I got the Sonny Chiba, 4 disc collection because of one movie..."G.I.Samurai". I was not disappointed. The plot in a nutshell is... a small group of Japanese Defense Force soldiers go back in time 400 years and fight samurais. Made in 1979, this movie delivers some ultra-battle action! The group of about twenty guys, led by Sonny Chiba, whose character's name I can no longer remember, find themselves propelled backwards, somehow, to feudal Japan, via a "Time Slip", (this movies alternate title, among others). The special effects are somewhat shoddy but they work. Not only are the men flung back into time but get this, a tank, half-track, jeep with .50 cal. machine gun, supply truck, helicopter and a freakin' patrol boat also! They find themselves in the middle of a feud between the local warlords, one of whom takes a fancy to them. They decide to team up with this guy and take over ancient Japan. Forget about messing with the space/time continuum,in battle after battle, many, many samurais and foot soldiers are gunned down, blowed up, and generally done away with, without regard to the historical consequences. The soldiers have a seemingly inexhaustible supply of ammo. Clocking in at over two hours, we have all sorts of Japanese tomfoolery to contend with. There is some truly awful music sprinkled throughout,some with English lyrics. I liked this movie, a lot. There are so many things about this movie to like and few reasons not to. I cannot remember all the elements in this movie...there was just too much going on. Ha. The soundtrack was Japanese with English subtitles. I understand there is a chopped up, English language version out there too, which should be avoided.

I just finished watching the 139 min version (widescreen) with some friends and we were blown away. I won't bother repeating what others have said. What the filmmakers do with the concept is unexpected and fun. The huge battle is exhausting. Afterwards we were stunned to find there was still nearly 30 minutes left to go but that didn't keep us from being completely involved and entertained.There is one thing that nearly ruined it and that was the horrific music/songs. Blues, Country/Folk and Rock Ballads do not belong here and every time they are used we all broke out in laughter. It's hideous. You have been warned but the story and storytelling keeps you grounded.There are several outstanding moments that make you appreciate the talent behind the camera. There are many uses of silence as well as slow-motion photography that work beautifully. I really wish I could erase the music but alas.Seek this out. It's fun, it's different and it takes you to places you wouldn't expect and that's very refreshing.

I have a pre-cert copy of this film, which is under the title 'time wars' and it runs at an even shorter time than the 110mins version mentioned here by other users. My copy barely hits 60 mins and the hacked editing shows in a very obvious way. There is little explanation of what is going on; the prostitute from the past seems to be still working at the brothel in the late 1970s; a Samurai appears riding a horse down the street in the 1970s for NO reason and while the ending is reminiscent of Macbeth there is a much a much stronger feeling of MacDuff to the whole finished product. I would like to see an unedited version of this in relation to what people are saying about it as my memory of it is as an instigator of Family argumentsBO!

GI Samurai was a great movie. Fans of Sonny Chiba should love this movie as did I. Basically, its about this platoon that is sent back in time to feudal Japan. Sonny Chiba plays the platoon's captain. The platoon is forced to fight the samurai clans, its cool to see the army weaponry going up against spears & catapults. Forget plot, this movie doesn't need it, its chock full of war carnage & some unbelievable special effects. The film ultimately turns anti-war with an unexpected ending that will stay with you for days.