G.I. Samurai
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| G.I. Samurai | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Mitsumasa Saito (as Kôsei Saitô) |
| Produced by | Haruki Kadokawa, Takeshi Motomura |
| Written by | Ryo Hanmura (novel), Toshio Kamata |
| Starring | Sonny Chiba, Jun Eto, Toshitaka Ito, Haruki Kadokawa |
| Music by | Kentaro Haneda |
| Distributed by | Toho |
| Release date(s) | 1979 |
| Running time | 139 min. |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
| Budget | $9,000,000 |
| IMDb profile | |
G.I. Samurai (戦国自衛隊 Sengoku jieitai (Time Slip) and Sengoku Self Defense Force?) is a 1979 Japanese feature length film focusing on the adventures of a modern day Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) element that accidentally manages to travel to the Warring States period (戦国時代 Sengoku jidai?) of Japanese history. The film stars Japanese cult actor Sonny Chiba.
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[edit] Plot
On their way to a maneuver, a wildly mixed group of Japanese soldiers with a tank, an APC, a patrol boat and a helicopter suddenly find themselves stranded 400 years in the past and under attack by samurai forces. Their designated leader, Lieutenant Yoshiaki Iba (Sonny Chiba), befriends and joins forces with Nagao Kagetora, the war leader of lord Koizumi. Seeing the stranded soldiers' war machinery in action, Kagetora persuades Iba to aid him in his struggle for supremacy in Japan.
In the meantime, however, Iba finds himself facing the desperation of his men who want to return to their own time. Some make contact with the locals - one of the soldiers, Mimura, even finds himself a consort who keeps following him - whilst others freak out, running away in a desperate attempt to return home, or rebelling against rules and restrictions and try to live a pirate's life. Finally, his force shrunk from 21 men to 11, Iba manages to calm his troops by telling them that by fighting history and thus creating a time paradox they might be able to return home. Iba joins Kagetora and fights by his side.
Finally, Iba and the soldiers face Takeda Shingen's forces in battle. But their trust in their advanced weaponry costs them dearly: Shingen's forces outmaneouver them at every turn, the soldiers lose all their vehicles and major weapons, and five of them die on the battlefield. In a desperate attempt, Iba forces his way to Shingen's command post and kills him in a sword duel.
As Iba and his remaining men go to join Kagetora in Kyoto, the latter is put under pressure by his family and the Ashikaga shogun to get rid of Iba. Reluctantly conceding, Kagetora intercepts Iba's group at an old temple. But as Iba prepares to kill Kagetora for his betrayal, he is killed an M1 Carbine used by his foe. The other soldiers are killed by Kagetora's archers, and Mimura's consort delivers the coup-de-grace to her lover. Kagetora shows remorse by burying Iba and his men with all due honors. In the end, only one of the soldiers survives, who had left the group to help a boy and his family, whose father had been killed.
[edit] Cast
Name as Character (characters' Japanese family name first):
- Sonny Chiba.... Lieutenant Iba Yoshiaki
- Isao Natsuyagi.... Nagao Kagetora
- Jun Eto.... Nobuhiko Ken
- Toshitaka Ito.... Harumi Takashima
- Haruki Kadokawa.... Sanada Masayuki
- Raita Ryu .... Mimura
- Hiroshi Kamayatsu.... Mokichi Nemoto
- Kenzo Kawarazaki....Koji Kano
- Asao Koike.... Koizumi
- Kentaro Kudo....Ishiba
- Ko Kuraishi.... Masao Maruoka
- Masao Kusakari.... Masakichi
- Yoichi Miura.... Manabu Nonaka
- Noboru Nakaya.... Yoshitaka Kujo
- Mikio Narita.... Honganji
- Akira Nishikino.... Koji Kikuchi
- Nana Okada.... Kazuko Arai
- Hitoshi Omae.... Kuribayashi
- Miyuki Ono.... Miwa
- Hiromitsu Suzuki.... Nishizawa
- Mancho Tsuji.... Ono, Shoichiro
- Tsunehiko Watase.... Hayato Yano
- Hiroyuki Sanada .... Takeda Shingen's Son
- Hiroko Yakushimaru.... Young Samurai
[edit] Trivia
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- Initially, the producers approached the JGSDF for props and vehicles, but they cut their support after reading that soldiers go AWOL in the script. For that reason, old and sometimes out-dated equipment (like M3 submachine guns) had to be used. The tank featured in the movie was even built entirely from scratch.
- The vehicles, including a tank and a helicopter, continue to run despite there being no replenishing fuel supply in the 16th century - a logical problem which was resolved in the remake.
- Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada has a minor role as Shingen's samurai son who boards the helicopter and kills its crew.
- Hiroko Yakushimaru, Japanese actor and singer, has a minor character appearance as a young Samurai who is killed by JGSDF member Seki with a handgun during the great battlefield scene.
[edit] Adaptations
- The comic book series of the same name was authored by Ryo Hanmura.
- A film remake in 2005 was titled Sengoku Jieitai 1549.
- A 4-episode series called Sengoku Jieitai: Sekigahara no Tatakai was aired in 2006 by NTV.
[edit] Name of the movie in other languages
- Spanish: "En Eclipse El Tiempo"
- Croatian: "Vrijeme je stalo u 5 i 18"
- Norwegian: "Tidsstorm"
