Sonny Chiba

Sonny Chiba

Acting

January 23, 1939 — August 19, 2021
Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan
209 movies

Biography

Sonny Chiba (born January 23, 1939 - August 19, 2021), also known as Shin'ichi Chiba, was a Japanese actor and martial artist. Chiba was one of the first actors to achieve stardom through his skills in martial arts, initially in Japan and later before an international audience. Born in Fukuoka, Chiba played a variety of sports in high school, including baseball and volleyball. He also practiced gymnastics and participated at the National Sports Festival of Japan in his third year. When he was a...

🎬 Sonny Chiba's Filmography

209 movies sorted by popularity

New Battles Without Honor and Humanity 2: Head of the Boss
7.4

The seventh in the shocking "Jingi Naki Tatakai" movie series, which exposes the true lives of the yakuza that is hidden by a mask of "jingi". The next stage of this continuing drama is the Kanmon Channel where the Owada and the Kyoei groups are battling for territorial rights and drug smuggling. The Owada sends their man, Tetsu, and his friend Shuji to kill the Kyoei boss. With the promise of fame and riches, Shuji takes the fall and goes to jail for 7 years. But when he's released, he discovers that he and Tetsu have been all but forgotten by the Owada. Feeling betrayed, Shuji takes matters into his own hands and becomes an unsuspecting pawn in an internal conflict and an assassination attempt on the Owada boss. And now angered, Shuji seeks revenge...

New Battles Without Honor and Humanity 2: Head of the Boss

1975
Yakuza: Domination of the Realm 4

With the death of Nobuhide Oriki (Tokuma Nishioka), a brutal succession battle erupts within the Oriki-gumi. By vote, Nobunaga (Hitoshi Ozawa) becomes second-generation boss, forcing his brother Nobuyuki into rebellion. In the bloody aftermath, Nobunaga kills both Nobuyuki and his relative Nobuyasu Iwasaki (Hitomi Matsuda). Tragedy deepens as his right-hand man Masahide Hirako (Jiro Okazaki) takes his own life, and his father-in-law Michizo Saimon (Shinzo Hotta) is assassinated in a coup. Now as boss, Nobunaga sets the underworld in motion once more: Ujiyasu Nanjo (Sansho Fukami) rises in Kanto, Motonari Mōriya (Shinichi Chiba) expands in Aki, and in Nagano the fated clash of Kenshin Uemura (Ryuji Harada) and Shingen Takebe (Shun Sugata) begins. But the greatest threat comes from Yoshimoto Imanishi (Naoya Makoto), leading the invasion of Owari. The “war of the elephant and the ant” is about to reach its endgame.

Yakuza: Domination of the Realm 4

2017
Saito Dosan: Rage of Power
6.5

During the age of warring clans (Sengoku Jidai), many samurai lords sought to unite the country under their banners by becoming the supreme leader. One of the first to vie for power in this way was Saito Dosan, the 'Viper'. His son-in-law, Oda Nobunaga, did in fact unite the nation after subduing all of his enemies, yet falling at last to the treachery of one of his most trusted generals. This story is a pre-cursor to those later events as the brilliant military strategist Saito Dosan rises to power and notoriety as a great lord in his own right. Directed by Kudo Eiichi and with a tremendous supporting cast that includes Nakamura Toru as Oda Nobunaga and Chiba Shinichi as Akechi Mitsutsugu, battle scenes of awesome power and a unique view of Japanese history, this is a marvelous production highlighted by the action scenes done by the Japan Action Club (JAC).

Saito Dosan: Rage of Power

1991
The Golden Bat
6.0

A teenage boy discovers that the planet Icarus is on a collision course with Earth by gazing through his telescope. Scoffed at by the scientific establishment, the boy is kidnapped and brought to a secret UN base in the Japan alps. He is immediately inducted into the secret program whose mission is to finish the Super-Destruction Beam cannon and destroy Icarus. The cannon is missing a special mineral for the lens. The team heads for a mysterious island in the middle of the Pacific. There they find ancient ruins of Atlantis but they are suddenly attacked by a strange drill shaped metal squid spaceship. It's commanded by the evil being Nazu who has engineered the collision with Icarus! He doesn't want to share the universe with humans and he really doesn't want the cannon finished. The action is on and the team discovers the Golden Bat who has been asleep for over 10,000 years awaiting this very moment to save the earth!

The Golden Bat

1966
Judo Life

Sonny Chiba's first martial arts film, a partially fictionalized judo biopic based on prominent judoka Shiro Saigo (Chiba), the second student of judo founder Jigoro Kano (Naoki Sugiura). Akira Kurosawa’s Sanshiro Sugata is based on the same character and shares some scenes, but Judo for Life focuses more on the martial arts philosophy and training, including scenes depicting how the protagonist learned his famous cat-like landing, coined the term judo, and trained with Tsunejiro Tomita (Hideo Murata). There’s also a slight yakuza film influence. The port street ambush scene is found in both films, but in Judo for Life it’s not Kano but a travelling yakuza that jumps out of the rickshaw. Entertaining and beautifully old fashioned, one does however with there were more shades of gray between good and evil, and a stronger ninkyo-like moral / honour conflict.

Judo Life

1963
The Murder Corps: Road to Kansai Domination

After their desperate battle against a hundred men, the six members of the Tokuyama-kai complete their prison sentences and are released from the Osaka Detention Center. Meanwhile, back in Nishinari, Koyukai and Nakane-gumi have been fighting for dominance, and the Tokuyama-kai’s territory has been completely taken over. As the Tokuyama-kai attempts to reclaim its turf, the powerful Mizuta-gumi and Jinra-gumi, backing Nakane-gumi and Koyukai from behind the scenes, move to wipe out the Tokuyama-kai entirely. Facing threats from Osaka’s strongest Mizuta-gumi and Kobe’s largest Jinra-gumi, Katsuhiro Tokuyama realizes the gang’s survival is at stake. He makes a decisive choice—to take on the yakuza crest. The Tokuyama-kai becomes a subordinate organization of the Jinra-gumi. Then, Jinra-gumi boss Chujiro Jinra (Sonny Chiba) issues his command: as the first step toward nationwide unification, the Tokuyama-kai is ordered to conquer Wakayama.

The Murder Corps: Road to Kansai Domination

2001
Shashin Koshien Summer in 0.5 Seconds
8.0

"National High School Photography Championship Tournament", also known as "Shashin Koshien" is an event held annually in Higashikawa, Hokkaido, Japan's town of photography. Every summer, Shashin Koshien decides which school has the best photography club. Oyama, Sakura, and Mirai from Kansai Academy in Osaka were encouraged by their advisor to join with the aim of letting them experience "a world where people who are challenged could see". Meanwhile, Tsubakiyama Shota, a senior at Sakuragaoka Gakuen in Tokyo is the only member of his school's photography club. Other members resigned thinking that photography won't help in getting them to a university. In spite of principal Saeki objecting to his plans, Shota was still eager to join, forming a team with his childhood friend and a junior volunteer. With over 500 schools all over the country, only 18 schools would be chosen to participate in the event. Competitors fight to capture the beauty of Japan and the human spirit.

Shashin Koshien Summer in 0.5 Seconds

2017
Gambler Tales of Hasshu: A Man's Pledge
7.0

This is one of the many films based on the legend of Chuji Kunisada, a wandering gambler and a defender of the weak in the Edo period. In other words, he was the Japanese Robin Hood. In this film Kunisada (Chiezo Kataoka) arrives to a small town terrorized by an evil gang. He insists that he is not Kunisada, as the word is Kunisada has been executed, but of course the audience know better. Sonny Chiba plays an unusual supporting role as a helpless young man unable to defend himself from the gangsters. He does, however, get to play taiko drums and dance with Junko Fuji (who makes her film debut here). Chiba's father, an old judge who helps Kunisada, is played by Takashi Shimura. The film hardly anything exceptional, but it's a pretty decent jidai geki / yakuza drama.

Gambler Tales of Hasshu: A Man's Pledge

1963
The Murder Corps

Nishinari, Osaka— Katsuhiro Tokuyama (Ryu Gan), who had been living as a civilian, gives in to repeated pleas from his former comrades and revives the delinquent gang Tokuyama-kai. The Tokuyama-kai begins seizing territory one after another from local yakuza groups. However, a clash with Nishinari’s largest prostitution syndicate, Shiraku-kai, becomes inevitable. Shiraku-kai retaliates by murdering one of Tokuyama-kai’s members, Shinjiro Nakanishi (Kyosuke Yabe), and kidnapping Katsuhiro’s only son, Nishiki. Swearing vengeance for Shinjiro and the rescue of Nishiki, six men arm themselves with Japanese swords and head for the Shiraku-kai headquarters. Waiting for them are 100 elite swordsmen, the Shiraku-kai’s fearsome “Batto-tai.” Six against one hundred. The curtain rises on a brutal, fearless battle where death holds no meaning.

The Murder Corps

2001
Yakuza: Domination of the Realm

Rise of the Underworld Lords— The mighty Murohachi Alliance, once unifying Japan’s yakuza under Kyoto, collapses, and a fierce struggle for supremacy erupts nationwide. In Owari, Nobuhide Oriki (Tokuma Nishioka) leads the Oriki-gumi on a campaign for unification. His eldest son and underboss, Nobunaga Oriki (Hitoshi Ozawa), believes in conquest through brute force, seizing territory by any means. Meanwhile, Shingen Takebe (Shun Sugata) of Kai wages war in Shinshu, clashing with Kenshin Uemura (Ryuji Harada) of Echigo. In Aki, Motonari Mōriya (Shinichi Chiba) expands his Mōriya family’s reach across the Chugoku region. And in Suruga, Yoshimoto Imanishi (Naoya Makoto) and his Imanishi-gumi, vowing to crush the Murohachi Alliance, launch an invasion into Owari. Acting under orders, Ieyasu Tokusawa (Yasukaze Motomiya) collides with the Oriki-gumi—plunging the underworld into an age of war.

Yakuza: Domination of the Realm

2017
Bond of Justice: Kizuna Part II - Judgement

Within Tokyo’s criminal underworld, there is a violent power struggle between former allies that serves as the central theme of the film. Detective Ryuji (Ryuji Yamakita), his life consumed by a personal grudge against the criminal empire, finds himself caught in the crossfire of a gang war that is threatening to engulf the city. To regain control, Jet (Matt William Knowles), a gifted mercenary with a dark past, teams up with Gondo (Sonny Saito), a respected crime boss who is coming under more and more pressure from rival factions. A cunning and elusive femme fatale, Masako (Fusako Shiotani) plays both sides as she manipulates the chaos for her own gain. As hostilities worsen, a shadowy informant by the name of Jose (William Guirola) provides crucial information that could tip the odds. However, when the true extent of the corruption in the city is revealed, Detective Ryuji is left to confront his own demons and choose between carrying out justice or exacting retribution.

Bond of Justice: Kizuna Part II - Judgement

2024
Unification Of Japan
5.8

Himuro (Yasukaze Motomiya) and Tamura (Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi), local delinquents from Yokohama, used their fists to dismantle a local yakuza gang. This drew deadly attention, forcing them to flee to Osaka with the help of Akimoto (Sho Aikawa), the Wakagashira of the Anzai-gumi. Despite escaping, Himuro and Tamura continue to make enemies. One day, they gain recognition from Kawatani (Hitoshi Ozawa) of the powerful Kyowakai, but simultaneously clash with the Kyowakai-affiliated Mikami-gumi, sparking a violent conflict. With Kawatani’s backing, Himuro and Tamura joining the Mikami-gumi seems to settle the dispute. Yet, meanwhile, Kyowakai chairman Gonda (Shinichi Chiba), Wakagashira Kudo (Hakuryu), and Shiseikai chairman Kawabata (Tatsuo Umemiya) begin moves to unify Japan’s entire yakuza world…

Unification Of Japan

2013
New Shadow Warriors
10.0

In the time of the peaceful Toyotomi Era, Shinotada, the master of Kochi Family, a source of revenue for the Tokugawa, is trying to marry his younger sister Princess Fuji to Akinobu Sunekazura, who has connections with the rival Toyotomi, in order to bring peace. One of sixteen great warriors of Tokugawa, Hattori Hanzo, entrusts his wish and gathers the remnants of Iga Village, which was destroyed by Oda Nobunaga, and orders them to guard Princess Fuji. The Council of Elders of Sunekazura, hire the Fuma Ninja led by Fuma Kotaro, joined by the Koga Ninja, led by Sarutobi Sasuke, who is serving Hideyoshi Toyotomi, to assassinate Princess Fuji! Can Hanzo Hattori with the Iga remnants prevent this evil plot and protect the princess? Once again, Shinichi "Sonny" Chiba plays the leading role of Hanzo Hattori with his old enemy, Sarutobi Sasuke, played by Hiroki Matsukata. The presence of both famous actors will overwhelm any audience!

New Shadow Warriors

2003
Sonny Chiba | MovieMind AI