Hideo Gosha

Three Outlaw Samurai

Three Outlaw Samurai

This first feature by the legendary Hideo Gosha is among the most beloved chanbara (sword-fighting) films. An origin-story offshoot of a Japanese television phenomenon of the same name, Three Outlaw Samurai is a classic in its own right. A wandering, seen-it-all ronin (Tetsuro Tamba) becomes entangled in the dangerous business of two other samurai (Isamu Nagato and Mikijiro Hira), hired to execute a band of peasants who have kidnapped the daughter of a corrupt magistrate. With remarkable storytelling economy and thrilling action scenes, this is an expertly mounted tale of revenge and loyalty.

Film Info

  • Japan
  • 1964
  • 93 minutes
  • Black & White
  • 2.35:1
  • Japanese
  • Spine #596

Special Features

  • High-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
  • Trailer
  • New English subtitle translation
  • PLUS: A new essay by film critic Bilge Ebiri

    New cover by Greg Ruth

Purchase Options

Special Features

  • High-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
  • Trailer
  • New English subtitle translation
  • PLUS: A new essay by film critic Bilge Ebiri

    New cover by Greg Ruth
Three Outlaw Samurai
Cast
Tetsuro Tamba
Sakon Shiba
Isamu Nagato
Kyojuro Sakura
Mikijiro Hira
Einosuke Kikyo
Miyuki Kuwano
Aya
Yoshiko Kayama
Oyasu
Kamatari Fujiwara
Jinbei
Tatsuya Ishiguro
Uzaemon Matsushita
Kyoko Aoi
Omitsu
Hisashi Igawa
Mosuke
Ichiro Izawa
Toranoshin Tanabe
Jun Tatara
Yasugoro
Toshie Kimura
Oine
Yoko Mihara
Omaki
Credits
Director
Hideo Gosha
Producers
Ginichi Kishimoto
Producers
Tetsuro Tamba
Screenplay
Keiichi Abe
Screenplay
Eizaburo Shiba
Screenplay
Hideo Gosha
Cinematography
Tadashi Sakai
Editor
Kazuo Ota
Art direction
Junichi Osumi
Music
Toshiaki Tsushima

Current

Three Outlaw Samurai: The Disloyal Bunch
Three Outlaw Samurai: The Disloyal Bunch
For nearly three decades, Hideo Gosha (1929–1992) made some of the most explosive, artful, and original films in Japanese cinema. Along the way, he also became one of his country’s most established and acclaimed filmmakers. But his reputation in …

By Bilge Ebiri

A Close-Up on Greg Ruth’s Genre-Infused Portraiture

Studio Visits

A Close-Up on Greg Ruth’s Genre-Infused Portraiture

The artist behind our covers for Notorious, Dragon Inn, and Moonrise shows us how he achieves the simple but hauntingly beautiful effects in his illustrations.

Off to Battle
Off to Battle
Cover of Shochiku promotional booklet for Three Outlaw Samurai, 1964