d. Mikio Naruse
c. Japan
y. 1933
description:
"This silent feature by the esteemed Japanese director Mikio Naruse takes the form of a domestic melodrama. Sumiko Kurishima stars as Omitsu, a barmaid and single parent long-estranged from her irresponsible, out-of-work husband (Tatsuo Saito). When he suddenly returns without advance warning, she does anything and everything in her power to pull the pieces of her shattered family back together. Naruse employs heavy stylization to tell his story, including the repeated use of montage, a fractured chronology, and metonymical close-ups of characters' moving legs. When combined, these elements imbue the motion picture with much tension and a lingering sense of unease." (AMG)
IMDB... 7.9 (28)
_AMG... n/a
size: 480MB
qlty: VHS
subs: yes
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Each Night I Dream
Dolce
d. Aleksandr Sokurov
c. Russia
y. 2000
description:
"An experimental documentary directed by acclaimed Russian filmmaker Alexander Sokurov, Dolce takes its inspiration from the life and death of the widely respected Japanese writer Toshio Shimao. Although Shimao is the ostensible subject of Sokurov's film, much of its emphasis rests on Shimao's widow, Miho, and her loving relationship with her handicapped daughter Maya." (AMG)
IMDB... 6.0 (35)
_AMG... n/a
size: 460MB
qlty: ?
subs: no (Italian)
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Love for an Idiot
d. Yasuzo Masumura
c. Japan
y. 1967
description:
n/a
IMDB... 7.3 (21)
_AMG... n/a
size: 700MB
qlty: ?
subs: no
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Kisses
d. Yasuzo Masumura
c. Japan
y. 1957
description:
"Kinichi and Akiko meet when they visit their fathers in prison. After successfully gambling on a bicycle race, they spend an enjoyable day together at the beach. Akiko, who tries to make money as an artist's model to pay for her mother's medical expenses, now has to find 100,000 yen to pay off the company from which her father embezzled. Kinichi also requires 100,000 yen as bail for his father, who is accused of election fraud. Kinichi tries to borrow 100,000 yen from his mother, whom he has not seen for three years." (IMDB)
IMDB... 7.6 (44)
_AMG... n/a
size: 750MB
qlty: DVD
subs: yes
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A Lustful Man
d. Yasuzo Masumura
c. Japan
y. 1961
description:
n/a
IMDB... 6.8 (24)
_AMG... n/a
size: 980MB
qlty: DVD
subs: no
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Black Test Car
Swords of Death
d. Tomu Uchida
c. Japan
y. 1971
description:
"This film, based on a novel by Eiji Yoshikawa, details exploits in the life of the legendary swordsman Musashi Miyamoto. Musashi, whose life has been the subject of countless Japanese novels, developed the art of swordsmanship to a very high level and is thought to have originated a technique involving the use of two swords, though Musashi's own writings make no reference to this technique. In the story, a fighter using chains and sickles as weapons joins with eight allies to avenge himself on Musashi." (AMG)
IMDB... 6.0 (12)
_AMG... 2.5 / 5.0
size: 700MB
qlty: DVD
subs: yes
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The Duel Against Yagyu
Killing in Yoshiwara
d. Tomu Uchida
c. Japan
y. 1960
description:
"I saw this when I lived in New York. It was wide-screen and cinemascope, and was shown at the Japan Society in a series. It was about a unscrupulous girl who marries a man with a birthmark and claws her way to the top. Every scene was just right, including the incredible finale. Although I tried to convince other movie buffs to go to the second screening, the prospect of a Saturday morning movie was just too much for them. I went, though. Sort of like Fritz Lang or Ophuls in Japan. Gorgeous. My first choice for what I'd love to show on video or DVD (in widescreen, of course)." (IMDB Comment)
IMDB... 7.8 (39)
_AMG... n/a
size: 700MB
qlty: DVD
subs: ?
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Miyamoto Musashi
A Bloody Spear on Mount Fuji
d. Tomu Uchida
c. Japan
y. 1955
description:
"A Bloody Spear on Mt Fuji's plot is basic; a group of travellers (Samurai and two servants, shamisen player and daughter, highway policeman, thief, miner) interact and become closer through stressful and comedic situations (also, some tragedy). Ostensibly a road movie, a lot of the interaction and activity takes place in inns and city streets, very little on roads (though what does is memorable, such as Gonpachi becoming acquainted with an young orphan boy admirer.) Most of the plot revolves around the samurai, whose character reminds one of Yamanaka taking a stand against society and paying the price. I wonder if this inference was an accident (Yamanaka made popular films that questioned the status quo in the 30s, was sent to Manchuria and died at the front shortly after; only three of his films survive today.) There are many great moments in the film, which is as comedic in dialogue as it is in editing and tone. Daisuke Kato plays one of the servants, and his sake drinking and philosophizing scenes are everyman humor at its best. The playful looks, dialogue, and subtle attraction between the shamisen player and Gonpachi (Chiezo Katoaka), lords sitting on a busy highway to Edo shutting down traffic for a tea ceremony, and the lancer's final battle all stick close to my memory. I can't think of any other postwar Samurai film that does this kind of action, comedy, and drama as entertainingly (my favorite postwar jidai-geki films are the Anti-Samurai ones, such as Okamoto's Sword of Doom)." (IMDB Comment)
IMDB... 8.0 (62)
_AMG... n/a
size: 700MB
qlty: DVD
subs: yes
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An Obsession
d. Shinji Aoyama
c. Japan
y. 1997
description:
"Shinji Aoyama (Two Punks) directed this Japanese cop drama about assistant police inspector Saga (Ryo Ishibashi), who is guarding a religious cult leader when the man is shot and killed. In pursuit of the hitman (Yu-rei Yanagi), Saga is also shot, and he's only half-conscious when his gun is stolen. At the hospital, his wife Rie (Eiko Nagashima) begins planning a divorce. Low on self-esteem, Saga resigns from the force. Saga's stolen gun is later determined to be a weapon used in a murder. Hypnosis sends Saga to terminal leukemia patient Shimano (Kazuma Suzuki), who's taking stolen morphine, and the trail then leads to Shimano's ex-lover Kimiko Endo (Kyoko Tohyama). Shown at the 1997 Turin Film Festival." (AMG)
IMDB... 6.1 (26)
_AMG... 3.0 / 5.0
size: 700MB
qlty: DVD
subs: yes
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Helpless
d. Shinji Aoyama
c. Japan
y. 1996
description:
"Gen-X auteur Shinji Aoyama directs this brooding gangster flick about alienation, sudden violence, and high school classmates. The film opens with mobster Yasuo (Ken Mitsuishi) getting out of jail only to learn that his gang's don is dead, and that his own future is in doubt. Seething from the bad news, he sees his old high school friend Kenji (played by hipster heartthrob Tadanobu Asano). Along with Yasuo's mobster cohorts -- a young thug and nattily dressed yakuza with a Gorbachov style birthmark who greeted Yasuo at the prison gates -- they break bread at a family restaurant. When yakuza makes an off-colored remark about Yasuo's boss, he ices him on the spot. Later, Kenji pays a visit to his profoundly depressed father at the hospital. Afterwards, he goes to Yasuo's mountain cabin where the gangster is busy burying the body. There Kenji meets Yasuo's kid sister, Yuki (Kaori Tsuji). When Yasuo takes off in search of his boss' killer, Kenji zips off in the other direction with Yuki in tow. Once in town, Kenji learns that his father hung himself. At about the same time, another one of Kenji's former high school classmates, Akihito (Yoichiro Saito), surprises him with a Polaroid camera. Kenji violently snaps." (AMG)
IMDB... 5.0 (41)
_AMG... 4.0 / 5.0
size: 650MB
qlty: DVD
subs: yes
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Two Punks
d. Shinji Aoyama
c. Japan
y. 1996
description:
"Following up on his acclaimed Helpless and Chimpura, Shinji Aoyama directs this bizarre reworking of a yakuza flick. Hiroki Sakai (Kosuke Toyohara) adjusts pins in pachinko machines for a living. It's a dull existence, but Sakai seems to have made his peace with it. One day he runs into his former co-worker, Mizuguchi (Ken Mitsuishi), a twitchy sort who managed a parlor before yakuza goons beat him up and robbed the place. Now he is obsessed with the thought of vengeance against his assailants. Soon afterwards, he runs into Rie (Yuna Natsuo) -- the daughter of his boss -- who has suddenly blossomed into voluptuous womanhood and who is eagerly hoping to improve her relationship with Sakai. Later, he finds himself the target of yakuza aggression when the gang's boss comes to believe that Sakai is the bearer of a coveted envelope. Though a sensible and retiring sort by nature, he realizes that the only way to end this unwanted adventure is to rescue his boss, Tsumura (Mickey Curtis), from the clutches of the yakuza." (AMG)
IMDB... 7.2 (36)
_AMG... 3.0 / 5.0
size: 700MB
qlty: ?
subs: yes
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Wild Life
d. Shinji Aoyama
c. Japan
y. 1997
description:
"Following up on his acclaimed Helpless and Chimpura, Shinji Aoyama directs this bizarre reworking of a yakuza flick. Hiroki Sakai (Kosuke Toyohara) adjusts pins in pachinko machines for a living. It's a dull existence, but Sakai seems to have made his peace with it. One day he runs into his former co-worker, Mizuguchi (Ken Mitsuishi), a twitchy sort who managed a parlor before yakuza goons beat him up and robbed the place. Now he is obsessed with the thought of vengeance against his assailants. Soon afterwards, he runs into Rie (Yuna Natsuo) -- the daughter of his boss -- who has suddenly blossomed into voluptuous womanhood and who is eagerly hoping to improve her relationship with Sakai. Later, he finds himself the target of yakuza aggression when the gang's boss comes to believe that Sakai is the bearer of a coveted envelope. Though a sensible and retiring sort by nature, he realizes that the only way to end this unwanted adventure is to rescue his boss, Tsumura (Mickey Curtis), from the clutches of the yakuza." (AMG)
IMDB... 6.7 (40)
_AMG... n/a
size: 700MB
qlty: DVD
subs: yes
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Mike Yokohama: A Forest with No Name
d. Shinji Aoyama
c. Japan
y. 2002
description:
"Shinji Aoyama's Mike Yokohama - A Forest With No Name is a loose adaptation of the work of Mickey Spillane. Private detective Mike Yokohama (Masatoshi Nagase) is hired by a rich businessman to find his daughter who has joined a commune. Mike goes undercover and joins the secret group, where everything is not what it seems. Mike begins to suspect that the leader of the group (Kyoka Suzuki) is up to no good when a former member of the commune is arrested for murder. This is the first in a series of films that will be made for Japanese television." (AMG)
IMDB... 6.6 (72)
_AMG... n/a
size: 700MB
qlty: DVD
subs: yes
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Lakeside Murder Case
d. Shinji Aoyama
c. Japan
y. 2004
description:
"Three couples are staying at a lakeside cottage with their children. They want them to prepare intensely for a prestigious high school's entrance exam with the help of a private tutor. One night, one of the wives confesses to her husband that she has killed his mistress..." (IMDB)
IMDB... 6.2 (48)
_AMG... n/a
size: 1400MB
qlty: DVD
subs: yes
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Mirrored Mind
d. Sogo Ishii
c. Japan
y. 2005
description:
"Renowned cyber-punk director ISHII Sogo strays from his roots, entering the realm of the subconscious with Mirrored Mind, a composed, contemplative and also a very personal film. Guiding us along with an actress who suffers an identity crisis when all at once she finds herself spirited away from the bustle of Tokyo to a tropical paradise, director ISHII poses philosophical questions about the origins of our soul. A visually stunning ode to the need for a spiritual and tranquil life. Mirrored Mind is the feauture length version of the short by the same name, which was made as part of the Jeonju International Film Festival initiated Digital Short Films by Three Filmmakers 2004." (IMDB)
IMDB... 0.0 (0)
_AMG... n/a
size: 550MB
qlty: DVD
subs: no
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Band of Ninja
d. Nagisa Oshima
c. Japan
y. 1967
description:
"Director Nagisa Oshima teams with comic-strip artist Shirato Sampei in this feature. Still pictures are used as some of Japan's more recognizable thespians provide the voices to tell the story. The ninja warriors use their powers to become invisible, walk on water, and climb castle walls." (AMG)
IMDB... 7.3 (19)
_AMG... 3.0 / 5.0
size: 700MB
qlty: ?
subs: yes
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