Spirit of the Sword

Starring:Melissa Horne, Doug Stone, Marcela Bordes, Rosalinda Morales, Bob Buchholz, Tom Wyner, Ruben Arvizu, Michelle Ruff, Bryan Moran, John Pollak, Mike Harrington, Ellyn Stern
Studio: Anime Works
Product Type: DVD

Description

Benkei, a master fighter and killer, vows never to take another life after his conversion to Buddhism. His faith in pacifism, however, is shaken and ultimately broken when members of a warrior clan are being mysteriously beheaded at Gojoe Bridge. With his "Demon Slayer" sword the former Buddhist monk and his grave robbing sidekick set out to unmask and destroy the powerful evil forces that lurk at Gojoe bridge. Set in the 12th Century, this action packed epic features some of the most extraordinary fight sequences ever filmed, and heralds the return of the Samurai Film to Japanese Cinema.

Customer Reviews:

Many layered somewhat confusingly opaque offering.......2007-06-01

Gojoe is a rather strange offering and while I find it interesting, I'm still undecided as to what it's supposed to be. It's not a straight telling of the story of the monk Benkei at Gojoe bridge, indeed apart from taking a few characters and locations seems to have very little to do with it. So we know it's not a historical costume drama, then what is it ? The metaphysical element is strange, it's very difficult to judge what view the film is taking, is it one of the real world perceived from the the viewpoint of people who believe in demons and the mystic powers of Buddhism. Or is it a more fantasy oriented scenario where these are literally true and the combatants really are waging psychic war ? Perhaps it's a choice we're allowed to make ourselves, make of it what you will, I don't know the answer. The films pace also jumps to extremes, from blood spurting action shots where somewhat inept samurai are hacked up by the dozen to sections where a confused Benkei gets all angst ridden and meanders off into the wilderness to indulge in much tedious self examination and find himself. Clearly the director is trying to provide something deeper and more spiritual than Baby cart or Azumi but I'm not entirely sure he's succeeded, maybe you need to be a Buddhist to really get it.

A DIFFERENT KIND OF MOVIE.......2006-08-07

I really enjoyed "Gojoe: Spirit War Chronicle." I would highly recommend watching this movie. It is totally different than many movies I have seen, and has wonderful cinematography. I like the character of Benkei, aptly played by Daisuke Ryu. It was great to see him in this movie: along with Tadanobu Asano, the main protaganist in the film. The movie takes place in 12th Century Japan, at a place called Gojoe Bridge. Apparently, many members of a warrior clan are being killed by an unknown entity. Benkei a former warrior has become a Buddhist and refuses to kill anymore, however, he changes his mind and decides to destroy whatever evil is lurking at Gojoe Bridge. Is it human? Or is it something else? I will leave this to the viewer to watch. I can tell you, however, that this movie does not disappoint. It sure did not disappoint me. I thought the cinematography and the acting and action sequences were very good, and the film has a definitely original storyline. I liked this movie, and I am a huge fan of the Toshirio Mifune and Akira Kurosawa classics. Not that I am comparing this movie to those earlier classics. I am not. However, this is a different era today, and some of the movies coming out of Japan show an originality in them that appeals to me. If you are the type of viewer that wants everything spelled out easily, then you might not like it. However, if you want to see a different type of movie, one that is totally original, then I would recommend you watch this movie.

Good Night!.......2006-07-29

I tell you, if you believe in gods and devils, this movie is quite terrifying. Note that this is a play on alot of folk tales about the legendary warrior monk Benkei. Also good if you're easily hypnotized by fire...

Spectacular.......2006-03-25

I wrote a really long review for this and was surprised to see it is not here. #%^#%*%&*%^%&#(&!!!!!!!!

So in short I will tell you this is an epic movie that is one of the biggest blood spillings I have ever seen. The story was pretty good and the acting was superb, especially the monk. The final fight is great but it is a lot of closeups that do not focus on martial arts but do give you more excitement in my opinion.

The DVD has really good 5.1 sound and the special features are awesome with really good sound. The picture quality is weird how it will go from crystal clear to grainy but a lot of Tokyo shock movies are like that and it does not affect the beautiful cinematography.

Good Movie!!!.......2005-09-05

i dont understand what there isnt to get about the film or what not to like. the cinamatography is awesome, the storie plot is one of the better, more original ive seen in a while, i dont understand what the problem other people see with its special effects; the blood flow was great and realistic, not computer generated like in the new zatoichi film. i only had one qualm with the film and everything else really makes up for it; some scenes are grainy like they missed something in the editing process, but its nothing i hold against the film greatly. i rented it from blockbuster and have been thinking about buying just so i could add it to my collection. p.s. it's true people with ADD shouldn't be critics

Average customer rating:

What was the point?
Praise to Pink Amota

Spirit of the Sword
Starring: Melissa Horne , Doug Stone , Marcela Bordes , Rosalinda Morales , and Bob Buchholz
Manufacturer: Anime Works
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Spirit of Wonder: The Movie

ASIN: B00005NB8E
Release Date: 2001-10-30

Description

Yonosuke Hikura appears to be an ordinary high school student. Yet he has inherited the important role, passed down through generations of his family, of protecting the harmony between Heaven and Earth. With the help of the magical sword Chitentai, and Tsukinojo Inbe, a Protector sent to him by the high Priests of Earth, he courageously battles the demons, sending them back to the Earth World, from which they have escaped.

Customer Reviews:

What was the point?.......2007-05-13

I must have missed the point of this one. Didn't do much for me. Felt more like the opening trailer for a longer series that never-was? Skip it and move along the Ninja Scroll, Wrath of the Ninja, Samurai - Hunt for the Sword, or Puppet Princess

Praise to Pink Amota.......2000-08-12

One of Pink Amota's prettiest story. A high quality anime that actually makes sense in the givin amount of time. Features the voice of the ever so popular Megumi Hayashibara whom also did voice for Lina Inverse from Slayers. A Boy is blessed with a family sword that has the power to open the demon and human world. His job along with the caretaker of the sword is to banish the stay demons that roam in the human world. Extra interview of the voice cast is a great bonus. Extremely halarious to see how the voice actors do their job while having fun ^_^.

Spirit Warrior - A Harvest of Cherry Blossoms

Average customer rating:

Spirit Warrior - A Harvest of Cherry Blossoms

Manufacturer: Us Manga Corps Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Average customer rating:

The single worst film of all time?
Actually, it's more like a 3 and a half stars!

Spirit Warrior: Regent of Darkness
Starring: Todd Beadle , Chief Irvin Brink , Michael Caine , Joan Chen , and Jules Desjarlais
Director: Steven Seagal
Manufacturer: Us Manga Corps Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Animation | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

Sci-Fi Action | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

Animation | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

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Description

With Tomoko and the mystical Dragon Orb in his possession, Siegfried von Mittgard now has everything he needs to become the dreaded Regent of Darkness — or so he believes. As Siegfried prepares to use the Dragon Orb to unlock the darkness, Kujaku must come to terms with his unbelievable destiny and rescue Tomoko.

Customer Reviews:

The single worst film of all time?.......2006-10-28

It gives me no pleasure to write the subject line, above. I love Steven Seagal films. They tend to be exciting, have some snappy dialogue, and often have great villains (Henry Silva, Basil Wallace).

But let me digress for a moment. In the 1970s, there was a film, The Green Berets, that was called "the worst film of all time." I watched it recently and it wasn't half bad. After all, it had The Duke and Aldo Ray in it. No, this Seagal excuse for an environmental diatribe is insulting to environmentalists, to oil companies, to Alaskan natives, and to horses!
It portrays the Alaskans as so dumb that they claim horses came from the western hemisphere (they were introduced by the Spaniards).

I tried watching it recently, and could not finish it. It was just too dumb.

My recommendation: stay away. Watch Fire Down Below instead: good story, GREAT music, and good red-necky villains.

Actually, it's more like a 3 and a half stars!.......2004-02-27

A haunted statue is stolen from a room under high security and the thief goes unnoticed and doesn't leave a trail. Fearing the the thief/thieves are supernatural in nature, the owner of the statue hires mystics to investigate its disappearance.
It's the characters in this anime production that make it enjoyable. The villian of the film doesn't steal the statue because he's evil and wants to `destroy the world' which would be typical in a lesser film. No, instead in this, the villian was born with a skill that was relatively useless in today's society but has found an outlet to really show off what he can do.
Kujaku, the main character of the film gets motion sickness while in a car/train which makes him feel like a regular human more so then your regular anime demon/spirit hunter. The Master of Curses character is fun to watch because when he uses his powers, they tend to backfire on him.
The drawbacks to Spirit Warrior: Festival of the Ogres Revival is that there are at least two occasions in which characters make reference to something which made me go what? Who? And this is important because? Well, at least they know what they're talking about. Also, the action scenes tend to be okay in Spirit Warrior. There is nothing wrong with okay action scenes except that the film's climax, which is a ten minute action scene, wasn't as exciting to watch as it should have been. Sure the heroes were being beaten around but I didn't feel as if they were truly threatened. But the climax, as is, is okay. If the action scenes were more then okay, I could see giving this a four star review.
The only difference I can remember between the sub and dubbed version of the film is that in the dubbed version of the film, they name their attacks (which I find funny) while in the subbed version they just make noises like `kai moh sai.....' type thing.
Anyway, Spirit Warrior is a fun way to spend fifty minutes of your life.

Average customer rating:

The single worst film of all time?
Actually, it's more like a 3 and a half stars!

Spirit Warrior: Castle of Illusion
Starring: Todd Beadle , Chief Irvin Brink , Michael Caine , Joan Chen , and Jules Desjarlais
Director: Steven Seagal
Manufacturer: Us Manga Corps Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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The single worst film of all time?.......2006-10-28

Actually, it's more like a 3 and a half stars!.......2004-02-27

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