16 Samurai Movies To Watch As You Sharpen Your Katana

Whether it is a certified Criterion Collection classic or just an exploitative affair, there are few genres of film better than samurai movies. The drama, the plots, the— OK, fine it’s all about the fights, we admit it. It’s cool and badass to see two warriors go at it with swords in kickass choreography. But the other artsy stuff is worth bringing up, too.

Even if you’re not a fan of samurai films, you’re probably a fan of several cousins from it. Samurai movies have inspired other genres within popular culture such as science fiction, westerns, and superheroes, past and present. You wouldn’t get A Fistful of Dollars without Yojimbo, you wouldn’t get A Bug’s Life without The Seven Samurai, and you wouldn’t get Star Wars without The Hidden Fortress.

In no particular order, here are some of the best samurai films to watch in your spare time to feed the cinephile within.