While investigating the horrifying death of her boyfriend, Mai Takano (Miki Nakatani) learns about a videotape haunted by the spirit of a disturbing girl named Sadako, which kills anyone who…
A mysterious video has been linked to a number of deaths, and when an inquisitive journalist finds the tape and views it herself, she sets in motion a chain of…
Set in the 1960’s, high school student Toru Watanabe loses his only friend Kizuki after he commits suicide. Toru, now looking for a new life, enters a university in Tokyo….
To get revenge on her ex-boyfriend and to help revive her late mother’s tennis table club, a table tennis prodigy decides to take part in a mixed doubles table tennis…
This film features a large extended family (and associates) even more extensive than the one portrayed by Ozu in “End of Summer”. The central character is Setsuko Hara — a…
While investigating the horrifying death of her boyfriend, Mai Takano (Miki Nakatani) learns about a videotape haunted by the spirit of a disturbing girl named Sadako, which kills anyone who…
A mysterious video has been linked to a number of deaths, and when an inquisitive journalist finds the tape and views it herself, she sets in motion a chain of…
Set in the 1960’s, high school student Toru Watanabe loses his only friend Kizuki after he commits suicide. Toru, now looking for a new life, enters a university in Tokyo….
To get revenge on her ex-boyfriend and to help revive her late mother’s tennis table club, a table tennis prodigy decides to take part in a mixed doubles table tennis…
This film features a large extended family (and associates) even more extensive than the one portrayed by Ozu in “End of Summer”. The central character is Setsuko Hara — a…
Set in 1926 when Japanese tradition was much stronger, this standard drama looks at the inner workings of a small family, especially the relationship between a sister and brother.
Taking its title from an archaic Japanese word meaning “ghost story,” this anthology adapts four folk tales. A penniless samurai marries for money with tragic results. A man stranded in…
Special Forces commander Captain Tadamori returns to Kyoto after successfully defeating the uprising of pirates in the western sea of Japan. But because the high courtiers dislike career soldiers gaining…
In at least 6 movies by director Kinji Fukasaku, Bunta Sugawara played a yakuza thug. This time, he carries a badge but his character hasn’t lost his distaste for double-dealing…
Yoso is truly a lost classic, set in the Nara Era (710-794), from Kinugasa Teinosuke the same writer/director who gave us the recognized classic Gate of Hell (Jigokumon, 1952) &…
This film follows members of the crew including Genta, a trumpet player in the Marine Band whose music helps inspire Mikasa’s men to do their utmost in the battle, even…
Harada is a successful scenario writer, and his best buddy has just announced an intention to propose to Harada’s ex-wife. Recovering from the shock, Harada indulges in melancholy, mainly on…
Late in the 1500s, an aging tea master teaches the way of tea to a headstrong Shogun. Through force of will and courageous fighting, Hideyoshi becomes Japan’s most powerful warlord,…
After a 7 year hiatus, Godzilla returned to the screen to take on King Kong in the 3rd film in the Godzilla franchise. A pharmaceutical company captures King Kong and…
In the post-WWII Japan, the twenty-seven year-old Noriko Somiya lives a simple but happy life with her fifty-seven year-old widower father, the college professor Shukichi Somiya in the suburb of…
Schoolteacher Hisako Oishi struggles to imbue her students with a positive view of the world and their place in it, despite the fact that she knows full well that most…
The adventures of a blind, gambling masseur and master swordsman. Zatoichi targets a yakuza-controlled village, because war with a neighbouring town’s smaller gang is brewing.
Japanese peasants Matashichi and Tahei try and fail to make a profit from a tribal war. They find a man and woman whom they believe are simple tribe members hiding…
Learning of his family’s collapse, acolyte Goichi, sent to study silently at the Temple of the Golden Pavilion, must endure acute psychological distress.
In March of 1701, Asano, a young provincial lord invited to attend formal ceremonies at the Shogun’s castle, receives special instructions in etiquette for the occasion, but neglects to pay…
Brimming with action while incisively examining the nature of truth, “Rashomon” is perhaps the finest film ever to investigate the philosophy of justice. Through an ingenious use of camera and…
Abarenbō Shōgun is a Japanese television program on the TV Asahi network. Set in the eighteenth century, it showed fictitious events in the life of Yoshimune, the eighth Tokugawa shogun….
Japanese peasants Matashichi and Tahei try and fail to make a profit from a tribal war. They find a man and woman whom they believe are simple tribe members hiding…
The adventures of a blind, gambling masseur and master swordsman. Zatoichi targets a yakuza-controlled village, because war with a neighbouring town’s smaller gang is brewing.
After a 7 year hiatus, Godzilla returned to the screen to take on King Kong in the 3rd film in the Godzilla franchise. A pharmaceutical company captures King Kong and…
When a village is besieged by giant caterpillars, a more horrifying discovery is made in their underground home: a giant flying creature that resembles the prehistoric pterodactyl. Soon after, a…
With a price on his head, Ichi seeks tranquillity in a favorite village. Since his last visit, it has fallen prey to Boss Masagoro, the son of a merchant rumored…
In March of 1701, Asano, a young provincial lord invited to attend formal ceremonies at the Shogun’s castle, receives special instructions in etiquette for the occasion, but neglects to pay…
Special Forces commander Captain Tadamori returns to Kyoto after successfully defeating the uprising of pirates in the western sea of Japan. But because the high courtiers dislike career soldiers gaining…
Schoolteacher Hisako Oishi struggles to imbue her students with a positive view of the world and their place in it, despite the fact that she knows full well that most…
Taking its title from an archaic Japanese word meaning “ghost story,” this anthology adapts four folk tales. A penniless samurai marries for money with tragic results. A man stranded in…
A nameless ronin, or samurai with no master, enters a small village in feudal Japan where two rival businessmen are struggling for control of the local gambling trade. Taking the…
Set in 1926 when Japanese tradition was much stronger, this standard drama looks at the inner workings of a small family, especially the relationship between a sister and brother.
This 26th film installment of the Zatoichi series sees Shintaro Katsu return to this classic role after a 10 year hiatus. The blind masseur Ichi gets caught between rival Yakuza…
As winds of change sweep Japan, an honest man joins the Shinsenhumi out of admiration for its leader and because he wants to live and die as a samurai. However,…
O’oka Echizen, a popular character from Abarenbo Shogun who is a loyal ally of Shogun Yoshimune… in this 50th anniversary special, he has his own story! Synopsis: Magistrate O’oka Echizen…
Tora-San, an itinerant peddler who is thrown out of his father’s house twenty years before but reconnects with his aunt, uncle and sister Sakura. Tora wreaks some havoc in their…
Fascinated with women from an early age, Yonosuke had his first sexual encounter at the age of seven. From that day on, he recklessly and forwardly pursues women, feeding his…
[Period covered: 1575-1681] Fist film in the Shinobi series starring Raizo Ichikawa. Warlord Oda Nobunaga seeks to unite a fractured Japan, a young man trained in the arts of ninjitsu…
Late in the 1500s, an aging tea master teaches the way of tea to a headstrong Shogun. Through force of will and courageous fighting, Hideyoshi becomes Japan’s most powerful warlord,…
Yoso is truly a lost classic, set in the Nara Era (710-794), from Kinugasa Teinosuke the same writer/director who gave us the recognized classic Gate of Hell (Jigokumon, 1952) &…
While investigating the horrifying death of her boyfriend, Mai Takano (Miki Nakatani) learns about a videotape haunted by the spirit of a disturbing girl named Sadako, which kills anyone who…
This film features a large extended family (and associates) even more extensive than the one portrayed by Ozu in “End of Summer”. The central character is Setsuko Hara — a…
Dissatisfied with the conservative mindset of their teachers at Shirobara High School, the girls start conducting their own sex experiments. -ripped from the custom subbed DVD at ADC. thanks to…
Harada is a successful scenario writer, and his best buddy has just announced an intention to propose to Harada’s ex-wife. Recovering from the shock, Harada indulges in melancholy, mainly on…
Zatoichi tries to save a maiden in distress in this sequel to the popular series about a blind samurai swordsman who moonlights as a masseur. Always fighting for the underdog,…
Japan, 1643, as the Kato clan of Aizu falls from power two brave samurai will settle a dispute in the time-honored tradition of their clan, by drawing their blades in…
Zatoichi comes upon the town of Tonda, overrun by gangsters. Using one of his favorite techniques, Zatoichi proceeds to win 8 ryo in a rigged gambling game. Of course, the…
Brimming with action while incisively examining the nature of truth, “Rashomon” is perhaps the finest film ever to investigate the philosophy of justice. Through an ingenious use of camera and…
Returning to the village where a year before he had killed Hirate, a much-admired opponent, Zatoichi encounters another swordsman and former rival in love: his own brother. He must face…
Improved print of “The Pirates.” This less silly movie of Tadashi Sawashima is based on the history of the Bahansen, Japanese pirate ships that sailed to China and Korea before…
Kon Ichikawa’s retelling of the classic true story of Samurai honor. When a young clan lord is forced to commit seppuku (ritual suicide), his loyal followers (now Ronin, masterless Samurai)…
In the year 1729 an unusual tale of intrigue unfolds around the succession of 8th shogun Yoshimune. When a young master swordsman shows up in Edo claiming to be Shogun…
Daiei Film Company’s three biggest stars shine in this exciting story about Vice-Shogun Mito Komon’s journey to the land of the Ainu. As the shogun’s uncle, Lord Mito traveled about…
Set in the 1960’s, high school student Toru Watanabe loses his only friend Kizuki after he commits suicide. Toru, now looking for a new life, enters a university in Tokyo….
One of Japanese folklore’s most popular characters is brought to life on the silver screen in this terrific version of legendary Demon slaying Peach Boy.
Learning of his family’s collapse, acolyte Goichi, sent to study silently at the Temple of the Golden Pavilion, must endure acute psychological distress.
The Great White Tiger Platoon was part of the Aizu clan’s last ditch efforts to stop the advance of Imperial troops after the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Meant to…
Disguised as a beggar monk, Ryunosuke is harassed along the road by the rowdy members of a country dojo or fencing school malingering outside their fencing hall. The third film…
The Dai-bosatsu toge trilogy is based on Kaizan Nakazatos unfinished long series of novels (41 books, written from 1913 to 1941). Set in the last period of the Tokugawa Shogunate,…
When his travels bring him to Osaka, Tora-san falls in love with a local geisha. He helps her to track down her estranged brother, and informs his family that he…
During the 1200’s, legendary Buddhist monk Nichiren returns from his studies to lead Japan out of moral crisis and prepare to fight Mongol invaders by creating a new form of…
Tora-san spends several days at the home of a hard-working salaryman (“salaried worker”), who abruptly disappears. When the man’s wife asks Tora-san to help find him, he falls in love…
Kataoka Chiezo stars as Murasaki Zukin, a mysterious hero of the people who helps those in need. Now under the rule of the evil Tanuma, the people look to Murasaki…
A poor peasant, after years of scraping, becomes a rich and powerful Osaka merchant. Mizoguchi Kenji’s final project; he died before completing it and directing duties turned over to Yoshimura…
Two amiable samurai wind up on opposite sides of the vendetta between Lord Asano’s retainers and the family of Lord Kira that led to the famous revenge of the 47…
Blind swordsman/masseuse Zatoichi befriends a young woman looking for her father, a village leader who has disappeared. As he helps her investigate the disappearance, Zatoichi also becomes involved with another…
Zatoichi is a blind massage therapist and swordsman who finds out that something troubling is taking place on the outskirts of town. After discovering who the guilty parties are —…
In the post-WWII Japan, the twenty-seven year-old Noriko Somiya lives a simple but happy life with her fifty-seven year-old widower father, the college professor Shukichi Somiya in the suburb of…
No english subs for this release The film won 1959 Blue Ribbon Awards for best actor Raizo Ichikawa and for best cinematography Kazuo Miyagawa. The film also won 1959 Kinema…
The tale of real-life Yakuza boss Shimizu Jirocho is told from his earliest beginnings as a gambler on the road as he forms his gang and sets out on the…
Ichi travels to the village of Itakura to pay his respects at the grave of Kichizo, a man he killed two years ago. When some tax money is stolen while…
Zatoichi, the famed blind swordsman, returns to his home village for the first time in many years. He is befriended by Omiyo, who had the same wet-nurse as Zatoichi. He…
In at least 6 movies by director Kinji Fukasaku, Bunta Sugawara played a yakuza thug. This time, he carries a badge but his character hasn’t lost his distaste for double-dealing…
The exciting story of Jirocho and his yakuza gang that controlled the area of the Tokaido during the latter days of the samurai era. Awesome fighting from Katsu Shintaro as…
An all-star cast from Daiei Film Company has made “the ultimate Jirocho movie” about the legendary yakuza Shimizu no Jirocho, the biggest Boss in the Tokaido area. Telling the story…
Blind masseur and master swordsman Zatoichi finds a robbed and fatally wounded pregnant woman, whose baby he delivers before she dies. He takes the baby in search of its father…
Blind swordsman/masseuse Zatoichi befriends a young woman returning home with her baby. When gangsters mistake her for Zatoichi and kill her, Zatoichi determines to escort the baby to its father….
Itinerant masseur and master swordsman, the blind Zatoichi, is near the village of his teacher, Hikonoichi, so he decides to visit. He learns of Hikonoichi’s recent robbery and murder and…
A mysterious video has been linked to a number of deaths, and when an inquisitive journalist finds the tape and views it herself, she sets in motion a chain of…
When his travels take him to rural Hokkaido, Tora-san helps a cantankerous old veterinarian (Mifune) in his relationships with his estranged daughter, and a woman in whom he is secretly…
Blind swordsman Zatoichi, jailed briefly, is implored by another prisoner to aid him in proving his innocence of a crime for which he is sentenced to death. Zatoichi is reluctant…
This tremendous blockbuster hit from 1970, showing the rise to power of Tojo Hideki, is perhaps the most important film to come out of Japan since the 7 Samurai! Interspersed…
This film follows members of the crew including Genta, a trumpet player in the Marine Band whose music helps inspire Mikasa’s men to do their utmost in the battle, even…
To get revenge on her ex-boyfriend and to help revive her late mother’s tennis table club, a table tennis prodigy decides to take part in a mixed doubles table tennis…
Best friends Gentaro and Sanpei become fateful enemies when Sanpei steals a secret document revealing the identity of the chosen successor to the Tokugawa Shogun. Gentaro of the Owari clan…
In 1701, the ruling shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi placed Asano Takumi-no-kami Naganori, the lord of Ako, in charge of a reception of envoys from the Imperial Court in Kyoto. He also…
When Yoshiko, the popular daughter of a fish market owner discovers that she was adopted, she sets out to help her biological father who has fallen victim to an evil…
Kawashima excelled in portraying latent psychological tensions and their incursion into relationships. Here, we see two young people, each misused by a tradition-bound society in a different way, each seething…
Wishing to find peace, Zatoichi travels to his old village but only finds trouble when he ends up in a love triangle and finds old scores have followed him home.
It is brother against brother in this tale of love and betrayal within the famed Yagyu clan. In one of their earliest films together, superstars Ichikawa Raizo and Katsu Shintaro…
Torajiro becomes homesick during his travels after watching a television report about his hometown and meeting a young woman that reminds him of his sister Sakura. Meanwhile, a new tenant…
The ship Kaijin Maru is left adrift after losing all means of navigation in a storm. The four people on the ship are becoming increasingly desperate as food and water…
The Fencing Master tells the story of a man trying to survive as the only world he knows is becoming increasingly irrelevant. Danpei Ichikawa lives for swordfighting – he was…
Pre-war Asakusa was a riotous district of cabarets, dance-halls and brothels – a striking backdrop for Shimazu’s story of innocence and experience. Pretty, young Reiko is the new dancer in…
Zatoichi is forced to kill a young man who owes a debt to a yakuza boss. Moments later, his sister Osode arrives with the money she earned (prostituting herself) to…
When Yumiko Tsuyama, a potter by profession, comes inquiring about a room for rent in an old mansion overlooking Osaka, she finds a bizarre collection of characters already living there….
From the pen of Yoshikawa Eiji comes this exciting story. The Naruto Strait separates Tokushima from the islands of Awaji and Honshu. On Tokushima the mad lord dreams of conquest…
After an encounter with a dying yakuza’s son and at his sister Sakura’s urging, Torajiro attempts to change his vagrant lifestyle and become an honest worker with a steady job.
Celebrated detective Akechi matches wits with the infamous and devious jewel thief Black Lizard after the criminal orchestrates an elaborate kidnapping.
A demon-faced monster seeking revenge appears in the forms of a gigantic ox and a huge spider! The young Genji warrior protects the Fujiwara Clan and the beautiful lady in…
In Nagasaki, Tora-san and an acquaintance help an old woman who has fallen and injured herself. She invites them to her home where the three share a night of eating…
Mitsuo goes to Nagoya to visit Izumi, whose father left Izumi’s sad, bar hostess mother for another woman, so together they decide to confront him in Oita. Meanwhile, Izumi’s mother…
During the reign of Shogun Hidetada, both Hirate Musashi and Okamoto Musashi strive to become the finest swordsman in the land by defeating the Yagyu clan’s top instructors and then…
On his release from prison a young yakuza, along with his brother, decides to turn his back on criminal life instead of taking over the position of his recently deceased…
During his travels, Tora-san gets drunk with an old man in Kyoto. Though Tora-san never fully comprehends his importance, the old man is a Living National Treasure ceramist. At his…
Nakadai is an English teacher at a local school. He’s put-upon like the patron figure of dozens of films and televisions shows. Viewers who are especially fans of Nakadai will…
A playboy-gambler friend of Tora-san’s dies and, abandoned by his mother, his little boy suddenly turns up in Shibamata. Searching for the boy’s mother, Tora-san meets a cosmetics saleslady and…
Once upon a time, Okuro(Ayako Wakao), a young female racoon, lived poorly with her drunken father. One day after they’d disguised themselves as parasols, they were wrongly brought to the…
When Tora-san returns to visit his family, he is surprised to find an arrogant professor occupying his room. The professor and Tora-san become rivals for the affection of Chiyo.
Tora-San returns to Shibamata just before his family leaves on a trip for Kyushu. Later, he encounters an old school chum and begins to have feeling for his artist sister.
When Tora-san’s infatuation with his nephew’s school teacher causes family turmoil, he leaves on his travels again. When he returns, he falls in love with the teacher’s mother.
Tora-san’s family’s neighbor, Akemi, who had been married in Marriage Counselor Tora-san (1984), runs away from her husband, who is only interested in work. Tora-san follows her to Shikinejima, and…
Tora-san gets into an argument with his uncle and sets out on the road again. In Kyushu he meets a young woman named Keiko and the shy zoologist Saburō, and…
Reiko Oshida stars as a young wannabe gangster tough girl, just released from reform school. She tracks down one of her classmates fathers, who runs an auto repair shop that…
Ushimatsu’s father told him never to reveal his lower-caste heritage; years later, he now contemplates confiding in an activist fighting against such discrimination.
The great actress and Ozu regular Setsuko Hara plays a mother gently trying to persuade her daughter to marry in this glowing portrait of family love and conflict—a reworking of…
After Hiroshi is injured in a workplace accident, Torajiro gives Sakura the money he has saved and leaves to work as a traveling salesman once again. During his travels, Torajiro…
Udaka is a new, post-war city where corruption has already taken hold. A persistent district attorney wants to arrest and convict Katsumata, a laughing, self-confident thug. The D.A. gets an…
Tora-san visits Hokkaido and is reunited with Lily. Now divorced, she plans to resume her singing career and renews her unusual relationship with Tora-san.
Zatoichi makes friends with a dangerous chess player, while fending off angry yakuza and bloodthirsty relatives out for revenge, and trying to save a sick child. Meanwhile, his luck with…
Tora-san returns to his family home to learn that his brother-in-law cannot go to Mitsuo’s (Tora-san’s nephew) athletic event. Tora-san volunteers to take his place, but gets into an argument…
Tokyo! is an anthology of three short films by directors Michel Gondry (France), Leos Carax (France) and Joon-ho Bong (Korea), each of whom offers an imaginative and transnatural/supernatural glimpse into…
After Torajiro’s latest attempt to find a bride goes awry, he starts traveling again and runs into Utako (last seen in Tora-san’s Dear Old Home), now a widow.
After failing to find a job, Mitsuo becomes a fisherman on a small island, and develops a crush on a young nurse there. Tora-san, dispatched to bring Mitsuo back home,…
Tora-san arrives in Shibamata on Mitsuo’s first day of school only to find that on his account, Mitsuo was embarrassed. After a fight with his family, he goes to a…
While imprisoned, Tatsu encounters Danshi, a man who is a big honcho in the prison pecking order. After initial conflict they become sworn brothers. Tatsu and the sworn brothers he…
Tora-san visits brother-in-law Hiroshi’s hometown to attend a memorial service for his late father. When the local temple priest becomes intoxicated, Tora-san wearing the priest’s robe delivers the memorial speech,…
Tora-san Makes Excuses is a 1992 Japanese comedy film directed by Yoji Yamada. It stars Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō Kuruma (Tora-san), and Kumiko Goto as his love interest or “Madonna”.
Tora-san is inspired to pursue an education after a visit to the grave of a woman he met years ago. When he returns to Shibamata with the intent to study,…
Japanese sixties comedy featuring a cunning female jewel thief named Black Lizard who tries to kidnap Sanaye, a wealthy jeweler’s beautiful daughter as part of a plot to steal the…
Japan is thrown into a panic after several ships explode and are sunk near Odo Island. An expedition to the island led by paleontologist Professor Kyohei Yemani soon discover something…
Tora-san leaves Shibamata once again after an argument with his family and finds himself at an inn where he meets Tomekichi, a young man who looks up to Tora-san.
Tora-san becomes friends with Toraya’s newest tenant, a pachinko-playing electrician that goes by the nickname Watt. Tora attempts to match Watt with a young waitress.
During his travels, Tora-san comes across a traditional theater he used to visit, and discovers that one of his old friends has died. Tora-san and his family help the friend’s…
In Shibamata, Tokyo, Tora-san’s family prepares for a wedding. Meanwhile, the traveling Tora-san meets an old acqaintance in Iwate Province. Tora-san refuses to drink with him, afraid that the acquaintance,…
Yasuaki Kurata plays a masked ring brawler who is out for revenge against an evil, megalomaniac entrepreneur played by Japan’s most reliable bad guy of the ’70’s, Masashi Ishibashi.
After a chance encounter with Hiroshi’s father on a bus, Tora decides to get serious and reflect on the mortality of man. His plans are derailed when a beautiful lady…
When a woman and her bridegroom are found dead in a double suicide the day after their wedding, it is up to the detective (Akira Nakao) to figure out what…
Tora-san returns to his family’s home to attend an elementary school class reunion. After he embarrasses himself by getting drunk and insulting all his ex-classmates, he resumes his travels. In…
The plot of “Lonely Heart” concerns a gunman who murders all the occupants of a bookstore. But this quickly becomes the story of the policemen who investigate the crime. One…
Mitsuo, unhappy in his new job as a shoe salesman, is invited to a festival and is introduced to a friend’s sister. Tora-san meanwhile helps an injured housewife on her…
Abarenbō Shōgun is a Japanese television program on the TV Asahi network. Set in the eighteenth century, it showed fictitious events in the life of Yoshimune, the eighth Tokugawa shogun….
The adventures of a blind, gambling masseur and master swordsman. Zatoichi targets a yakuza-controlled village, because war with a neighbouring town’s smaller gang is brewing.
After a 7 year hiatus, Godzilla returned to the screen to take on King Kong in the 3rd film in the Godzilla franchise. A pharmaceutical company captures King Kong and…
Schoolteacher Hisako Oishi struggles to imbue her students with a positive view of the world and their place in it, despite the fact that she knows full well that most…
A nameless ronin, or samurai with no master, enters a small village in feudal Japan where two rival businessmen are struggling for control of the local gambling trade. Taking the…
Ichi travels to the village of Itakura to pay his respects at the grave of Kichizo, a man he killed two years ago. When some tax money is stolen while…
Blind swordsman/masseuse Zatoichi befriends a young woman looking for her father, a village leader who has disappeared. As he helps her investigate the disappearance, Zatoichi also becomes involved with another…
Itinerant masseur and master swordsman, the blind Zatoichi, is near the village of his teacher, Hikonoichi, so he decides to visit. He learns of Hikonoichi’s recent robbery and murder and…
Japanese peasants Matashichi and Tahei try and fail to make a profit from a tribal war. They find a man and woman whom they believe are simple tribe members hiding…
This film follows members of the crew including Genta, a trumpet player in the Marine Band whose music helps inspire Mikasa’s men to do their utmost in the battle, even…
The Dai-bosatsu toge trilogy is based on Kaizan Nakazatos unfinished long series of novels (41 books, written from 1913 to 1941). Set in the last period of the Tokugawa Shogunate,…
This tremendous blockbuster hit from 1970, showing the rise to power of Tojo Hideki, is perhaps the most important film to come out of Japan since the 7 Samurai! Interspersed…
Kon Ichikawa’s retelling of the classic true story of Samurai honor. When a young clan lord is forced to commit seppuku (ritual suicide), his loyal followers (now Ronin, masterless Samurai)…
Kataoka Chiezo stars as Murasaki Zukin, a mysterious hero of the people who helps those in need. Now under the rule of the evil Tanuma, the people look to Murasaki…
Daiei Film Company’s three biggest stars shine in this exciting story about Vice-Shogun Mito Komon’s journey to the land of the Ainu. As the shogun’s uncle, Lord Mito traveled about…
Returning to the village where a year before he had killed Hirate, a much-admired opponent, Zatoichi encounters another swordsman and former rival in love: his own brother. He must face…
Wishing to find peace, Zatoichi travels to his old village but only finds trouble when he ends up in a love triangle and finds old scores have followed him home.
Blind swordsman/masseuse Zatoichi befriends a young woman returning home with her baby. When gangsters mistake her for Zatoichi and kill her, Zatoichi determines to escort the baby to its father….
Blind swordsman Zatoichi, jailed briefly, is implored by another prisoner to aid him in proving his innocence of a crime for which he is sentenced to death. Zatoichi is reluctant…
Zatoichi makes friends with a dangerous chess player, while fending off angry yakuza and bloodthirsty relatives out for revenge, and trying to save a sick child. Meanwhile, his luck with…
Best friends Gentaro and Sanpei become fateful enemies when Sanpei steals a secret document revealing the identity of the chosen successor to the Tokugawa Shogun. Gentaro of the Owari clan…
This 26th film installment of the Zatoichi series sees Shintaro Katsu return to this classic role after a 10 year hiatus. The blind masseur Ichi gets caught between rival Yakuza…
Late in the 1500s, an aging tea master teaches the way of tea to a headstrong Shogun. Through force of will and courageous fighting, Hideyoshi becomes Japan’s most powerful warlord,…
The ship Kaijin Maru is left adrift after losing all means of navigation in a storm. The four people on the ship are becoming increasingly desperate as food and water…
O’oka Echizen, a popular character from Abarenbo Shogun who is a loyal ally of Shogun Yoshimune… in this 50th anniversary special, he has his own story! Synopsis: Magistrate O’oka Echizen…
Japan, 1643, as the Kato clan of Aizu falls from power two brave samurai will settle a dispute in the time-honored tradition of their clan, by drawing their blades in…
In at least 6 movies by director Kinji Fukasaku, Bunta Sugawara played a yakuza thug. This time, he carries a badge but his character hasn’t lost his distaste for double-dealing…
Tora-san visits brother-in-law Hiroshi’s hometown to attend a memorial service for his late father. When the local temple priest becomes intoxicated, Tora-san wearing the priest’s robe delivers the memorial speech,…
Nakadai is an English teacher at a local school. He’s put-upon like the patron figure of dozens of films and televisions shows. Viewers who are especially fans of Nakadai will…
Set in 1926 when Japanese tradition was much stronger, this standard drama looks at the inner workings of a small family, especially the relationship between a sister and brother.
When Yumiko Tsuyama, a potter by profession, comes inquiring about a room for rent in an old mansion overlooking Osaka, she finds a bizarre collection of characters already living there….
This film features a large extended family (and associates) even more extensive than the one portrayed by Ozu in “End of Summer”. The central character is Setsuko Hara — a…
When a village is besieged by giant caterpillars, a more horrifying discovery is made in their underground home: a giant flying creature that resembles the prehistoric pterodactyl. Soon after, a…
The Great White Tiger Platoon was part of the Aizu clan’s last ditch efforts to stop the advance of Imperial troops after the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Meant to…
From the pen of Yoshikawa Eiji comes this exciting story. The Naruto Strait separates Tokushima from the islands of Awaji and Honshu. On Tokushima the mad lord dreams of conquest…
In 1701, the ruling shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi placed Asano Takumi-no-kami Naganori, the lord of Ako, in charge of a reception of envoys from the Imperial Court in Kyoto. He also…
Two amiable samurai wind up on opposite sides of the vendetta between Lord Asano’s retainers and the family of Lord Kira that led to the famous revenge of the 47…
Zatoichi comes upon the town of Tonda, overrun by gangsters. Using one of his favorite techniques, Zatoichi proceeds to win 8 ryo in a rigged gambling game. Of course, the…
Zatoichi is forced to kill a young man who owes a debt to a yakuza boss. Moments later, his sister Osode arrives with the money she earned (prostituting herself) to…
With a price on his head, Ichi seeks tranquillity in a favorite village. Since his last visit, it has fallen prey to Boss Masagoro, the son of a merchant rumored…
Zatoichi is a blind massage therapist and swordsman who finds out that something troubling is taking place on the outskirts of town. After discovering who the guilty parties are —…
Blind masseur and master swordsman Zatoichi finds a robbed and fatally wounded pregnant woman, whose baby he delivers before she dies. He takes the baby in search of its father…
Zatoichi tries to save a maiden in distress in this sequel to the popular series about a blind samurai swordsman who moonlights as a masseur. Always fighting for the underdog,…
When Tora-san returns to visit his family, he is surprised to find an arrogant professor occupying his room. The professor and Tora-san become rivals for the affection of Chiyo.
Zatoichi, the famed blind swordsman, returns to his home village for the first time in many years. He is befriended by Omiyo, who had the same wet-nurse as Zatoichi. He…
Harada is a successful scenario writer, and his best buddy has just announced an intention to propose to Harada’s ex-wife. Recovering from the shock, Harada indulges in melancholy, mainly on…
During the 1200’s, legendary Buddhist monk Nichiren returns from his studies to lead Japan out of moral crisis and prepare to fight Mongol invaders by creating a new form of…
[Period covered: 1575-1681] Fist film in the Shinobi series starring Raizo Ichikawa. Warlord Oda Nobunaga seeks to unite a fractured Japan, a young man trained in the arts of ninjitsu…
Brimming with action while incisively examining the nature of truth, “Rashomon” is perhaps the finest film ever to investigate the philosophy of justice. Through an ingenious use of camera and…
In March of 1701, Asano, a young provincial lord invited to attend formal ceremonies at the Shogun’s castle, receives special instructions in etiquette for the occasion, but neglects to pay…
When Yoshiko, the popular daughter of a fish market owner discovers that she was adopted, she sets out to help her biological father who has fallen victim to an evil…
In the year 1729 an unusual tale of intrigue unfolds around the succession of 8th shogun Yoshimune. When a young master swordsman shows up in Edo claiming to be Shogun…
While imprisoned, Tatsu encounters Danshi, a man who is a big honcho in the prison pecking order. After initial conflict they become sworn brothers. Tatsu and the sworn brothers he…
Disguised as a beggar monk, Ryunosuke is harassed along the road by the rowdy members of a country dojo or fencing school malingering outside their fencing hall. The third film…
When a woman and her bridegroom are found dead in a double suicide the day after their wedding, it is up to the detective (Akira Nakao) to figure out what…
Improved print of “The Pirates.” This less silly movie of Tadashi Sawashima is based on the history of the Bahansen, Japanese pirate ships that sailed to China and Korea before…
Yoso is truly a lost classic, set in the Nara Era (710-794), from Kinugasa Teinosuke the same writer/director who gave us the recognized classic Gate of Hell (Jigokumon, 1952) &…
Udaka is a new, post-war city where corruption has already taken hold. A persistent district attorney wants to arrest and convict Katsumata, a laughing, self-confident thug. The D.A. gets an…
Reiko Oshida stars as a young wannabe gangster tough girl, just released from reform school. She tracks down one of her classmates fathers, who runs an auto repair shop that…
Tora-san spends several days at the home of a hard-working salaryman (“salaried worker”), who abruptly disappears. When the man’s wife asks Tora-san to help find him, he falls in love…
When his travels take him to rural Hokkaido, Tora-san helps a cantankerous old veterinarian (Mifune) in his relationships with his estranged daughter, and a woman in whom he is secretly…
Special Forces commander Captain Tadamori returns to Kyoto after successfully defeating the uprising of pirates in the western sea of Japan. But because the high courtiers dislike career soldiers gaining…
Taking its title from an archaic Japanese word meaning “ghost story,” this anthology adapts four folk tales. A penniless samurai marries for money with tragic results. A man stranded in…
Mitsuo goes to Nagoya to visit Izumi, whose father left Izumi’s sad, bar hostess mother for another woman, so together they decide to confront him in Oita. Meanwhile, Izumi’s mother…
The plot of “Lonely Heart” concerns a gunman who murders all the occupants of a bookstore. But this quickly becomes the story of the policemen who investigate the crime. One…
Ushimatsu’s father told him never to reveal his lower-caste heritage; years later, he now contemplates confiding in an activist fighting against such discrimination.
Yasuaki Kurata plays a masked ring brawler who is out for revenge against an evil, megalomaniac entrepreneur played by Japan’s most reliable bad guy of the ’70’s, Masashi Ishibashi.
To get revenge on her ex-boyfriend and to help revive her late mother’s tennis table club, a table tennis prodigy decides to take part in a mixed doubles table tennis…
Set in the 1960’s, high school student Toru Watanabe loses his only friend Kizuki after he commits suicide. Toru, now looking for a new life, enters a university in Tokyo….
Pre-war Asakusa was a riotous district of cabarets, dance-halls and brothels – a striking backdrop for Shimazu’s story of innocence and experience. Pretty, young Reiko is the new dancer in…
No english subs for this release The film won 1959 Blue Ribbon Awards for best actor Raizo Ichikawa and for best cinematography Kazuo Miyagawa. The film also won 1959 Kinema…
A demon-faced monster seeking revenge appears in the forms of a gigantic ox and a huge spider! The young Genji warrior protects the Fujiwara Clan and the beautiful lady in…
During his travels, Tora-san gets drunk with an old man in Kyoto. Though Tora-san never fully comprehends his importance, the old man is a Living National Treasure ceramist. At his…
While investigating the horrifying death of her boyfriend, Mai Takano (Miki Nakatani) learns about a videotape haunted by the spirit of a disturbing girl named Sadako, which kills anyone who…
Celebrated detective Akechi matches wits with the infamous and devious jewel thief Black Lizard after the criminal orchestrates an elaborate kidnapping.
Tora-san arrives in Shibamata on Mitsuo’s first day of school only to find that on his account, Mitsuo was embarrassed. After a fight with his family, he goes to a…
Fascinated with women from an early age, Yonosuke had his first sexual encounter at the age of seven. From that day on, he recklessly and forwardly pursues women, feeding his…
One of Japanese folklore’s most popular characters is brought to life on the silver screen in this terrific version of legendary Demon slaying Peach Boy.
Kawashima excelled in portraying latent psychological tensions and their incursion into relationships. Here, we see two young people, each misused by a tradition-bound society in a different way, each seething…
Tokyo! is an anthology of three short films by directors Michel Gondry (France), Leos Carax (France) and Joon-ho Bong (Korea), each of whom offers an imaginative and transnatural/supernatural glimpse into…
The adventures of a blind, gambling masseur and master swordsman. Zatoichi targets a yakuza-controlled village, because war with a neighbouring town’s smaller gang is brewing.
Brimming with action while incisively examining the nature of truth, “Rashomon” is perhaps the finest film ever to investigate the philosophy of justice. Through an ingenious use of camera and…
The Great White Tiger Platoon was part of the Aizu clan’s last ditch efforts to stop the advance of Imperial troops after the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Meant to…
Schoolteacher Hisako Oishi struggles to imbue her students with a positive view of the world and their place in it, despite the fact that she knows full well that most…
Japan is thrown into a panic after several ships explode and are sunk near Odo Island. An expedition to the island led by paleontologist Professor Kyohei Yemani soon discover something…
It is brother against brother in this tale of love and betrayal within the famed Yagyu clan. In one of their earliest films together, superstars Ichikawa Raizo and Katsu Shintaro…
When a village is besieged by giant caterpillars, a more horrifying discovery is made in their underground home: a giant flying creature that resembles the prehistoric pterodactyl. Soon after, a…
A poor peasant, after years of scraping, becomes a rich and powerful Osaka merchant. Mizoguchi Kenji’s final project; he died before completing it and directing duties turned over to Yoshimura…
From the pen of Yoshikawa Eiji comes this exciting story. The Naruto Strait separates Tokushima from the islands of Awaji and Honshu. On Tokushima the mad lord dreams of conquest…
One of Japanese folklore’s most popular characters is brought to life on the silver screen in this terrific version of legendary Demon slaying Peach Boy.
Best friends Gentaro and Sanpei become fateful enemies when Sanpei steals a secret document revealing the identity of the chosen successor to the Tokugawa Shogun. Gentaro of the Owari clan…
In March of 1701, Asano, a young provincial lord invited to attend formal ceremonies at the Shogun’s castle, receives special instructions in etiquette for the occasion, but neglects to pay…
Learning of his family’s collapse, acolyte Goichi, sent to study silently at the Temple of the Golden Pavilion, must endure acute psychological distress.
During the 1200’s, legendary Buddhist monk Nichiren returns from his studies to lead Japan out of moral crisis and prepare to fight Mongol invaders by creating a new form of…
Kataoka Chiezo stars as Murasaki Zukin, a mysterious hero of the people who helps those in need. Now under the rule of the evil Tanuma, the people look to Murasaki…
No english subs for this release The film won 1959 Blue Ribbon Awards for best actor Raizo Ichikawa and for best cinematography Kazuo Miyagawa. The film also won 1959 Kinema…
Japanese peasants Matashichi and Tahei try and fail to make a profit from a tribal war. They find a man and woman whom they believe are simple tribe members hiding…
In the post-WWII Japan, the twenty-seven year-old Noriko Somiya lives a simple but happy life with her fifty-seven year-old widower father, the college professor Shukichi Somiya in the suburb of…
In 1701, the ruling shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi placed Asano Takumi-no-kami Naganori, the lord of Ako, in charge of a reception of envoys from the Imperial Court in Kyoto. He also…
An all-star cast from Daiei Film Company has made “the ultimate Jirocho movie” about the legendary yakuza Shimizu no Jirocho, the biggest Boss in the Tokaido area. Telling the story…
Two amiable samurai wind up on opposite sides of the vendetta between Lord Asano’s retainers and the family of Lord Kira that led to the famous revenge of the 47…
Once upon a time, Okuro(Ayako Wakao), a young female racoon, lived poorly with her drunken father. One day after they’d disguised themselves as parasols, they were wrongly brought to the…
The exciting story of Jirocho and his yakuza gang that controlled the area of the Tokaido during the latter days of the samurai era. Awesome fighting from Katsu Shintaro as…
