Acting
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74 movies sorted by popularity
Late in the 1500s, an aging tea master teaches the way of tea to a headstrong Shogun. Through force of will and courageous fighting, Hideyoshi becomes Japan’s most powerful warlord, unifying the country.
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.
Baseball player Takatsuka is murdered mid-game in front of a large crowd. The autopsy reveals that he has been killed by a needle coated with a poison used by the Ainu tribe for hunting. The next morning, sports photographer Kawase is killed in the same manner. Kawase’s sister, Yuko, hires Taro Banai, the detective with seven faces, to uncover the truth.
Kuruma Torajiro is discovered looking around Kyoto for someone special to him.
Three high-school students tangle with indulgent yakuza and lackadaisical police as they set out in search of the class bully, who has been kidnapped.
Director Ogata discovers a new female star in Koharu Tanaka, who works selling candy at a studio theater and she is given a part as a bit player. After the studio's top leading lady is embroiled in a scandal, Koharu is suddenly thrust into the limelight when she replaces her in a film and gains instant fame and fortune. But the going is not always easy, and she soon seeks help from unexpected quarters.
The fourth and final "Comic Storyteller" feature.
A lavish retelling of the true story of the final voyage and ultimate destruction and sinking of the battleship Yamato, Japan's greatest flagship during the Second World War.
Seven raccoons with supernatural powers sneak into a freight train, disguise themselves as humans, and head to Tokyo with the intention to create a band. They become superstars "Checkers" but their true identity will be revealed very soon.
A story of the skilled brain surgeon, Todo, whose talent and ambition are put to test through a series of high risk surgical procedures.
After winning big at the races, Torajiro Kuruma wants to take his aunt and uncle on a trip to Hawaii to partly pay the great filial debt he feels he owes them, but the plan hits a snag. Also, a pretty kindergarten teacher rents a room at Toraya.
Taro Kuroki, 42, is a stuntman with a samurai's heart. He loves adventures, plays pranks with the police, tries to cure a cat lady by reversing her trauma, and finally, rescues his niece who is about to be lured into prostitution.
Shipwrecked African-American slaves arrive in the midst of Bakumatsu-era Japan; they soon carve out a niche in the market with their musical talents.
A private detective and a college student find themselves in hot water while investigating the murder of a night club owner.
Tetsuaki's struggling to write a novel while his mother fades; Mitsuko's engagement has been forced upon her unwillingly; the two individuals run away to share their grief.
About small-time gangster Asakichi's chaotic life in the 1930s. His gambling addiction means that he must not continue working in the family business. Instead he supports himself by arranging cockfights. He becomes ex-geisha Okinu's patron and lover, and falls directly into disfavor with the yakuza.
Second live action "Barefoot Gen" sequel.
Based on the comic by Tatsu Kariya. Featuring journalist Shiro Yamaoka who works for Touzai Shimbun. He is a cynical food critic who is tasked by the newspaper's owner, along with the young Yuko Kurita, to provide recipes for the "ultimate menu".
Chotaro and Nakanishi, a duo of unemployed advertisers, drifted to Isehama, a port town near Yokohama, but a gang was making its presence felt in the town and the shopkeepers in the shopping arcade were troubled by it. Chotaro poses as a journalist and uses his words of wisdom to suggest that pen is mightier than the sword, so they create a mini-comic magazine and launch a campaign to expel the gang.
BJ is a relatively unknown blues singer who scraps some bars in Yokohama. He does not earn much with it and to make ends meet he also acts as a private detective.
When his pistol is stolen, police detective Murakami is humiliated, especially when the gun is later implicated in a crime. Working with his superior, Chief Detective Sato, Murakami works feverishly to trace the location of his pistol, ultimately clashing with a gang of youthful Okinawans.
Set in a rural town in Yamaguchi Prefecture, this comedy centers on a young couple determined to pursue their love against all opposition, while also chronicling the comical behaviors and interactions of a cast of lovable characters.
No description available.
Etsuko, a female college student, tries to beat the con artists at their own game after she gets scammed one after another.
Haru, an aging scriptwriter, has isolated himself somewhere in the woods of Nagano to work on his first novel. As the last surviving member of his kin, he intends to chronicle the family he grew up in.
A man who survived the war carries the will of his comrades in arms, walking across the country visiting the bereaved families.
The golden duo of Yoshitaro Mura and Kiyoshi Atsumi brings you a full-on comedy filled with laughter and melancholy set in Kitakyushu. Matsujiro Minamida (Atsumi) plays an uneducated and uncouth local troublemaker who becomes the talk of the town following an unexpected incident.
A period comedy set at the end of the Sengoku Period about Sasuke Saruhi, a middle-aged ninja.
A thrilling historical drama in which a ronin played plays an active role in redeeming the name of a man who was put to death for a crime, despite being innocent.
A comedy about a good-natured train conductor Shinsaku helping his old friend Miwako find her missing brother.
About a girl who marries in the middle of the Pacific War, is widowed at 18, and her unflagging struggle to survive during and after the war with her son.
1971 Japanese movie
The fourth "Tenamonya" feature. Adapted from the popular television comedy, Fujita stars in this film based on historical events.
Tarao’s services are called upon to solve the mysterious death of bride-to-be, Mariko, who was found dead with an eerie mask of a devil.
Daisuke and Shinichi are companions who frequent girlie shows and parties until they find out they are rivals bidding for control of a major resort hotel. During the bargaining sessions each accuses the other of misconduct because of their escapades, thus getting them in trouble with their families. Shinichi's ecology group and Daisuke's wife's women's lib movement become involved.
One day an innocent-looking girl in white clothes appears on board of a ramshackle boat The owner of the boat, Okin, decides to let Mari stay with him without asking her any questions. Turmoil ensues with the reaction of the crew when the runaway girl starts working alongside with them.
A costumed film featuring the famous hero of Japanese history, Isshin Tasuke, arranged in the form of a popular song.
Kensho Yamashita's directorial debut.
The film portrays a satirical view of today's heartless money-oriented society.
Chiyomatsu under the hill, also known as Choromatsu. He is a young man whose occupation is an approach shop, that is, a phony business of sex brokerage. Choromatsu is partnered with Umekichi, whom he calls "big brother," in this business. They live on the second floor of the aka-chochin (red lantern) owned by Takeko, where boys and girls who were abandoned at the abandoned children's temple on Mukojima also live together, making up a family of people who are not related to each other.
Set in Kawasaki in 1925, Challenge at Dawn is based on the Tsurumi Riot Incident, which actually ocurred in Yokohama that year and was sparked by corruption and yakuza involvement in the construction industry.
A young man gets thrown into detention after an episode of attempted rape. He soon meets several individuals claiming to be ministers of their own micronation…
In a fishing town by the Seto Sea, a student discovers a woman motionless on the beach and takes her back to his family's inn to nurse her, but he soon discovers than she is an extremist on the run from the police.
Ken Ota is a Japanese-American GI. He comes to Hiroshima after WW2 looking for his big sister, but finds Keiko, a bomb victim with a keloid scar on her shoulder.
Kunimatsu Onda, owner of the ‘Matsuya’ pachinko chain, has handed the business over to his son Ryosuke and is now living a life of leisure. A notorious womaniser by nature, he would constantly make advances at women here and there, much to the annoyance of his wife, Masayo. Under the pretext of visiting a new machine manufacturer’s factory, Kunimatsu sets off for a hot spring resort to enjoy an affair with the geisha Momono; however, Masayo, having caught on to his plan, instructs Ryosuke to keep an eye on him and, accompanied by the shop manager Maruyama, heads to the hot spring herself. What was supposed to be a fun night turned into a family gathering, but during that time, the shop came perilously close to being taken over by a gang of professional pachinko players led by Eiko.
Two men succeed in opening a joint restaurant after hilarious troubles.
A lovely female thief, and disguise artist, has a great passion for her next big job which she sets up with her right-hand man: She intends to steal 500 million yen of ill-gotten money from the safe at Nitto Textiles
Suspense TV movie based on the novel by Seicho Matsumoto, starring Ikko Furuya.
Comedy of a phony doctor.
Based on the novel of the same name by Kenzo Kitakata.
The film depicts the anguish of an arsonist as he approaches the statute of limitations.
Two travelers (Makoto Fujita and Minoru Shiraki) have adventures along the road including strange supernatural happenings, ghosts, and monsters.
Akane Kawasaki, known for her aversion to physical contact with men, possesses some unfavorable habits such as stealing. Despite these flaws, she garners popularity in the slums due to her compassionate care for children. In an attempt to secure a stable future for their child, she enters into marriage with Tsutomu Yamazaki, who struggles with a stutter. Unfortunately, their union is cut short by the untimely death of Tsutomu Yamazaki in an accident.
Comedy of two brothers working at a local governmental office.
Takeshi Yasui, a junior high school student is found dead in a river. The police investigate it as a murder related to bullying. The dead boy turns out to have been murdered by two of his schoolmates, who he had been bullying.
One day, when Goro (Kiyoshi Atsumi) returns to his poor tenement house from a trip on a deep-sea tuna boat, his neighbor's daughter Haruko (Mitsuko Baisho) also returns from the juvenile classification center on the same day. However, at a welcome party held by Goro for Haruko, a drunk friend crashes into Haruko's house with a dump truck and is forced to leave. Goro plans to marry Haruko to a rich man and force her to pay dowry, but...
Fukuzo, Kato and Matsuko, Kato's wife, are operating the "Kurenai Sightseeing Service" in Tokyo. Fukuzo and Kato were comrades during the war. One day Fukuzo guides Harumi, an old woman, to the Yasukuni Shrine where the souls of fallen soldiers are enshrined. Finding she has no place to go, Fukuzo carries her to his shack by the sea.
1969 Japanese movie
Kunimatsu Onda, chairman of the ‘Matsuya’ pachinko chain, has entrusted the flagship ‘Matsuya Ekimae’ branch to his son Ryosuke, the company president, and his wife Masayo, the managing director, and is now enjoying a life of leisure. However, with the opening of the ‘Jumbo’ pachinko parlour on the opposite side of the station, the Ekimae branch sees a drop in customer numbers and finds itself in a precarious situation
A drifting gambler named Tamegorō befriends a weary salesman and helps connect him with a nightclub hostess whose father has just been released from prison. In a rapidly industrializing coastal town dominated by yakuza influence, Tamegorō becomes entangled in gang conflicts and the exploitation of local workers. As he grows attached to the struggling people around him, the carefree drifter finds himself driven toward an act of rebellion against the corrupt underworld controlling the city.
3 people are fresh and naive so they try to go from wandering around lonely to becoming a lively young bunch. Tanokin’s youthful energy explodes!
Pachinko-themed film directed by Osamu Amuro.
1968 Japanese movie
It depicts the emotional ups and downs of a designer who runs a clothing store and her husband over the course of a summer.
A successful lyricist, Sakumaki (Yukio Ninagawa), lives with his partner Kazue (Keiko Fujita) and their daughter, though he has always kept an emotional distance from them. One night, he returns home to find a mysterious woman in black (Yuko Kusunoki) waiting in his apartment. She calmly tells him that he will die the next night at precisely 12:13 a.m. Shaken, Sakumaki flees, only to discover the same woman appearing wherever he goes. As her presence grows more menacing and unexplainable, his fear spirals into paranoia. Directed by Toshiya Fujita, the episode blends domestic drama with supernatural dread, blurring the line between hallucination and reality. With Ninagawa in a rare starring role, supported by Ichiro Zaitsu and Akira Nagoya, the story pushes its protagonist into a psychological nightmare where fate, guilt, and obsession collide.
Yoshii and his wife Yoko are elementary school teachers in a mountainous village. One day, an elderly writer arrives with his granddaughter, Rika. The teachers decide to take in the girl and raise her as their own.
