Legend of the Eight Samurai
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| Legend of the Eight Samurai | |
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| Directed by | Kinji Fukasaku |
| Produced by | Haruki Kadokawa |
| Written by | Toshio Kamata Kinji Fukasaku |
| Starring | Hiroko Yakushimaru Hiroyuki Sanada Sonny Chiba |
| Music by | Nobody |
| Cinematography | Seizō Sengen |
| Distributed by | Toei |
| Release date(s) |  Dec 10, 1983 |
| Running time | 136 min |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
| IMDb profile | |
Legend of the Eight Samurai (里見八犬伝 Satomi Hakkenden?) is a 1983 Japanese historical martial arts fantasy film, directed by Kinji Fukasaku. The script is adapted from a 1982 novel Shin Satomi Hakkenden (新・里見八犬伝) by Toshio Kamata, a loose reworking of the epic serial Nansō Satomi Hakkenden by Kyokutei Bakin.
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[edit] Synopsis
The story follows Shizu-hime (Hiroko Yakushimaru), her family slain and on the run from her enemies. As the escapes she is found by the vagabond Shinbei (Hiroyuki Sanada), before being rescued from her pursuers by Dōsetsu (Sonny Chiba). He tells her the legend of a curse on her family, and of eight beads that identify eight dog-warriors who can lift it, of which he and his companion are two. To defeat the evil queen Tamazusa (Mari Natsuki) who killed her family, they must find all eight. But Shinbei hears of Shizu-hime's identity, and vows to collect the reward for capturing her.
[edit] Production
[edit] Adaption
The film preserves little of the plot or characterization, and none of the feel of the Bakin original. Instead it builds on the basic template – collecting a band of warriors together to accomplish a task, better known from films such as Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. While some of the back story and key elements like the beads remain, even the eight dog brothers are substantially changed, to the extent of Keno's feminine disguise becoming actual womanhood.[citation needed]
[edit] Effects
Fantastical elements in the film are brought to life with a combination of combination of props, wire work, and post-production special effects. While the best of these like the eight glowing beads work well, others such as the rubber giant flying snake have aged less gracefully. The film version maintains the ero-guro elements of Kamata's book, including a nude blood-bathing rejuvenation scene.[citation needed]
[edit] Score
The film features a soft rock soundtrack produced by Nobody, and a couple of power ballads performed by John O'Banion: Satomi Hakkenden, composed by Joey Carbone and written by Kathi Pinto, and Hakkenshi no Tēma (White Light) (八剣士のテーマ), composed by Joey Carbone and Richie Zito, written by David Palmer. An LP of the music was released by Eastworld, product id WTP-90258.
[edit] Versions
Various English releases have been sold since the 80s under the title Legend of the Eight Samurai, or Legend of Eight Samurai. Sonny Chiba's involvement is often emphasized, and American releases feature a cut and ineptly dubbed version which somehow works zombies and ninja into the script. In 2005 an uncut, English subtitled version of the film was released, still marketing off the back of Chiba.
[edit] External links
- Legend of the Eight Samurai at the Internet Movie Database
- (Japanese) Legend of the Eight Samurai at the Japanese Movie Database
