Please see the most recent updates in the "Where did the .com name go?" thread. Posts number 16 and 17.
There are some very old, black and white Samurai movies that I have watched that I found to be brilliant. Great to watch how they lived back then in the Japanese houses and how they all interacted in the villages. One famous set of films is based on a Samurai that is blind and goes from village to village doing good deeds to suffering people, and roughs up the bad guys. Great series.
Those are the Zatoichi films you're talking about, Lionheart. They used to show them every Saturday morning on IFC. You might also like the Musashi Trilogy starring Toshiro Mifune as Miyamoto Musashi. The mot famous and critically acclaimed Samurai movie (at least in the West) is Akira Kurosawa's The Seven Samurai, which is one of those movies constantly referenced by filmmakers like George Lucas and Steven Speilberg. Quentin Tarantino is more a fan of Hong Kong action films.
JAMES
Ahh... Thanks James. Yep, I have seen the 'Seven Samurai' a couple of times. I didnt know it had a huge following. Great movie.
Twin peaks is indeed another strange one, Paiken, lolol...
I've got a profoundly creepy movie to throw in here. Let the Right One In.
.I didn't hate Ran; but I did like Kagemusha and Throne of Blood better.
JAMES

Two weird/awesome movies I would highly recommend are "Pi" by Darren Aronofsky and "Brazil" by Terry Gilliam.
. And it has that truly grim ending (which was originally butchered by studio bosses)
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