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Little DJ 小さな恋の物語 (2007)
Character: Yuji Takasaki
Taro is a 12-year-old into baseball and radio, especially "Music Express," a song-request show. Sound quaint? But it is 1977 and a small town in Hokkaido, a more innocent, pure-hearted time and place, we are told. Taro, however, has a blood disease that lands him in the hospital where his aunt is a nurse. Rounds of tests, transfusions and injections sap his spirit, despite the kindness and dedication of his young doctor and the Doctor's hospital-director father. The latter, a music buff who broadcasts classics over the hospital's PA system, asks Taro to relieve him as DJ — and soon the boy is ensconced in the hospital director's well-stocked library-cum-studio, spinning popular J-Pop tunes. He also becomes acquainted with Tamaki, a girl he first calls "the mummy" because of her bandages and full body cast — she was injured in a traffic accident. He later changes his tune when she is revealed as a cute 13-year-old — for him, an older woman...
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日本の自転車泥棒 (2006)
Character: N/A
Steel-worker Saito Tetsuo, driven by an unexplained anxiety, steals bike after bike to move away from his hometown to Tokyo. Through snow-storms and empty landscapes, the breathtaking photography allows us to look deep into the mindscape of a man searching for an answer - although the question itself is never quite articulated.
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盗写1/250秒 OUT OF FOCUS (1985)
Character: N/A
A magazine publisher called Out Of Focus hires a new female camerawoman. This company is located in Tokyo. The new photographer moves from outside the city to Tokyo and upon arrival and on her first day is tasked with immediately snapping pictures. Her boss sends her on a mission with a senior colleague. The senior cameraman uses rogue ways surprising his new colleague. A new assignment related to a former Japanese Prime Minister falls on her lap. The court does not look fondly at photography of this kind.
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TOMORROW 明日 (1988)
Character: Yamaguchi
On August 9, 1945, the Americans dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki. This film, based on a story by Mitsukaru Inoue, describes the daily life of people in Nagasaki the day before that fateful event. It presents the human drama of people's lives, and their feelings of joy and sadness. These include a newlywed couple, an expectant mother, and lovers who must say farewell because the boy is called to serve in the army. Each of these people, like others in the city, hoped to live with their dreams for ‘tomorrow’. But tomorrow never comes for them, as their lives are brought to an abrupt and unexpected end. Knowing how the story ends, in this case, doesn't detract from it at all; rather, it enhances the emotional impact, which is further heightened by the poignant musical score from Teizo Matsumura. 'Ashita' is the first film in Kazuo Kuroki's 'War Requiem Trilogy,' which also includes 'Utsukushii Natsu Kirishima' (2002) and 'Chichi to Kuraseba' (2004).
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赤い鳥逃げた？ (1973)
Character: N/A
A young outlaw can’t escape his rebellious past despite connections to a well-to-do family.
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正午なり (1978)
Character: N/A
Tadao decides to comes back from Tokyo to live in his home town, in the countryside. He stays at his parents place and finds a job, repairing transistor and television. He catches up with his friend Tetsuji, the only that haven’t left yet. But one night, Tetsuji decides to leave for Tokyo with a bar hostess.
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Hi no sakana (2009)
Character: Shozo murata
Hi no Sakana (火の魚, Fish of the Fire) is a Japanese novel by Murō Saisei; it was first published in 1960, and was later adapted into a single episode TV drama that was broadcast on NHK Hiroshima in 2009. The story describes the interactions between an elderly author and a young staffer from a publishing company as they collaborate on a book cover design for the author's latest novel.
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二十世紀少年読本 (1989)
Character: Yoshimoto
Two brothers, Jinta and Wataru, are raised in a travelling circus. After an accident, Jinta decides to leave the circus and travels the countryside working as a con-man. After a run-in with a local gang of yakuza, he is invited to join their ranks, where he makes the mistake of falling for a boss's mistress. Wataru stays with the circus and works hard to regain its former glory
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フライング 飛翔 (1988)
Character: N/A
A young woman aspires to be a motorboat racing champion.
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泪橋 (1983)
Character: N/A
Japanese drama film.
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さらば映画の友よ インディアンサマー (1979)
Character: N/A
Set at the height of the Japanese student rebellion in 1968, the film tells the story of the friendship between two very different men—a fortyish film maniac who spends nearly all his time at the movies and a 19-year-old going through the final rites of passage from adolescence to adulthood.
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眠れる美女 (1995)
Character: Yoshio Eguchi
About an establishment where old men pay to sleep besides young girls that had been narcotized and happen to be naked, the sleeping beauties. The old men are expected to take sleeping pills and share the bed for a whole night with a girl without attempting anything of bad taste like putting a finger inside their mouths.
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黄金花 秘すれば花、死すれば蝶 (2009)
Character: N/A
Nursing home "Yuyoso". Many lonely old people live there, including botanist Taro Makiso, a physicist, an actor, a bar mom, and a chef. Maki has spent most of his life studying botany, and has lived without regard for entertainment, drinking, women, or everything else in the world. Then came my 80th birthday. He and a young staff member go digging for wild yam and find a mysterious golden flower. It was the flower of immortality, the "Golden Flower", which was said to bloom beside the Himalayan Virgin, which he had been looking for for many years. From that day onwards, fragments of memories from his youth, which he had intentionally sealed off in order to immerse himself in botany, surged into Maki in a whirlpool.
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無宿人御子神の丈吉 川風に過去は流れた (1972)
Character: Jokichi of Mikogami
Thirsting for revenge, Jokichi rashly attempts to assassinate the evil Chogoro but ends up being captured by Yakuza. His life is spared by Boss Juzaburo, in order that the harmony of an important commemoration not be further disturbed. Though now even more of an outcast, Jokichi is asked by another Yakuza boss, Umezo, to guard Oyuki, the wayward daughter of Juzaburo. The tragic consequences of this assignment will lead him into a deadly trap and a final confrontation with Chogoro.
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無宿人御子神の丈吉 黄昏に閃光が飛んだ (1973)
Character: Jokichi of Mikogami
In feudal Japan, women are vulnerable, in need of protection, and capable of deception. Jokichi of Mikogami, a drifter, has not yet fully revenged the death of his wife and son. He searches for Kunisada Chuji, who in turn has hired the knife-throwing Windmill Kobunji to kill him. Kobunji and Jokichi meet in the winter, near Sasago Pass, when both have rescued women: Jokichi has saved the lute-playing Oyae whose clan and whose lover want her dead; Kobunji has rescued Oharu, a well-born woman married to an innkeeper. Is this rescue a whim or something deeper? And why does Jokichi become the consumptive Kobunji's protector? What ultimately will Jokichi do about Oyae?
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反逆の旅 (1976)
Character: N/A
Hiroshi Kakurai is an assassin who was thinking of retiring. He travels to an island in the Seto Inland Sea and begins to live peacefully with Shinobu, a woman he has fallen in love with, but the intensity of his love for her begins to drive him towards destruction...
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夢見通りの人々 (1989)
Character: Mori Masahisa
A comedy about the lives of people living in the shopping district of Osaka.
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ちんなねえ (1997)
Character: N/A
A detective, a mysterious beauty Ekin and other characters appear in the film. It creates a mysterious visual world that takes us one step further into the world of Ekin. This is the second art documentary film produced by the Museum of Art, Kochi, following Hiroyuki Oki's HEAVEN-6-BOX. This time, the stage performances of butoh greats Maro Akaji and Dairakudakan were documented by Hayashi Kaizo.
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ラスト・フランケンシュタイン (1991)
Character: Dr. Akira Aryo
Professor Sarusawa and his psychic daughter Mai live together after the suicide of the Professor's wife years earlier - which was caused by a suicide plague running rampant throughout the city. Dr. Aryo lives in a nearby castle with his wife, whom Dr. Aryo created, and a hunchbacked assistant. Dr. Aryo once worked at the same university with Professor Sarusawa but was fired for his morbid experiments. Now, Dr. Aryo may hold the key to unlocking the origins & cure for the suicide virus which Professor Sarusawa may now have. Meanwhile Professor Sarusawa's daughter Mai can be bring to life Dr. Aryo's stitched up cadavers which Dr. Aryo hopes to create a new race with.
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この愛の物語 (1987)
Character: N/A
Life and love stories of stunt men and women.
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大化改新 (2005)
Character: Soga no Emishi
A drama introduces the well known coup in the 7th Century Japan followed by the Taika reform which marks the start of the nation by portraying the friendship and betrayal between two young men, Nakatomi no Kamatari and Soga no Iruka.
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スリ (2000)
Character: N/A
Kaido is a professional pickpocket who works the Tokyo subway with his young foster-daughter, Rei: She lets herself be groped while Kaido relieves the groper of his wallet. More often than not they're observed by a middle-aged cop, who generally lets Kaido go free. Rei is unsettled when Kaido takes on a young street punk, Kazuki, as an apprentice -- with instructions to make Kaido stop drinking. Kazuki, however, would like to go into business with Rei.
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映画監督って何だ！ (2006)
Character: N/A
Works commemorating the 70th anniversary of the founding of Japan mapping Supervision Association
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海ほおずき (1995)
Character: N/A
Haida, once a famous private detective, is now down and out and running out of reasons to live. One day, while engaging in a group volunteer project to clean up a river, he loses what's left of his will to live and lets the water carry him away. He ends up rescuing a drowning man who alters his view of life totally. Soon he gets a job investigating the mysterious disappearance of a student who sent her mother a cryptic letter, "Wait a bit, Mother. I'm sending my breath. It will arrive soon."
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キスより簡単 (1989)
Character: Mr. Roku
After the death of her mother a young woman wants to meet her real father
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関東流れ者 (1971)
Character: N/A
Young man returns from prison and sets out to destroy the gang that killed his friends and boss of his former gang.
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兇悪の紋章 (1990)
Character: N/A
Aida, a daredevil detective who isn't afraid of power or challenges. The great evil has begun investigating a major corruption case involving a leading trade company and the nation.
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ニワトリはハダシだ (2004)
Character: N/A
A disabled child of separated parents gets caught up in police espionage due to his uncanny ability to remember license plate numbers.
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修羅場の人間学 (1993)
Character: N/A
A man must overcome many obstacles as he works his way through the dangerous crime world to the level of yakuza.
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陽炎２ (1996)
Character: N/A
An entertainment drama depicting the conflict of yakuza, centering on the female torso and her sister's feud.
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犬笛 (1978)
Character: N/A
Shiro Akitsu goes on a relentless search for his abducted 7-year-old daughter, with the aid of an Ainu dog summoned by a whistle she gave him.
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シンガポール・スリング (1993)
Character: N/A
Tatsuya is on a honeymoon in Australia. A couple of unfortunate encounters land him in jail, where he’s imprisoned without a chance of ever getting out again. His wife tries her best to launch an appeal, but it’s Tatsuya’s inmates who are his best chance of escaping his current predicament.
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螢 (1989)
Character: Hashimoto
A young outlaw racing through the streets of Yokohama. Will the love that slipped through his fingers like sand come back to him once again?
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タイムリミット (2003)
Character: N/A
Mizusawa (Takenouchi Yutaka), an explosives expert, is arrested and charged with a string of bank robberies. Because he is a flight risk, Detective Kayama (Ogata Ken) is assigned to transport Mizusawa to Shizuoka for questioning. On the way, Kayama receives word that the hotel where his wife and daughter are attending a party has been rigged with a time bomb. Being a "by-the-book" kind of cop, Kayama refuses to abandon his job and return to help his family. Meanwhile, the hotel is swarming with police and the bomb squad who are searching for the bomb and the culprit. Time is almost up. Mizusawa claims that he is the only who who can deactivate the bomb.
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穴の牙 (1979)
Character: Shida
A police detective tries to investigate the mystery of a victim who was shot in the head, but no bullet was found.
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スローなブギにしてくれ (1981)
Character: Teruo Miyazato
A runaway cat-loving girl begins a love triangle with a reckless older man and a young biker in high school. The film follows their subsequent chaotic relationships.
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さらば愛しき人よ (1987)
Character: N/A
A hardened gangster encounters by chance a woman he hasn't seen since childhood. They are both engulfed in the underground world of intergang warfare.
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陽炎座 (1981)
Character: Wada
A 1920s playwright meets a beautiful woman who may be the ghost of his patron's deceased wife.
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ナイン・ソウルズ (2003)
Character: Torakichi Hasegawa
After discovering a hole in their crowded cell, nine prisoners escape their confinement to track down the key of the universe, which a fellow prisoner known as the Counterfeit King said he had hidden.
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寝盗られ宗介 (1992)
Character: Sosuke Kitamura
Koji Wakamatsu adapted Kouhei Tsuka's play of the same name into a human comedy about the members of a traveling acting troupe.
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私立探偵 濱マイク 名前のない森 (2003)
Character: Client
Private detective Mike takes on an assignment to return a girl, who is set to marry into a prestigious family, from a mysterious commune in the forest.
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ロストクライム -閃光- (2010)
Character: N/A
Katagiri, a highly ambitious young detective, teams up with older detective Takiguchi, who is about to retire, to investigate a murder that took place by Sumida River. Katagiri is annoyed by Takiguchi's pushiness, but is surprised to hear that the victim was a suspect in the 300 million yen robbery.
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告白的女優論 (1971)
Character: Stalker
In this intricately layered Japanese film, the nature of actresses and what they gain from acting is explored. The lives of three actresses are laid bare, and scenes from their lives are woven in and out of interviews with each of them. Each of them has experienced a traumatic event which contributes to their particular enjoyment of becoming someone else in dramatic roles.
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友よ、静かに瞑れ (1985)
Character: Takahata Yoshio
A man returns to his seaside roots to confront a yakuza boss. Along the way, he charms young men, softens a hard woman and busts a few heads.
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祭りの準備 (1975)
Character: Toshihiro Nakajima
Tateo, young and neurotic, wishes to leave the village his mother has raised him in.
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八月の濡れた砂 (1971)
Character: Priest
Several high-school friends spend their final summer together indulging in sex and leisure; their halcyon days are soon coming to an end.
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クライムハンター 怒りの銃弾 (1989)
Character: Doc
After his partner Ahiru is gunned down in the process of arresting criminal Bruce Sawamura, cop Joe "Joker" Kawamura goes rogue and tries to get revenge. Since Bruce's last coup was stealing 5 million dollars in donations from a church, he is joined in his quest by nun Lily.
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ヤンキー母校に帰る 〜旅立ちの時 不良少年の夢〜 (2005)
Character: Iwazaki Tooru [Teacher]
In 1988, Hokkaido's Hokusei Yoichi High School became the first high school in Japan to accept students who had previously dropped out of high school from nationwide. This special follows Yoshiie Hiroyuki (based on a former graduate of Hokusei Yoichi) and his friends from the time they enroll in the school during it's first year accepting delinquents. This is a brilliant tale of troubled youths trying to break free from their former lives- fighting through various gut-wrenching challenges on their way- while the teachers struggle to help them every step of the way.
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ツィゴイネルワイゼン (1980)
Character: Nakasago
A surreal period film following a university professor and his eerie nomad friend as they go through loose romantic triangles and face death in peculiar ways.
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われに撃つ用意あり (1990)
Character: Katsuhiko Goda
A middle-aged man discovers an injured refugee woman trembling in the corner of his bar in Kabukicho. He quickly becomes aware that her life is in his hands when he learns she is hiding from the yakuza.
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獅子王たちの夏 (1991)
Character: N/A
Katsu, who belongs to the Murai group of the Sakagami Union, was frustrated by the distance from the yakuza world he had envisioned. At that time, Katsu, who met Osamu who belongs to the conflicting Dainippon Kyokushinkai, feels the real gangster scent of Osamu.
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RAMPO 奥山バージョン (1994)
Character: Big Star
Edogawa Rampo is a writer whose latest work is censored by the government, deemed too disturbing and injurious to the public to be allowed to be published. However, after burning his drafts, his publisher shows him a newspaper with an account of events just like his forbidden story. As the film progresses, fantasy and reality intermingle in a tale that draws heavily on influences from Poe and Stoker's Dracula. The film's strongly Expressionistic direction skillfully combines a variety of media (animation, computer-generated imagery, grainy black-and-white fast film stock, color negatives) for artistic effect.
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どついたるねん (1989)
Character: Makio Sajima
A Japanese boxer stages a dramatic and dangerous comeback after suffering brain damage in the ring.
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亡国のイージス (2005)
Character: Koichiro Kajimoto
The Isokaze, an Aegis-class escort vessel, sets sail on a routine training exercise, playing host to a platoon from the Fleet Training Group. No sooner is the Isokaze on open water, however, then the FTG reveal themselves to be terrorist stowaways who kill the ship's captain, send the rest of the crew overboard and take control of the vessel. The ship is carrying a secret biological weapon which the terrorists are now threatening to use to level Tokyo! Only a stowaway NCO, Sengoko (played by Sanada Hiroyuki from Ring and Twilight Samurai) is in a position to stop them - but does he really have what it takes to save the day? Playing like a cross between a sea-faring version of Top Gun and Die Hard, director Sakamoto Junji shows that it's not just Hollywood that can produce thrill-a-minute action spectaculars.
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新宿アウトロー ぶっ飛ばせ (1970)
Character: Nao Matsukata
Yūji, fresh out of prison on parole, meets a stranger named Nao that asks for his assistance...
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はなれ瞽女おりん (1977)
Character: Heitaro
A blind traveling musician is abused and oppressed wherever she goes, even as the modern world imposes change around her.
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復讐の歌が聞える (1968)
Character: 竹中克巳
Executive management of a major Tokyo construction company are getting bumped off one after another. It seems obvious that it is a former partner of the company with a long-standing grudge who is responsible, but he died in the first ten minutes of the movie. Or did he? This may aptly be described as a giallo-noir for the unrelenting string of murders by a mystery man and the black-and-white gritty urban setting.
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君よ憤怒の河を渉れ (1976)
Character: Detective Yamura
A tough prosecutor is falsely accused of theft and goes on the run to clear his name. He is assisted by the beautiful daughter of a rich man.
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原子力戦争 (1978)
Character: Sakata
At a seaside city somewhere in the Tohoku area, the corpses of Nozomi, daughter of an affluent family, and Yamazaki, son of an engineer at the local nuclear power-plant, are found tied-to on a beach, as if they intended to commit double suicide. Nogami, a reporter, begins to investigate.
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ウルトラミラクルラブストーリー (2009)
Character: Dr. Misawa
Yojin, an eccentric young farmer living in the countryside, falls in love for the first time in his life. Her name is Machiko, she teaches in a kindergarten and is from Tokyo.
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生きてるうちが花なのよ死んだらそれまでよ党宣言 (1985)
Character: N/A
Barbara, a dancer, is coming home to Nagoya after a long absence. She lives above a bar in an area whose inhabitants are mainly from Okinawa. Upon her return, Barbara faces problems beyond her control. Her brother and two friends take one of their teachers hostage to extort money to go on a school trip. Miyazato, the man who loves Barbara is there, but not Aiko, her best friend. Miyazato, a yakuza and manager in a nuclear power plant has forced Aiko into prostitution for the workers of the plant. Barbara plans to help her escape from this hell. Aiko has been sent to Mihama. Without even thinking for a moment, Barbara decided to go see her friend.
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火垂るの墓 (2008)
Character: N/A
Set during World War II, the film follows a young brother and sister as they attempt to survive the aftermath of the firebombing of Kobe City.
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やさぐれ刑事 (1976)
Character: Tsuyoshi Nishino
A bad cop is engaged in a violent chase to catch a yakuza boss. In his absence his wife runs away with another man, who turns out to be the very same man that her husband is hunting. Once he discovers this, he loses his nerve and turns in his badge. But the chase turns into a personal vendetta where the ex-cop plans to wipe out the entire gang.
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花よりもなほ (2006)
Character: Junai Onodera
In a poor district of Edo lives a young samurai named Soza. He has been sent by his clan to avenge the death of his father. He isn't an accomplished swordsman however, and he prefers sharing the life of the residents, teaching the kids how to write etc. When he finally finds the man he is looking for, he will have to decide whether he follows the way of the samurai or chooses peace and reconciliation.
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まんじ (1983)
Character: Takeshi Kakeuchi
Kleptomaniac Sonoko and young, beautiful Mitsuko begin an unusual love affair which develops fast into a kinky sexual love triangle when Sonoko’s husband gets involved.
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田園に死す (1974)
Character: Arashi
A director faces creative block while working on his latest film – a reimagination of his adolescence growing up in a mountain village in rural Japan.
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大鹿村騒動記 (2011)
Character: Yoshi Kazamatsuri
The annual kabuki show is the main attraction in a rural Japanese mountain town. However, Yoshi's life is thrown into disarray days before the performance when his estranged wife and former best friend arrive back in town...
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浪人街 (1990)
Character: Gennai Aramaki
Near the end of Japanese civil war, several disgraced ronin living in Edo's red light district attempt to regain their honor by defending a brothel from a hostile militia bent on wiping out local prostitutes.
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いつかギラギラする日 (1992)
Character: Noji
Following the bloody aftermath of a heist, three robbers are double-crossed by a new accomplice, who is then tracked down amid escalating carnage and spectacular car chases.
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オリヲン座からの招待状 (2007)
Character: N/A
Based on the short story from the best-selling collection "Poppoya" by Jiro Asada, "The Invitation from Cinema Orion" tells the story of a couple's undying love for the cinema and each other.
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美しい夏キリシマ (2002)
Character: N/A
Commencing well-respected Nippon director Kazuo Kuroki's sixth decade behind the camera, "A Boy's Summer in 1945" (literally "A Beautiful Summer in Kirishima") is a lyric, novelistic drama set in the countryside in the last days before Japan's surrender ending WWII. Striking a welcome retro note in its languid pacing and delicate handling of seriocomic ensemble threads, handsome production is a natural for fests. It might also prove a cornerstone for retrospectives or ancillary releases of works by a helmer ("Preparation of the Festival," "Ronin-gai") who's long been appreciated at home but has won just limited attention abroad.
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無宿人御子神の丈吉 牙は引き裂いた (1972)
Character: Jokichi
Can a sinful man change and find peace? It's unlikely in gang-plagued Japan. Jokichi of Mikogami, a drifter (and hired sword), goes straight after protecting a woman in distress: they marry, have a son, and Jokichi pursues his father's craft. After three years, the gangs he embarrassed when he saved his wife find the family and leave Jokichi in grief, vowing revenge. To parry his terrible swift sword, rival gangs join forces, hiring a prostitute to pose as a woman needing help and breaking the code of honor to double cross the drifter. He finds unlikely allies: a thief who aids him for fun and a one-eyed swordsman who may be Jokichi's equal in skill and honor.
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鬼火 (1997)
Character: Noriyuki Kunihiro
After spending over half his life in prison, ex-hitman Kunihiro is determined to go straight. But the shortcomings of the new gangs mean that he is soon having to call on his old-school yakuza talents. And when he falls for Asako, a beautiful piano player, she unknowingly ignites a fire within Kuni that will immolate everything and everybody around him. Regarded by many as his masterpiece, Onibi has all the hallmarks of a Mochizuki film, with the gangster elements tightly compressed and controlled to allow space in which a subdued romance can bloom. Coming from a background in porno cinema, this master of sexual relations injects a fresh passion and tension into the macho world of the yakuza film.
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コミック雑誌なんかいらない！ (1986)
Character: Producer
Stuck doing show-biz schlock, an investigative reporter stumbles on a scheme to swindle pensions through an attractive gold futures scam, a potential news-story.
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さらば箱舟 (1984)
Character: Daisaku Tokito
A surreal, isolated village sees its inhabitants gradually leave behind their mutual traditions and superstitions as they leave for the city. Among them are two cousins who love each other and who get into a quarrel with other villagers.
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ビリィ★ザ★キッドの新しい夜明け (1986)
Character: Harry Callahan
All the protagonists move about in a Tokyo Bar that has an entire wall taken up with a black-and-white reproduction of a photo of Monument Valley. The action starts as Billy the Kid, in full living color, walks out of the photo and gets a job as a waiter. Along with him on the working staff are a samurai straight out of the history books, a G.I. from World War II, and several other anachronistic characters. The plot (as such) revolves around keeping away the brutal mobsters and thugs who dominate the city streets outside of the bar, making the tavern safe for its easily recognized facsimiles of well-known characters.
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リング (1995)
Character: Ryuji Takayama
In different parts of Tokyo, four young and seemingly healthy people suddenly die of heart failure at exactly the same moment. Reporter Kazuyuki Asakawa decides to investigate the deaths, and discovers that the four had stayed at a rural inn together just a week earlier. At the inn, he comes across a strange video that ends with a message saying that anyone who watches it will die exactly seven days later. Now the clock is ticking for Asakawa. Can he break the curse in time?
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ファザーファッカー (1995)
Character: Shizuo Tanaka
14 year old Nakamura is sexually abused by her stepfather. She invents a friend who is coming to her rescue when she really needs it.
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KT (2002)
Character: Akikazu Kamikawa
This movie is a political/espionage thriller, based on a real kidnapping incident of Korean politician, Kim Dae-Jung.
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イゾー (2004)
Character: N/A
Izo is an assassin in the service of a Tosa lord and Imperial supporter. After killing dozens of the Shogun's men, Izo is captured and crucified. Instead of being extinguished, his rage propels him through the space-time continuum to present-day Tokyo. Here Izo transforms himself into a new, improved killing machine.
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水のないプール (1982)
Character: Owner
After saving a girl from rape, a bored rail worker finds out about a chemical that makes people sleep and gets carried away into a new, violent world of ideas.
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実録・連合赤軍 あさま山荘への道程 (2007)
Character: N/A
Two of the most radical student groups form the United Red Army (URA) and head into the mountains to conduct a training camp. Ideology devolves into despotism, and the URA's leaders begin to arbitrarily persecute their followers, a harrowing ordeal that culminates in violence and murder.
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The Hunted (1995)
Character: Takeda
Paul Racine, a high-powered American business executive in Japan, is catapulted into a maze of danger and intrigue after he and his sexy companion are the targets of assassins hired by the ruthless Kinjo. To survive, Racine must join forces with a powerful samurai and together they will fight the force of evil in an awesome battle rooted in centuries of brutal conflict.
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キャバレー (1986)
Character: N/A
A young jazz musician's desire to advance in his career runs afoul of organized crime in this thriller from Haruki Kadokawa. After a saxophonist starts playing at a particular nightspot, a thug from the Yakuza adopts him as a special friend for no greater reason than he plays one of his favorite songs well. As the dangerous life of the gangster intertwines with that of the musician, it brings harm to the musician's girlfriend, who is raped. This changes the young saxophonist's attitude about his patron, but his Yakuza "friend" is still too embroiled in his own problems to worry about anything else.
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キャバレー (1986)
Character: Shirae
A young jazz musician's desire to advance in his career runs afoul of organized crime in this thriller from Haruki Kadokawa. After a saxophonist starts playing at a particular nightspot, a thug from the Yakuza adopts him as a special friend for no greater reason than he plays one of his favorite songs well. As the dangerous life of the gangster intertwines with that of the musician, it brings harm to the musician's girlfriend, who is raped. This changes the young saxophonist's attitude about his patron, but his Yakuza "friend" is still too embroiled in his own problems to worry about anything else.
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たみおのしあわせ (2008)
Character: Nobuo Kanzaki
A humorous wedding story fueled by a rather no-good father and son, disguised as the old and new “good guys.” The father Nobuo, and his son Tamio, are unable to mature, unable to break the parent-child roles, have no sense of responsibility, and keep holding on to the past. The pair is overwhelmed by all the colorful characters around them telling them what to do. They go to strenuous and humorous efforts to make Tamio’s wedding an event to remember.
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Party 7 (2000)
Character: Captain Banana
Seven characters, introduced at the start of the film, get thrown together into the same hotel room: a thief who's stolen a suitcase of money from the mob, his ex-girlfriend, her obsessive boyfriend, the mob soldier sent to retrieve the briefcase, another mobster sent to kill them, master voyeur Captain Banana and his new apprentice, The Mister Yellow. Who will end up with the money?
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鉄拳 (1990)
Character: N/A
A directionless young man, recently released from prison, tries to make a new start in life as a boxer...
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反逆のメロディー (1970)
Character: Tetsu Tsukada
The disbandment of the Tanno clan left gang member Tetsu to stray from the crime family's fold. He roamed the streets as a one man band, wearing a denim jacket and long hair with sunglasses to cover his piercing eyes. Befriending a like-minded lone wolf by the name of Gebasaku, Tetsu builds a coalition against higher forces. A graphic portrayal of irrepressible anger and a friendship worth dying for.
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ビリケン (1996)
Character: N/A
The main hero of this film is the spirit of the once very popular wooden statuette called Billiken. It's a small god with a pointed head, a fat belly and a characteristic smile. When the casket in which the statuette was found is broken, the spirit of Billiken is free. After that he tries to fulfill the wishes of all those who had prayed to him, but it doesn't always works.
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ウォーターズ (2006)
Character: N/A
Seven young Tokyoites get scammed into working as hosts for "Dog Days" bar. Will they be able to overcome their individual differences and keep the club open?
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野良猫ロック 暴走集団'71 (1971)
Character: Pirania
The series swansong, Beat '71, sees Kaji framed and sent to prison by her boyfriend's father and with the help of some hippies she strives to be re-united.
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恋極道 (1997)
Character: N/A
When an innocent young country girl falls for a low level yakuza, she enters a completely different world in which the line between good and evil are quickly blurred. Through great ups and downs their love will be tested, but the ultimate test lies in whether or not they will survive the downward pull of the lifestyle they have chosen.
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歩いても 歩いても (2008)
Character: Kyohei Yokoyama
A family gathers together for a commemorative ritual whose nature only gradually becomes clear.
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プープーの物語 (1998)
Character: Joji
Fu and Suzu are two hedonist girls who decide to take to the road. They set off on a journey to visit the tomb of a small pig by name Pupu. On the way, they meet Suzu's ex-lover, a gay couple, and a golf player; always getting in trouble. But whenever trouble comes, 'Trunk Man' the hero appears to save them.
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柳生一族の陰謀 (1978)
Character: Sanza Nagoya (Flute Player)
Following the death of the second Tokugawa shogun, it is revealed that he was poisoned by retainers of his son Iemitsu in hopes of gaining him the shogunate despite the stammer and birthmark which undermine his respect. Iemitsu and his brother Tadanaga become bitter rivals for the shogunate, and the land is split into factions, eventually erupting into warfare. Iemitsu's mentor, his fencing instructor Yagyu, is fixated upon securing Iemitsu the shogunate and ends up betraying everyone, even his own family, in pursuit of the goal.
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すかんぴんウォーク (1984)
Character: Tsutomu Yahagi
Yuji decides to run away from home to become an actor. Along the way, he meets Yoshio, an aspiring rock musician and Ami, an idol who, despite her success, is slowly losing popularity. All three of them begin to support each other in fulfilling their dreams of having true fame.
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凶気の桜 (2002)
Character: N/A
Yamaguchi, Ichikawa and Kosuge dress in white military-style uniforms to "clean" the streets of Shibuya from bad elements. After rightist gang boss, Aota takes an interest in the three, the boys gradually become influenced by him, but start to go their different ways.
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ちょうちん (1987)
Character: N/A
A new wave Yakuza film in which Takanori Jinnai plays a young Yakuza suffering from stomach cancer who has very little left to live.
This film is based on the posthumous manuscript of Shoji Kaneko, the legendary director who died of cancer after completing work on the hit "Ryuji".
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夢二 (1991)
Character: Wakiya
Following the life of Japanese artist and poet Yumeji Takehisa through the imagining of an encounter with a beautiful widow with a dark past.
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あずみ (2003)
Character: Gessai Obata
In war-torn Japan, the Tokugawa Shogun, desperate to restore peace to his people, orders the assassination of the hostile warlords. A beautiful young woman is raised from birth with nine other orphans, to become an assassin. Her name is Azumi, the ultimate assassin.
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奇跡 (2011)
Character: Wataru
Twelve-year-old Koichi, who has been separated from his brother Ryunosuke due to his parents' divorce, hears a rumor that the new bullet trains will precipitate a wish-granting miracle when they pass each other at top speed.
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ユー・ガッタ・チャンス (1985)
Character: N/A
The story of Tamikawa, a professionally and artistically burned out singer, who embarks on a search for a director named Goda. During the journey, the man not only experiences a lot of adventures, but also tries to find himself and answer the question whether he still sees his career in show business.
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刺青 あり (1982)
Character: Bookstore Father
An ardent culture-vulture youth, previously charged for the murder of a woman when he was young, plans to hold hostage a local bank.
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無能の人 (1991)
Character: Homeless
Sukezo, a former manga comic artist, takes up the art rock business by setting up a shop in a shed by the river. He tries hard to be successful, but business does not go well and the family becomes progressively poorer.
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父と暮せば (2004)
Character: Takezou Fukuyoshi
Based on a play by Hisashi Inoue, it focuses on the sufferings of the survivors of Hiroshima. The film takes place during 4 days in the summer of 1948, as the ghost of her father visits Mitsué (Rié Miyama). He had somehow learned that she has fallen in love, and tries to convince her to start her new life. But Mitsué obstinately refuses his warm and humorous encouragements : « People were killed in my place. I do not have the right to find happiness », she says.
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ヒポクラテスたち (1980)
Character: N/A
The story revolves around Ogino, who is in the last year of his medical studies. Between lectures, exams, on field training, his commitment as a pro-reformist militant and his girlfriend, Ogino is starting to wonder if he's really cut out to be a doctor.
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竜馬暗殺 (1974)
Character: Ryoma Sakamoto
Story of the last three days in the life of Sakamoto Ryoma (1836-1867), the imperial loyalist who tried to unite the Choshu and Satsuma clans and prepared the way for the Meiji Restoration (1868).
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ざわざわ下北沢 (2000)
Character: Kyushiro
Director Jun Ichikawa spins this affectionate portrait of the people who populate Shimokitazawa, a bohemian corner of Tokyo filled with small theater companies and smoky coffeehouses.
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闇の狩人 (1979)
Character: Yataro Tanigawa
Yataro Tanigawa, a one-eyed hired assassin, impresses yakuza boss Gomyo Kiyoemon with his skill. Gomyo hires Tanigawa as his bodyguard, or yojimbo, to protect him during an inter-clan conflict. Tanigawa quickly rises in stature in the clan, but finds his boss's enemies almost overwhelming.
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アナザヘヴン (2000)
Character: Detective Tobitaka
A pair of hard-boiled Tokyo cops are investigating a gruesome murder: after killing the victim, the murderer cut his skull open and cooked his brain in a stew. As they try to track down the killer, they discover that, quite literally, everybody is a suspect. Will they bring the terror to an end, or will they become part of it themselves?
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昭和歌謡大全集 (2003)
Character: Hirota
One of a gang of karaoke loving middle aged women is murdered by a young man. Her friends track him down and kill him. His friends track them down and kill the killer and it escalates!
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天国の本屋～恋火 (2004)
Character: Yamaki
Kenta, a young pianist who has just lost his job, is drowning his woes at a bar, when he meets a man in a Hawaiian shirt named Yamaki. He invites Kenta to work with him, and the next thing he knows, Kenta wakes up to find himself in a room he has never been in before. It is a strange room that seems to have no connection to life. He descends a staircase to find many shelves of books.
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海燕ジョーの奇跡 (1984)
Character: Yonamine
In Okinawa, a Japanese-Filipino gangster named Joe kills an Okinawan mobster. Joe temporarily escapes the pursuing mob by fleeing to the Philippines, hoping to find there safety and perhaps to link up with his father. He meets Yoko, a saloon girl, who looks after him, but soon Joe's enemies show up, determined to make Joe pay.
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悪夢探偵 (2007)
Character: Taizo Oishi
When a number of suicide victims slash themselves in their sleep, detective Keiko Kirishima is called to investigate.
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座頭市 THE LAST (2010)
Character: Genkichi
A blind master swordsman attempts to lead a quiet life with his wife but he is provoked back into battle.
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Drawing Restraint 9 (2006)
Character: Flensing Desk Crew
The film concerns the theme of self-imposed limitation and continues Matthew Barney's interest in religious rite, this time focusing on Shinto.
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結婚 (1993)
Character: N/A
An omnibus featuring the work of three different filmmakers.
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さよならも言わずに消えた！ (1981)
Character: N/A
This TV drama special depicts the obsession of a sister and two detectives searching for her missing brother who witnessed the crimes of a political fixer.
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修羅雪姫 怨み恋歌 (1974)
Character: Shusuke Tokunaga
Lady Snowblood is caught by the police and sentenced to death for her crimes. As she is sent to the gallows she is rescued by the secret police who offer her a deal to assassinate some revolutionaries.
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どろろ (2007)
Character: Jukai
Hyakkimaru, a warrior on a quest to reclaim 48 of his body parts which were each taken by a demon, is joined by Dororo, a thief on a quest to avenge the death of her parents.
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悲愁物語 (1977)
Character: Miyake
A rookie golfer must cope with the stress of fame after a marketing executive transforms her into a sports celebrity.
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