Directed by: Andrei Tarkovsky; Produced by: Aleksandra Demidova; Written by: Arkadi Strugatsky, Boris Strugatsky; Starring: Alexander Kaidanovsky, Anatoli Solonitsyn, Nikolai Grinko; Music by: Eduard Artemyev; Distributed by: Mosfilm; Release date: August 1979 (Soviet Union); Running time: 163 min; Language: Russian; Subtitle: English
Description: Near a gray and unnamed city is the Zone, an alien place guarded by barbed wire and soldiers. Over his wife's numerous objections, a man rises in the dead of night: he's a stalker, one of a handful who have the mental gifts (and who risk imprisonment) to lead people into the Zone to the Room, a place where one's secret hopes come true. That night, he takes two people into the Zone: a popular writer who is burned out, cynical, and questioning his genius; and a quiet scientist more concerned about his knapsack than the journey. In the deserted Zone, the approach to the Room must be indirect. As they draw near, the rules seem to change and the stalker faces a crisis.
Seven Samurai (1954) - B&W - 210 min (English subtitle)
Starring - Toshirô Mifune as Kikuchiyo, Takashi Shimurai as Kambei Shimada, Yoshio Inaba as Gorobei Katayama, Minoru Chiaki as Heihachi Hayashida, Seiji Miyaguchi as Kyuzo, Isao Kimurai as Katsushiro, Daisuke Kato as Shichiroji Directed by - Akira Kurosawa
Epic Kurosawa tale and the inspiration for the Hollywood classic - The Magnificent Seven.
A small farming village is about to be overrun with bandits - so they hire seven brave Samurai warriors to help them.
(1956) - Color - 114 min Starring - Toshirô Mifune as Takezo (Musashi Miyamoto), Koji Tsuruta as Kojiro Sasaki, Kaoru Yachigusa as Otsu, Mariko Okada as Akemi, Kichijiro Ueda as Priest Ogon, Michiko Saga as Otmitsu, Daisuke Katô as Toji Gion, Takamaru Sasaki as Otmitsu's father, Haruo Tanaka as Kumagoro the horse thief. Directed by - Hiroshi Inagaki
The incredible Samurai trilogy from Hiroshi Inagaki continues - with part three... Duel At Ganryu Island. This epic drama of Japan's legendary samurai warrior Miyamoto Musashi, played by Toshirô Mifune. We suggest you watch Samurai Part I and Samurai Part II before viewing the third movie in this epic masterpiece of understated elegance.
In the final chapter - Toshirô Mifune will face the the ever ambitous young Samurai master swordsman - Kojiro Sasaki (played by Koji Tsuruta) who has challenged Musashi to a duel - a duel between the hero Musashi, and a young kid, blessed with skill who wants to prove he's the best.
Starring - Toshirô Mifune as Takezo (Musashi Miyamoto), Rentaro Mikuni as Honiden Matahachi, Kaoru Yachigusa as Otsu, Mariko Okada as Akemi, Mitsuko Mito as Oku, Matahachi's wife, Kuroemon Onoe as Takuan Osho (the priest), Koji Tsuruta as Kojiro Sasaki, Eijirô Tono as Baiken Shishido, Michiyo Kogure as Dayu Yoshino, Directed by - Hiroshi Inagaki
The incredible Samurai trilogy from Hiroshi Inagaki continues - with part two... Duel At Ichijoji Temple. Compared to part one, which didn't offer much in the way of martial arts action - part two is chocked full of saber rattling, Samurai swashbucklers! The final scene were Musashi takes on eighty guys is one of the greatest fight scenes ever shot on film.
And let's us not forget the conflict facing Musashi, as he battles his ambition to be the greatest Samurai warrior with his love for the faithful Otsu, who has pined for him for many years. Will she go for the Sinead O'Connor look, shave her head and become a nun... or will she remain faithful in her love for Musashi?
Starring - Toshirô Mifune as Takezo (Musashi Miyamoto), Rentaro Mikuni as Honiden Matahachi, Kaoru Yachigusa as Otsu, Mariko Okada as Akemi, Mitsuko Mito as Oku, Matahachi's wife, Kuroemon Onoe as Takuan Osho (the priest), Akihiko Hirata as Seijuro Yoshioka, Kusuo Abe as Temma Tsujikaze, Akira Tani as Kawarano-Gonroku, Directed by - Hiroshi Inagaki
Samurai 1, also known as Musashi Miyamoto, is the first part in the epic trilogy by legendary Japanese film director Hiroshi Inagaki. The village wild man, Takezo grows up and learns the way of the Samurai and eventually becomes - Musashi Miyamoto, the greatest Samurai warrior in Japan. Meanwhile, Takezo's best friend, Matahachi makes some bad decisions that ruin his life. At one time he was betrothed to the lovely Otsu, but he ends up marrying a nasty witch named Oko and his life becomes hell.
Toshiro Mifune, best known for his lead roles in countless films by the great Akira Kurosawa, plays Takezo (Musashi Miyamoto). He is simply awesome in his role, and his character develops from the wild young Takezo, to the mature and wise Musashi. His romance with Otsu is also wonderful - make sure you check out the rest of this 5 hour trilogy as it becomes available. This is a great epic saga - of the life of Japan's greatest samurai warrior - Musashi Miyamoto.
(1959) - B&W - 67 min Starring - Dick Miller as Walter Paisley, Barboura Morris as Carla, Anthony Carbone as Leonard DiSanso, Bert Convy as Lou Raby, Judy Bamber as Alice, Julian Burton as Maxwell, Ed Nelson as Art LaCroix Paul Horn as Beatnik Sax Player, John Brinkley as Will, a Hustler Directed by - Roger Corman
A Bucket of Blood! This film, a cult classic horror satire by the great Roger Corman, the king of the low budget genre, made this gem in 1959. The film precedes Little Shop of Horrors but is similar in many ways. The hero, or anti-hero is Walter Paisley, a waiter in a Beatnik coffee shop with live Poetry readings, who wants to be an ARTIST, but unfortunately, he has no talent. Great dialogue, very funny, and awesome music with Paul Horn on sax. Cool movie - check it out.
Walter Paisley is just a waiter - but he wants to be a ARTIST - and when he kills a cat and covers it in clay, it appears he has found his muse (meows? - sorry, couldn't pass on the pun - please pronounce it like muse for full effect). Bert Convy also stars as an undercover narcotics officer - and Walter kills him too - with a frying pan, which brings to mind another great horror parody - Eating Raoul, with Paul Bartels, who actually starred in a re-make of this movie with Justine Bateman. WOW - small world, huh? This movie is a classic. You are just a nobody still you have experienced the ART, baby.
