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Six-String Samurai
HSX Films/Palm Pictures, 1998
Directed by Lance Mungia (The Crow: Wicked Prayer)
Running Time: 91 minutes
Rated PG-13 for martial arts violence and mild language.

"Don't touch my guitar, man. Don't even touch my guitar." - Buddy

Cast
Jeffrey Falcon as Buddy
Justin McGuire as the Kid
Lex Lang (Gineas in Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team, Shun in Heat Guy J) as Death (voice)

Buddy: "Who are you?"
Death: "Death."
Buddy: "Cool. You here for me?"
Death: "You and every other rock 'n' roller out to claim my throne."


Synopsis
In 1957, the Soviet Union nuked America and turned the country into a wasteland. The last safe haven in America was a city called Lost Vegas, ruled by King Elvis. Forty years have passed since then, and Elvis has died. Sword-wielding, guitar-picking warriors all over the wastelands embark on a perilous journey to be crowned King of Lost Vegas.

On his way to the city, a lone rockabilly named Buddy saves a kid from a bunch of primitive thugs. Despite having to put up with the kid - who does nothing but moan and scream, Buddy must continue his quest to become the King, even if he has to face the Russian Army or Death himself and his heavy metal minions from hell.

"Don't let the four-eyes reach Vegas alive!" - Death

Lowdown
B-movies - you've seen one, you've seen them all. Many of them are poorly scripted, cheaply produced and reek of horrible acting. But then, once in a while, there comes a B-movie that's so good, you can't get enough of it. Take, for example, Six-String Samurai: a loose parody of Lone Wolf and Cub and a satire of American pop culture.

"Nice tuxedo. Nice tuxedo to die in!" - Pin Pals leader

Jeffrey Falcon, who has spent most of his career as a white jobber in Hong Kong flicks, does a great job playing Buddy (a parody of the late rock legend Buddy Holly), who packs a sharp katana and plays a mean six-string at the same time. The acting is extremely cheesy and the script is full of one-liners that really stick to your head. You even have a host of laughable baddies for Buddy to use his katana on, such as the Pin Pals (a trio of bald bowlers), the Cleavers (a cannibalistic suburban family), a bunch of fallen Cosmonauts and the Windmill People (mutants living underground).

"I ask you to kill one single guitarist, and what do I get? Dead bald guys. You four have failed me for the last -- nice shoes." - Death

For the soundtrack, Bryan Tyler (Fast Five, Thor: The Dark World) and The Red Elvises capture the essence of the film with rock 'n' roll mixed with ska, surf music and Russian folk. It's amazing how their music flows with the fight scenes.

"Cross that line, kid, I'll cut your little teddy bear in half. Last kid that crossed that line, I had to summon up the Spinach Monster with my rock 'n' roll magic. The Spinach Monster grabbed him, pulled him underground and made him eat spinach all day. Rumor has it, kid...he's still there." - Buddy

If you're looking for some cheap thrills, pick up Six-String Samurai. You won't be disappointed.

Rating: A-

"You come all this way without sayin' squat. And you are tryin' to tell me that a '56 Chevy can beat a '47 Buick in a dead quarter mile...I liked you better when you weren't sayin' squat kid. Go to bed." - Buddy

DVD Extras: A-
When you rent or purchase the DVD, you get the theatrical trailer and two music videos by The Red Elvises. This band really kicks ass!

Mesh-head: "If I were you, I'd run!"
Buddy: "If you were me, you'd be good lookin'!" (Snaps fingers)


Links
Official Six-String Samurai Homepage

Reference
The Internet Movie Database

Edited by areaseven
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I loved this movie when I saw it. In fact to this day, I still have the soundtrack in regular rotation in my playlist. It is an absolutely fantastic example of surf music from Brian Tyler and the Red Elvises....if you ever hear "On My Way to Vegas", think of me....that song rules! :lol:

I also strongly suggest this film. Highly original and spattered with truely amazing imagery. No too easy to find someone who has seen it....thanks for posting a topic on it Areaseven!!

*Favorite SSS movie quote:

Nameless Wasteland Thug: "If I were you, I'd run!"

Buddy: "If you were me, you'd be good lookin'...."

*pseudo-geek-samurai ass-whoopin' ensues*

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"Nice tuxedo. Nice tuxedo to die in!" - Pin Pals leader

Hey, the Pin Pals was the name of the Simpson, Syzlac, Burns, Nahasapeemapetilon bowling team on the Simpsons. I love a good Simpson's tie in!.

On the other hand, this looks like an asian variant of El Mariachi, and Desperado.

Either way, looks like it's worth some popcorn time on my end.

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Yeah, that movie blows chunks.

The acting stinks, which is OK. The plot, while interesting, is so marred by the rest of the film that it's not salvageable. The costumes and sets look more like a mid-80's Mad Max rip-off then 1996, by which time even 'B' movies are able to obtain some sense of decor through sheer wil.

But all of that's expected in a 'B' movie. And that's OK.

What really ruins it is the fact that the fight scenes are piss-poor. Why? The hands of an incomptent director killed any chance for this movie to be entertaining. Even the lowest-budget film can be redeemed with skilled directing and, above all, cinematography.

Sadly, this movie lacks those two key ingredients.

Many people enjoy this movie. I'm just not one of them.

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Bah. Cinematography is for wanna-be Spielbergs. I'll have to disagree with you on this one, WDC.

To me what makes 6 string Samurai great fun is that sense that all involved know very well that they're making a silly movie and they just run with it. The one liners are awesome and the film has a vibe, like Evil Dead or Pitch Black that just makes it enjoyable to me, despite its obvious paper-thin plot or giant lack of technical quality.

Basic lowdown - if you're in the mood for crap, this is very much a movie to rent.

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Bah. Cinematography is for wanna-be Spielbergs. I'll have to disagree with you on this one, WDC.

To me what makes 6 string Samurai great fun is that sense that all involved know very well that they're making a silly movie and they just run with it. The one liners are awesome and the film has a vibe, like Evil Dead or Pitch Black that just makes it enjoyable to me, despite its obvious paper-thin plot or giant lack of technical quality.

Basic lowdown - if you're in the mood for crap, this is very much a movie to rent.

I guess I completely missed the vibe.

But I'd have to disagree with you that cinematography is for wannabe Spielberg's.

Anyone can make Road to Perdition work because it inherently is not a visual movie.

But "fight" films are. They need to utilized skilled cinematography in order to make the fight scenes look good.

SSS doesn't do this.

Comparing this to Evil Dead or Pitch Black is, IMHO, wrong. Evil Dead carries Sam Raimi's quirky style of film-making. That, along with a suitably cheesy script and an actor who's delivery is almost as memorable as the lines themselves, set Evil Dead (including 2 [or 1.2] and Army of Darkness) apart from other 'B' movies. Pitch Black takes the standard 'B' movie formula and puts it into a big budget film, where, once again, it's the visuals which set it apart from other 'B' movies.

But, like I said, to each his own. I still love you, Blaine23.

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But, like I said, to each his own. I still love you, Blaine23.

As do I, sweet woogums. :p

Sing along with me, folks!

Now, the world don't move to the beat of just one drum,

What might be right for you, may not be right for some.

A man is born, he's a man of means.

Then along come two, they got nothing but their jeans.

But they got, Diff'rent Strokes. It takes,

Diff'rent Strokes. It takes,

Diff'rent Strokes to move the world.

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