Toshirô Mifune

  • Yasuki Chiba – Tôkyô no koibito AKA Tokyo Sweetheart (1952)

    1951-1960ComedyDramaJapanYasuki Chiba

    Following the Second World War, the lives of various people in a poverty-stricken area of Tokyo are entertwined. Pachinko parlor girls, shoeshine boys, a maker of replica jewelry, and a streetcorner artist all struggle to make their livings and to find happiness in difficult surroundings.Read More »

  • Terence Young – Soleil rouge aka Red Sun (1971)

    1971-1980Terence YoungThrillerUSAWestern

    In 1870, a gang robs a train and steals a ceremonial Japanese sword meant as a gift for the U.S. President, prompting a manhunt to retrieve it.Read More »

  • Kihachi Okamoto – Samurai aka Samurai Assassin (1965)

    1961-1970AsianClassicsJapanKihachi Okamoto

    Synopsis:
    February 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.Read More »

  • Kon Ichikawa – Taketori monogatari AKA Princess from the Moon (1987)

    1981-1990AsianJapanKon IchikawaSci-Fi

    The old Japanese folktale of the Bamboo Cutter is here reinterpreted to make Kaguya an alien visitor. Sticking fairly closely to the original 9th century tale of a bamboo cutter finding a mysterious baby girl, this film puts a modern spin onto it by turning the beautiful visitor from the moon into an alien entity lost from a crashed spaceship.Read More »

  • Ismael Rodriguez – Ánimas Trujano (El hombre importante) AKA The Important Man (1962)

    Drama1961-1970Ismael RodriguezMexico

    Plot
    The film’s setting is a town in Oaxaca during the festival of its patron saint, for which the church appoints a layman as mayordomo or steward, an honor that in effect is gained by being able to organize and cover the high costs of most of the saint’s local festivities. The post is however very coveted by the locals as it is socially prestigious.Read More »

  • Toshirô Mifune – Gojuman-nin no isan AKA The Legacy of 500,000 (1963) (HD)

    1961-1970AdventureAsianJapanToshirô Mifune

    During the Second World War, Takeichi Matsuo had participated in hiding a huge cache of gold in the Phillippine mountains. Years after the war, he is kidnapped by Mitsura and Keigo Gunji, brothers who want Matsuo to lead them to the still-buried gold. Matsuo, who is tormented by the memories of the half-million Japanese who died in the Phillippines during the war, wants to make off with the gold and return it to the Japanese people. But of course the Gunji brothers have other ideas.Read More »

  • Kei Kumai – Sen no Rikyu AKA Death of a Tea Master (1989)

    Drama1981-1990JapanKei Kumai

    Quote:
    For those unfamiliar with its deep meaning, the Japanese tea ceremony appears to be a long, incredibly boring, basically uneventful ritual process. In contrast, for many of its practitioners it offers the key to understanding how to live life in a meaningful manner, and is in itself a refreshment for the spirit. The tea master Rikyu was a key figure in the evolution of the ceremony, and his teaching lineage continues to the present day. In 1591, as a result of a difference of opinion with the ruling warlord of Japan, Hideyoshi Toyotomi (Shinsuke Ashida), tea ceremony grand master Rikyu (Toshiro Mifune) was forced to commit suicide. Read More »

  • Akira Kurosawa – Nora inu AKA Stray Dog (1949)

    1941-1950Akira KurosawaAsianFilm NoirJapan

    Quote:
    Stray Dog is an intense criminal story that examines the psychology of the characters as in compares the similarities between criminals and detectives. These similarities are balanced on a thin line based on choice, which Kurosawa dissects studiously through the camera lens. Kurosawa’s investigation of the character’s psychology creates a spiraling suspense that is enhanced through subtle surprises and brilliant cinematography. The camera use often displays shots through thin cloths, close ups, and new camera angles, which also makes the film aesthetically appealing. When Kurosawa brings together camera work and cast performance, among other cinematic aspects, he leaves the audience with a brilliantly suspenseful criminal drama, which leaves much room for introspection and retrospection.Read More »

  • Kihachi Okamoto – Zatôichi to Yôjinbô AKA Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo (1970)

    1961-1970ActionJapanKihachi OkamotoMartial Arts

    Synopsis:
    This film brings together two of the greatest characters created in Japanese cinema. Zatoichi (Shintaro Katsu) is the blind swordsman who goes back to a village that he remembers as peaceful and tranquil. It has been two to three years since his last visit and he longs to get away from the constant attacks that plague him on a daily basis, as he has a price on his head. But all is not as he remembers. When he arrives to his beloved village, he finds it is torn between a father and son that have their own gangs involved in their own family feud. As a result, the village is torn between the two men as the son seeks his father’s gold (which may or may not exist).Read More »

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