The Kanto Region Is Also Expanding(1967)

Wild Card(en)

When a Las Vegas bodyguard with lethal skills and a gambling problem gets in trouble with the mob, he has one last play… and it's all or nothing.

Phoenix(en)

Gambling fever -- along with a brutal bookie -- leads three crooked cops into a double-dealing scheme that lands them in hot water way over their heads.

Rain Fall(ja)

A hit man looks to protect the daughter of one of his victims against CIA assassins.

The Shogun’s Guard: Valor in Turbulence(ja)

The stormy tale of the Shinsengumi is told from its birth by master filmmaker Sasaki Yasushi, with an all-star cast based on the original story by Shirai Kyoji. The battles between the royalists and Shogunate supporters come to a fever pitch during the Gion Festival as the exclusionists plot to burn Kyoto and kidnap the Emperor. From its earliest beginnings as a group of ronin brought from Edo to protect the Shogun when he is in Kyoto to see His Imperial Highness, the group had to face difficulties both from within and without. Commander Serizawa Kamo's corrupt practices threaten the group's very existence, as they try to recover from the bad reputation he left them with. Their redemption comes when they learn of Katsura Kogoro plans to gather men at Kyoto's Ikedaya Inn for his attack on the city. Along with Hijikata Toshizo and Okita Soji, Kondo leads the group in an attempt to save Japan from the rebels.

I Was Born, But...(ja)

Two young brothers become the leaders of a gang of kids in their neighborhood. Ozu's charming film is a social satire that draws from the antics of childhood as well as the tragedy of maturity.

Good Morning(ja)

A lighthearted take on director Yasujiro Ozu’s perennial theme of the challenges of inter­generational relationships, Good Morning tells the story of two young boys who stop speaking in protest after their parents refuse to buy a television set. Ozu weaves a wealth of subtle gags through a family portrait as rich as those of his dramatic films, mocking the foibles of the adult world through the eyes of his child protagonists. Shot in stunning color and set in a suburb of Tokyo where housewives gossip about the neighbors’ new washing machine and unemployed husbands look for work as door-to-door salesmen, this charming comedy refashions Ozu’s own silent classic I Was Born, But . . . to gently satirize consumerism in postwar Japan.

The Man with the Golden Arm(en)

A junkie must face his true self to kick his drug addiction. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with The Film Foundation in 2005.

Rashomon(ja)

Brimming with action while incisively examining the nature of truth, "Rashomon" is perhaps the finest film ever to investigate the philosophy of justice. Through an ingenious use of camera and flashbacks, Kurosawa reveals the complexities of human nature as four people recount different versions of the story of a man's murder and the rape of his wife.

The Last Samurai(en)

Nathan Algren is an American hired to instruct the Japanese army in the ways of modern warfare, which finds him learning to respect the samurai and the honorable principles that rule them. Pressed to destroy the samurai's way of life in the name of modernization and open trade, Algren decides to become an ultimate warrior himself and to fight for their right to exist.

Kill Bill: Vol. 1(en)

An assassin is shot by her ruthless employer, Bill, and other members of their assassination circle – but she lives to plot her vengeance.

A Samurai's Sorrow(ja)

A rare grouping of the three Tamura brothers, Masakazu, Takahiro, and Ryu highlight this exciting tale of a series of attempts on the life of Shogun Yoshimune. The Owari have longed for the post of shogun, and are willing to do anything, including murder, in order to achieve their goal. Directed by master filmmaker Inoue Akira, this action packed movie, based on a manga by Koike Kazuo who created the Baby Cart (Lone Wolf) series, is loaded with splendid swordplay and an intelligent story line. It all starts when poison is discovered in the shogun’s food. Can the brilliant swordsman Mondo (Tamura Masakazu) manage to save Japan’s leader from certain death?!

Make the Devil Laugh(ja)

Kazuma kills his father in order to protect his mother and younger sister from violence. He begins life at a halfway house with an aim toward social rehabilitation and also works diligently at a scrap mill, but society has labeled him a “murderer”. Gradually, Kazuma loses hope.

Los cuerpos que se apagan(es)

In a dreamlike wandering, the city becomes a constant rendezvous. In the hustle and bustle of strange streets, the protagonists face disillusionment and life’s obstacles that make them believe that their desire for freedom is only possible in dreams.

Memoirs of a Geisha(en)

In the years before World War II, a penniless Japanese child is torn from her family to work as a maid in a geisha house.

Twinkle(ja)

Shoko and Mutsuki get married to satisfy their worried parents, but she is well past the age at which a 'good' Japanese woman should marry, and he is in love with a young male college student. The film is less a realistic exploration of gay life than a fairy tale of three young Japanese trying to construct an alternative to the sexual and familial roles given to them by a society turning increasingly emotionally barren.

Lucky You(en)

A professional poker player whose astounding luck at the table fails to translate into his lonesome love life attempts to win the World Series of Poker while simultaneously earning the affections of a beautiful Las Vegas singer.

The Tale of Genji(ja)

An eroticized adaptation of Murasaki Shikibu's classic novel, written over 1000 years ago. Genji, the son of the emperor, has gained renown among the nobility of Kyoto for his charm and good looks, yet he cannot stop himself from pursuing the one object of desire he must never obtain: his father's young and beautiful bride. Following the tragic consequences of his obsession, Genji wanders from one affair to another, always seeking some sort of completion to his life.

極秘潜入捜査官 D.D.T.(ja)

The Y-Team(ja)

Himuro (Yasukaze Motomiya), Captain of the Kyowa Clan and Tamura (Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi), the Chief of Headquarters, are arrested on suspicion of assault. Sakaguchi (Takashi Kitadai), the fourth leader in the Yamazaki Family, and other members of the group scramble to prove their innocence. In doing so, they discover the existence of a gold smuggling ring and an international espionage organization behind the case.

Two Lives, Two Yakuza(ja)

An early ninkyo film from before the genre had truly established its form. Koji Tsuruta plays an honourable outlaw who saves an older man from an ambush. It turns out the man is the head of a hard working clan appointed to a railway construction project. A ruthless yakuza gang is also trying to get their share of the project and attempts to sabotage the work. After the old man dies, his son (Sonny Chiba) and daughter (Junko Fuji) try to complete the project. Tsuruta joins them while also falling in love with a local woman working in a bar (after all, Tsuruta always was more of a lover than his stoic colleague Takakura).