Includes:
- Samurai Rebellion
- Sword of the Beast
- Samurai Spy
- Kill!
Description:
Rebellion! The political and cultural tumult of the 1960s shook Japan as it did the rest of the world. Japanese filmmakers responded to the changing times by disguising themes of dissent in the traditional form of the swordplay film, or chanbara. Previously populated by heroic samurai, self-sacrificing ronin, and historical figures who exemplified noble Japanese virtues, the genre began embracing a new kind of hero, or antihero: the lone outcast, distrustful of authority but maintaining a personal code of honor. These four classic films, from four masters of Japanese cinema, turn a genre upside down, redefining for a modern generation the meaning of loyalty and honor, as embodied by the iconic figure of the samurai.
Samurai Rebellion features:
- New, restored high-definition digital transfer
- Excerpts from a 1993 interview with director Masaki Kobayashi
- Original theatrical trailer
- New essay by Japanese-film historian Donald Richie
- New and improved English subtitle translation
Sword of the Beast features:
- New, restored high-definition digital transfer
- New essay by Japanese-film and pop-culture authority Patrick Macias
- New and improved English subtitle translation
Samurai Spy features:
- New, restored high-definition digital transfer
- Exclusive interview with director Masahiro Shinoda
- New essay by film scholar Alain Silver
- New and improved English subtitle translation
Kill! features:
- New, restored high-definition digital transfer
- Original theatrical trailer
- New essay by film and cultural critic Howard Hampton
- New and improved English subtitle translation