Kurosawa Akira’s “Y ōjimbō” (1961) and Yamada Yōji’s “Hidden Blade” (2004)

Please write an essay (4-5 pages) on the following question. Answer all parts of the question. Kurosawa Akira’s “Y ōjimbō” (1961) and Yamada Yōji’s “Hidden Blade” (2004) are both samurai films set in the late Edo/Tokugawa period in the 1860s. Compare and/or contrast these films and discuss how the samurai protagonists (Kuwabatake Sanjūrō and Katagiri Munezō) are presented in very similar and/or different ways. How do the films develop these characters and frame the main points in the story? How are these samurai depicted as heroes? Explain the messages of these films and how these characters enhance them. Focus on specific aspects of the plot, scenes, etc, in order to present an in- depth analysis. All of these questions here must be addressed in some way in your paper. Present your thesis about these films and their characters clearly. Overall plot summary should be extremely short, a few sentences at most. Make sure to provide concrete, specific examples of scenes, plot points, characters, etc., to back up your argument.                                                                                                                                

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