Legendary swordplay filmmaker Hideo Gosha's Sword of the Beast chronicles the flight of the low-level swordsman Gennosuke, who kills one of his ministers as part of a reform plot. His former comrades then turn on him, and this betrayal so shakes his sense of honor that he decides to live in the wild, like an animal. There he joins up with a motley group who are illegally mining the shogun’s gold, and, with the aid of another swordsman, gets a chance not just at survival but to recover his name and honor.

Bandits vs. Samurai Squadron

1978

Japanese

6.6

♡ 6

92%

Hideo Gosha Director

Kappei Matsumoto as

Mitsuko Baishô as Omatsu

Yoshio Inaba as Seizô

Keiko Matsuzaka as Shino

Kumokiri Nizaemon, a former samurai warrior, has abandoned his class to become the leader of a gang of thieves. He leads his outlaws in an attempt to rob the castle of his former clan.

She Was Like a Wild Chrysanthemum

1955

Japanese

7.5

♡ 1

Action

Drama

Romance

Keisuke Kinoshita Director

Takahiro Tamura as

Kappei Matsumoto as

Shinji Tanaka as Masao,

Chishû Ryû as Masao - Age 73

On the way back to his childhood home, a septuagenarian man recalls his childhood and adolescence, in particular his love for a young woman.

Umi no hanabi

1951

Japanese

6.0

♡ 3

Action

Drama

Romance

Keisuke Kinoshita Director

Yoshio Inaba as

Kappei Matsumoto as

Toshio Hosokawa as Hideaki Uozumi

Isuzu Yamada as Kaoru Uozumi

A fishing union depends on two brothers to make up the losses caused by the dishonest captains they replaced.

Willful Murder

1981

Japanese

7.2

♡ 4

Action

Drama

Kei Kumai Director

Kappei Matsumoto as Doctor hatano

Takashi Ebata as Driver

Yoshio Inaba as Horii

Yôko Asaji as Kawada

The president of the Japanese National Railways is found dead during a period in which train service is plagued by numerous layoffs, strikes and shutdowns. The government says that the president was murdered; the police claim it was a suicide. A quizzical reporter follows the case for years, but the basic question remains unanswered: was the victim killed by members of the burgeoning Communist movement in Japan, or was the death stage-managed by the authorities in hopes of discrediting the Communists?

Demons

1971

Japanese

7.9

♡ 16

97%

Toshio Matsumoto Director

Hatsuo Yamaya as Chôhachi

Kappei Matsumoto as Ryôshin

Hideo Kanze as Takubei

Takashi Ebata as Torazô

Tells the story of the samurai Gengobe, who seeks revenge after falling prey to the schemes of a geisha and her husband.

Stray Dog

1949

Japanese

7.8

♡ 31

100%

Akira Kurosawa Director

Kappei Matsumoto as Bar owner

Toshirô Mifune as Detective Murakami

Reikichi Kawamura as Officer Ichikawa

Eijirô Tôno as Old man of wooden tub shop

A bad day gets worse for young detective Murakami when a pickpocket steals his gun on a hot, crowded bus. Desperate to right the wrong, he goes undercover, scavenging Tokyo’s sweltering streets for the stray dog whose desperation has led him to a life of crime. With each step, cop and criminal’s lives become more intertwined and the investigation becomes an examination of Murakami’s own dark side.

Kwaidan

1964

Japanese

7.9

♡ 44

91%

89%

Action

anthology

based on novel or book

Masaki Kobayashi Director

Kenjirô Ishiyama as Father

Jun Tazaki as Kannai's Colleague #1

Yoshirô Aoki as (segment "Chawan no naka")

Kappei Matsumoto as (segment "Kurokami")

Taking its title from an archaic Japanese word meaning "ghost story," this anthology adapts four folk tales. A penniless samurai marries for money with tragic results. A man stranded in a blizzard is saved by Yuki the Snow Maiden, but his rescue comes at a cost. Blind musician Hoichi is forced to perform for an audience of ghosts. An author relates the story of a samurai who sees another warrior's reflection in his teacup.

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Chinmoku

Apostasy

Sword of the Beast

Bandits vs. Samurai Squadron

She Was Like a Wild Chrysanthemum

Umi no hanabi

Willful Murder

Demons

Stray Dog

Kwaidan