Samurai Films

March 1, 2009
Samurai films have been a popular subgenre of Japanese cinema throughout much of the world since the 1950s. Their basic stories, played for everything from intense drama to farce comedy, are usually colorful admixtures of historical pageantry and swordplay. They have been adapted for American cinema and in other countries, the Italian spaghetti Western being a well-known offshoot. In his first book, Thorne writes from the point of view of an enthusiastic fan, providing a brief history of the samurai and snapshots of a few prominent directors and stars. He examines a relative handful of films, ranging chronologically from the seminal "Seven Samurai" (1954) to "Love and Honor" (2006), providing credits, a plot summary, analysis, and what he terms "the verdict" (invariably a positive one). Well-received recent histories of the samurai film include Patrick Galloway's "Stray Dogs & Lone Wolves" and Alain Silver's "The Samurai Film". Given Thorne's severely limited coverage and somewhat amateurish style, this is an optional purchase.Roy Liebman, formerly with Los Angeles P.L.

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