Six-String Samurai

Rating:
Summary: If you were me you'll be goodlooking.
Review: If this piece of diologe taken from the movie makes you shrug your shoulders then read no futher and just turn away. If you thought it was cool, or something that Ash would say from Evil Dead, then look here at the great Six-String Samurai.

Six-String Samurai is Buddy, a mysterious and powerful hero of the post-apocalyptic future, who must fight his way to Las Vegas and ditch a bothersome orphan kid if he is ever to become the king of rock and roll. Along the way, they encounter bounty-hunting bowlers, a cannibalistic "Cleaver" family, a Windmill God and even the Russian army. Winding up at the gates of Vegas, Buddy finds himself in an epic battle with Death over the child's soul and comes to realize just what it means to be king.
This desert spectacle of swords, adventure and rock 'n'oll wowed audiences at the Slamdance and South by Southwest festivals.

Let me say this is one of the best "B" movies I've seen. The directing is great. As a matter of fact this could be a PowerRangers movie if it wasn't for the director. He makes every senqunce in the movie with style and charisma. The soundtrack is also good with its mix of Russian(?) Swing to Heavy Meatle its all good and fun.

Rating:
Summary: This samurai is one happenin' cat, man!
Review: How can you not like a movie as wildly immaginative as Six-String Samurai? To put it simply; this movie rocks! A post-apocolyptic adventure that features echoes of everything from Kurosawa, Woo, and the Mad Max series to Shane and The Wizard of Oz, Six-String Samurai takes all of these elements(and several others) and melds them into a highly entertaining and original concoction. Jeffery Falcon turns in a fantastic performance as Buddy, a samurai guitarist who is going to Lost Vegas to become the next King. His report with the orphaned child works quite well and is, in fact, quite touching. Death is hillariously portrayed as a heavy metal Slash clone, complete with wigged-out flunkies who sound like they've been sucking on a helium tank. The cast of loonies that Buddy and the kid encounter sends up any number of post-nuke pictures. Psychotic bowlers, gumball hurling barbarians and a Mexican midget are just a few members of the film's rouge's gallery. Contributing an excellent assortment of songs is the Russian group The Red Elvises. It works perfectly, warranting a few extra dollars to purchase the soundtrack album. This film is a blast from start to finish. See it. You won't be disappointed!

Rating:
Summary: Over-Hyped, but Excellent Nonetheless
Review: "Siz-String Samurai" is a movie that suffers from over-hype. I heard about it often across the internet and it sounded great. A post-apacolypse rock-and-roll martial arts western? You can't get a much better premise than that. Well, if you're aiming for cheese, at least. Recently I got the DVD in the mail. It wasn't AS great as I'd expected, however, it was still very good, something that usually isn't true for movies that don't live up to their hype.

The story revolves around Buddy, a guitar-playing samurai dressed in a beat-up suit with his glasses held together by tape. In 1957, the Soviets dropped the bomb on America, turning most of it into a wasteland (and perhaps starting a war across the world, but that's never dealt with in the movie.) Las Vegas becomes Lost Vegas, the last area of freedom, where Elvis becomes the true king. In 1997, Elvis has died and the radio waves call out that Vegas needs a new king. Buddy wants to be that king and will stop at nothing to achieve that goal.

...Or so he thinks. Right at the start of the movie, a kid and his mother are escaping from bloodthirsty cannibals. Buddy comes in and saves the day, though the mother is lost, and the kid decides to follow Buddy. This is just one of the things the film does well; rather than waste time with Buddy from the start and then introducing the kid, the kid is placed in right away.

I didn't find the kid as bothersome as most people do. He's got a couple advantages over typical children accompanying "lone warriors" in movies. For one thing, he doesn't really talk for the first half of the movie, just crying out to get Buddy's attention. Another is that he actually does help Buddy a little bit.

The plot is essentially Buddy's journey to Lost Vegas, trying to ditch the kid, while growing more attached to him, a bond that Death decides to exploit. Buddy isn't the only martial artist musician on his way to Lost Vegas. There are several other humans, but his main competition is the embodiment of Death himself, who views Buddy as his greatest threat. There are a number of other enemies on the way, but they are constantly referenced in so many reviews and they are usually listed in full, which leads to the over-hype. There were no more surprises because other reviews have outlined every single character and I don't want that to happen to those who read this one.

Acting is as great as possible, but I don't think it's supposed to be. Buddy does a sort of Clint Eastwood stint, and the kid just cries at times, but their reactions to one another seem genuine. The rest of the cast, aside from Death, are also appropriately cheesy.

Aside from the visuals (fights and so on), the music is probably the best part. The Red Elvises do most of the soundtrack and it's fantastic. It's an appropriate blend of western guitar with what can only be described as surfer guitar. It's appropriate throughout the movie and I'm probably going to end up buying the soundtrack as well because of it.

There's really no genre for this movie to fit into besides post-apacolyptic. The people who will enjoy it are those who love a well-done B-movie. I'm amazed a good product like this could come out of such a hectic production (although that's not unheard of, if you know the backgrounds to movies such as "Jaws.") Just try not to hear too much more about it or you might damper the experience of a great, fun little film.

Rating:
Summary: Six String Samurai-- Rocking Post Apocalyptic Masterpiece
Review: A friend of mine saw this film during its limited theatrical release, and instantly recommended it to me. I saw it on VHS at his house, and my first impression was that this was a moderately enjoyable film, with a brilliant premise. The cinematography was top notch, and the soundtrack is EXCELLENT. It made the movie for me the first time. I liked it enough to buy both it on DVD and the soundtrack so I could show this amazingly wacked out film. After watching it several times, I fell in love completely. This movie is simultaneously a rock and roll fairy tale, a samurai film, a Road Warrior type film, and bracingly original. The Six String Samurai is fighting his way towards Lost Vegas to become King, but must fight off bowlers, an ENTIRE army of Russians, and Death (dressed like Slash from Guns and Roses) to claim his crown, with only his sword, his six string, and an arsenal of one-liners. Along the way he picks up an orphaned kid, who is admittedly incredibly annoying for the first half of the movie, and learns the true meaning of being a king. Add in references to the Wizard of Oz, and this film is a masterpiece. You'll laugh, and you may even get misty-eyed by the end. I highly recommend this movie to anyone looking for something different. You won't regret it. The DVD has one notable feature for true fans of the film: some music videos from the Red Elvises (who provide a majority of the soundtrack, and appear in the movie briefly), and who simply rock. If nothing else, you'll have a movie that will either impress or confuse your friends, both desirable results!

Rating:
Summary: Over-Hyped, but Excellent Nonetheless
Review: "Siz-String Samurai" is a movie that suffers from over-hype. I heard about it often across the internet and it sounded great. A post-apacolypse rock-and-roll martial arts western? You can't get a much better premise than that. Well, if you're aiming for cheese, at least. Recently I got the DVD in the mail. It wasn't AS great as I'd expected, however, it was still very good, something that usually isn't true for movies that don't live up to their hype.

The story revolves around Buddy, a guitar-playing samurai dressed in a beat-up suit with his glasses held together by tape. In 1957, the Soviets dropped the bomb on America, turning most of it into a wasteland (and perhaps starting a war across the world, but that's never dealt with in the movie.) Las Vegas becomes Lost Vegas, the last area of freedom, where Elvis becomes the true king. In 1997, Elvis has died and the radio waves call out that Vegas needs a new king. Buddy wants to be that king and will stop at nothing to achieve that goal.

...Or so he thinks. Right at the start of the movie, a kid and his mother are escaping from bloodthirsty cannibals. Buddy comes in and saves the day, though the mother is lost, and the kid decides to follow Buddy. This is just one of the things the film does well; rather than waste time with Buddy from the start and then introducing the kid, the kid is placed in right away.

I didn't find the kid as bothersome as most people do. He's got a couple advantages over typical children accompanying "lone warriors" in movies. For one thing, he doesn't really talk for the first half of the movie, just crying out to get Buddy's attention. Another is that he actually does help Buddy a little bit.

The plot is essentially Buddy's journey to Lost Vegas, trying to ditch the kid, while growing more attached to him, a bond that Death decides to exploit. Buddy isn't the only martial artist musician on his way to Lost Vegas. There are several other humans, but his main competition is the embodiment of Death himself, who views Buddy as his greatest threat. There are a number of other enemies on the way, but they are constantly referenced in so many reviews and they are usually listed in full, which leads to the over-hype. There were no more surprises because other reviews have outlined every single character and I don't want that to happen to those who read this one.

Acting is as great as possible, but I don't think it's supposed to be. Buddy does a sort of Clint Eastwood stint, and the kid just cries at times, but their reactions to one another seem genuine. The rest of the cast, aside from Death, are also appropriately cheesy.

Aside from the visuals (fights and so on), the music is probably the best part. The Red Elvises do most of the soundtrack and it's fantastic. It's an appropriate blend of western guitar with what can only be described as surfer guitar. It's appropriate throughout the movie and I'm probably going to end up buying the soundtrack as well because of it.

There's really no genre for this movie to fit into besides post-apacolyptic. The people who will enjoy it are those who love a well-done B-movie. I'm amazed a good product like this could come out of such a hectic production (although that's not unheard of, if you know the backgrounds to movies such as "Jaws.") Just try not to hear too much more about it or you might damper the experience of a great, fun little film.

Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite movies of all time
Review: This movie Rocks...literally. i love this movie. it is about a rocker(Jeffrey Falcon) who travels to Vegas in hopes of becoming the new king. On the way he encounters a boy, russians, and Death. the music is great too.
BUY THIS DVD ITS WORTH THE MONEY!!!

Rating:
Summary: Rock around the Apocalypse
Review: Now, the idea of a rockabilly/martial arts/postapocalyptic flick done on a shoestring may sound like the result of mixing medications, but in this case, it works! Six String Samurai's tale of Buddy and his quest to take Elvis's throne as the new King of Lost Vegas - the last cradle of American 'civilization' - has a few slow parts, but is generally pretty entertaining. The fights are good (mercifully bereft of 'wire fu') and the idea is realized pretty well. Russkie rockabilly group the Red Elvises do some of their best work in the soundtrack, and the guitar battle between rockabilly and heavy metal is a pretty cool symbolic showdown. I only gave it three stars for the occasional slow parts, and all in all, I would buy it again.

Rating:
Summary: The Best Movie I Didn't Want To See...
Review: Wow

What can I say about this movie but WOW.

The title was a turn off to me at first, but after I was forced into watching it, I found myself sucked into this incredibly unique movie. It is very obviously a cult film, but don't let that deter you from enjoying it. It has some of the best cinematography, a great and funny story, as well as some great fight scenes. And lets not forget the great music by the Red Elvises (music vids on dvd). Based loosley on a reinterpretation of the Wizard of Oz, this film delivers a unique experience that your unlikley to forget. I still utter to my friends "Bow before the great and powerfull windmill god!". Even the kids (about 8yrs old) love this film.

Theres something here for everyone, and since no place is likely to rent it, buying is the only option. And I'm pretty sure youll love this film.


Rating:
Summary: Rockabilly rumble
Review: "Six-string Samurai" is the type of film where you get the feeling that the title came first, then a plot was developed around it. There are plenty of moments here, and some good ideas that are marred by an overall poor production and poor directorial talent. Perhaps there is a little bit too much self-conscious concern on being cool and cultish. Also, there is an annoying little kid.

When you have no budget, and no experience, you have to make up for it in style. Unfortunately, that didn't happen here. The by-the-numbers directorial approach is what really hampers this flick, with a lack of any innovation or stunning creativity. This is no "El Mariachi" or "Evil Dead."

The few saving graces of "Six-string Samurai" are a really cool soundtrack, quite necessary to a flick like this, and Jeffrey Falcon. Falcon is an actual martial artist, and a veteran of Hong Kong martial arts cinema where he plays characters such as "Caucasian Villain," "Caucasian Killer" and "Caucasian Fighter." While not a stunning actor, he has the style necessary to carry a role like Buddy, and lends some authenticity to the fights.

In the hands of another director, this could have really been something. Too bad.

Rating:
Summary: Not your ordinary Indi adventure
Review: When the Russians took over America in 1957, only Lost Vegas remained free under the rule of Elvis, the one true king.

Now Elvis is gone and Death himself (with his heavy metal and a band of dark followers) stalks all those who would take up his mantle. Only Buddy, with his horn rim glasses and flashing blade, can save us.

A silly premise, but it oozes with style. If you like your movies a little strange with a great soundtrack and half way descent martial arts, this is your movie.

"Only one man could kill this many Russians, bring me his guitar" - Death