Broken Swords
★ 8 · 1969 · 90m · Drama · Action
The tragic, yet exciting story of the friendship between Nakayama Yasubei, a member of the 47 Ronin, and Tange Tenzen, a relative by marriage of the vile Lord Kira.
More Like This
An Unforgettable Grudge
1926 · ★ 8.5
Set in the Edo period, the film deals with two brothers falling in love with the same girl. Sadly, only 12 minutes of footage survive.
More info →
Mothra vs. Godzilla
1964 · ★ 7
Journalists Ichiro Sakai and Junko cover the wreckage of a typhoon when an enormous egg is found and claimed by greedy entrepreneurs. Mothra's fairies arrive and are aided by the journalists in a plea for its return. As their requests are denied, Godzilla arises near Nagoya and the people of Infant Island must decide if they are willing to answer Japan's own pleas for help.
More info →
To End All Wars
2001 · ★ 6.4
Based on a real-life story, this drama focuses on a small group of Allied soldiers in Burma who are held captive by the Japanese. Capt. Ernest Gordon, Lt. Jim Reardon and Maj. Ian Campbell are among the military officers kept imprisoned and routinely beaten and deprived of food. While Campbell wants to rebel and attempt an escape, Gordon tries to take a more stoic approach, an attitude that proves to be surprisingly resonant.
More info →
Godzilla Raids Again
1955 · ★ 6
Two fishing scout pilots make a horrifying discovery when they encounter a second Godzilla alongside a new monster named Anguirus. Without the weapon that killed the original, authorities attempt to lure Godzilla away from the mainland. But Anguirus soon arrives and the two monsters make their way towards Osaka as Japan braces for tragedy.
More info →
King Kong vs. Godzilla
1962 · ★ 6.9
The advertising director of Pacific Pharmaceuticals, frustrated with the low ratings of their sponsored TV program, seeks a more sensationalist approach. He orders his staff to Faro Island to capture King Kong for exploitation. As Godzilla re-emerges, a media frenzy generates with Pacific looking to capitalize off of the ultimate battle.
More info →
Where did Sharaku go?
1968 · ★ 8
Writer Jippensha Ikku hears Tsutaya Juzaburo, a wholesaler of picture books, mutter on his deathbed, "Where has Sharaku gone?" He begins to figure out the true identity of Sharaku, who disappeared after about 150 portraits of actors he created came out.
More info →
Hana
2006 · ★ 6.6
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.
More info →
Love and Honor
2006 · ★ 7.5
A look at the relationship between a young blind samurai and his wife, who will make a sacrifice in order to defend her husband's honor.
More info →
Incident at Blood Pass
1970 · ★ 6.9
In the Edo period, a nameless ronin accepts an assignment to go to a mountain pass and wait. Near the pass he stops at an inn where a collection of characters gather, including a gang set on stealing shogunate gold that's soon to come over the pass. When the Ronin's assignment becomes clear, to help the gang, he's ordered to kill the inn's residents, including a woman he's rescued from an abusive husband. He's reluctant to murder innocent people; then he learns that the gold shipment is a trap and he's part of a double cross. How he sorts through these divided loyalties tests of his samurai honor, and perhaps of his love for a woman.
More info →
Sansho the Bailiff
1954 · ★ 8.1
In 11th-century feudal Japan, following the exile of an idealistic governor, his wife and children are separated by slave traders; the children, Zushio and Anju, are sold into brutal servitude under the cruel bailiff Sansho.
More info →
Jirocho’s Days of Youth: Boss of the Tokai Region
1960 · ★ 7
His skill and courage were the best in Japan! The life story of Jirocho, a man who protected people on the Tokaido Road. The fearless Kinnosuke Nakamura enthusiastically plays the young Jirocho from Shimizu in this chivalrous story.
More info →
Breakthrough for Change
2015
Akira, Takeshi, Yasu, and Shun are a gang of four close friends, all of whom were core members of their high-school ekiden team. Although they were stars back in those days, having slacked up their efforts subsequently, their daily life is lackluster now that the age of forty is just around the corner. They talk at a favorite local tavern just like they used to after Akira comes home giving up his dream to become an actor. Thinking back, they have never accomplished anything but ekiden, and they have unknowingly acquired a tendency to run away from problems in life in general. The phrase they cannot help muttering to themselves is how brilliant they were in those days… Feeling dispirited, they think of participating in the Shimanto Dragon Ride. A challenge for the four men in their late thirties begins…
More info →