The Fallout series has delighted gaming fans for decades and, thanks to Amazon's streaming series, it has found an even larger audience. The series' mix of dark humor, 1950s aesthetics, and fun action is a combination that has proved enduring and successful for nearly a generation. Of course, with the Fallout show currently between seasons and a new game likely a long way off, many fans are looking for something else to tide them over. These fans will likely enjoy the underrated cult classic, Six-String Samurai.
Released in 1998, this martial arts film didn't feature big starts and ultimately did poorly at the box office. Despite these challenges, however, Six-String Samurai still managed to earn a small but loyal following thanks to its action, music, and style. All of these elements echo aspects of the venerable video game and TV series. While it may not be as well known as Fallout, fans need to check this action movie set in its own post-apocalyptic wasteland.
Six-String Samurai's Setting Will Feel Familiar to Fallout Fans

- Unlike Fallout, which takes place in a future that looks like the 1950s, Six-String Samurai is set in a world where a nuclear war happened in the 1950s.
- Six-String Samurai's soundtrack was performed by the Red Elvises, who also appear in the film.
- The movie features a town called Fallout.
Six-String Samurai is set in an alternate reality where, in 1957, the Cold War ended with the Soviet Union dropping nuclear bombs on the United States, turning it into a wasteland. Las Vegas, now dubbed "Lost Vegas," is one of the few surviving cities and bastions of civilization. Outside the city, roving gangs terrorize innocent people and war with one another. In addition to these gangs, all with unique, often themed outfits, the world is populated by all sorts of mutants, cannibals, and other colorful and dangerous characters.
All of these elements would surely fit right into a Fallout game and, indeed, some of them do turn up in some form in some titles. They may look quite different, but Fallout also has plenty of mutants and various gangs. Fallout: New Vegas even takes place in a very similar, irradiated Nevada desert with a surviving Las Vegas as a central destination.
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It's unlikely any of this was intentional on the part of the filmmakers. Six-String Samurai was released only a year after the first Fallout game, well before the series became a massive hit. Still, its remarkable how similar the two were and the film seems to have had at least some influence on Fallout: New Vegas. Post-apocalypse stories are certainly popular, but this particular brand of 1950s-themed nuclear post-apocalypse is far less common.
Both Fallout and Six-String Samurai repeatedly pay homage to '50s aesthetics through clothing, styles of speech, symbolism and, especially, music. The video game series is known for its great songs and surf rock and rockabilly are a central part of the film. Anyone who's a fan of the Fallout games or show for its musical stylings will almost certainly love what Six-String Samurai has to offer.
Music and Martial Arts Are the Highlights of Six-String Samurai

- Six-String Samurai was released just a year after the first Fallout game and twelve years before Fallout: New Vegas.
- The film bears the most resemblance to the 2010 game, Fallout: New Vegas, both of which are set in Nevada.
- Fallout: New Vegas pays homage to the movie with an achievement titled "New Vegas Samurai."
Music by the band, the Red Elvises, is featured in Six-String Samurai and the band members even appear throughout the movie. The group blends a Russian influence with rockabilly and classic rock and roll to create a sound that feels perfect for a 1950s American wasteland. The protagonist, known only as Buddy, carries a guitar along with his sword and also performs during his journey. Of course, Six-String Samurai is ultimately a martial arts movie and the music serves as background to the action. Here, the film and its star definitely deliver.
Six-String Samurai stars accomplished martial artist Jeffrey Falcon who studied both Taekwondo and Kung Fu and competed in international competitions. While he never hit it big in the United States, he appeared in numerous martial arts films in Hong Kong and established himself as a respected performer and athlete. For Six-String Samurai, his only American film, Falcon brought all his talents as both an actor and fight choreographer.
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Falcon's fights are excellent throughout and won praise from critics. While Six-String Samurai received mixed reviews in general and struggled to attract audiences, most who saw it agreed that the action was superb. From an opening rumble against a gang of bowlers to a final showdown against a sword-wielding Death, the movie is as much an homage to classic martial arts films as it is to rock and roll.
With a blend of flashy style, exciting fights, and great music, Six-String Samurai makes for a unique combination that can please both fans of action movies and anyone looking to scratch that Fallout itch. Finally, the entire package is tied together by a story that celebrates the very era that Fallout constantly references.
Six-String Samurai Honors Classic Rock and 1950s Style

Six-String Samurai explicitly honors the greats of rock and roll and makes their alter egos central to the story. The protagonist, Buddy, looks and dresses exactly like the musician Buddy Holly and a lookalike of Ritchie Valens makes an appearance as well. The story even begins with the declaration that "King Elvis" has died, and Lost Vegas needs a new ruler. It's this announcement that prompts Buddy's journey and brings him into conflict with the various other musicians and monsters in the wasteland.
Six-String Samurai's musician references
Artist | Movie alter ego |
---|---|
Buddy Holly | Buddy |
Elvis | King Elvis |
Slash | Death |
Ritchie Valens | Mariachi |
Red Elvises | Themselves |
read more
The villain of the story, meanwhile, known only as Death, is a clear parody of Slash from Gun N' Roses. The final conflict between Buddy and death represents a battle between classic rock and the new era of metal, with old school rock and roll cast as the hero. With Death's defeat, Six-String Samurai celebrates the legacy of '50s rock and seems to declare that it can never be replaced.
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Despite its low budget, Six-String Samurai managed to develop great costumes that brought the various rock legends to life and pit them against one another. Seeing a martial artist Buddy Holly fighting Slash as Death, himself makes for an absurd image that still manages to feel epic and thrilling.
Six-String Samurai is definitely a weird movie. Action and dialogue that borrow from Hong Kong martial arts films, mixed with a post-apocalypse story and '50s style and music are a strange combination, but great direction and performances somehow make it work. This homage to rock and roll deserves its cult following and, with Fallout becoming more popular, should see an increase in its fanbase. Fallout fans who love the series for its weird humor, style and wasteland wandering need to dip into the martial arts genre and check out this hidden gem.
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Six-String Samurai
PG-13
- Release Date
- September 18, 1998
- Runtime
- 91 minutes
- Director
- Lance Mungia
- Writers
- Lance Mungia, Jeffrey Falcon
Cast
-
Jeffrey Falcon
-
Justin McGuire
-
Kim De Angelo