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We finally got a glimpse of “Shogun World” in the latest episode of “Westworld,” and the idea to mash up the two universes isn’t just a coincidence. There’s a long history of Westerns borrowing from samurai cinema and the other way around, with Akira Kurosawa studying the work of John Ford, which in turn led to many of Kurosawa’s movies to be remade as Spaghetti Westerns. The cowboy and the samurai are each lone wanderers in a lawless world, so it makes sense that the themes would crossover. Here are 10 instances in which the West met the East.

“The Magnificent Seven” (1960) and “Seven Samurai” (1954)

Akira Kurosawa’s landmark film “Seven Samurai” was highly influential on modern action cinema, but its most direct descendant was John Sturges’s “The Magnificent Seven,” starring Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson and Eli Wallach. The film is a remake but represents...

By Lee Pfeiffer

Bud Spencer, the burly former Italian athlete who became an iconic film star in his native country, has died at age 86. Spencer, whose real name was Carlo Pedersoli, chose his stage name as a tribute to Budweiser beer, which he loved, and Spencer Tracy, his favorite film star. Although Spencer's film found some exposure in the American market, his greatest success was found in European comedy westerns that often co-starred his friend Terence Hill. Among the films that are best known to English-speaking audiences are "Ace High", "The Five Man Army", "They Call Me Trinity", "Trinity is Still My Name!", "Four Flies on Grey Velvet" and "A Reason to Live, A Reason to Die". Among the contemporary actors Spencer counted among his admirers was Russell Crowe. For more click here.  ...

Comic-Con International has announced the schedule for the second day of San Diego Comic-Con 2013 on Friday, July 18. You can clickHere to check out the full schedule, including comic book-related events, but we have pulled out all the movie, DVD, and TV-related panels right here. Take a look at what this day has to offer.

10:00 Am - 11:00 Am Cartoon Network: Regular Show

Care to join the not so regular cast and crew for an eventful hour of over the top regular? Yeeeeeeeeuh you do! Check out exclusive content and get the inside scoop on your favorite slackers and some of their closest friends. The panel features: Regular Show creator J.G. Quintel (voice of Mordecai), William Salyers (voice of Rigby), Sam Marin (voice of Benson, Pops, and Muscle Man), Sean Szeles (supervising director), Matt Price (writer), and storyboard artists Toby Jones and Calvin Wong. Part of the back-to-back Regular Show/Adventure Time Panel Extravaganza,...

Last week, members of the cast and crew from Inglorious Basterds stormed the red carpet at the New Beverly Cinema to celebrate the release of their film on DVD/Blu-ray. Though just a DVD premiere, spotlights shone into the night, flashbulbs flashed, and pens scribbled on notepads. There were a few surprises - the arrival of stunt-woman extraordinaire and Tarantino alum Zoe Bell, for instance. Or the lovely Diane Krueger (Nina Von Hammersmark) arriving with a dapperly dressed Joshua Jackson on her arm.

But for the most part, the focus of the evening was the cast and crew of the critically acclaimed World War II opus. Among them, most of the titular Basterds, including: Sam Levine, Eli Roth, Omar Doom, B.J. Novak, producer Lawrence Bender and, of course, the biggest “basterd” of them all - Quentin Tarantino.

Collider grabbed a few words with some of the cast before enjoying an evening of disemboweled,...

Last night, Universal held a special Blu-ray and DVD launch party for Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds at New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles. The festivities included cast and crew appearances, as well as a screening of the film. But of all the happenings of the night, perhaps the most interesting was before the screening, when Tarantino introduced the cast in attendance and showed several 35mm trailers from his own famous personal collection of films. He explained that these were some of the films that influenced him to make Inglourious Basterds. And since Basterds is one of the favorites films of 2009 around here, I thought I would put together the list of 9 trailers that were shown last night, along with an IMDb link, plot synopsis and trailer (or clip) for each film. It goes without saying that if you loved Inglourious Basterds, these too should be in your Netflix queue: The Dirty Dozen A Major with an...

I have always been moved in some way or another by film music, but no one has created a bigger lump in the throat or watered my eyes more than Ennio Morricone.

He made film music transcend the film. He made me realize that film music could invoke emotions that went beyond just playing sad or tense or action themes. His music became the emotional anchor of the films he scored. This is music that didn’t have to make you think of the film it was used in, but gives your life its own score. I know that may be getting a little carried away, but that’s how I’ve always viewed it.

Being a (very) amateur composer myself, I always fall back on not just his work but the context of how it’s placed in movies. The few cues that were written before filming especially in...