{{short description|1993 film}} {{Infobox film | name = Samurai Cowboy | image = | director = Michael Keusch | writer = Dave Hunsaker<br>Rick Ponte | starring = Hiromi Go<br>Catherine Mary Stewart<br>Robert Conrad<br>Matt McCoy<br>Conchata Ferrell | producer = Mike Erwin<br>J. Max Kirishima | distributor = Saban Entertainment | released = {{Film date|1993}} | runtime = 101 minutes | country = Canada | language = English | budget = }}
'''''Samurai Cowboy''''' is a film shot in conjunction with the Alberta Motion Picture Development Corporation, and Monarch Home video. The film was shot in 1993 at Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta. The film was directed by Canadian director Michael Keusch. For the director Michael Keusch, a graduate of the film program at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, the film was a chance to revisit the province he grew up in.<ref name=":0" />
The screenplay was written by Dave Hunsaker and Rick Pont, and was created with a budget of 2 million Canadian dollars.<ref name=":0" /> The film stars main character Hiromi Go as the Japanese business man turned cowboy. Also starring in the film were Robert Conrad, Matt McCoy, Catherine Mary Stewart and Conchata Ferrell.
==Plot== The film follows a Japanese businessman named Yutaka Sato<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|title=Samurai Cowboy: He's an idol in Japan but here in Alberta Hiromi Go is just an unknown actor in a low-budget film|last=Haeseker|first=Fred|date=November 14, 1992|work=Calgary Herald|id = {{ProQuest|244217816}}}}</ref> (Hiromi Go), a workaholic who lives in Tokyo, Japan. After the death of his best friend from a heart attack due to permanent stress at work, Sato becomes disillusioned with the busy Tokyo lifestyle that he leads. Sato then decides to fulfill his lifelong dream of living in the Wild West in America, and moves to Montana to follow a childhood dream of becoming a cattle rancher.
In Montana, Sato meets a group of five cowboys that end up becoming his friend group. One is an old cowboy named Gabe McBride (Robert Conrad); one is a cowgirl/veterinarian named Jessie Collins (Catherine Mary Stewart); one is an Aboriginal (Native Canadian) cowboy who faces discrimination (Byron Chief-Moon); and a country singer cowboy (Bradley M. Rapier).<ref>{{Citation|title=Samurai Cowboy (1994)|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108035/reviews|access-date=2018-04-02}}</ref> Along the way these cowboys become his friends and help him fight against the evil Colt Wingate. Meanwhile, Jessie Collins becomes Sato's love interest in the film.
However, once he arrives at the ranch he finds out it is due for demolition and the welcome he receives from the town is less than friendly. Cattle rancher Colt Wingate, played by Matt McCoy, is pitted against newcomer Sato<ref name=":0" /> as Wingate wants to buy Sato's land in order to flood the valley and build a dam.<ref>{{Citation|title=Samurai Cowboy (1994)|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108035/reviews|access-date=2018-04-02}}</ref> In the end, Sato wins against Colt Wingate and is able to fulfill his lifetime-long dream of living on a ranch in the Wild Wild West.
==Cast== * Hiromi Go as Yutaka Sato<ref name="Budd">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ebeY7mHSLpcC&q=Samurai+Cowboy+1993+film&pg=PA62|page=62|first=David H.|last=Budd|publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc.|location=Jefferson, North Carolina and London|title=Culture Meets Culture in the Movies: An Analysis East, West, North and South, with Filmographies|year=2002|isbn=0-7864-1095-7}}</ref> * Catherine Mary Stewart as Jessie Collins<ref name="Budd"/> * Robert Conrad as Gabe McBride<ref name="Budd"/> * Matt McCoy as Colt Wingate<ref name="Budd"/> * Conchata Ferrell as Bobbi Bob Pickette<ref name="Budd"/> * Ian Tyson as T.J. Welsh * Byron Chief-Moon as Jack Eagle Eye * Bradley M. Rapier as C.C. Ryder * Mark Acheson as Flint Clayton * Tom Glass as Ben * Rick Harvey as Gil * Owen Smith as Mudslinger #1 * Ehud Ellman as Mudslinger #2 * Tom Bonny as Mudslinger #3 * Harold Ludwig as American Businessman * Duncan Callander as Bus Driver * J. Max Kirishima as Goro Date (credited as Max Kirishima) * Don Browne as Unfriendly Man #1 * Kendall MacDonnell as Unfriendly Man #2
==Reception== Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a rating of 0%, based on 0 reviews. Audiences give the film a 50% rating, based on 672 reviews, with an average rating of 3.1/5.<ref name="rt">{{cite web|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/samurai_cowboy/|title=Samurai Cowboy|work=Rotten Tomatoes|publisher=Flixster|access-date=February 11, 2016}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist|30em}}
==External links== *{{IMDb title|id=0108035|title=Samurai Cowboy}}
Category:1993 drama films Category:1993 films Category:1993 Western (genre) films Category:Canadian drama films Category:English-language Canadian films Category:Saban Entertainment films Category:Canadian Western (genre) films Category:Films shot in Alberta Category:Films about Japanese Canadians Category:1993 English-language films Category:1993 Canadian films Category:English-language Western (genre) films Category:English-language drama films