My Favorite Samurai Film

Guitar duels, Elvis as King of Vegas, Death as a Heavy Metal rocker, and 50s style music...what more could one want from a film?

A man with glasses in a business suit carrying a very sharp sword?  Sure.  Okay.

A Russian occupied America where the Russians sing before fighting?  Really?  Yeah.  I'd go for that.

A mythic journey taken by an anti-hero?  Of course!

Plot-twists that M. Night Shyamalan might wish he had thought of?   

Where?  Lead the way...

***** 

This is, as my memory title states, my favorite samurai film.  The reasons listed above can't even begin to cover why this film is great.  There's action, comedy, science fiction, horror (and I don't mean the cannibals), mysticism, musical numbers, desert scenes, car and motorcycle chases, and yes...sword fighting.

The 'Dream March' guitar solo alone, and subsequent battle sequence, is one of the best reasons to watch this film and listen to or buy this soundtrack.

The only way I can describe this music, beyond the very short attached clip, is dreamlike.  Rattles, bells, drums, cymbals, and other instruments are often used in the background as accompaniment, but the primary source of music - other than vocals during folksy 50s-style sequences - is the guitar. 

Acoustic guitar juxtaposed by electric.  Old Rock 'n Roll versus Heavy Metal.  Earthy thrumming struggling and mingling with wiry sharpness.

I've seen a lot of martial arts films and except for Budo: The Art of Killing (a martial arts' documentary) and certain anime, no other medium has impressed me stylistically or tone and story-wise as much as this film.