Kalo banyak hipster2 ato orang pretentious bullcrap penggemar art movie yang nganggep film2 french or lynch sebagai patokan mereka as arthouse movie yang awesome, gw pribadi selalu ngejadin chanbara as my guide. Samurai Period movie buat gw selalu punya special place deep in my heart. Film2 kaya gini susah-susah gampang buat getting immersed with, especially buat mereka yang gak familiar with Japanese History, dan terutama juga karena plot progression mereka yang lambat, terutama di black and white era, dan lebih menjual elegance yang susah banget diterima ama penonton awam dan mainstream jaman sekarang. Tapi begitu elu masuk, dan udah nemuin “the click” of the genre, lu bakal nyadarin kalo Chanbara genre is one of the best genre in the movie world. Gak percaya? Quentin Tarantino, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Sergio Leone, itu sedikit dari sutradara2 barat hebat yang jelas2 ngakuin kalo mereka bener2 getting heavy influence from, or in Leone case totally ripoff, lots of chanbara movies! Udah cukup introduksi pointless ini, just read my list below…

(Honorable Mention, Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo, Hideo Gosha’s Goyokin, Kihachi Okomoto’s Sword of Doom, Takashi Miike’s 13 Assassins)

(Fuck Off Mention, Edward Zwick’s The Last Samurai)

10. Ghost of Yatsuya, Nobuo Takagawa, 1959.

I like this movie so much, gw sampe masukin ke dalam list ini walo genrenya bisa dikategoriin as Samurai-Thriller/Horror. Storynya simple dan efektif, tentang Seorang Samurai yang haus kekuasaan dan harta, dia melakuin apa aja buat naek kelas. Termasuk ngejual dan ngeracunin Istrinya. Efeknya lumayan scary dengan sound design yang lumayan wah untuk Eranya. Rasa2nya tuh kaya film2 Suzanna di Era 80an with more sophisticated, and less comedy. Kenapa gak Kwaidan? Karena cerita soal samurainya dikit doang di Kaidan. Cuma di awal2, dan Akhir. Itu juga Era dimana Samurai Influence gak seberat di Tokugawa’s Era.

9. Three Outlaw Samurai, Hideo Gosha, 1964.

Salah satu dari film dengan Sword Choreography paling mantep di list ini. Ceritanya lumayan overlapping with multiple plot everywhere yang agak cukup ribet dan bit miss here and there walo gak sekompleks Seven Samurai. Beautifully shot and acted dengan style yang mirip2 ama Seven Samurai, Dusty, Bleak and full of Injustice. Chemistry diantara 3 tokoh utamanya bener2 bikin gw pengen nyari TV Seriesnya.

8. The Hidden Blade, Yoji Yamada, 2003.

Gak kaya film2 lain di list ini yang dark and bleak, The Hidden Blade itu yang paling peaceful and damai buat ditonton, walo tetep aja ada pedang mengayun dimana2. Lebih ke drama daripada thriller, The Hidden Blade itu film ke dua dari 3 trilogy Samurainya Yoji Yamada(gw belom nonton yang ketiga). There’s something about this movie and the color pallete yang entah kenapa seakan2 ngedraw gw ke 1860’s Japan.

7. When The Last Sword is Drawn, Yojiro Takita, 2003.

Film ini sedikit overdramatic and melankolis in a mano- o mano way, tetapi gak lebay. Cerita tentang shinsengumi di era2 terakhir Bakufu. One of the best Saitou Hajime’s potrayal ada di film ini. Rasa-rasanya mirip ama film2nya Yoji Yamada, cuma lebih modern dan duniawi aja. Agak2 bikin gw uncomfortable sih buat ditonton, soalnya gw tau arah ni film bakal kemana, tetapi ending dan conclusionnya lumayan pinter, gak kaya kebanyakan film2 bagus yang Pandering penonton di akhir cuma for the sake of the MAGIC OF CINEMA(I’m looking at you Edge of Tomorrow!)

6. Samurai I : Musashi Miyamoto, Hiroshi Inagaki, 1954. 

Seri pertama dari trilogy Samurai is the coolest and most epic one. From the epic aftermath of Sekigahara’s Battle sampe The Walk of Famenya Musashi Miyamoto ninggalin si Otsu, Classic Samurai movie with classic color gak bisa lebih perfect lagi dari ni film. Kaya Kobayashi’s Kwaidan, banyak shot2 keren di film ini is shoot in stage, not outdoor, dengan lebih mengejar artistic shoot. Gw suka banget ni film. This is the first criterior collection I’ve ever Had, this is the first Samurai Movie yang bikin gw tertarik lebih dalam lagi nyari tau tentang Japanese History, and this is the only movie yang somehow bikin gw takut nonton 2 sekuelnya gara2 takut kalah dan ngerusak image gw with the trilogy as the wholesome.

5. The Twilight Samurai, Yoji Yamada, 2002.

Film samurai modern tertinggi di List ini. Definitely the best Hiroyuki Sanada’s performance of all time. Kaya Judulnya, ni film tuh bener2 twilight, subtle and bener2 sure believeable banget with the whole story and filled with honor. Pantes banget ni film di sejajarin ama the greatest movie in the world. Kalo ada yang baca blog gw ini lagi bergelut di dunia film dan mau coba jadi director, please please watch this movie and learn something from it. A beautiful movie that gonna stay with you even after the credits..

4. Hitokiri! Tenchu!, Hideo Gosha, 1969.

Kalo Twilight Samurai itu the definite definition of elegance and subtleness in Chanbara Genre, Hitokiri! Tenchu! is the opposite. It is brutal, loud, gritty full of blood dan kasar. Tapi walo traitnya seakan2 ni film bombastis banget, its actually very dramatic and climatic tanpa menyebrangi jembatan dengan menjadi Lebay. Gosha’s magnum opus juga jadi salah satu film paling easy buat ditonton di list ini because of strukturisasinya yang rada2 mirip film modern, no nonsense and fast forwarding. Shintaro Katsu is really Hitokiri Battousai!

3. Samurai Rebellion, Masaki Kobayashi, 1967.

 

People who read my blog and know me, probably guessed that at least one of Kobayashi’s movie is in this list. You damn right. Film pertama dia di list ini langsung di peringkat ketiga. Film yang bikin gw kesel banget kalo ditonton gara2 social class yang bener2 nyesek banget buat dicerna. Semua tentang film ini itu screaming about injustice and rebellion. Tapi bukan rebellion with idiotic force atau pengerahan massa, tetapi rebellion melalui tindakan dan integritas. Its not about how to put up with shit, its about how to pick up the shit and throw it to the shitter! Film yang bener2 humanist ini juga salah satu adegan mantep di endingnya, when Mifune and Nakadai goes one on one. Its like The Rock fighting against Chuck Norris!

2. Seven Samurai, Akira Kurosawa, 1954.

Like everyone(kebanyakan), this is where I started watch chanbara movies. Kurosawa is overrated. Kurosawa is pretentious. I agree. But Seven Samurai is unlike anything I’ve ever saw before. 3 fuckin hours of awesomeness, human drama, history, grittiness and Mifune screaming at you is enough to guarantee the number two spot. Ini film yang terlalu maju buat jamannya. Ini film yang with its plot and deep bakalan bikin elu mikir, holy shit, is this really a 1954 movies?

1. Harakiri, Masaki Kobayashi, 1962.

Ah, udah ketebak bukan? Kobayashi is my 2nd favorite director of all time. Harakiri is the one which introduced me to him. Nonton Harakiri tuh sama kaya ngelakuin Harakiri. Sakit dan eneg, but you have to do it for the sake of the greatness and honor. Ini film keren dimana gak ada protagonist and antagonist. Walo ada beberapa karakter yang ditempatin and act like an antagonist, the movie will teach you that it is not so black and white. Cerita mengalur dan lompat2 dari depan ke belakang dengan begitu Tragis. Greatest classic sword koreografi(that fight in the field is awesome). People always see Toshiro Mifune sebagai Clint Eastwoodnya Japanese Cinema. But buat gue, Tatsuya Nakadai gak ada tandingan dan gak bisa disamain ama siapapun. Selain cerita dan style yang kuat banget, he is the soul of this movie. His movement, his talk, his beard(YES), and his sword telling us that its either Die like a bitch, or die with honor! PERFECTO!