    Meh some avarage stuff i have seen better in my time and i love these kinds of films...

    This one just didn't work for me but i liked the concet and idea.

    Bad acting dull plot... Meh samurai films could be better.
  • sanjurosamurai
    January 2, 2009
    sanjurosamurai
    samurai comedy. i actually was ready to hate this film, but there was a charm to it that made me love it by the end. the music was terrible and the action left me wanting, but the attempt to do samurai comedy was a noble one and didnt fall flat, so the charisma of the character... read mores works despite its silliness. great flick.
  • DrBenway
    June 12, 2008
    DrBenway
    At first, Samurai Fiction looks like one of those old black and white samurai movies but has a visual quality of its' own shot in black and white with color in key scenes. There are a lot of characters, some more important than others, but each have their own uniqueness and qual... read moreities. The bad guys are equally likable as the good guys in the quest for a samurai's honor

    The swordfights that are seen are pretty basic and simple, nothing elaborate but with realism. Even without a high action level, this movie has a high entertainment factor for the story and visuals. The old ninja is my favorite.
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  • skactopus
    March 17, 2008
    skactopus
    Aaron Yamasato needs to take a lesson from director Hiroyuki Nakano. This is how you write your first samurai movie. First things first, what you see on the cover is the opening sequence of this film and yes, Tarantino uses this in Kill Bill.

    This film is a mixture of

    ... read morethe past and the present. I say this because it plays out like a classic samurai picture, except with more modernized humor, acting, and dialogue. Considering that this film came out around 1998, it makes sense. If you look at this film from a high level, the story isn't all that spectacular. A samurai hunting another samurai for a special sword. What makes this film entertaining is the way this story is told. It is shot entirely in black and white, which gives it that classic look. There is only a hint of color, for a second at a time, that shows up every so often throughout the movie. I wouldn't say it is brilliant, but the way that it is used is quite interesting.

    A few other successful aspects of this film are the characters and the cinematography. The story provides a small variety of different characters and if you combine them with the good camera work, the film flows nicely.

    The most disappointing part of this film is the sword play. There is not enough of it, especially in the middle, and the choreography, while decent, is just not entertaining enough. Then again, everybody has different tastes, so the sword play may actually be good enough for some people. Once again, the camera work is good for these sequences.

    As far as the music goes, you will either like it or hate it. I myself enjoyed it. Tomoyasu Hotei is not only in this film, but he composed the music as well. Like the film, it is a mixture of music that you will possibly here in classic as well as current films. The current sounding rock-techno stuff may sound out of place to some people. Watch this film and decide for yourself.

    The acting is pretty good. A few characters are over acted, but I assume that is what the director is going for. There is also a couple characters that are underdeveloped and underused, in my opinion. The star of the show is Tamaki Ogawa who acts as good as she looks.

    Give this film a watch if you want an old-fashioned samurai flick that is a bit modernized in some departments.
  • lesleyanorton
    June 28, 2010
    lesleyanorton
    B&W traditional samurai film, only it's made in 1999 by a director of Japanese MTV videos. Maybe a little too traditional for MTV fans, and a little too untraditional for Kurosawa fans, but it definiteily has its charms, and ninjas too.

    ... read more/image/SamuraiFiction_scene_03.jpg">
  • Doctor0Quinzel
    June 24, 2010
    Doctor0Quinzel
    I thought the music of the film was pretty cool. I enjoyed the characters.
  • threefolddado
    January 16, 2008
    threefolddado
    You think maybe Tarantino saw this before making Kill Bill? Um, Magic Eight ball say "yes".
  • joyouskiss
    April 10, 2008
    joyouskiss
    A good story, I'm only disappointed that they made it black and white with some blood red color now and then. Otherwise it's an excellent ninjs/samurai film.
  • redmeridian
    November 15, 2007
    redmeridian
    Very funny movie...Quentin Tarantino pays a little homage to this film in Kill Bill 1. Very dry humor...love it!
  • futsin
    June 19, 2007
    futsin
    There's some points where it drags and falls down, but it's an amusing and fun film. It has an energy which is surprisingly intoxicating. :)

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Critic Reviews

Derek Elley
March 26, 2009
Derek Elley, Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

October 28, 2003
Chicago Reader

Click to read the article Full Review

Mark R. Leeper
July 27, 2007
Mark R. Leeper, rec.arts.movies.reviews

Click to read the article Full Review

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