"Rebel Samurai: Sixties Swordplay Classics"
1965-1968
Directed by Masahiro Shinoda / Kihachi Okamoto / Masaki Kobayashi / Hideo Gosha

Four mid-1960's entries in the Japanese samurai genre, in which traditional chanbara elements have been subverted in favor of anti-hero protagonists, double-crossing plot lines, and pitch-black humor. Includes Samurai Rebellion (Masaki Kobayashi, 1967, 121 minutes), starring Toshiro Mifune as a peaceful man who decides to take a stand against injustice. Sword of the Beast (Hideo Gosha, 1965, 85 minutes) follows a clan defector as he teams up with a motley band of fighters to bring about reform. Samurai Spy (Masahiro Shinoda, 1965, 100 minutes) stars Tetsuro Tamba in a violent epic marked by deceit, ninja spies, and back-stabbing double crosses. Finally, Kill! (Kihachi Okamoto, 1968, 114 minutes) plays samurai film conventions for kicks in a darkly comic maelstrom of swordplay based on the same source novel as Kurosawa's Sanjuro. Japanese with English subtitles. 420 minutes.