Calling All
Samurai Movie Fans—April at the Detroit Institute of Arts is for
You
Enjoy
classic samurai movies, including a rare silent film with live musical
accompaniment
for your chance to win
a pair of passes to the movie of your choice!
The
Detroit Film Theatre (DFT) at the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) features a
samurai movie smorgasbord in April, in conjunction with the hit exhibition
Samurai: Beyond the Sword, on view through June
1.
The samurai warrior is a revered
figure in Japanese culture, and movies about the samurai have long been popular
around the world. Most samurai films are set in the late 19th century, when
warfare restarted after Japan’s mostly peaceful Edo period. The main characters
are usually rōnin, masterless, unemployed samurai who were social outcasts and
often destitute. Epic displays of swordsmanship were the primary appeal of
samurai films, but rōnin were often depicted as tragic, solitary figures who hid
their samurai swords until forced to use them.
Saturday, April 5, 3
p.m.
The Sword of
Doom
(Japan/1965—directed by Kihachi
Okamoto)
In the 1860s, the merciless
behavior of an outcast samurai leaves him little choice other than to make his
living as a paid assassin. His fearsome authority is challenged and his life
placed in jeopardy when he makes an enemy of the only samurai who is his equal
as a swordsman. In Japanese with English subtitles. Tickets are $8.50 and $6.50
for DIA members, seniors and students.
Saturday, April 12, 3
p.m.
13
Assassins
(Japan/2009—directed by Takashi Miike)
Set near the end of the feudal
era, 13 Assassins is the story of a group of unemployed samurai
recruited to bring down a sadistic lord and prevent him from ascending to the
throne, which would plunge the country into a bitter, war-saturated future. In
Japanese with English subtitles. Tickets are $8.50 and $6.50 for DIA members,
seniors and students.
Friday, April 18, 7 p.m.
A Story of Floating
Weeds (Japan/1934—directed
by Yasujiro Ozu),
A Story of Floating
Weeds is the deceptively simple tale
of an aging, travelling actor who returns to a small town with his troupe where
he reunites with his former lover and their illegitimate son. This does not sit
well with his current mistress, who accompanies him, and the flood of repressed
emotions takes a profound toll on all. Accompanied by Alex de Grassi,
playing his original score, commissioned by the New York Guitar Festival, for
this silent classic. Free admission.
Saturday, April 19, 3 p.m.
Yojimbo (Japan/1961—directed by Akira
Kurosawa)
A masterless samurai wanders
into a village terrorized by two warring factions. Seeing a way to turn the
situation to his advantage, he secretly sells his services as a master
sworsdsman to both sides, resulting in a tidal wave of apocalyptic swordplay and
a satisfying conclusion. A darkly funny, deeply cynical adventure,
Yojimbo (The Bodyguard) is a blend of violence and wit, remade
by Sergio Leone as A Fistful of Dollars. In Japanese with English
subtitles. Tickets are $8.50 and $6.50 for DIA members, seniors and
students.
Hours and
Admission
Museum hours are 9 a.m.–4 p.m.
Tuesdays–Thursdays, 9 a.m.–10 p.m. Fridays, and 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Saturdays and
Sundays. General admission (excludes ticketed exhibitions) is free for Wayne,
Oakland and Macomb county residents and DIA members. For all others, $8 for
adults, $6 for seniors ages 62+, $4 for ages 6–17. For membership information,
call 313-833-7971
