Color, 1983, 136 mins. 10 secs.
Directed by Kinji Fukasaku
Starring Hiroko Yakushimaru, Hiroyuki Sanada, Sonny Chiba, Etsuko Shihomi, Minori Terada, Mari Natsuki, Kenji Oba
Eureka (Blu-ray) (UK/US RA/RB HD), Kadokawa (Blu-ray) (Japan RA HD), Filmjuwelen (Blu-ray & DVD) (German RB/R2 HD/PAL), BCI/Eclipse, Adness (DVD) (US R1 NTSC) / WS (1.85:1) (16:9)


Originally Legend of the Eight Samuraientitled Satomi Hakken-Den (Legend of the Dog Warriors) like its source novel by Toshio Kamata The Cat and the Canary(itself a fusion of various bits of folklore and fantasy literature), this truly wild action fantasy from cult director Kinji Fukasaku essentially capped off a streak of elaborate, genre pastiche epics including Virus, Samurai Reincarnation, and the beloved Message from Space. At least superficially this would seem to be your average samurai warriors on a mission stories, but instead you get a big rubber monster snake, a magical blood pool, and raucous power ballad anthems howled by vocalist John O'Banion.

With her clan decimated by the brutal and supernatural Hikitas, Princess Shizu (School in the Crosshairs' Yakushimaru) retreats into the forest where she comes upon a drifter, Shinbei (Sanada), who takes her to Dōsetsu Tadatomo (Chiba), a mystic who knows all about a curse hanging over her family. With the demonstration of magical glowing beads he proves that hope lies with the secret dog warriors who can undo the curse, consisting of the two men and six other samurai. Meanwhile the wicked Queen Tamazusa (Natsuki), who stays young and beautiful by bathing naked in blood, hears of the Princess' existence and plans to hunt her down with the bidding of her son, Legend of the Eight SamuraiLord Nobufuchi (Oba), who needs The Cat and the Canarythe Princess' flesh for his own reasons.

A wild, visually impressive feast that would play well with some of the Hong Kong genre films around the same time (especially the same year's Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain), this one packs a lot into its substantial running time including romance, bloody fight scenes, and a great bit with a wizened witch who turns into a freaky arthropod monster. Released in Japan by Toei and (barely) in dubbed form by United Artists in the U.S., this one has been bootlegged many times over the years but has turned up on legit American DVD as part of a couple of Sonny Chiba collections in a drab but okay windowboxed transfer with subtitles that was at least better than the crummy pan and scan VHS tapes that floated around for years. A Japanese Blu-ray (not English friendly) turned up in 2012 from Kadokawa with a reissue in 2019, featuring a DTS-HD MA 5.1 Japanese sound mix and offering the best option a/v-wise for many years.

Fortunately that situation changed in 2025 with Eureka's simultaneous U.S. and U.K. Blu-ray special edition, which comes from a brand new 4K restoration and completely annihilates every transfer before it. Gone are the greenish hue and dull blacks of the Japanese Blu-ray, replaced here with an exceptionally attractive presentation with a nice range of colors on display and much more detail than ever before. The Japanese audio is presented here in theatrical DTS-HD MA 2.0 Legend of the Eight Samuraistereo or the 5.1 remix, along with a 2.0 mono English dub, with optional English subtitles provided. A new commentary by Joe Hickinbottom kicks in after the main titles are over and does a solid job of covering the mythic tropes at play in the story, the The Cat and the Canarynarrative elements connecting it to other Fukasaku films, the backgrounds of the major actors, the state of Japanese cinema at the time, and plenty more. In "Always Looking for the New" (24m57s) the director's son, filmmaker Kenta Fukasaku, chats about his dad's background and his efforts to move through various genres including yakuza films, disaster epics, and wild sci-fi / fantasy, often with demanding production requirements. The video essay "The Trials of the Eight Samurai" (15m47s) by Stuart Galbraith IV covers the rapid changes going on in the Japanese film industry around the turn of the '80s (with a focus on television and independent productions affecting how films were funded and marketed) including the influence of current blockbusters that trickles through here. Finally you get the Japanese theatrical trailer, subtitled and sourced from VHS, while the package comes with a a limited O-card slipcase by Chris Malbon and a booklet featuring a new essay by Tom Mes.

EURKEA (Blu-ray)

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KADOKAWA (Blu-ray)

The Legend of the Eight Samurai The Legend of the Eight Samurai The Legend of the Eight SamuraiThe Legend of the Eight SamuraiThe Legend of the Eight Samurai

Reviewed on February 4, 2025