Arthouse Ultraman
In the 21st century, multiple mysterious phenomenon began to occur as monsters who were initially thought to be a part of mythology had come to life. These phenomenons had also resulted from human activities that disrupted the nature of the ecosystem. Ultraman Max is the titular giant of his series. Originally a civilization observer sent from Nebula M78, the sacrifice of Kaito Touma changed his mind into bonding with with the youth and actively defending Earth from monsters and alien attacks. Arthouse Ultraman is a movie with four episodes edited together, theatrically released at Fantasia Festival 2006.
Casts & Crew
Hitomi Hasebe
Sota Aoyama
Shiro Sano
Hikari Mitsushima
Kunio Masaoka
Susumu Kurobe
Also Directed by Takashi Miike
An environmental analyst is asked by the police to determine if two deaths by hydrogen sulfide poisoning are an accident - or a murder. But when he meets a young woman at both sites, a scientific mystery begins.
Miike's first television production in seven years (since 1992's Last Run), Tennen Shoujo Mahn (lit: Natural Girl Mahn) is an adaptation of a manga series by Tetsuya Koshiba about a schoolgirl with extraordinary fighting prowess.
Reiji Kikukawa, who has a strong sense of justice, graduated from the police academy with the lowest score ever. He becomes a police constable, but is suddenly fired by the Police Chief due to "disciplinary" issues. In actuality, the firing is part of a carefully orchestrated plan. Reiji is ordered to become a "mole," an undercover cop. His target is Shuho Todoroki, the boss of the Sukiyakai gang. The group is the largest crime group in the Kanto area. Masaya Hiura, who works as a young boss of a Sukiyakai affiliated gang likes Reiji. While going through various hardships, Reiji works his way towards Shuho Todoroki.
Shoichi Yomi bravely fights in an attempt to end an underworld battle in Hiroshima and as a result becomes a vegetable. Ten years later, Yomi comes to his senses and visits his former sworn brother, Eto, in Shinjuku. The devious Tagami, Yomi’s old enemy, is well acquainted with the Okumura gang which controlled Shinjuku. Learning of Yomi recovery, Tagami plots to line his own pockets by maneuvering the Okumura gang and a Taiwanese gang, between which a fight is about to erupt. Meanwhile, Yomi lends his help to the Okumura gang in order to save Eto, who has taken liberties with the family’s money. Everything appears to go according to Tagami’s plot, but in the chaotic town where evil competes and desires surge, two outlaws boldly rise above...
Shangri-La (Kin’yu hametsu Nippon: Togenkyo no hito-bito) follows the lives of a group of homeless people in Japan who run into a man who nearly commits suicide and decide to help him out of his financial troubles. Using their various ingenious resources they embark on a complex scheme to blackmail a crooked businessman, whose bankruptcy claim has put people out of work. It’s a fun romp as these seemingly homeless people manage to outsmart the very people who cast them from society.
A man dubbed "Karate Kid" is imprisoned and forced to fight for his life in an underground fighting ring.
In the Nineteenth Century, in Japan, the American journalist Christopher is traveling through the country searching Komomo, the missing love of his life that he had abandoned years ago promising to come back to her later. He arrives in a shadowy island inhabited by whores and caftans, where he has an encounter with a deformed prostitute that tells that his beloved Komomo had passed away. He drinks sake with her and later he asks the woman to tell the story of her life. The prostitute discloses a dark and cruel story about her life and the sad fate of Komomo.
The Katakuri family has just opened their guest house in the mountains. Unfortunately their first guest commits suicide and in order to avoid trouble they decide to bury him in the backyard. Things get way more complicated when their second guest, a famous sumo wrestler, dies while having sex with his underage girlfriend and the grave behind the house starts to fill up more and more.
Youji Himuro comes out of hiding and faces off against a powerful new foe from a rival dojo.
In order to settle a business dispute, a mob leader murders one of his own teenage sons. The surviving son vows to avenge his brother's death, and organizes his own gang of teenage killers to destroy his father's organization.
Also Directed by Takeshi Yagi
After the battle against Zogu was over, both Gamu and Fujimiya began to live normal lives until another threat arrives on Earth - a surviving monster soldier of Zogu's army named Gakuzom.
Ultraman Moebius is joined once again by Ultraman, Ultra Seven, Ultraman Jack, and Ultraman Ace, as well as three later Ultramen (Tiga, Dyna, and Gaia) to fight more powerful versions of familiar Ultra Monsters.
Wakabayashi is a poor office worker at a housing company. His grades have not improved recently and he has no girlfriend to spend his holidays with. One day, while slurping down ramen at his favourite restaurant, his eyes meet those of Komachi, a part-time worker who has just returned from delivery. 'Ugh, beautiful!' She was born in a foreign country, or perhaps her language is poor. She may have been born abroad and her language is poor, but she is good-natured and, above all, beautiful. Wakabayashi, who is single, falls in love at first sight, but the owner says coldly, "Don't get carried away. She's no ordinary girl", she says coldly. When Wakabayashi, who is depressed, goes to town, he sees Komachi, beautifully dressed in a yukata. What secret is she hiding behind her seemingly effortless appearance? A contemporary fantasy featuring Nao Nagasawa, a popular actress who made her debut in the Sentai series.
An NHK documentary about the talented actresses who have portrayed the beautiful, intelligent and resourceful heroines of the long running series. Features interviews with Kumi Mizuno, Keiko Mari, Yumiko Shaku, and Megumi Odaka. Also featured are never before seen 8mm home movies shot by producer Tomoyuki Tanaka on the sets of classic Toho films.
A Japanese tokusatsu kaiju proof-of-concept short film directed by Takeshi Yagi and written by Yagi, Todd Silverstein, and Jordan A. Y. Smith. It is the end result of a tokusatsu film production course taught by Yagi for the online subscription service Narō. Though only about 6 minutes of footage was cut together and shown at Tokyo Comic Con on November 24, 2022, Yagi and his crew intend to put proceeds from course subscriptions toward getting AKARI made as a feature film or television series. It stars the titular Akari, a woman turned giant with alien technology, fighting off a berserk cybernetic monster.
Also Directed by Akio Jissoji
The deceased director Akio Jissoji portrays the 100-year love between a husband and wife.
The brilliant detective Kogoro Akechi has shied away disillusioned. A puzzling murder involving falsification of erotic art makes him, however, to return to work. Two tales of horror author Edogawa Rampo faced each other in this murder mystery.
Utamaro was an artist who lived in Edo (which was later to become modern-day Tokyo) in the late 18th century. This film, which has a complex and wide-ranging storyline, recreates the world of that time, as it appeared in Utamaro's paintings.
The reincarnation of a 10th century Japanese general haunts 1920's Tokyo.
Set in 13th century Kyoto, where the Imperial court is under control of the clergy. Shijo was a peasant girl sold to a powerful daima as a concubine. Bored by her life in seclusion she starts an affair with State Councillor and the brother of a retired Emperor. Realising that she is only a plaything of the court, she becomes a nun and wanders the country.
Mars Canal - Within absolute silence, a naked man wanders through a dark and depressing landscape recalling the excruciating details of his last encounter with his former lover. Mirror Hell - When a series of women are discovered with their faces burnt and skulls charred, a young detective investigates, discovering that a unique hand mirror is always found at the scene. Caterpillar - A war hero returns home with no limbs and only his eyesight remaining. His beautiful wife, tired of taking care of him, turns to torturing her crippled husband for amusement. Crawling Bugs - A sexy actress is returning home from a successful night on stage, until her limo driver decides that she should be coming home with him.
Based on renowned Japanese writer Natsume Soseki's same-titled short story collection, Ten Nights of Dreams brings ten fantastical dream sequences to film with great visual and psychological panache. Representing the combined efforts of eleven directors, this outstanding anthology delves into the surreal subconscious with ten madly imaginative, reality-subverting visions that range from wonderfully wacky to nightmarishly unsettling.
An autobiographical dramatization about the production of the classic special effects fantasy series.
Akio Jissoji's documentary on the production of Ultra Q. Interview with series creator Eiji Tsuburaya.
A decadent count in 1920′s Japan becomes obsessed with the life and works of the Marquis de Sade. He creates a theatre to show plays adapted from the notorious writer’s novels and recruits thieves, prostitutes and low lives to act out his fantasies on stage for the delectation of his rich, jaded friends. In search of new sensations the nobleman orders one of the actors, on pain of death, to make love to the nobleman’s wife while he watches. Unfortunately, this incursion of real life into his fantasy world will have dire consequences for the count and his divinely decadent coterie.