Takashi Shimura

A samurai answers a village's request for protection after he falls on hard times. The town needs protection from bandits, so the samurai gathers six others to help him teach the people how to defend themselves, and the villagers provide the soldiers with food.

Kanji Watanabe is a middle-aged man who has worked in the same monotonous bureaucratic position for decades. Learning he has cancer, he starts to look for the meaning of his life.

A Yokohama shoe executive faces a wrenching choice when kidnappers mistakenly seize his chauffeur’s son but demand the ransom anyway.

Four people recount different versions of the story of a man's murder and the rape of his wife.

Japan is thrown into a panic after several ships are sunk near Odo Island. An expedition to the island led by Dr. Kyohei Yamane soon discover something far more devastating than imagined in the form of a 50 meter tall monster whom the natives call Gojira. Now the monster begins a rampage that threatens to destroy not only Japan, but the rest of the world as well.

A nameless ronin, or samurai with no master, enters a small village in feudal Japan where two rival businessmen are struggling for control of the local gambling trade. Taking the name Sanjuro Kuwabatake, the ronin convinces both silk merchant Tazaemon and sake merchant Tokuemon to hire him as a personal bodyguard, then artfully sets in motion a full-scale gang war between the two ambitious and unscrupulous men.

Returning to their lord's castle, samurai warriors Washizu and Miki are waylaid by a spirit who predicts their futures. When the first part of the spirit's prophecy comes true, Washizu's scheming wife, Asaji, presses him to speed up the rest of the spirit's prophecy by murdering his lord and usurping his place. Director Akira Kurosawa's resetting of William Shakespeare's "Macbeth" in feudal Japan is one of his most acclaimed films.

Akira Kurosawa's lauded feudal epic presents the tale of a petty thief who is recruited to impersonate Shingen, an aging warlord, in order to avoid attacks by competing clans. When Shingen dies, his generals reluctantly agree to have the impostor take over as the powerful ruler. He soon begins to appreciate life as Shingen, but his commitment to the role is tested when he must lead his troops into battle against the forces of a rival warlord.

"Ako Roshi" is a group of 47 former retainers of Lord Asano. Lord Asano was forced to commit suicide after attempting to kill Lord Kira. Once the retainers hear about their Lord's death, they sacrifice their lives to regain the honor of their former master.

Aspiring to an easy job as personal physician to a wealthy family, Noboru Yasumoto is disappointed when his first post after medical school takes him to a small country clinic under the gruff doctor Red Beard. Yasumoto rebels in numerous ways, but Red Beard proves a wise and patient teacher. He gradually introduces his student to the unglamorous side of the profession, ultimately assigning him to care for a prostitute rescued from a local brothel.

Documentary made by Toho for the Masterworks reissue of all of its Kurosawa films. This one focuses on "Ikiru" (1952).

When a broadcasting company takes away its financial support from a symphony orchestra, some of the members refuse to admit defeat. The first violinist returns to his home and manages to get the orchestra back together for a grandiose performance, saved at the last minute by their original conductor -- and boding well for the future of the die-hard musicians.

In 1853, Gentetsu Nishiyama tells his students that the French prophet Nostaradamus foretells great change for Japan, some of his students revolt, calling his words heresy and his wife flees with a book of Nostradamus’s predictions… In the present day, Dr. Nishiyama has to combat increasingly bizarre goings on which seem all to familiar to the prophet's predictions…

Akira Kurosawa's lauded feudal epic presents the tale of a petty thief who is recruited to impersonate Shingen, an aging warlord, in order to avoid attacks by competing clans. When Shingen dies, his generals reluctantly agree to have the impostor take over as the powerful ruler. He soon begins to appreciate life as Shingen, but his commitment to the role is tested when he must lead his troops into battle against the forces of a rival warlord.

Set in Japan's Tenpyou era (729-749 CE), four young monks are sent to China to study Buddhism and bring a high priest back to Japan with them. The film tells the tale of the four monks' youth and the life and times of the high priest Ganjin.

When a young soldier is killed while trying to prevent his younger sister, Kaoru, from being sold into a life of prostitution, his commander, Col. Miyagi, tries to honor his dying wish to rescue his sister. Upon finding Kaoru at a party working as a geisha and later rescuing her from committing suicide, Col. Miyagi allows her to move in with him. Over time, the two grow close, but in spite of Kaoru's growing feelings for him, Col. Miyagi is unable to bring himself to return her love. On the night of his deployment to war, Col. Miyagi finally admits his feelings for Kaoru, but will they ever be able to enjoy a peaceful life together now that a very violent and bloody military revolt is under way...

After a chance encounter with Hiroshi's father on a bus, Tora decides to get serious and reflect on the mortality of man. His plans are derailed when a beautiful lady starts working at Toraya.

Sen Rikyu is a ceremonial tea master who advises warlord Hideyoshi in sixteenth-century feudal Japan. His daughter, the beautiful Lady Ogin, has an unrequited love for Lord Ukon, who has angered Hideyoshi by becoming a Christian convert. Ogin's father Rikyu also displeases Hideyoshi by opposing the warlord's plan to invade China and Korea. When the animalistic Hideyoshi is rejected by Ogin, he threatens her and her father with arrest and worse.

A re-edited Italian-language dubbed version of the original Godzilla, using as a basis the U.S. version, "Godzilla, King of the Monsters!" (1956), plus WWII newsreel footage and clips from other science fiction films. The re-edited film was then colorized via a process called "Spectrorama 70" consisting of applying various colored gels to the black and white footage. The film's opening and ending also features new music composed by musicians Fabio Frizzi, Franco Bixio, and Vince Tempera (under the pseudonym Magnetic System).

A period comedy set at the end of the Sengoku Period about Sasuke Saruhi, a middle-aged ninja.

Dramatic story of one man trying to make a difference.

A Japanese bullet train is threatened with a bomb that will explode automatically if the train slows below 80 km/h, unless a ransom is paid. Police race to find the bombers so the train crew can learn how to defuse the bomb.

Youth movie.

Professor Nishiyama, after studying and interpreting the prophecies of Nostradamus, realizes that the end of the world is at hand. Unfortunately, nobody listens to him until it is too late. As the effects of mankind's tampering of the earth - radioactive smog clouds, hideously mutated animals, destruction of the ozone layer - rage out of control, the world leaders hurtle blindly toward the final confrontation. The film sparked controversy in Japan and was subsequently pulled out of circulation, with no official video release of the uncut film.

With a Kansai syndicate vying for Tokyo, one man reunites with his roguish half-brother in the midst of negotiations, when all hell breaks loose.

The most dangerous hired gun in Kyushu's underworld has managed to trigger a vicious gang war, and now, there's a contract on his life. Though nobody is more skilled in the arts of dealing death, can the tattooed hitman fend off the entire Japanese mafia as he searches for the man who wants him dead?

Zatoichi, the famed blind swordsman, returns to his home village for the first time in many years. He is befriended by Omiyo, who had the same wet-nurse as Zatoichi. He also encounters a boyhood friend, Shinbei, who is now wealthy and appears not to remember Zatoichi. Shinbei seems to be interested in repaying the villagers' debts, but is, in reality, manipulating the ownership of a now valuable rock quarry. Zatoichi learns of the subterfuge and confronts his old friend, who has a score of yakuza swordsmen backing his play.

The eighth installment in the popular film series starring Tomisaburo Wakayama. Embarrassed by the chairman of the Seiyu-kai for not having a family crest, Seikichi Shimamura sets out with his henchmen on a journey to acquire the crest of a local bankrupt family. The local Iwahashi clan and the fishermen fought over the construction of the industrial complex, but when Seikichi learned that the Seiyu-kai was behind the Iwahashi clan, he sided with the fishermen...

Taking a message from Hiroshi's father to heart, Torajiro attempts to give up his wandering ways.

Senkichi Mizuta, a pharmaceutical company employee, and Shuzo Kadokura, a war profiteer, are diametrically opposed in appearance and personality, but are best friends. Kadokura secretly loves Mizuta's wife, Tami, and both Mizuta and Tami are aware of it. The drama depicts the subtle relationship between the two men and the people around them against the backdrop of the times and customs of the early Showa period, in which both are aware of each other's love, but no one speaks of it.

Kawashima Toshio (Utsui Ken), an assistant professor at a university medical school and an excellent surgeon, becomes mayor after his father-in-law falls ill. The evil hand of organized crime, cleverly disguised, has begun to take hold in the city. Toshio, who has risen up to protect the citizens, is beset with family problems, including the mysterious departure of his beloved wife Yukiko (Hama Mie) from home and the resulting delinquency of his beloved daughter Mayumi (Saito Tomoko). Carrying this heavy burden, Toshio fights with the help of Nagai Masayuki (Kanda Masateru), a young newspaper reporter with whom he has a deep connection. However, in the midst of this struggle, an eerie truth about his missing wife's scandalous past and the shadow of a certain man begin to appear like a mirage...

A love story about a young man who, despite being shunned by his father after shoplifting in high school, strives to live strongly with the support of his girlfriend..

Centered around Masujiro Omura, who became a commander for the Choshu clan, and founded the modern Japanese millitary system.

The story of two girls switched in an orphanage.

The series depicts the employees of a security company from different generations and backgrounds facing many difficult questions. It features a guard who survived a suicide mission during the war and his conflicts, rebellion, empathy and reconciliation with the younger generation born after the war.

The movie stars Ayako Wakao. It depicts the emotional turmoil of a woman caught between two kinds of love: her familial love for her father and her romantic love for her partner. Co-starring are Takashi Shimura, Tsutomu Yamazaki, and others. Released in 1972.

Osaka Castle was erected as a result of Hideyoshi Hashiba's (portrayed by Shindo Eitaro) solicitation from Kyogoku Tatsuko to become his consort. During more than 30 years, until the devastation of the castle caused by the Summer Siege of Osaka, a series of tragedies unfold, affecting various women who found themselves at the mercy of fate..

The story chronicles the life of Nagao Kagetora.

The Story is about three daughters of a "Hatamoto" during the end of the Edo period and the Meiji Restoration.

"Ako Roshi" is a group of 47 former retainers of Lord Asano. Lord Asano was forced to commit suicide after attempting to kill Lord Kira. Once the retainers hear about their Lord's death, they sacrifice their lives to regain the honor of their former master.