Acting
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88 movies sorted by popularity
When Wabisuke's father-in-law unexpectedly dies, the family goes through a series of random events and occurrences as the funeral unfolds over three days in their home.
Intrepid tax investigator Ryoko Itakura sets her sights on the mysterious and philandering Hideki Gondo, a suspected millionaire and proprietor of a thriving chain of seedy hourly hotels, who has for years succeeded at hiding the true extent of his assets from the Japanese authorities. Itakura and Gondo soon find themselves engaged in a complicated, satirical battle of wits.
This sensuously beautiful film chronicles the activities of four sisters who gather in Kyoto every year to view the cherry blossoms. It paints a vivid portrait of the pre-war lifestyle of the wealthy Makioka family from Osaka, and draws a parallel between their activities and the seasonal variations in Japan.
Three girls go on a trip after a friend commits suicide and learn about friendship.
Keiko, whom everyone calls Mama, narrates her story: she's a hostess on the Ginza, 30, a widow. She describes life's vicious cycle: acting cheerful around drunks, dressing and living well to convey confidence, needing money for these expenses and for her demanding mother and brother, and knowing she's growing older.
The first of four "Comic Storyteller' features.
Kon Ichikawa's retelling of the classic true story of Samurai honor. When a young clan lord is forced to commit seppuku (ritual suicide), his loyal followers (now Ronin, masterless Samurai) dedicate their lives to avenging his death.
Contemporary comedy.
No description available.
Yuzo Kayama plays the protagonist, a whale-hunting cannon manufactuing supervisor, whose brother is an automobile tester for Komatsu Motors which has a fatal accident. As his brother investigates the "Accident" with his old college friend (makoto Sato), now a reporter... They stumble across murder, espionage and cover-ups. High-class night club, femme fatale, and a "Blueprint of Murder" all adds up to a bigger plot then first expected.
Nayoko, a good-hearted geisha, brings luck to the men she sleeps with, even though most are scoundrels who don’t deserve it.
A young Japanese-American comes from California looking for a bride, going on blind dates with three candidates from Osaka, Hiroshima and Nagoya.
Story of famed Japanese actress Kinuyo Tanaka, with an emphasis on her working relationship with director Kenji Mizoguchi.
A father gives his four daughters his substantial retirement allowance on the stipulation that they leave him alone, as he wants some freedom. Each of the daughters has a romantic interest and it's noticeable that the father, too, has someone in mind.
A promising post-graduate literature student is transformed into a psychotic killer following the suicide of his father and a sleazy affair by his mother with a younger man.
Set in the postwar turmoil, Akasaka no shimai paints a vivit portrait of the life of three sisters who struggle to live in Tokyo.
A woman and her daughter are in love with the same man, a chef at the restaurant that the mother manages. He is slightly crippled from frostbite in his years in Siberian labor camps and considers himself 'already dead'.
When Sergeant Okubo's brother is murdered at a Japanese outpost in Northern China during the Second World War, Okubo poses as a war correspondent and seeks out his brother's killer.
A beer salesman with a passion for fishmongering stumbles through mishaps, rivalries, and gangster trouble while chasing a big contract, winning the deal through quick thinking—then turns down a promotion to keep working his own way.
Just when Hideki thinks he will lose his virginity, he gets hit by a car, and dies. God gives him a 2nd chance by placing his mind into the body of Sachiko's best friend, a girl. Can he convince Sachiko of his love?
The patriarch of a bickering family announces his retirement, stirring competition about who will succeed him as a leading practitioner of Noh theater, his granddaughter or grandson.
A non-fiction drama depicting the journey of Keisuke Yoshino, a renowned lecturer at Yoyogi Seminar, to becoming a teacher. At the age of 18, whilst serving as the leader of the ‘Black Panther’ special attack squad, Keisuke began living with his girlfriend, Yumi; however, faced with the harsh realities of life, Yumi eventually left him…
A straight young woman living in Tokyo becomes involved in the lives of a gay man and his married lover.
The fourth an final film in the "Jirocho igaiden" series.
The final film by Yuzo Kawashima.
Comedy of manners set on the "Kodama" train between Tokyo and Osaka, before the opening of the Shinkansen. In the leading role, Frankie Sakai plays a straightforward but indecisive hero. The passengers also include the bubbly Dan Reiko, and Ozawa Eitaro as a dour company president. Based on the novel "Seven and a half hours", by Shishi Bunroku.
Satomi is young woman that works in computer communication. One day she receives a strange message. And the person that sent it to her has committed suicide. As days go by, Satomi keeps receiving the messages from the spirit world....
An adaptation of the popular Sazae-san comic.
A contemporary comedy.
Third film of the yoidore hakase series
An intoxicated man promises two magazine editors that he will write a masterpiece. Once he sobers up, he commits to his promise and writes a story based on his life.
The mythical adventures of the legendary Chinese trickster Monkey, who must outwit a variety of wily demons who stand in the way of him and his fellow Buddhist travelers. Though portrayed as a literal, if rather anthropomorphized, monkey in the original legends, this film substitutes the spindly comic actor Norihei Miki, sans makeup.
The 9th "Ekimae" feature.
In this patriotic WW II drama, the Japanese army demonstrates its courage and willingness to do anything to win as they endeavor to sneak into Communist China to bring back the flag of a defeated enemy regiment.
A bus driver and a female conductor on a route deep in the mountains are embroiled in a love affair that is depicted in great detail in this light-hearted romantic drama.
1962 Japanese movie
The 18th "Ekimae" feature.
Comedy based on a popular manga.
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).
Comedy starring the Crazy Cats' Kei Tani as a salaryman suffering from amnesia.
Two sisters living together have a complicated relationship due to a past incident. Trouble begins when one sister becomes interested in a newly divorced man.
Ryuta and Mineo Komatsu are brothers, both yakuza (gangsters). Mineo, although complicit in crime, even murder, wants out of the gangster life, hoping to become a successful singer instead. Ryuta loves his brother, but Mineo's possible defection presents problems for the gang, and Ryuta realizes he must kill his brother if he wants to survive.
A youth drama set in the Japanese alps. Two robbers, chased by the police, escape from the youths of a university mountain club who are trapped in a lodge during a blizzard. This ski action romp has the tempo of a musical, and Okamoto Kihachi's style is on full display. Tsuruta Koji makes a special appearance as a senior member of the mountain club.
At an Osaka electronics company, power struggles, corporate schemes, and personal agendas collide when the boss is away. As tensions rise around a meddling heiress and a collapsing business deal, one quiet employee steps up to set things right.
The fictional land "Pandora" sends three (numbered) graduates of the "National Gambling University" to Japan. You should defeat the master player Kôji, control the international casino empire and use the profits to achieve world domination. But Japan's most famous left hand knows what to do.
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.
A film about the life of Kiyoshi Yamashita, a Japanese painter with disabilities.
Modern comedy, based on the popular manga.
Story of young love in the hills.
1961 Japanese movie
Based on the folk tales "Repayment from a crane". One snowy night a beautiful woman named Tsuru (Crane) visits poor peasant Taiju and says she will become his wife...
Explicit drama about a young woman who becomes involved with a group of college students who play "spin-the-bottle" and the women must make love or strip. The woman, Junko, becomes involved with Makoto, leader of the gang, becomes pregnant, has an abortion, then gets involved with an architect.
Thriller about a narcotics investigator uncovering a dope ring.
Based on the comic by Fuyahiko Okabe.
A drummer falls for a pawnbroker's daughter.
A "hustler's hustler" (Takarada), works his way up the corporate ladder at a camera company. His biggest scheme involves winning the business of a foreign visitor by setting him up with a beautiful "model" (Tsukasa), actually a bar hostess, but the plan backfires when the would-be executive falls for the woman himself.
Ensemble comedy.
After killing a detective in a botched robbery, Keiichi (Natsuki) is on the run as police stake out the homes of his sisters, mother, and girlfriend.
A woman is being sexually assaulted by a pair of thugs, when out of the fog appear the High Heeled Cats – a trio of avenging angels, masked and dressed in black. These beautiful vigilantes make a living running a coffee shop by day, and kicking misogynist criminals in the balls by night. Their boss is an elderly lady offering a payback service to women who have been mistreated by men. The cops can’t be seen to allow this kind of behavior, but they are increasingly frustrated with the lack of clues that might lead to the identity of the trio – despite the fact that the two detectives on the case visit the coffee shop daily, to flirt with and grope the waitresses, and drink the occasional cup of coffee. The high heeled honeys eventually bite off more than they can chew when they get on the bad side of a ruthless gangster, who sets a creepy assassin on their trail.
A drama depicting the world of the female writer Midori Osaki in three parts: the dramatic creation of her masterpiece, "Wanderings in the Realm of the Seventh Sense," her unknown years spent in poor health and poverty, and the present-day world from which we see her work.
Third film in the "Ekimae" series, this time set in Hamamatsu. A widow named Keiko and her brother Jiro run the bento shop, "Goraku." One day, Keiko asks for advice from her childhood friends Kintaro, a textile manufacturer, and Magosaku, an entrepreneur, about a big-shot from Osaka who wants to invest in her shop. However, Kintaro and Magosaku suspect that things are not what they seem...
Sazae finally gets married, but right after that, Masuo is transferred to Osaka. A heartbroken Sazae sends her parents on a silver wedding trip, and eventually heads for Nikko, a travel destination. Sazae is once again overwhelmed by the sight of the newlyweds bustling with sunlight, but...
A modern love story involving different affairs.
Sangoro Oiwake runs out of money. He visits rice shop, eat and drink for free, and owners send him to prison. In prison Sangoro will have a new life
A university graduate determined to become a fishmonger defies his mother's wishes, tangles with bar hostesses and a beer company heiress, and—after misunderstandings, brawls, and a second chance—discovers that maybe the salaryman life isn’t so bad after all.
The eighth installment of ten in Nippon Ichi film series.
After the loss of his wife of 40 years, Eisuke Nakamoto finds solace in a mysterious white dog that no one else can see.
4 sisters inherited a sum of money and try to get married
This film is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Hisashi Inoue, which tells the story of a comedian who teams up with a strange man he meets while traveling, and the two become very popular in Asakusa while performing their unusual acts.
Japanese comedy film.
1963 Japanese movie
Layabout teen Shoken is dissatisfied with his nagging single mother and bullies at school. He and his friends decide to form a cool rock band, but a tragic discovery about his family weighs on Shoken heavily.
Kakumaru (Kiyoshi Atsumi) is an unpopular manzai performer who is too good-natured but has a very bad manners. Moulin, Kakumaru's former partner, gained popularity through her comedy routine with his wife Rouge, and in contrast to Kakumaru, she became a popular talent. Meanwhile, Kakumaru, inspired by his master's death, decides to move to Tokyo and reunites with Mulan. However, Moulin is caught having an affair by Rouge and is in trouble. For now, he introduces Kakumaru to an entertainment company, but instead of performing manzai, Kakumaru is entrusted with the job of firing a boiler. Kakumaru is completely tired and spends his days drinking alcohol, but one day he meets his childhood friend Ayako again...
A college football star gets caught in a scandal involving a geisha teacher, endangering his team’s season and his family’s honor—until a last-minute comeback restores both.
Place your bets! Japan's greatest gambler, Koji Himuro (Akira Kobayashi), faces off against an international cabal of gamblers with only his wits and his incredibly skilled left hand against every conceivable way to cheat someone in a game.
It depicts a few days in the life of a farmer's wife who takes her first vacation in Tokyo.
Based on the comic book by Tetsu Kusamoto.
Kotaro Kitagawa is an eligible bachelor and a successful editor at a weekly publication. Tired of attention from women, he decides to settle down through an arranged marriage.
