Samurai Fiction (SF: Episode One) (1999)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Keiko A

  
  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.

• danny d

  
  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 characters… More
  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 characters works despite its silliness. great flick.

• El Hombre I

  
  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… More
  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 qualities. 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. <a href="http://s273.photobucket.com/albums/jj203/goji9000/?action=view&current=samurai_fiction08.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj203/goji9000/samurai_fiction08.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

• Justin Y

  
  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 <i>Kill Bill</i>.<p>This film is… More
  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 <i>Kill Bill</i>.<p>This film is a mixture of the 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.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>Give this film a watch if you want an old-fashioned samurai flick that is a bit modernized in some departments.

• Lesley N

  
  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. <img… More
  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. <img src="http://thumbs.filmstarts.de/image/SamuraiFiction_scene_03.jpg">

• Marion R

  
  I thought the music of the film was pretty cool. I enjoyed the characters.

• Anthony V

  
  You think maybe Tarantino saw this before making Kill Bill? Um, Magic Eight ball say "yes".

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