Best from Japan
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- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsDenjirô ÔkôchiSusumu FujitaYukiko TodorokiSugata, a young man, struggles to learn the nuance and meaning of judo, and in doing so comes to learn something of the meaning of life.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsTakashi ShimuraSôji KiyokawaIchirô SugaiWorld War II film about female volunteer workers at an optics plant who do their best to meet production targets.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsDenjirô ÔkôchiSusumu FujitaRyûnosuke TsukigataSugata returns to prove his judo mastery in a match against Western opponents.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsDenjirô ÔkôchiSusumu FujitaKen'ichi EnomotoA Japanese general and his men disguise themselves as monks in order to pass an enemy border patrol.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsSetsuko HaraSusumu FujitaDenjirô ÔkôchiThe daughter of a politically disgraced university professor struggles to find a place for herself in love and life, in the uncertain world of Japan leading into WWII.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsIsao NumasakiChieko NakakitaAtsushi WatanabeDuring a Sunday trip into war-ravaged Tokyo, despairing Yuzo and optimistic Masako look for work and lodging, as well as affordable entertainments to pass the time.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsTakashi ShimuraToshirô MifuneReizaburô YamamotoA drunken doctor with a hot temper and a violence-prone gangster with tuberculosis form a quicksilver bond.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneTakashi ShimuraMiki SanjôA surgeon gets syphilis from a patient when he cuts himself during an operation. The doctor's life is destroyed, but unlike the patient, he doesn't destroy others along with him.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneTakashi ShimuraKeiko AwajiDuring a sweltering summer, a rookie homicide detective tries to track down his stolen Colt pistol.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneShirley YamaguchiYôko KatsuragiA celebrity photograph sparks a court case as a tabloid magazine spins a scandalous yarn over a painter and a famous singer.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneMachiko KyôMasayuki MoriThe rape of a bride and the murder of her samurai husband are recalled from the perspectives of a bandit, the bride, the samurai's ghost and a woodcutter.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsSetsuko HaraMasayuki MoriToshirô MifuneA Japanese veteran, driven partially mad from the war, travels to the snowy island of Hokkaido where he soon enters a love triangle with his best friend and a disgraced woman.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneTakashi ShimuraMinoru ChiakiAn aging Japanese industrialist becomes so fearful of nuclear war that it begins to take a toll on his life and family.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsTakashi ShimuraNobuo KanekoShin'ichi HimoriA bureaucrat tries to find meaning in his life after he discovers he has terminal cancer.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneTakashi ShimuraKeiko TsushimaFarmers from a village exploited by bandits hire a veteran samurai for protection, who gathers six other samurai to join him.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneMinoru ChiakiIsuzu YamadaA war-hardened general, egged on by his ambitious wife, works to fulfill a prophecy that he would become lord of Spider's Web Castle.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneIsuzu YamadaKyôko KagawaIn a Japanese slum, various residents play out their lives, dreaming of better things or settling for their lot. Among them is a man who pines for a young woman but is stymied by her deceptive family.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneMisa UeharaMinoru ChiakiLured by gold, two greedy peasants unknowingly escort a princess and her general across enemy lines.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneMasayuki MoriKyôko KagawaA vengeful young man marries the daughter of a corrupt industrialist in order to seek justice for his father's suicide.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneEijirô TônoTatsuya NakadaiA crafty ronin comes to a town divided by two criminal gangs and decides to play them against each other to free the town.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneTatsuya NakadaiKeiju KobayashiA crafty samurai helps a young man and his fellow clansmen trying to save his uncle, who has been framed and imprisoned by a corrupt superintendent.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneYutaka SadaTatsuya NakadaiAn executive of a Yokohama shoe company becomes a victim of extortion when his chauffeur's son is kidnapped by mistake and held for ransom.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneYûzô KayamaTsutomu YamazakiIn 19th-century Japan, a rough-tempered yet charitable town doctor trains a young intern.
- DirectorRichard FleischerKinji FukasakuToshio MasudaStarsMartin BalsamSô YamamuraJason RobardsThe story of the 1941 Japanese air raid on Pearl Harbor, and the series of preceding American blunders that aggravated its effectiveness.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsYoshitaka ZushiKin SugaiToshiyuki TonomuraVarious tales in the lives of Tokyo slum dwellers, including a mentally deficient young man obsessed with driving his own commuter trolley.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsMaksim MunzukYuriy SolominMikhail BychkovThe Russian army sends an explorer on an expedition to the snowy Siberian wilderness where he makes friends with a seasoned local hunter.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsTatsuya NakadaiAkira TeraoJinpachi NezuIn Medieval Japan, an elderly warlord retires, handing over his empire to his three sons. However, he vastly underestimates how the new-found power will corrupt them and cause them to turn on each other...and him.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaIshirô HondaStarsAkira TeraoMitsuko BaishôToshie NegishiA collection of tales based upon eight of director Akira Kurosawa's recurring dreams.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsSachiko MuraseRichard GereHisashi IgawaThree generations' responses to the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaIshirô HondaStarsTatsuo MatsumuraHisashi IgawaGeorge TokoroFollowing World War II, a retired professor approaching his autumn years finds his quality of life drastically reduced in war-torn Tokyo. Denying despair, he pursues writing and celebrates his birthday with his adoring students.
- DirectorHisao KurosawaStarsAkira KurosawaKazuko KurosawaA documentary in 10 parts covering the filmmaking of Kurosawa around the theme of making the perfect movie or as he says: A Beautiful Movie.
- DirectorShizuo SatôStarsAkira KurosawaNagisa ÔshimaIn a long dialogue, Nagisa Oshima interviews Akira Kurosawa, leading him to share his thoughts about filmmaking, his life and works, and numerous anecdotes relating to his films and his various film activities.
- DirectorMarty GrossStarsStephen PrinceJoan MellenTadao SatôThis documentary made by the Criterion Collection examines the history of the Samurai in Japan. Also looks at what inspired Kurosawa to make his masterpiece 1954 film Seven Samurai in a post WW2 Japan.
- StarsRobert FischerLars-Martin SorensonDanish film scholar, Lars-Martin Sorensen, describes US censorship of Japanese film during the American occupation of Japan (1945-1952) and the challenges Kurosawa faced from these censors on his early films, particularly Drunken Angel (1948).
- DirectorSenkichi TaniguchiStarsToshirô MifuneTakashi ShimuraYoshio KosugiThree bank robbers on the run from the police hide out in a remote mountain lodge high up in the snowy Japanese Alps.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsTatsuya NakadaiTsutomu YamazakiKen'ichi HagiwaraA petty thief with an utter resemblance to a samurai warlord is hired as the lord's double. When the warlord later dies the thief is forced to take up arms in his place.
- StarsRichard ChamberlainToshirô MifuneYôko ShimadaAn English navigator becomes both a player and pawn in the complex political games in feudal Japan.
- DirectorJerry LondonStarsRichard ChamberlainToshirô MifuneYôko ShimadaAn English navigator becomes both pawn and player in the deadly political games in feudal Japan.
- DirectorKihachi OkamotoStarsToshirô MifuneShintarô KatsuAyako WakaoZatoichi tries to unrest the mob rule over a small village all while the gang leader's bodyguard is actually the Yojimbo, secretly taking the gang down from the inside. Will the two heroes realize in time that they are on the same side?
- DirectorKihachi OkamotoStarsTatsuya NakadaiMichiyo AratamaYûzô KayamaThrough his unconscionable actions against others, a sociopath samurai builds a trail of vendettas that follow him closely.
- DirectorKihachi OkamotoStarsToshirô MifuneKeiju KobayashiMichiyo AratamaFebruary 17 to March 3, 1860, inside Edo castle. A group of assassins wait by Sakurada Gate to kill the lord of the House of Ii, a powerful man in the Tokugawa government, which has ruled Japan for 300 years. They suspect a traitor in their midst, and their suspicions fall on Niiro, an impoverished ronin who dreams of samurai status, and Kurihara, an aristocratic samurai who befriends Niiro. Niiro longs to identify his father, knowing he is a high-ranking official who will disclose himself only if Niiro achieves samurai status. With American ships in Japan's harbors, cynicism among the assassins, and change in the air, Niiro resolves to reach ends that may prove ephemeral.
- DirectorHiroshi InagakiStarsToshirô MifuneHideko TakamineHiroshi AkutagawaA poor rickshaw driver finds himself helping a young woman and her son after the woman's husband dies suddenly.
- DirectorHiroshi InagakiStarsToshirô MifuneYoshiko SakumaKinnosuke NakamuraA shrewd 16th Century samurai helps a daimyo expand his realm.
- DirectorMasaki KobayashiStarsToshirô MifuneYôko TsukasaGô KatôThe mother of a feudal lord's only heir is kidnapped away from her husband by the lord. The husband and his samurai father must decide whether to accept the unjust decision, or risk death to get her back.
- DirectorHiroshi InagakiStarsToshirô MifuneMariko OkadaKôji TsurutaMusashi Miyamoto is challenged to a duel by a confident swordsman Sasaki Kojiro. He agrees to fight him in a year's time.
- DirectorHiroshi InagakiStarsToshirô MifuneMariko OkadaKôji TsurutaMusashi Miyamoto returns to Kyoto after years of absence. After a series of fights against the Yoshioka School, he challenges its master to a duel.
- DirectorHiroshi InagakiStarsToshirô MifuneMariko OkadaRentarô MikuniDepicts the early life of the legendary warrior Musashi Miyamoto; his years as an aspiring warrior, an outlaw and finally a true samurai.
- DirectorTsugunobu KotaniStarsRichard BooneToshirô MifuneMike StarrA steel samurai blade that was to be given to the American ambassador by the Emperor of Japan is stolen. American sailors and Japanese samurai are sent to find it.
- DirectorSteven OkazakiStarsWataru AkashiKyôko KagawaTakeshi KatôA feature-length documentary about the life and films of legendary actor Toshiro Mifune, weaving together film clips, archival stills, and interviews with such luminaries as Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese. Narrated by Keanu Reeves.
- DirectorKenji MizoguchiStarsKinuyo TanakaTsukie MatsuuraIchirô SugaiFollows a woman's fight and survival amid the vicissitudes of life and the cruelty of society.
- DirectorKeisuke KinoshitaStarsKinuyo TanakaToshirô MifuneJûkichi UnoA jewelry store president begins to fall for the doctor treating her husband's illness.
- DirectorKazuo MoriStarsToshirô MifuneYuriko HamadaTakashi ShimuraMataemon Araki, a renowned swordsman, helps a young man find vengeance.
- DirectorHiroshi InagakiStarsToshirô MifuneYôko TsukasaAkira TakaradaJapanese version of 'Cyrano de Bergerac', a poet/swordsman with a huge nose who loves a woman who loves another. Ignoring his true feelings, he helps them get together.
- DirectorKatsuhiro ÔtomoStarsMitsuo IwataNozomu SasakiMami KoyamaA secret military project endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns a biker gang member into a rampaging psychic psychopath who can only be stopped by a teenager, his gang of biker friends and a group of psychics.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsHitoshi TakagiNoriko HidakaChika SakamotoWhen two girls move to the country to be near their ailing mother, they have adventures with the wondrous forest spirits who live nearby.
- DirectorTakeshi KitanoStarsTakeshi KitanoKayoko KishimotoRen ÔsugiNishi leaves the police in the face of harrowing personal and professional difficulties. Spiraling into depression, he makes questionable decisions.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsDaveigh ChaseSuzanne PleshetteMiyu IrinoDuring her family's move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches and spirits, and where humans are changed into beasts.
- DirectorMasaki KobayashiStarsTatsuya NakadaiAkira IshihamaShima IwashitaWhen a ronin requesting seppuku at a feudal lord's palace is told of the brutal suicide of another ronin who previously visited, he reveals how their pasts are intertwined - and in doing so challenges the clan's integrity.
- DirectorIshirô HondaStarsTakashi ShimuraAkihiko HirataAkira TakaradaAfter a dinosaur-like beast - awoken from undersea hibernation by atom bomb testing - ravages Tokyo, a scientist must decide if his similarly dangerous weapon should be used to destroy it.
- DirectorKenji MisumiStarsShintarô KatsuMasayo BanriRyûzô ShimadaThe adventures of a blind, gambling masseur who also happens to be a master swordsman.
- DirectorKazuo MoriStarsShintarô KatsuYaeko MizutaniMasayo BanriThe blind masseur and swordsman, Zatoichi, learns of a powerful political figure's secret and is quickly tailed by a group of killers.
- DirectorTokuzô TanakaStarsShintarô KatsuMikiko TsubouchiSeizaburô KawazuWishing 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.
- DirectorTokuzô TanakaStarsShintarô KatsuMiwa TakadaMasayo BanriA yakuza gang targets the blind masseur Zatoichi after he defeats their group in a wrestling match. Meanwhile a long lost love of Zatoichi's returns to his life.
- DirectorKimiyoshi YasudaStarsShintarô KatsuShiho FujimuraRyûzô ShimadaZatoichi promises to deliver a maiden safely home but finds two dangerous gangs have a mysterious interest in the young girl.
- DirectorKazuo IkehiroStarsShintarô KatsuShôgo ShimadaMikiko TsubouchiZatoichi is mistaken for a thief. To clear his name he must find and defeat the real villain.
- DirectorKazuo IkehiroStarsShintarô KatsuTatsuo EndôTakashi EtajimaAfter being wounded in a fight, Zatoichi is nursed to health by a young woman and her father. Now indebted to the family, he works to protect their ferry business from local thugs.
- DirectorKimiyoshi YasudaStarsShintarô KatsuMiwa TakadaEiko TakashiroThe blind swordsman tries to locate a girl's missing father.
- DirectorAkira InoueStarsShintarô KatsuNorihei MikiMikiko TsubouchiAfter Zatoichi learns of his sensei's murder he uncovers a horrible conspiracy involving the local government and crime family.
- DirectorKazuo MoriStarsShintarô KatsuKanbi FujiyamaEiko TakashiroThe blind masseur and swordsman, Zatoichi, searches for proof an imprisoned man's innocence.
- DirectorKenji MisumiStarsShintarô KatsuMikio NaritaChizu HayashiA samurai with a high skill in chess makes friends with Zatoichi, who finds that things become peculiar in his presence.
- DirectorTokuzô TanakaStarsShintarô KatsuShigeru AmachiJun HamamuraPromising to make a delivery for a dying man, the blind swordsman Zatoichi comes across the usual crime gangs but also meets a blind monk who brings into question his use of violence.
- DirectorKazuo IkehiroStarsShintarô KatsuMichiyo YasudaKunie TanakaZatoichi's trek through 88 temples to atone for his violent past is interrupted as he stumbles into a village terrorized by a violent yakuza boss.
- DirectorKimiyoshi YasudaStarsShintarô KatsuShiho FujimuraYoshihiko AoyamaZatoichi, while fighting off the usual group of gangsters, meets the apprentice of the swordsman who created his blade, who relays bad news about the sword.
- DirectorSatsuo YamamotoStarsShintarô KatsuRentarô MikuniKô NishimuraIn a town where debt-ridden peasants are being ruthlessly exploited, Zatoichi is forced to take sides between a cruel yakuza boss and his seemingly altruistic rival.
- DirectorKenji MisumiStarsShintarô KatsuJûshirô KonoeMiwa TakadaAfter an artist is threatened by the yakuza into creating valuable but highly illegal pornography, the law aims to execute him. Zatoichi, having been honor bound to protect the man and his family, must now run against the law.
- DirectorKimiyoshi YasudaStarsShintarô KatsuKayo MikimotoKyôsuke MachidaZatoichi runs afoul of some evil fugitives, working for a corrupt law official.
- DirectorKenji MisumiStarsShintarô KatsuYoshiko MitaMakoto SatôZatoichi is tricked by a crime gang into killing a man. Realizing his mistake, he sets out to protect the dead man's sister, who is conflicted in accepting his help.
- DirectorKenji MisumiStarsShintarô KatsuReiko ÔharaPîtâZatoichi meets an infamous blind leader of a gangster organization as he contends with a gloomy ronin widower.
- DirectorKimiyoshi YasudaStarsShintarô KatsuJimmy Wang YuMichie TeradaTwo of Japan and China's greatest heroic swordsman find themselves caught in a plot to protect a young child. But will national distrust and simple misunderstanding keep the two kindred spirits apart?
- DirectorKazuo MoriStarsShintarô KatsuRentarô MikuniHisaya MorishigeOn the road, Zatoichi meets a dying pregnant woman and delivers the child moments before she passes. Honor bound, he sets out to find the next-of-kin who he discovers have their own problems.
- DirectorShintarô KatsuStarsShintarô KatsuKiwako TaichiKyoko YoshizawaAfter accidentally causing an old lady's death, Zatoichi seeks out her daughter to atone for the tragedy, consequently getting into all sorts of trouble.
- DirectorKimiyoshi YasudaStarsShintarô KatsuYukiyo ToakeEiji OkadaZatoichi returns to his home village for the first time in over ten years to find much has changed and that corruption abounds.
- DirectorKenji MisumiStarsShintarô KatsuSaburô DateKôji FujiyamaWhen Zatoichi witnesses the murder of a young mother he promises to deliver the baby to the father. Along the way he gains the help of a reluctant criminal.
- DirectorKenji MisumiStarsTomisaburô WakayamaFumio WatanabeGô KatôThe story of a Ronin (i.e. a masterless samurai) who wanders the countryside of Japan with his small child, having various adventures.
- DirectorKenji MisumiStarsTomisaburô WakayamaKayo MatsuoMinoru ÔkiTrailed by a clan of female ninja, Ogami is paid to assassinate a clan traitor accompanied by three killers known as the Gods of Death.
- DirectorKenji MisumiStarsTomisaburô WakayamaGô KatôYûko HamaOgami Itto volunteers to be tortured by the yakuza to save a prostitute and is hired by their leader to kill an evil chamberlain.
- DirectorBuichi SaitôStarsTomisaburô WakayamaYoichi HayashiMichi AzumaOgami is hired to kill a tattooed female assassin. Gunbei Yagyu, an enemy samurai, happens upon Ogami's son, and sees his chance for revenge.
- DirectorKenji MisumiStarsTomisaburô WakayamaMichiyo YasudaAkihiro TomikawaFive warriors challenge Ogami to duels. Each holds a part of information needed to complete the assassination of a mad clan leader.
- DirectorYoshiyuki KurodaStarsTomisaburô WakayamaAkihiro TomikawaJunko HitomiIn the sixth and final film of the Lone Wolf and Cub series, the final conflict between Ogami Itto and the Yagyu clan is carried out.
- DirectorMikio NaruseStarsHideko TakamineMasayuki MoriMariko OkadaA tragic social drama set in post war Japan and concerns a lonely woman trying to find purpose and stability in a devastated Tokyo.
- DirectorMotoyoshi OdaIshirô HondaStarsHiroshi KoizumiSetsuko WakayamaMinoru ChiakiScout pilots for a fishing company are startled to discover a second Godzilla, whose battle with rival monster Anguirus threatens to destroy Osaka.
- DirectorIshirô HondaTom MontgomeryStarsTadao TakashimaKenji SaharaYû FujikiA UN reporter covers the appearance of a prehistoric monster that emerges from hibernation, while a pharmaceutical company seeks publicity with a monster of their own.
- DirectorIshirô HondaStarsAkira TakaradaYuriko HoshiHiroshi KoizumiWhen opportunistic tycoons refuse to return Mothra's egg to Infant Island, its people must decide if they are willing to answer Japan's own pleas for help when Godzilla arises near Nagoya.
- DirectorIshirô HondaStarsYôsuke NatsukiYuriko HoshiHiroshi KoizumiA detective protects a princess who prophecies Earth's destruction by a powerful alien dragon, which Mothra and her fairies - aided by Godzilla and Rodan - must battle against.
- DirectorJun FukudaStarsAkira TakaradaKumi MizunoChôtarô TôginFour men searching for one's brother are shipwrecked on Letchi Island, where they encounter Godzilla, a monstrous lobster, and terrorists who have enslaved the natives of Infant Island.
- DirectorIshirô HondaStarsNick AdamsAkira TakaradaJun TazakiAstronauts encounter the Xiliens, who ask Earth to rid their planet of "Monster Zero", but when one astronaut romances a mysterious woman, he uncovers the Xilien's true intentions.
- DirectorJun FukudaStarsTadao TakashimaAkira KuboBibari MaedaA reporter stumbles upon weather experiments on a tropical island, discovering giant mantises, a castaway woman, and an infant monster that Godzilla must learn to raise as a son.
- DirectorIshirô HondaJun FukudaStarsAkira KuboJun TazakiYukiko KobayashiIn 1999, a race of she-aliens, the Kilaaks, brainwash Earth's monsters into attacking major cities, prompting a team of astronauts to stop the invaders while the monsters battle Ghidorah.
- DirectorIshirô HondaJun FukudaKengo FurusawaStarsKenji SaharaMachiko NakaTomonori YazakiA latchkey child living in the industrial city of Kawasaki confronts his loneliness through his escapist dreams of Monster Island and friendship with Minilla.