Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8788 in DVD
• Released on: 1999-03-02
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD, Letterboxed, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 91 minutes

Amazon.com
As a genre-buster, Six-String Samurai--just your average, run-of-the-mill postapocalyptic kung-fu-rock & roll road movie--has a lot going for it. The film takes place in a Soviet-ruled America (they nuked the U.S. in 1957; with the exception of Lost Vegas [sic] and the badlands around it, the country is a Soviet territory). It revolves around Buddy (Jeffrey Falcon, who bears a remarkable resemblance to Buddy Holly), a guitar-slinger-swordsman who's on his way to Vegas, where he plans to succeed the just-deceased Elvis as the King. Along the way, he picks up an orphaned preteen traveling companion, and the pair's quest leads them to confront various Mad Max-style pop-culture weirdos, the Red Army, and Death--a rival guitarist who looks suspiciously like Guns n' Roses' Slash.

Falcon's background is in Hong Kong cinema, and it shows in this made-on-a-shoestring production, filmed mostly in Palm Springs and Death Valley. (He certainly had enough opportunities to influence the production, since, besides playing the lead, Falcon pitched in as cowriter, coproducer, production designer, and costume designer on the film.) Despite the limited budget, the movie is generally entertaining, though it could probably stand to lose a couple of go-nowhere subplots that account for about 15 minutes of the 91-minute running time. --Randy Silver

Customer Reviews

A very well executed post modern independent movie
I consider a 'B Movie' to be a film that is not only made with a small budget, but also a film that has a lack of creativity and entertainment value as well. 'Six-String Samurai' has none of those problems with it. It was a post-modern 'melting pot' idea that gave birth to it and only those who can understand and recognise the homages to the past can get the reason for the plot. The basic idea is that there is no deep plot and it's just a mix of the filmakers favorite things captured on film in various genre's. There is, however, the attempt to suggest that the only reason that Buddy Holly wasn't deemed the king of Rock and Roll was because he died before he could take over and what he was replaced with was a showboat who didn't know a thing about rock and roll because he was a popstar. An attachment to this idea is the thought that not even today's axe grinders could match up to him and this is played out by the dueling guitars between 'Buddy' and 'Death' at the end. There might be other ideas, but my review is getting long so I'll get technical. The production design, lighting, and cinematography are very good considering the fact that their influences were primarily Westerns, Chop suey Kung Fu pictures, and 50's surf videos. This bizarre mix of influences is also shown in the soundtrack as well which is a mix of tracks done by the Red Elvises and a score by Brian Tyler. The Red Elvises changed their sound to a spaghetti/surf/dixieland/ feel that's in tune with the film's humor and Tyler's score is in tune with the ridiculous, yet plausible dramatic aspect of the film. If most people would listen to Tyler's score I believe that they would want to see the film it was composed for and upon seeing it, most would probably say that it was a waste of good film music. As a closing thought I'd just like to say that the first time I saw the film I was amazed at the actual attempt to provide cinematography that had a personality to it and I also noticed the good quality of the action sequences because I've seen higher budgeted films have scenes that are choreographed with less enthusiasm. The energy and work put into this film is obvious, so I'd say that the film is above camp because that's not it's only selling point. It can be viewed as a tribute to the best in all of their favorite genres, but compiled into one film to save time and money.

Six String Samurai-- Rocking Post Apocalyptic Masterpiece
A friend of mine saw this film during its limited theatrical release, and instantly recommended it to me. I saw it on VHS at his house, and my first impression was that this was a moderately enjoyable film, with a brilliant premise. The cinematography was top notch, and the soundtrack is EXCELLENT. It made the movie for me the first time. I liked it enough to buy both it on DVD and the soundtrack so I could show this amazingly wacked out film. After watching it several times, I fell in love completely. This movie is simultaneously a rock and roll fairy tale, a samurai film, a Road Warrior type film, and bracingly original. The Six String Samurai is fighting his way towards Lost Vegas to become King, but must fight off bowlers, an ENTIRE army of Russians, and Death (dressed like Slash from Guns and Roses) to claim his crown, with only his sword, his six string, and an arsenal of one-liners. Along the way he picks up an orphaned kid, who is admittedly incredibly annoying for the first half of the movie, and learns the true meaning of being a king. Add in references to the Wizard of Oz, and this film is a masterpiece. You'll laugh, and you may even get misty-eyed by the end. I highly recommend this movie to anyone looking for something different. You won't regret it. The DVD has one notable feature for true fans of the film: some music videos from the Red Elvises (who provide a majority of the soundtrack, and appear in the movie briefly), and who simply rock. If nothing else, you'll have a movie that will either impress or confuse your friends, both desirable results!

A Post-Apocalyptic, Spaghetti Western, Rock-N-Roll Samurai Film?
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 (Justin McGuire) was a 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 boy 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", 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 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.