Feature: The Samurai Series

Kurosawa. Zaitochi. Inagaka. If these names mean anything to you—or, perhaps more importantly, if they don't—then the Samurai Series is for you. TSS is just what it sounds like: an ongoing feature celebrating exemplary works of samurai cinema.

Best-known for its tales of swordplay, honor, and rebellion, the movement's popularity declined in the '70s amidst a changing climate in film, but its impact on other genres is inarguable: A Fistful of Dollars is based on Yojimbo, Seven Samurai was re-told as The Magnificent Seven, and Star Wars was influenced by The Hidden Fortress, to name just a few. TSS will begin as a series of reviews and culminate in a best-of list.

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• Movie Review: Samurai Spy

  Seal your lips tight.

  Review by Michael Nordine — on Mar 13, 2010

• Movie Review: Sword of the Beast

  This wolf has very sharp teeth.

  Review by Michael Nordine — on Feb 28, 2010

• Movie Review: Onibaba

  They exist in this world, too.

  Review by Michael Nordine — on Feb 19, 2010