Cast: Kan Yanagiya

Direction Akira Kurosawa

Cast Toshirô Mifune · Takashi Shimura · Keiko Awaji · Eiko Miyoshi

Synopsis Stray Dog (1949) follows the journey of Murakami, a young and dedicated homicide detective who finds himself in a dire situation when his pocket is picked on a crowded bus, resulting in the loss of his service revolver. Overwhelmed by...

Direction Heinosuke Gosho

Cast Hiroko Kawasaki · Yasuko Miyazaki · Keiko Sawamura · Yoichi Numata

Direction Mikio Naruse

Cast Kamatari Fujiwara · Kan Yanagiya · Minoru Takase · Shoji Kiyokawa

Synopsis Travelling Actors (1940) is a delightful comedy that centers around a pair of performers who specialize in portraying the front and rear legs of a horse, feeling undervalued for their unique talent. Their world is turned upside down when the...

Direction Mikio Naruse

Cast Yuriko Hamada · Chieko Higashiyama · Isao Kimura · Keiko Kishi

Synopsis The Angry Street (1950) follows the story of Sudo and Mori, a pair of university students who earn their keep by targeting wealthy young women in dance clubs. Mori, the mastermind, and Sudo, the charming dancer, work together to deceive...

Direction Jūzō Itami

Cast Nobuko Miyamoto · Masahiko Tsugawa · Yuji Miyake · Aki Takejô

Direction Keigo Kimura

Cast Michiyo Kogure · Sô Yamamura · Ryo Ikebe · Ichiro Sugai

Direction Akira Inoue

Cast Shintarô Katsu · Michiko Sugata · Masumi Harukawa · Nijiko Kiyokawa

Synopsis Dynamite Doctor Returns (1966) follows the story of Daimatsu, a man who intervenes to assist a woman being assaulted by a gang of young men in a town where desires, wealth, and avarice intertwine, making it challenging for him to...

Direction Teinosuke Kinugasa

Cast Isamu Eto · Kazuo Hasegawa · Tatsuya Ishiguro · Taizô Fukami

Synopsis The Battle of Kwanakajima (1941) is a historical war film that unfolds during Japan's tumultuous Sengoku period, also known as the "warring states" or "civil war" era. The narrative delves into the intense conflicts and power struggles that characterized this...

Direction Kunio Watanabe

Cast Denjirô Ôkôchi · Isuzu Yamada · Sadao Maruyama · Zenichiro Kito

Direction Masahiro Makino

Cast Hideko Takamine · Kazuo Hasegawa · Isuzu Yamada · Kenichi Enomoto

Direction Kon Ichikawa

Cast Ryo Ikebe · Jun Tazaki · Michitaro Mizushima · Yôko Sugi

Synopsis Pursuit at Dawn (1950) is a lesser-known early film by Kon Ichikawa, created during his tenure at Shintoho Studios from 1947 to 1951. The screenplay is penned by Kaneto Shindo and stars Ryô Ikebe as a young police officer. The...

Direction Tadashi Imai

Cast Setsuko Hara · Heihachiro Okawa · Sadako Sawamura · Kinji Fujiwa

Direction Yasuki Chiba

Cast Toshirô Mifune · Ichirô Arishima · Keiko Awaji · Bokuzen Hidari

Direction Yasuki Chiba

Cast Chishu Ryu · Yûko Mochizuki · Toranosuke Ogawa · Sadako Sawamura

Direction Sadatsugu Matsuda

Cast Chiezô Kataoka · Ken Takakura · Sô Yamamura · Mitsuko Miura

Direction Hiroshi Noguchi

Cast Seizaburô Kawazu · Sumiko Hidaka · Hajime Izu · Kenjirô Uemura

Direction Kô Nakahira

Cast Frankie Sakai · Sumiko Minami · Harue Tone · Toshiyuki Ichimura

Synopsis Gyûnyû ya Furankî (1956) follows the journey of a young man named Frankie, who was nurtured with discipline and honor by his feudal grandfather in the rural landscapes of Choshu. Upon venturing into the bustling city of Tokyo, Frankie is...

Direction Mikio Naruse

Cast Ichiro Sugai · Takako Irie · Kamatari Fujiwara · Sadako Sawamura

Synopsis Mother Never Dies (1942) kicks off in 1929, with the protagonist Sugai (portrayed by Sugai Ichiro) facing unemployment due to the stock market crash. Throughout the narrative, Sugai's journey takes him from cleaning mirrors in a barbershop to selling cleaning...

Direction Masahisa Sunohara

Cast Yûnosuke Itô · Toshiyuki Ichimura · Niwa Saito · Sachiko Hidari

Direction Tadashi Imai

Cast Tanie Kitabayashi · Chocho Miyako · Choko Iida · Kumeko Urabe