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Thursday nights in May, the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art will be showing their Samurai Sundown Film Series, a set of four classic Samurai films from the 1960's.
The series is co-presented by Memphis Martial Arts Center, which will present free martial arts demonstrations on the Brooks plaza from 6:15-6:45 pm, immediately preceding the Samurai Sundown Film Series.
Thursday, May 2 | 7 pm
Harakiri
Director: Masaki Kobayashi
Japan | 1962 | 2 hrs, 13 min
Following the collapse of his clan, an unemployed samurai (Tatsuya Nakadai) arrives at the manor of Lord Iyi, begging to be allowed to commit ritual suicide on the property. Iyi’s clansmen, believing the desperate ronin is merely angling for a new position, try to force his hand and get him to eviscerate himself—but they have underestimated his beliefs and his personal brand of honor. Winner of the Cannes Film Festival’s Special Jury Prize, Harakiri is a fierce evocation of individual agency in the face of a corrupt and hypocritical system.
Thursday, May 9 | 7 pm
Sword of Doom
Director: Kihachi Okamoto
Japan | 1966 | 1 hr 59 min
Tatsuya Nakadai and Toshiro Mifune star in the story of a wandering samurai who exists in a maelstrom of violence. A gifted swordsman—plying his trade during the turbulent final days of Shogunate rule—Ryunosuke (Nakadai) kills without remorse, without mercy. It is a way of life that ultimately leads to madness.
Thursday, May 16 | 7 pm
Samurai Rebellion
Director: Masaki Kobayahi
Japan | 1967 | 2 hrs 1 min
Toshiro Mifune stars as Isaburo Sasahara, an aging swordsman living a quiet life until his clan lord orders that his son marry the lord’s mistress, who has recently displeased the ruler. Reluctantly, father and son take in the woman, and, to the family’s surprise, the young couple fall in love. But the lord soon reverses his decision and demands the mistress’s return. Against all expectations, Isaburo and his son refuse, risking the destruction of their entire family.
Thursday, May 30 | 7 pm
Kill!
Director: Kihachi Okamota
Japan | 1968 | 1 hr, 54 min
In this pitch-black action comedy, a pair of down-on-their-luck swordsmen arrive in a dusty, windblown town, where they become involved in a local clan dispute. One, previously a farmer, longs to become a noble samurai. The other, a former samurai haunted by his past, prefers living anonymously with gangsters. But when both men discover the wrongdoings of the nefarious clan leader, they side with a band of rebels who are under siege at a remote mountain cabin. Based on the same source novel as Akira Kurosawa’s Sanjuro, Kill! playfully tweaks samurai film convention, borrowing elements from established chanbara classics and seasoning them with a little Italian western.
The series is co-presented by Memphis Martial Arts Center, which will present free martial arts demonstrations on the Brooks plaza from 6:15-6:45 pm, immediately preceding the Samurai Sundown Film Series.
Thursday, May 2 | 7 pm
Harakiri
Director: Masaki Kobayashi
Japan | 1962 | 2 hrs, 13 min
Following the collapse of his clan, an unemployed samurai (Tatsuya Nakadai) arrives at the manor of Lord Iyi, begging to be allowed to commit ritual suicide on the property. Iyi’s clansmen, believing the desperate ronin is merely angling for a new position, try to force his hand and get him to eviscerate himself—but they have underestimated his beliefs and his personal brand of honor. Winner of the Cannes Film Festival’s Special Jury Prize, Harakiri is a fierce evocation of individual agency in the face of a corrupt and hypocritical system.
Thursday, May 9 | 7 pm
Sword of Doom
Director: Kihachi Okamoto
Japan | 1966 | 1 hr 59 min
Tatsuya Nakadai and Toshiro Mifune star in the story of a wandering samurai who exists in a maelstrom of violence. A gifted swordsman—plying his trade during the turbulent final days of Shogunate rule—Ryunosuke (Nakadai) kills without remorse, without mercy. It is a way of life that ultimately leads to madness.
Thursday, May 16 | 7 pm
Samurai Rebellion
Director: Masaki Kobayahi
Japan | 1967 | 2 hrs 1 min
Toshiro Mifune stars as Isaburo Sasahara, an aging swordsman living a quiet life until his clan lord orders that his son marry the lord’s mistress, who has recently displeased the ruler. Reluctantly, father and son take in the woman, and, to the family’s surprise, the young couple fall in love. But the lord soon reverses his decision and demands the mistress’s return. Against all expectations, Isaburo and his son refuse, risking the destruction of their entire family.
Thursday, May 30 | 7 pm
Kill!
Director: Kihachi Okamota
Japan | 1968 | 1 hr, 54 min
In this pitch-black action comedy, a pair of down-on-their-luck swordsmen arrive in a dusty, windblown town, where they become involved in a local clan dispute. One, previously a farmer, longs to become a noble samurai. The other, a former samurai haunted by his past, prefers living anonymously with gangsters. But when both men discover the wrongdoings of the nefarious clan leader, they side with a band of rebels who are under siege at a remote mountain cabin. Based on the same source novel as Akira Kurosawa’s Sanjuro, Kill! playfully tweaks samurai film convention, borrowing elements from established chanbara classics and seasoning them with a little Italian western.
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