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Sonny Chiba Coll.G.I. Samurai
 
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Sonny Chiba Coll.G.I. Samurai

* (Actor) | Rated: Unrated | Format: DVD
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)

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4.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review)
 
 
 
 
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4.0 out of 5 stars Fundamentally insane. Unmistakeably Japanese., Jun 28 2006
By 
Richard H. West "Roadscholar" (Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Sonny Chiba Coll.G.I. Samurai (DVD)
In this ridiculous (but surprisingly fulfilling) cross between Final Countdown and Ran a small group of contemporary Japanese soldiers and their equipment are transported back to feudal Japan during the "warring era." The impetus behind their voyage through time is left totally unexplained, there is vague speculation by some of the soldiers but nothing concrete ever surfaces. Although entirely abstract and underlined by a protracted 2001esque time travel sequence the viewer easily sets aside the ridiculous premise and settles into the plot.

Sonny Chiba as Lt. Yoshiaki Iba finds brotherhood with a warring Samurai, they embrace their warrior hearts and set out to conquer all Japan united by the camaraderie they forge as fellow soldiers. The main vein of the plot is complimented by two brief side stories; a pair of AWOL soldiers escaping through the unfamiliar woods of historic Japan and a band of psychotic GI's.

Apart from the time travel sequence (which is painfully dated) the film is visually resilient against time (no pun intended). The DVD is clear and special effects for the most part impressive. I must make special note of the S61-B Sea King which, (despite having a remarkable abount of fuel) is realistic when used in scale model form and altogether far more believably photographed, owing largely to continuously daring stunt flying having the actual helicopter buzzing droves of live men and horses. The director resisted the natural urge to use cheesy on-pad photography (see any episode of the A-Team to know what I mean) and the result is a total absense of the ever-tedious upward angle of a clearly stationary whirlybird.

The soundtrack on the other hand is exquisitely painful, all the more for it's potential. Infrequent but superb use of period instruments is overridden by constant and obtrusive typical late '70's Japanese pop. This particular film has the misfortune of being saddled with persistently hackish tracks by an artist that can only be described as Japan's simultaneous answer to David Bowie and Pink Floyd. And believe me I mean that in the worst possible way.

When all is said and done however the film is a great icon of Japanese filmcraft. Little eccentricities in the photography and editing give it a charm that can't be recreated by the west. Further boosting it are Sonny Chiba, ever seething and formidable, and a battle sequence that seems to last 45 minutes (closer to 30 minutes in reality). The combat is fantastic, especially considering the Ran-like scale it approaches. I'd highly recommend this for any Far-east cinema collection, or just as a violence-charged oddity.
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Amazon.com: 3.9 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars The Warring States vs. The State of War, July 15 2005
By Johnny Anarchy - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Sonny Chiba Coll.G.I. Samurai (DVD)
G.I. Samurai is a picture with pros and cons.

One of the things it has going against it is its running time. At around 2 and a half hours long, even for all of its action it can find itself dragging at points. It is definitely a film that could have stood for some editing down.

That being said however the film is able to juggle its myriad characters fairly well. The JDF men, as well as the various feudal characters, are well established (particularly, unsurprisingly enough, Sonny Chiba as Iba) and when the movie breaks off to follow them in their little subplots the movie makes it interesting...though not interesting enough to where it couldn't have stood being cut.

The action in it...quite simply...is absolutely amazing. As you watch in particular the final battle with the samurai army it is almost impossible not to be awestruck by what you are seeing. It also speaks volumes about the message the film is trying to convey...that the barbarism of the past is not so distant from the "civility" of our present day. This film's action, without a doubt, ranks as some of the best I have ever seen.

The ending could have used a lot of work though. I won't spoil it for anybody but it is pretty damned anti-climactic. In reading the liner notes for the film it stated how the ending was changed from the book since the original ending was common knowledge to almost every Japanese it was so popular. Sadly though, this ending is lost on a poor westerner such as myself who would like to know what the original ending was...because it is probably a whole lot better than what we are given. Not to say it is a horrible ending mind you...just a bit disappointing.

In the end, if you like the action genre you owe it to yourself to check it out.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars yu will be unhappy if you buy this thinking it's gonna be the best action movie ever with sonny chiba ripping people's limbs off, Aug 5 2006
By morgoth "we lamas are traditional enemies of ... - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Sonny Chiba Coll.G.I. Samurai (DVD)
Sonny Chiba and his whole troop(around 40 soldiers altogether) are somehow warped back into time 400 years. First thing they experience is an army pouring arrows down onto them. They begin to realize that they may have gone back in time when they see what people are wearing and meet the general. Being the fun loving guy that he is, the general comes right up and asks Chiba if he can handle that gun they were shooting at him. Chiba kindly obliges and makes sure this guy will be his friend.

From here the movie kind of drags on for a while but I have to say that this is different than any Chiba movie I have seen before. While you think it is gonna get super boring like Ninja Wars, they actually take the time in this mvoie to develop the characters so that when someone dies or betrays the troop, you will actually feel something. And recognizing family members is a huge thing in this movie. Many of the soldiers give up and decide to just live it out in ancient times(the warrign period). The others think that if they change history by winning a war then they will have to be warped back into time. By the end the director realizes he has to wrap things up and the ending is a bit deeper than you may think but I too would have liked to know the real ending, becasue I bet it was just a bit more exciting than this.

This movie is certainly not for everybody, I am surprised to say that this is a really good "movie". Plenty of great action sequences, but too many guns. So I ask you, if you were brought back in time with a whole bunch of guns during a time when there was not a single day with no fighting going on, what would you do?

The dvd is from the distributor Adness is very good. Not widescreened like it says on the box but is in a very good 16:9 format. Picture is a bit washed out but really no flaws at all. Sound quality is good and the music itself is just weird. If you have seen Shogun's Ninja and Ninja Wars, then you know what type of music to expect, though in this movie it almost makes sense.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars Amusing...for the most part., April 3 2007
By RB "FeatherDander" - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Sonny Chiba Coll.G.I. Samurai (DVD)
G.I. Samurai has to be a guilty pleasure.

I found myself laughing more at the bad acting and worse script than anything. If you can believe Sonny Chiba leading a bunch of actors who have never seen a day of actual military service, then you can believe this mess of a film. If you can believe half the stuff these so-called 'soldiers' do back in the Sengoku, then you need to seriously crack a history book and get educated.

I found the 'stopped watches' and the fact that Venus was postioned differently in the sky to be an excellent way of having passed from the Modern day into the Sengoku period. What really killed the illusion was the cheesy special effects to convey that. The music was, at best, inappropriate most all throughout the film. I also couldn't fathom the two or three rape scenes [one would have been very ample]. Also to see Uesugi Kenshin laughing like an idiot on drugs stretches things out of the realm of the possible. I was rooting for the tank, helicopter, half-track and all the other paraphenalia of these 'soldiers' to break down or get destroyed simply to end the misery of this film. The period costumes for the Uesugi and Takeda armies were, from what I saw, mostly well done.

By the way- a lone man of comparatively no-name able to challenge a Daimyo like Takeda Shingen, then take the man's head? I'd have to think Takeda's Hatamoto would have made human sashimi out of him and Shingen wouldn't have wasted the breath on this idiot.

G.I. Samurai could have succeeded with a better script, better acting and a more believable plot. Then again, it would seriously trash the comedic value of this whole affair.

G.I Samurai is so bad that it'll leave you wincing and laughing at the same time.
› Go to Amazon.com to see all 8 reviews  3.9 out of 5 stars 
 
 
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