The '60s were an age that saw Hollywood running dry on Western ideas, so they turned elsewhere for influence and found gold ...

John Maclean says it was the tight-knit cast and crew, working on a low budget, which allowed his dream of a Scottish samurai western to at last become a reality. "I was very fortunate to work ...

The samurai maintained their elite status into the mid-1800s, when Western influences began to take hold. In 1853, Commodore Matthew Perry and his American fleet sailed into Japanese waters and ...

which allowed his dream of a Scottish samurai western to at last become a reality. "I was very fortunate to work with cast, crew, producers and financers that embraced the originality of the story.

"I had seen and loved some of Kurosawa's films but decided to watch his entire work in order and read every book analysing his technique and storytelling style in order to analyse the to-and-fro ...