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Three Outlaw Samurai

Three Outlaw Samurai

Action · Drama · 1964

Shiba, a wandering ronin, encounters a band of peasants who have kidnapped the daughter of their dictatorial magistrate, in hopes of coercing from him a reduction in taxes. Shiba takes up their fight, joined by two renegades from the magistrate's guard, Sakura and Kikyo. The three outlaws find themselves in a battle to the death.

Movie details

Three Outlaw Samurai

“One...two...three Samurai filling the giant screen with flashing swordplay”

1964 Action · Drama 1h 33m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.5 / 10

Community rating

Shiba, a wandering ronin, encounters a band of peasants who have kidnapped the daughter of their dictatorial magistrate, in hopes of coercing from him a reduction in taxes. Shiba takes up their fight, joined by two renegades from the magistrate's guard, Sakura and Kikyo. The three outlaws find themselves in a battle to the death.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Three Outlaw Samurai?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Zero Woman: Red Handcuffs

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Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge

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Blade of the Immortal

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Female Yakuza Tale

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Ocho is accidentally captured by a drug trafficking cartel who use Chinese women to smuggle drugs into Japan by hiding it in their vaginas. She is tortured, and manages to escape, fighting both the male yakuzas and a gang of female thieves.

Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms

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When Shao Kahn's Outworld barbarians terrorize Earthrealm, Lord Raiden is determined to put an end to the carnage once and for all. This leaves one option: a final Mortal Kombat tournament for the future of Earthrealm – win it or lose everything. Raiden's elite fighters Liu Kang, Johnny Cage, Sonya Blade, and a few new faces kick the action into overdrive as they go head-to-head with Outworld's most bloodthirsty warriors. But deep in the Netherrealm, an unspeakable scheme by the malevolent Shinnok unfolds, threatening to obliterate existence.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Hideo Gosha

Written by

Hideo Gosha · Keiichi Abe · Eizaburo Shiba

Tetsuro Tamba

Tetsuro Tamba

Sakon Shiba

Isamu Nagato

Isamu Nagato

Kyôjûrô Sakura

Mikijiro Hira

Mikijiro Hira

Einosuke Kikyo

Miyuki Kuwano

Miyuki Kuwano

Aya

Yoshiko Kayama

Yoshiko Kayama

Oyasu

Yōko Mihara

Yōko Mihara

Omaki

K

Kyoko Aoi

Omitsu

Court is in session

Put Three Outlaw Samurai on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.