I Want To (1979)

A squadron of Japanese Self-Defense Force soldiers find themselves transported through time to their country's warring states era, when rival samurai clans were battling to become the ... See full summary »

Director:

Kôsei Saitô

Writers:

Ryo Hanmura (novel), Toshio Kamata

Stars:

Shin'ichi Chiba, Jun Etô, Moeko Ezawa

2 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Shin'ichi Chiba	...	Lt. Yoshiaki Iba (as Sonny Chiba)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jun Etô	...	Nobuhiko Ken
Moeko Ezawa	...	Widow Yui
Ryô Hayami	...	Kazumichi Morishita
Noriko Honma	...	Old Woman
Koji Iizuka	...	Shokichi
Masashi Ishibashi	...	Hosokawa Fujitaka
Toshitaka Itô	...	Seaman Harumi Takashima
Haruki Kadokawa	...	Sanada Masayuki
Takuzô Kadono	...	Seaman Toshishige Suga
Hiroshi Kamayatsu	...	Mokichi Nemoto
Gorô Kataoka	...	Tategawa Katsuzo
Hiroshi Katsuno	...	Track Coach
Tadashi Katô	...	Sgt. Hideo Shimizu
Kenzô Kawarasaki	...	Koji Kano

Storyline

A squadron of Japanese Self-Defense Force soldiers find themselves transported through time to their country's warring states era, when rival samurai clans were battling to become the supreme Shogun. The squad leader, Lt. Iba, sees this as the perfect opportunity to realize his dream of becoming the ruler of Japan. To achieve this, he teams his troops up with those of Kagatori, a samurai daimyo who also aspires to become Shogun. Are either of these power-hungry warriors to be trusted?

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Plot Keywords:

samurai | japan | soldier | no credits | fighting style | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Initially the producers approached the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) for props and vehicles, but the army withdrew its support after reading that soldiers go AWOL in the script. For that reason, old and sometimes outdated equipment (like M3 sub-machine guns) had to be used. The tank featured in the movie was even built entirely from scratch.

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Goofs

None of the vehicles run out of fuel despite being stranded 400 years before the creation of fossil fuels for weeks.

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Alternate Versions

International English language version has rock ballads replacing original haunting soundtrack.

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Connections

Version of Samurai Commando Mission 1549 (2005)

User Reviews

More madness from Toho

"GI Samurai" sees Sonny Chiba and some other guys get transported back to civil war stricken feudal Japan for no particular reason, and much carnage ensues. It's a rather over the top essay of sword vs. machine gun that ultimately yields some interesting results.

The plot essentially runs along the rails that you might expect from the title; initial fish-out-the-water antics ("what is this flying metal box?" etc etc), "aren't we better off here" discussions and ultimately a huge battle. The latter is proof that the film doesn't take itself seriously at all, the carnage taking up most of the second half as samurai army battles Chiba's platoon; a face off one would fully expect from the title but it still manages to overwhelm with its inventiveness and extravagance. It's certainly one of the most unique battle sequences of its time and doesn't drag despite its extended length.

Chiba gives a gruff performance as Iba, initially a good leader but someone who finally finds himself questioning his own morals as the situation slowly has an effect on him. This is certainly one of his better vehicles from his terrific CV. By the final act the two worlds have had such an effect on each other you have to wonder if it was a bit of nihilism on the part of the writers, as they seem to be asking "weren't we better off back then?'. But this is maybe reading a bit much into was can generally be described as a hugely entertaining two hours of (almost) non stop action.

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

January 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

I Want To

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kadokawa Haruki Jimusho

Technical Specs

Runtime:

139 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1