Noboru Nakaya
A Choice between Loyalty or Duty of the Samurai! Can the heartlessness of society crush the honor of an individual? In the spring of the 18th year of Kanei, Hosokawa Tadatoshi, feudal lord of the Higo area, died. Although Tadatoshi forbade his vassals to follow him in death before he died, they still committed seppuku one after the other. The new feudal lord, Mitsunao, Tadatoshi's son, also gave the order forbidding seppuku. Abe Yaichiemon obeyed his former lord's last wish but is now being called a coward by his comrades and finally decided to follow Tadatoshi in death in order to save his family's honor. Mitsunao, upset by Yaichiemon actions, punished the Abe family unfairly. Objected to this, the Abe family shut themselves up in their manor as the lords troops moved in. This is the true story of what happened within the Hosokawa clan in early Edo era. A masterpiece by director Kinji Fukasaku that boldly depicts the struggle between humanity and the code of the Samurai.
Set in the 1990s, this film uses black humour to cast a sharp, satirical eye at the problems facing modern Japanese families. Hiroshi accidentally hits a young woman with his car and flees in panic. He confesses to his wife, Yoko, who persuades him to keep quiet as his arrest would mean the end for their already troubled family. Their daughter is having an affair with a married man, their son is being bullied and refusing to go to school and their grandfather is becoming more difficult. Yoko urges the family to move the car into the living room in order to destroy the evidence by taking it apart. Hiroshi finally decides to do the honest thing but a series of bizarre incidents then ensues...
A hospital accidentally gives a man Count Dracula's blood while trying to save his life. A year later, he's back from the dead, trying to right the wrongs of his life while trying to resist the urge to become a vampire.
A female scientist and two children are accidentally transported into a future dominated by primates.
The sixth popular suspense series based on the original work by Akimitsu Takagi. Kyosuke Kozu was invited by former actress Shinobu Yuki, who had previously appeared on a magazine, to announce the production of the drama. The producer is Kako's husband, Fujita. When the press conference was about to end, the leading actress Hitomi was shot dead. She is suspected of being abandoned by Hitomi, her nephew Mizukami, but there is no evidence. Subsequent investigation reveals that Hitomi has been dating Urushida for three months. A few days later, Kako showed Kyosuke three threatening letters stating "Your life will be end in 10 days"...
In the desert of Egypt, Kurata, the CEO of the Japanese corporation Tokokaihatsu, is killed by a sniper. After the news reaches Japan, the CEO's lawyer, Yamamoto, receives a visit from two men that attempt to steal the deceased CEO's will. This is witnessed by two detectives, Tsuzuki and Ōnuki, but they fail to catch the perps. Yamamoto hands the detectives a set of keys before he stops breathing. Tsuzuki and Ōnuki now have to investigate Kurata's murder...
A drama depicting the conflict between a man that ran to an old lover suffering from advanced leukemia, his wife and child that were left behind, and the friendship that develops between his wife and his former lover.
Set in Mexico. The love story of an architect and a fashion designer. Both from Japan
Kyojuu Tokusou Juspion is a Japanese tokusatsu television series and part of the Metal Hero series. Produced by Toei Company, it was originally broadcast from 15 March 1985 to 24 March 1986, running for 46 episodes. The name "Juspion" is a portmanteau of "Justice" and "Champion". Juspion is the only Metal Hero series to focus on giant robot combat. Kyoujuu Tokusou Juspion was aired in Brazil through the now-defunct TV Manchete, becoming very popular in that country under the remodeled name "Jaspion". It was also aired in Indonesia and in France, where only a few episodes of the show were dubbed and transmitted. This was the first Metal Hero series to air on Mondays instead of Fridays. For distribution purposes, Toei refers to this television series as Juspion.
A young girl is striving for stardom. In order to get a lead role in a new production, she agrees to stand-in for a famous star whose rich patron died in her arms one night. The real-life drama gradually comes to mirror the story of the play being performed by her.
In the past, a woman was raped by her brother-in-law. Keeping this dark secret, she lives a seemingly happy life with her husband and son, but the son, shocked to find out his real father is the brother-in-law, sets out to do something. The downfall of a mother and her child starts there...
Director/screenwriter 'Shinobu Hashimoto' was given carte blanche to make this film based on his three-decade record of success, including being a screenwriter for Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon (1950). This movie was greenlighted sight unseen by the studio. When it failed, Hashimoto retired permanently from film.
A martial arts master/detective investigates a series of murders and helps a deaf bathhouse attendant, Hisako.
Two high school girls get mixed up in murder while investigating the disappearance of a classmate.
Can a woman love two men at the same time? Set against the backdrop of Kyoto's rich history, this story depicts a woman's difficult choice for love. Ayako, played by Yukiyo Toake, is an international conference coordinator. Torn between her childhood sweetheart (played by Kenji Sawada) and her English professor (played by Noboru Nakaya), Ayako will seek answers to love, marriage, and choice.
Story of three people, a barber, a Christian and a graduate of the Tokyo Military Academy during the 2nd World War.
A car going at 25 mph plunges into the sea at Shinko Harbour, Toyama prefecture. Inside is the local business magnate Fukutaro Shirakawa, who perishes. Riding alongside him and surviving unhurt is his second wife, Kumako. It soon comes to light that Kumako’s husband was insured for 300 million yen and she is arrested on suspicion of murdering her husband for the insurance money. The newspapers denounce her as an evil woman, while the public is in no doubt about Kumako’s crime. Ritsuko Sahara is chosen as her defence attorney but the pair clash over almost everything...
Yuko is in love with an old poet who happens to be also a married man. She waits patiently for him and only him, yet she is constantly being lust by others.
Famous detective Kindaichi solves a series of mysterious murders in a wealthy family. An excellent blend of intrigue and betrayal, set against the backdrop of wealth, this film is loaded with twists and turns and surprises at every corner.
Obayashi’s take on the famous Kosuke Kindaichi series, made popular partly thanks to the numerous movie-adaptions by Kon Ichikawa, the most known being The Inugami Family. Kosuke Kindaichi is the most famous detective in Japan. Kindaichi gets a new case to figure out who has beheaded a valuable statue and made off with its head.
A squadron of Japanese Self-Defense Force soldiers find themselves transported through time to their country's warring states era, when rival samurai clans were battling to become the supreme Shogun.
The Iron Cross Army are sabotaging oil-tankers with the help of their monster, the Sea-Devil, a semi-mechanical anthropomorphic swordfish with an ability to shoot torpedoes from its mouth. Spider-Man employs the help of the interpol agent Jūzō Mamiya to help him stop the Iron Cross Army. Spider-Man uses his remote controlled Marveller to prevent the Sea-Devil from bombing an industrial complex by coming it's missiles explode in the air. After that the monsters master makes it grow giant and Spider-Man has to use his Marveller to transform into a giant mech to fight the monster, after they exchang blows Spider-Man uses the mechs giant sword to disintegrate the Sea-Devil.
Film distributed by ATG.
The three-film saga comes to a conclusion as three leaders of the underworld battle it out to determine who will become Don of Japan.
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.
Multiple murders, red herrings and sadomasochistic sex are the order of the day in this ground-breaking mystery from Edogawa Rampo, Japan's foremost writer of suspense novels. The year is 1930 and the chance meeting of a novelist and one of his fans opens the door to a series of mysterious events culminating in the death of a wealthy industrialist who may have been leading a double life. Aoi Teruhiko and Kayama Yoshiko star along with 2 of Japan's most famous and highly respected actors, Otomo Ryutaro and Wakayama Tomisaburo. In a departure from the samurai genre in which he made his name this is director Kato Tai's masterpiece. A true work of cinema art comes to life in this deadly tale of love and betrayal!
Hiroshi Nanjo is an active and tactful youth devoting more of his energies to his part time job than to studying for a college entrance exam. On the other hand, Bunpei Noro is an awkward fellow who once failed in a college entrance exam and is now studying hard for a second try. ‘Light and Shade of Youth’ depicts the friendship between these two young men of opposite characters, interlacing a cute waitress along the way.
The Taisho era was a time of turbulence in Japan. From new marks of modernity to full-blown riots, a sense of revolution filled the air. The Dam Dam Group is a small anarchist organization lead by Daijiro, a silver tongued "Benshi", a performer who provides narratives for silent films, playing multiple roles. In other words, he was a master at the art of deception, a handy talent when it came to 'doing jobs' for his group. His revolutionary ideals attracted many to his squadron, but among them was a young girl who was oblivious to his group's activities. Her name was Shino.
In this TV series of the hit 1973 film, Volcanic eruptions and earthquakes shake Japan. Firestorms burn beautiful Japanese cities to the ground. A weather survey group discovers that the Japanese Archipelago is moving towards the Japanese Trench, which if left to continue on its collision course, would bring the whole island of Japan under the sea!
Yuki's family is nearly wiped out before she is born due to the machinations of a band of criminals. These criminals kidnap and brutalize her mother but leave her alive. Later her mother ends up in prison with only revenge to keep her alive. She creates an instrument for this revenge by purposefully getting pregnant. Yuki never knows the love of a family but only killing and revenge.
The girl students of rival junior high schools stage duels and show a curious interest in sexual pastimes.
The story of Ryoma Sakamoto, considered to be the architect behind the downfall of the Tokugawa shogunate. He was considered an outlaw by his own clan, hunted by his government, and was despised by supporters of the Shogun as well as the Loyalists for desiring the opening of Japan to the West in order to learn its technology, in the hopes of one day defeating the West with a modern army and navy.
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 blizzard is saved by Yuki the Snow Maiden, but his rescue comes at a cost. Blind musician Hoichi is forced to perform for an audience of ghosts. An author relates the story of a samurai who sees another warrior's reflection in his teacup.
Leaving his wife in Osaka, Honda leads a double life in Tokyo – after spending the day as an elite businessman, he flirts around in the evenings. He even rents a secret apartment where he keeps record of his girl hunts in his diary, the ‘Hunter’s Diary’. One day, he finds an article in the newspaper – a murder of a young woman in his diary. A few days later, another woman from his diary is murdered. He soon finds himself in a labyrinth of fear, as women named in his diary are killed one after another...
One evening, at the Marine Tower observatory, cosmetics salesman Ichiro Iki is drawn into conversation with an unfamiliar young lady Akiko. She invites Ichiro back to a hotel where they make love but part without even exchanging names. A week later, they have a second chance encounter at the observatory. This time, Ichiro is the one who pursues her. Back at the hotel, Akiko begs Ichiro to give her sister – Kyoko, a bar hostess – absolute hell. Akiko resents her sister for lecturing on chastity, while wantonly indulging in promiscuous activity. Ichiro takes an interest in Kyoko and sets out towards her bar…
During the war a university professor meets a girl and marries her. Very soon however, it is apparent that their needs are not matched. He would much rather be translating Shakespeare than attending to her, and she has a secret in her past - one that results in her sleeping with a great number of men.
Considered one of the finest late Naruses and a model of film biography, A Wanderer’s Notebook features remarkable performances by Hideko Takamine – Phillip Lopate calls it “probably her greatest performance” – and Kinuyo Tanaka as mother and daughter living from hand to mouth in Twenties Tokyo. Based on the life and career of Fumiko Hayashi, the novelist whose work Naruse adapted to the screen several times, A Wanderer’s Notebook traces her bitter struggle for literary recognition in the first half of the twentieth century – her affairs with feckless men, the jobs she took to survive (peddler, waitress, bar maid), and her arduous, often humiliating attempts to get published in a male-dominated culture.
A promising dancer asks her professor to write a libretto for a Nō play. He then introduces her to a student of classical literature, but also a classical theatre student in the hope that the latter will marry Senya..
A story of an orphan boy who wanted the love of parents so badly, another orphan sincerely pitied him to the point he gives his secret birthright as an illegitimate son to a Shogun as a "gift of hope" to the sad boy. As the orphan boy grew up, his loving heart became bitter and he saw the opportunity to take advantage of this birthright with the help of a man who wanted to use this orphan's desire to be loved, for seizing power in the shogunate by using the imposter. Many obstacles to hurdle along the way of deception, however, will they succeed or will he be exposed?
Set in 1926 when Japanese tradition was much stronger, this drama looks at the inner workings of a small family, especially the relationship between a sister and brother.
Otsuta is running the geisha house Tsuta in Tokyo. Her business is heavily in debt. Her daughter Katsuyo doesn't see any future in her mothers trade in the late days of Geisha. But Otsuta will not give up. This film portraits the day time life of geisha when not entertaining customers.
