looking for sengoku jidai tv/drama/movies? (

[Noob Van Noob]

any sort of historical drama set in Sengoku Jidai japan whether it be a television series or a movie. any reccomendations? oh, and no anime unless its more or less grounded in reality/history (shigurui, for example, is a great samurai anime thats well grounded in history and reality)

[Devil Tiger]

There is the book and miniserie "Shogun" it's loosely based on the ascension of Tokugawa and the adventures of William Adams (first englishman to travel to japan, and was made a samurai by Tokugawa himself after serving as advisor on matters of westerners) It's romanced and a bit orientalist but it's not bad. The serie came out in 1980 and has Richard Chamberlain in the main role and Toshiro Mifune playing Toranaga (Tokugawa) Avoid the movie though, it's a habridged edited verion of the serie.

While i'm on book stuff, the novel "Musashi" of Eiji Yoshikawa tell the story of Miyamoto Musashi a legendary swordsman who wrote the Treaty of Five Rings which was the definitive definitive text on Bushido. It actually take place just after the battle of sekigahara and is really nice and easy to read (though it's pretty big). It had a manga adaptation, called Vagabond.

Back on movie and stuffs... Impossible to not mention Akira Kurosawa, he made several movies about samurai, some of them were the inspiration behind incredibly famous western movies. Such as Seven Samurai, adapted as the Seven Mercenaries, Yojimbo, adapted as A Fistful of Dollars. He also made Kagemusha who's a nice view of the underworld of Sengoku era and the Hidden Fortress... At least that's those i saw.

For a very raw portrayal of the life of peasants in that time there is the Ballad of Narayama, it's about a small settlement of peasants in a montainous region and it's a silce of their life, it's both touching and chilling.

On old samurai movie i would also recommend Shogun Assassin, it's a classic and it's pretty cool.

More recently... There was 47 ronin... Now, this one got HORRIBLE review (but personnaly i loved it) it's a fantasy adaptation of a true story of 47 ronin who avenge their master to all commit seppuku at the end. There is older version of it like the 1941 "The 47 ronin".
The Last Samurai, with Tom Cruise is another though it's about the Boshin war, not Sengoku.

Overall though there is a genre of work known in Japan as "Jidaigeki" that portray this era, you can probably find lists on the Internet.

As a word of warning though, Japanese fiction is often an acquired taste, it is slow, quiet and can be kind of boring and is very often terribly grim.

On games there is Kessen a strategy game from Koei on PS2, it's Over the Top with super fancy helmet, but it kinda follow (or change if you play Mitsunari side) the flow of the last moments of the rise of Tokugawa (the buildup to the battle of Sekigahara to the fall of Kyoto).

[The Baron]

I recommend Heaven and Earth. It's about uesugi Kenshin and his epic struggle with Takeda Shingen. Kenshin is called Kagetora in the film as that was his given name, or the name he began his daimyo career with...the names can get confusing. ;)

Also, if you can find the Taiga dramas Fuurin Kazan, and Tenchijin are my favorites. Focusing on the Takeda and Uesugi clans respectively. There are dozens of these dramas about any number of the daimyos, it's all highly dramatized but it's amazing to see all the political and military machinations of that era.

Here's a link to Fuurin Kazan :
http://www.gooddrama.net/japanese-drama/fuurin-kazan

[Hannibal Barca]

I wouldnt recommend Shogun the miniseries its fantasy like Tom Cruises last samurai.
Musashi Miyamoto movie from 1954 is really good but base on the books so it is a watered down verison.

KAGEMUSHA is excellent movie c/p the bio below
Directed by
Akira Kurosawa
Kagemusha is a 1980 film by Akira Kurosawa. In Japanese, kagemusha is a term used to denote a political decoy. It is set in the Sengoku period of Japanese history and tells the story of a lower-class criminal who is taught to impersonate a dying warlord in order to dissuade opposing lords from attacking the newly vulnerable clan. The warlord whom the kagemusha impersonates is based on daimyo Takeda Shingen, and the film ends with the climactic 1575 Battle of Nagashino.[3]

My favortie hands down and the INSPIRATION! for Shogun totalwar 1.
(Ran)
its based on King Lear but its so good doesnt matter its not entirely factual

A story of greed, a lust for power, and ultimate revenge. The Great Lord Hidetora Ichimonji has decided to step aside to make room for the younger blood of his three sons, Taro, Jiro, and Saburo, the Lord's only wish now being to live out his years as an honored guest in the castle of each of his sons in turn. While the older two sons flatter their father, the youngest son attempts to warn him of the folly of expecting the three sons to remain united; enraged at the younger son's attempt to point out the danger, the father banishes him. True to the younger son's warning, however, the oldest Son soon conspires with the second son to strip The Great Lord of everything, even his title.

I couldnt get that flute song out of my head for months.

[neihc]

there is Taira No Kiyomori, based on kiyomori life in heian period(rise of the samurai)
Yoshitsune (younger brother to Yoritomo, also heian time period but feels alot like edo time)
Ballad (edo time, just another lare army invading a small fortress)
Floating castle (Edo time, about Ishida Mistunari before the battle of Sekigahara)
Shinobi, heart under blade (edo time, about shinobi and the last of them if you don't mind watching ninjas)

[Noob Van Noob]

Originally posted by 谭钱越:

there is Taira No Kiyomori, based on kiyomori life in heian period(rise of the samurai)
Yoshitsune (younger brother to Yoritomo, also heian time period but feels alot like edo time)
Ballad (edo time, just another lare army invading a small fortress)
Floating castle (Edo time, about Ishida Mistunari before the battle of Sekigahara)
Shinobi, heart under blade (edo time, about shinobi and the last of them if you don't mind watching ninjas)

dont mind ninjas as long as the said show/movie keeps things grounded in realism

[Destin Faroda]

- Kagemusha
- Ran
- The 7 Samurai
- Heaven and Earth (1990)

[Devil Tiger]

To elaborate on my first post, i cited some western work that may seem silly and unauthentic, but i didnt want to assume how familiar OP was with Japanese culture and especially that of that time.
Jidaigeki are japanese products for a japanese audience and starting off with western work are a good "entry" for a westerner, and give some little "keys" to read more authentic works, all of them, even stuffs that regulary get bashed like The Last Samurai are at least a bit grounded in reality despite oozing orientalism. For instance, 47 Ronin despite all the hate and bad reviews it got, is surprisingly true to how Samurai caste and lower castes interacted and how for us westerner it can be jarring to see someone do what we think is "the right thing to do" or the heroic one, and only get chewed for it because he's overstepping his boundaries even if it's to help them. Not to mention the Happy Ending == everyone commit suicide and nobody think it's weird. And that's the kind of things even Shogun 2 kinda fail to convey, samurai were not chivalrous by any european definition.

So yeah that's a personnal thing but i'd suggest to take it step by step and watch western work before watching japanese one (if only to then compare and laugh at how naively we see japanese feudal era)

[Hannibal Barca]

I disagree, only because I studied Asian cinema in college, I feel if you watch the "western" movies you get comfortable watching eastern culutre through western eyes, but if you immerse yourself in the culture ie: japanese and watch movie through their lens you'll have a better apperiation for the nartive.
example 47 ronin the most current one with Keannu was made for teeenage boy I understand that , though I wouldnt watch it.
Chûshingura the 1962 version was a faithful retell of the orginal story which in my opinion far better than CGI rollercoaster.

[Devil Tiger]

You said it, you studied asian cinema in college, that mean you're already familiar with its codes and concepts. Not everyone did that, i dont know nearly as much as most peoples here but you have to start somewhere, and i'm fairly certain just about anyone who's not familiar with japanese culture in any way go ahead and watch a jidaigeki movie is going to be either puzzled or bored or both without homework or familiarity. Like i said, it's just "start with something familiar" and then move on to the real stuff, if only to compare.
I dont recommend 47 ronin because it follow the story, it only loosely follow it and it's Fantasy anyway. I recommend it because it can make someone superficialy familiar with the harsh caste system of feudal japan so that when they see something more authentic they're not completely wondering wtf is happening. And anyway, you cant get "comfortable watching eastern culture through western eyes" because anyway there's only a small handful of works on that topic and 99% of them are rabidly orientalists.

[Noob Van Noob]

@Devil Tiger

im much more familiar with japanese culture than your average person so i'll probably jump into the jidai geki.

[Hannibal Barca]

When I first started watch those movies I was late 20's and hated subtitles, but it wasnt hard to follow. It wasnt hard to understand. Its like me telling someone from asia watch all the jackass movies before you watch The Godfather.

[Devil Tiger]

Originally posted by Student of Strategy:

@Devil Tiger

im much more familiar with japanese culture than your average person so i'll probably jump into the jidai geki.

Go for it then! I didnt want to assume you were and be a snob! :D

[neihc]

if you want you could also give the latest musashi full drama a try, i would tell you that theirs swordsmanship fighting there is almost similar to sekigahara, you might enjoy, i know i did