|
Six-String Samurai
Directed by: Lance Mungia
Starring: Jeffrey Falcon
Genre:
Independent
Run Time: 91
min.
Release Date:
September 1998
On The Web:
Official
Site
Teaser: No Trailer Available
Reviewed by
Byron Merritt |
A post-apocalyptic,
spaghetti western, rock-n-roll Samurai film? Yep. That pretty much sums
up SIX-STRING SAMURAI. It's quirky. It's B-movie all the way. It's
wonderful.
What we have here is a film shot on weekends on a minuscule budget in
and around Death Valley, California. It also pays homage to many films;
every Clint Eastwood spaghetti western ever made, Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome,
Night of the Living Dead and, of course, The Wizard of Oz,
just to name a few.
The movie was dubbed giving it a hokey spaghetti western feel that
matched the production values perfectly (very low). "The Kid" in the
film was a complete carbon-copy of the mangy little guy that follows Mel
Gibson around in Beyond Thunderdome. There's a family of cannibals and
"The Windmillers" who represent the slow brain functions from
Night of
the Living Dead. And then there are the multiple references to The
Wizard of Oz ("Just follow the yellow brick road").
The story's focus is on Buddy (Jeffrey Falcon), a six-string carrying,
Samurai sword wielding bad ass who wants to be the new "King" of "Lost
Vegas." But first he has to get there. Traveling across the desert
wasteland of the post-apocalyptic world, Buddy (who looks remarkably
like Buddy Holly) has to slash, punch, and scratch his way toward The
Emerald City (another Wizard of Oz reference that we see, Lost Vegas
looking very much like the gateway to Oz's hometown). Along the way
Buddy picks up "The Kid" (Justin McGuire), a young boy who's mother was killed by humans
resembling troglodytes. The Kid doesn't speak (initially) and only
screams/moans whenever he wants Buddy's attention. But The Kid is good
with mechanical objects (cars, motorcycles, bicycles) and the two form a
grudging relationship as they travel together. The only issue between
them is Buddy's priceless guitar which he nurtures more than The Kid
...in the beginning. But Buddy can play his six-string as potently as he
can don his sword, giving him a good shot at becoming the King of Lost
Vegas.
On Buddy and The Kids' tail, however, is Death (represented as the four
horseman of the apocalypse ...but without their horses). Death (Stephane
Gauger) wants to
be/remain the King and kills anyone who gets in his way, leaving a lot
of rock-n-roll wannabes as corpses. And in front of Buddy and The Kid is
the Russian Army (Oh! Did I forget to mention that the USSR took over
the U.S. after it nuked us in 1957?) After much bloodletting, Death and
Buddy have their day on the sand. First comes a guitar duel (Death
wields a wickedly good six-string himself!), then the sword. But what
will happen if Buddy wins? Can he be a true father-figure to The Kid?
And what would happen to The Kid if Buddy died? Would Death take the
little tike, too? There are a lot of well choreographed fight sequences
(perhaps one or two too many). The camera work was done with an eye
toward professionalism, never being herky-jerky or under -over exposed.
The acting was okay. And the story was so ridiculous that suspending
disbelief was quite fun. The dialogue often set the tone for the entire
production, giving us some great bits like...
Death: "You have failed me for the last...hey, nice shoes." Then we
watch Death kill the men wearing the shoes and walk away with new
footwear.
The musical score is also pulled off well. The Red Elvises leant their
music and themselves for the production (they are the ones with the nice
shoes mentioned above). Their musical numbers reminded me very much of
The Stray Cats (a band I liked).
If you don't mind low production standards but enjoy spoofs with a good
if somewhat ridiculous script, then slip this little B-flick into your DVD player and bask in its foolishness. You won't be disappointed.
(back to top) |
Image from Six-String
Samurai
DVD cost: $16.99
Purchase:
Tower.com
Film Review Stew
Favorite? No.
Stew Poo-Poo? No.
Newsworthy:
The band The Red Elvises
who are featured throughout the film's soundtrack appear as themselves,
the band with the "nice shoes". The large, triangular string instrument
that one of the band members is playing is an electric balalaika.
Movie Quote: "Only
one man can kill this many Russians. Bring his guitar to me!"
Other Actors/Actresses
from Six-String Samurai
   |
