History Film / SixStringSamurai

* AfterTheEnd - Complete with ''Film/MadMax'' style neo-barbarians.

-->In 1957, [[ApocalypseHow the bomb dropped]], and the Russians took over what was America.
-->The last bastion of freedom became a place called [[UsefulNotes/LasVegas Lost Vegas]] and [[Music/ElvisPresley Elvis]] was crowned King.
-->After forty rockin' years, The King is dead.
-->Every guitar picking, sword swinging opportunist, including [[TheGrimReaper Death himself]], hears the call echoing across the wastelands.

* CannibalClan - Who look and (try to) act like a stereotypical ''Series/FatherKnowsBest''-style [[TheFifties '50's]] nuclear family.
* CaptainErsatz - Buddy and Death are Captain Ersatzes of, respectively, Music/BuddyHolly and [[Music/GunsNRoses Slash]].
** Although judging from what we see, Buddy might actually ''be'' the real Buddy Holly. [[spoiler: Or he may have taken over the mantle, the same way the Kid does for him at the end.]]

* DanceBattler - Buddy uses dance during his swordfights to, well, swordfight.
* EnemiesWithDeath - Fighting a rock'n'roll sword duel against him? Can't get much more literal.
* TheFifties - What's left of society still looks like it, since the nuclear war took place then - and most everywhere is far from recovered even four decades later.
* FunWithSubtitles: Some of the [[{{ForeignCussWord}} profanities uttered by the Russians]] are translated as perfectly polite lines in the subtitles.

* HeroicBSOD: After Buddy has a rematch with the guy he had earlier taken out with an OffhandBackhand, he realizes that AsskickingLeadsToLeadership isn't the way to become a good person or a good ruler, throwing aside his guitar and sword and saying "I've got to get a new gig."
* ImAHumanitarian - Buddy tries to drop the kid off with a family like this.

* LawyerFriendlyCameo - Many of the prominent characters are evocative of various musicians. Most obvious is Buddy for Music/BuddyHolly and Death for [[Music/GunsNRoses Slash]].
* TheLoad - That damn kid. Yeah, yeah, he occasionally does something useful, and ThePowerOfFriendship and all that. Still, notice that ''every single time'' Buddy gets hurt, it's directly or indirectly the kid's fault.
** ''waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!''
** Lampshaded by Death's minions: "The boy! The boy makes him ''very'' uncool!"

* OneManArmy - Buddy versus the remnants of the Russian Army. See the quote above if you have any questions as to who won.
* ParentalAbandonment - The Kid's mother is killed before his eyes at the beginning; he latches onto Buddy in part because Buddy killed his mother's killer.
* ThePowerOfFriendship - [[spoiler:When Death finally catches up to Buddy, Buddy willingly throws away his guitar pick, to concede in his quest to become King. But Death refuses, saying that he's really after what Buddy values most. Realizing that means The Kid, Buddy yells, "You can't have him!"]] Which leads up to...
* ThePowerOfRock: [[spoiler: ... an epic guitar-playing duel where Death and Buddy try to show who's more worthy of becoming King with sweet guitar solos.]]

* TakeUpMySword - [[spoiler:At the end of the movie, the Kid literally takes up Buddy's sword, along with his guitar, suit, and glasses. The final scene of the movie is him literally ''turning into'' Buddy as he walks towards Lost Vegas. Straightforward symbolism? Or [[WildMassGuessing has Buddy's spirit done this before]]? Perhaps a {{Justified}} trope since the actual Buddy Holly would have been much older by that point.]]
* VivaLasVegas - Lost Vegas is the last great bastion of civilization in the US.
* TheVoiceless - The Kid [[spoiler:until about halfway through the movie; [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by Buddy immediately and later on.]]
* WeaksauceWeakness - [[spoiler: In an {{Homage}} to ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'', Death is killed by getting wet.]]
* WhyDontYaJustShootHim - [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] and [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]], as the Russians ran out of bullets decades ago.
* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: How the Kid breaks Buddy out of his HeroicBSOD - as a reminder of the good Buddy can do (since Buddy saved his life), he brings back the guitar and sword to Buddy and says, "You can still be a good King."

* YouHaveFailedMe - Done by Death to some of his minions (local "[[GenreMashup Soviet Rockabilly Surf Band]]" The Red Elvises). The StockPhrase is interrupted when he sees their (nice) shoes, which he takes with him.

* TheGrimReaper - happens to look like [[Music/GunsNRoses Slash]].
** His minions even refer to him as "Top Hat".
* HeroicBSOD: After Buddy has a rematch with the guy he had earlier taken out with an OffhandBackhand, he realizes that AsskickingEqualsAuthority isn't the way to become a good person or a good ruler, throwing aside his guitar and sword and saying "I've got to get a new gig."

* YouHaveFailedMe - Done by Death to some of his minions (local "[[NeoclassicalPunkZydecoRockabilly Soviet Rockabilly Surf Band]]" The Red Elvises). The StockPhrase is interrupted when he sees their (nice) shoes, which he takes with him.