Toshiharu Ikeda’s adaptation of Junichiro Tanizaki’s often filmed novel.Read More »
Japan
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Toshiharu Ikeda – Kagi AKA The Key (1997)
Toshiharu Ikeda1991-2000DramaEroticaJapan -
Kô Nakahira – Arabu no arashi AKA The Arab Storm (1961)
Kô Nakahira1961-1970AsianDramaJapanAutotranslated from Japanese:
Shintaro Munekata, the grandson of the president of Dainippon Bussan, decided to go abroad to see the wider world according to his grandfather’s will. Shintaro meets Yuriko on his plane. After that, Shintaro is replaced by an Araya man in the lobby of Beirut Airport. A moment later, the Arayas were killed by someone else.Read More » -
Jun’ya Satô – Gorugo 13 AKA Golgo 13 (1973)
1971-1980ActionJapanJun'ya SatôThrillerGolgo 13 travels to the underworld of Tehran, Iran, to track down a shadowy target… Max Boa, the boss of an international crime syndicate that smuggles weapons and drugs and kidnaps women. But Boa catches wind of the cold-blooded killing machine’s intentions and has his organization go on the offense. When a mesmerizing game between murderers begins, the only result can be kill or be killed!Read More »
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Shunichi Nagasaki – Doggusu AKA Dogs (1998)
1991-2000Film NoirJapanShunichi NagasakiThrillerA tough woman is dragging a weaker man deeper and deeper into crime. Woman cop Miki is chasing a wanted man when she stumbles on a crashed car and sees the driver, Koichi, ignite spilled petrol to kill himself and his passenger. She drags Koichi to safety, but the passenger dies. Miki says nothing to challenge the inquest finding of `accidental death’, and when she visits Koichi in hospital he begins to understand that her complicity in his crime implies a sexual invitation. But a gumshoe has photos of the crash, and the only way to stall his blackmail is to kill him, the first of several murders…Read More »
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Heinosuke Gosho – Shindo: kohen Ryota no maki AKA The New Road: Ryota’s part (1936)
1931-1940DramaHeinosuke GoshoJapanFollowed by Shindo: kohen Ryota no maki, available here:
The eldest daughter of a noble family is in love with an aviator while being courted by a fellow aristocrat she thinks is a dullard.Read More » -
Shunichi Nagasaki – London Calling (1985)
1981-1990ArthouseJapanShort FilmShunichi NagasakiA wickedly funny account of the search for a long-lost girlfriend, which broadens into a witty meditation on memory itself.Read More »
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Sotoji Kimura – Ani imôto AKA Older Brother, Younger Sister (1936)
1931-1940AsianDramaJapanSotoji KimuraQuote:
It was directed by Sotoji Kimura, a completely obscure, yet fairly successful Shochiku director, who by account on his few films that are available today apparently was associated with the 1930’s jun-bungaku (“pure literature”) movement, an attempt to strengthen the reputation of Japanese cinema by translating reputable high-brow literature for the screen.Read More » -
Yôji Yamada – Otoko wa tsurai yo 50: Okaeri Tora-san AKA Tora-san, Wish You Were Here (2019)
2011-2020AsianDramaJapanYôji YamadaFrom japantimes.co.jp
With 48 feature installments from 1969 to 1995, the “Tora-san” series not only set a Guinness World Record, but kept its Shochiku production studio afloat for decades. While it was drawing fans as reliably as the sunrise, the series was derided by some critics as formulaic: In every episode the titlular peddler hero, played by Kiyoshi Atsumi, returns from his wanderings to his home in Shibamata, a neighborhood in Tokyo’s shitamachi (old downtown), where he reunites with his half-sister Sakura (Chieko Baisho) and other familiar faces. Also, in every episode a new woman comes into his life and, since Tora-san is a bumbler at love, soon leaves it.Read More »
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Toshiharu Ikeda – Tenshi no harawata: Akai inga AKA Angel Guts: Red Porno (1981)
1981-1990EroticaExploitationJapanToshiharu IkedaNami is a staff member at an exclusive department store. Her libido is chiefly satisfied alone, until a co-worker talks her into subbing on a porno modeling job. Her appearance in the magazine Red Porno has no end of complications for her.Read More »