What's a Director?

Works commemorating the 70th anniversary of the founding of Japan mapping Supervision Association

Hana

In a poor district of Edo lives a young samurai named Soza. He has been sent by his clan to avenge t

Party 7

Seven characters, introduced at the start of the film, get thrown together into the same hotel room:

Still Walking

A family gathers together for a commemorative ritual whose nature only gradually becomes clear.

The Fang in the Hole

A police detective tries to investigate the mystery of a victim who was shot in the head, but no bul

The Hunted

Paul Racine, a high-powered American business executive in Japan, is catapulted into a maze of dange

The Story of PuPu

Fu and Suzu are two hedonist girls who decide to take to the road. They set off on a journey to visi

Bare Essence of Life

Yojin, an eccentric young farmer living in the countryside, falls in love for the first time in his

The Trail of Blood

Can a sinful man change and find peace? It's unlikely in gang-plagued Japan. Jokichi of Mikogami, a

Nightmare Detective

When a number of suicide victims slash themselves in their sleep, detective Keiko Kirishima is calle

Another Heaven

A pair of hard-boiled Tokyo cops are investigating a gruesome murder: after killing the victim, the

Evil Emblem

Aida, a daredevil detective who isn't afraid of power or challenges. The great evil has begun invest

Hunter in the Dark

Yataro Tanigawa, a one-eyed hired assassin, impresses yakuza boss Gomyo Kiyoemon with his skill. Gom

Dororo

Hyakkimaru, a warrior on a quest to reclaim 48 of his body parts which were each taken by a demon, i

9 Souls

After discovering a hole in their crowded cell, nine prisoners escape their confinement to track dow

Marriage

An omnibus featuring the work of three different filmmakers.

Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance

Lady Snowblood is caught by the police and sentenced to death for her crimes. As she is sent to the

Manhunt

A tough prosecutor is falsely accused of theft and goes on the run to clear his name. He is assisted

Then Summer Came

A humorous wedding story fueled by a rather no-good father and son, disguised as the old and new “go

À la carte Company

The Fearless Avenger

Thirsting for revenge, Jokichi rashly attempts to assassinate the evil Chogoro but ends up being cap

No More Comics!

Stuck doing show-biz schlock, an investigative reporter stumbles on a scheme to swindle pensions thr

I Wish

Twelve-year-old Koichi, who has been separated from his brother Ryunosuke due to his parents' divorc

Pastoral: To Die in the Country

A director faces creative block while working on his latest film – a reimagination of his adolescenc

Wet Sand in August

Several high-school friends spend their final summer together indulging in sex and leisure; their ha

The Assassination of Ryoma

Story of the last three days in the life of Sakamoto Ryoma (1836-1867), the imperial loyalist who tr

The Triple Cross

Following the bloody aftermath of a heist, three robbers are double-crossed by a new accomplice, who

Heaven's Bookstore

Kenta, a young pianist who has just lost his job, is drowning his woes at a bar, when he meets a man

Yumeji

Following the life of Japanese artist and poet Yumeji Takehisa through the imagining of an encounter

Kagero-za

A 1920s playwright meets a beautiful woman who may be the ghost of his patron's deceased wife.

Zigeunerweisen

A surreal period film following a university professor and his eerie nomad friend as they go through

Ronin-gai

Near the end of Japanese civil war, several disgraced ronin living in Edo's red light district attem

Preparation for the Festival

Tateo, young and neurotic, wishes to leave the village his mother has raised him in.

Aegis

The Isokaze, an Aegis-class escort vessel, sets sail on a routine training exercise, playing host to

Out of Focus

A magazine publisher called Out Of Focus hires a new female camerawoman. This company is located in

Mister, Missus, Miss Lonely

Two men and a woman plan to steal 1.5 Billion yen.

Lost Love

At a seaside city somewhere in the Tohoku area, the corpses of Nozomi, daughter of an affluent famil

Tattoo

An ardent culture-vulture youth, previously charged for the murder of a woman when he was young, pla

Onibi: The Fire Within

After spending over half his life in prison, ex-hitman Kunihiro is determined to go straight. But th

A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness

A rookie golfer must cope with the stress of fame after a marketing executive transforms her into a

Little DJ

Taro is a 12-year-old into baseball and radio, especially "Music Express," a song-request show. Soun

Slaughter in the Snow

In feudal Japan, women are vulnerable, in need of protection, and capable of deception. Jokichi of M

Let Him Rest in Peace

A man returns to his seaside roots to confront a yakuza boss. Along the way, he charms young men, so

Someday

The annual kabuki show is the main attraction in a rural Japanese mountain town. However, Yoshi's li

Outlaw Cop

A bad cop is engaged in a violent chase to catch a yakuza boss. In his absence his wife runs away wi

Karaoke Terror

One of a gang of karaoke loving middle aged women is murdered by a young man. Her friends track him

A Forest with No Name

Private detective Mike takes on an assignment to return a girl, who is set to marry into a prestigio

The Last Frankenstein

Professor Sarusawa and his psychic daughter Mai live together after the suicide of the Professor's w

Shogun's Samurai

Following the death of the second Tokugawa shogun, it is revealed that he was poisoned by retainers

The Whispered City

Director Jun Ichikawa spins this affectionate portrait of the people who populate Shimokitazawa, a b

Madness in Bloom

Yamaguchi, Ichikawa and Kosuge dress in white military-style uniforms to "clean" the streets of Shib

The Face of Jizo

Based on a play by Hisashi Inoue, it focuses on the sufferings of the survivors of Hiroshima. The fi

The Breath

Haida, once a famous private detective, is now down and out and running out of reasons to live. One

Circus Boys

Two brothers, Jinta and Wataru, are raised in a travelling circus. After an accident, Jinta decides

Pickpocket

Kaido is a professional pickpocket who works the Tokyo subway with his young foster-daughter, Rei: S

A Boy's Summer in 1945

Commencing well-respected Nippon director Kazuo Kuroki's sixth decade behind the camera, "A Boy's Su

The Girl of Silence

14 year old Nakamura is sexually abused by her stepfather. She invents a friend who is coming to her

The Mystery of Rampo

Edogawa Rampo is a writer whose latest work is censored by the government, deemed too disturbing and

300 Million

Katagiri, a highly ambitious young detective, teams up with older detective Takiguchi, who is about

The Invitation from Cinema Orion

Based on the short story from the best-selling collection "Poppoya" by Jiro Asada, "The Invitation f

The Anthropology of a Fight Scene

A man must overcome many obstacles as he works his way through the dangerous crime world to the leve

Stray Cat Rock: Beat '71

The series swansong, Beat '71, sees Kaji framed and sent to prison by her boyfriend's father and wit

A Yakuza in Love

When an innocent young country girl falls for a low level yakuza, she enters a completely different

Born to Be Baby

A detective, a mysterious beauty Ekin and other characters appear in the film. It creates a mysterio

Golden Flower: What Is Hidden Is the True Flower, What Is Gone Is the Butterfly

Nursing home "Yuyoso". Many lonely old people live there, including botanist Taro Makiso, a physicis

Drawing Restraint 9

The film concerns the theme of self-imposed limitation and continues Matthew Barney's interest in re

The Bicycle Thief Was Bad

Steel-worker Saito Tetsuo, driven by an unexplained anxiety, steals bike after bike to move away fro

Firefly

A young outlaw racing through the streets of Yokohama. Will the love that slipped through his finger

United Red Army

Two of the most radical student groups form the United Red Army (URA) and head into the mountains to

Manji

Kleptomaniac Sonoko and young, beautiful Mitsuko begin an unusual love affair which develops fast in

Farewell to the Ark

A surreal, isolated village sees its inhabitants gradually leave behind their mutual traditions and

Ring

In different parts of Tokyo, four young and seemingly healthy people suddenly die of heart failure a

Song of Vengeance

Executive management of a major Tokyo construction company are getting bumped off one after another.

Shag

Shiro Akitsu goes on a relentless search for his abducted 7-year-old daughter, with the aid of an Ai

Nowhere Man

Sukezo, a former manga comic artist, takes up the art rock business by setting up a shop in a shed b

Gone Without Saying Goodbye!

This TV drama special depicts the obsession of a sister and two detectives searching for her missing

Play it, Boogie-Woogie

A runaway cat-loving girl begins a love triangle with a reckless older man and a young biker in high

Flying

A young woman aspires to be a motorboat racing champion.

CLUB DEJA-VU ONE NIGHT SHOW 松田優作・メモリアル・ライブ

A Bridge of Tears

Japanese drama film.

Goodbye, Flickmania

Set at the height of the Japanese student rebellion in 1968, the film tells the story of the friends

KT

This movie is a political/espionage thriller, based on a real kidnapping incident of Korean politici

Fish of the Fire

Hi no Sakana (火の魚, Fish of the Fire) is a Japanese novel by Murō Saisei; it was first published in 1

This Story of Love

Life and love stories of stunt men and women.

It's Easier Than Kissing

After the death of her mother a young woman wants to meet her real father

Hangyaku no Tabi

Hiroshi Kakurai is an assassin who was thinking of retiring. He travels to an island in the Seto Inl

The New Morning of Billy the Kid

All the protagonists move about in a Tokyo Bar that has an entire wall taken up with a black-and-whi

Kagerô 2

An entertainment drama depicting the conflict of yakuza, centering on the female torso and her siste

The Heartbreak Yakuza

A hardened gangster encounters by chance a woman he hasn't seen since childhood. They are both engul

Ballad of Orin

A blind traveling musician is abused and oppressed wherever she goes, even as the modern world impos

The Miracle of Joe, the Petrel

In Okinawa, a Japanese-Filipino gangster named Joe kills an Okinawan mobster. Joe temporarily escape

House of Sleeping Beauties

About an establishment where old men pay to sleep besides young girls that had been narcotized and h

Step on the Gas!

Yūji, fresh out of prison on parole, meets a stranger named Nao that asks for his assistance...

At Noon

Tadao decides to comes back from Tokyo to live in his home town, in the countryside. He stays at his

A Pool Without Water

After saving a girl from rape a bored rail worker finds out about a chemical that makes people sleep

Did the Red Bird Escape?

A young outlaw can’t escape his rebellious past despite connections to a well-to-do family.

Sosuke Loses His Lover

Koji Wakamatsu adapted Kouhei Tsuka's play of the same name into a human comedy about the members of

Izo

Izo is an assassin in the service of a Tosa lord and Imperial supporter. After killing dozens of the

Melody of Rebellion

The disbandment of the Tanno clan left gang member Tetsu to stray from the crime family's fold. He r

Paper Lantern

A new wave Yakuza film in which Takanori Jinnai plays a young Yakuza suffering from stomach cancer w

Time Limit

Mizusawa (Takenouchi Yutaka), an explosives expert, is arrested and charged with a string of bank ro

Kanto Drifter

Young man returns from prison and sets out to destroy the gang that killed his friends and boss of h

Azumi

In war-torn Japan, the Tokugawa Shogun, desperate to restore peace to his people, orders the assassi

Zatoichi: The Last

A blind master swordsman attempts to lead a quiet life with his wife but he is provoked back into ba

Ready to Shoot

A middle-aged man discovers an injured refugee woman trembling in the corner of his bar in Kabukicho

Business Trip

Sukanpin Walk

Yuji decides to run away from home to become an actor. Along the way, he meets Yoshio, an aspiring r

Take It Easy

Coming of age film about rock musicians.

You Gotta Chance

The story of Tamikawa, a professionally and artistically burned out singer, who embarks on a search

Crime Hunter: Bullets of Rage

After his partner Ahiru is gunned down in the process of arresting criminal Bruce Sawamura, cop Joe

Tekken

A directionless young man, recently released from prison, tries to make a new start in life as a box

Cabaret

A young jazz musician's desire to advance in his career runs afoul of organized crime in this thrill

Nuclear Gypsies

Barbara, a dancer, is coming home to Nagoya after a long absence. She lives above a bar in an area w

Knockout

A Japanese boxer stages a dramatic and dangerous comeback after suffering brain damage in the ring.

Dream Street

A comedy about the lives of people living in the shopping district of Osaka.

Billiken

The main hero of this film is the spirit of the once very popular wooden statuette called Billiken.

Tomorrow

On August 9, 1945, the Americans dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki. This film, based on a story by

Waters

Seven young Tokyoites get scammed into working as hosts for "Dog Days" bar. Will they be able to ove

Singapore Sling

Tatsuya is on a honeymoon in Australia. A couple of unfortunate encounters land him in jail, where h

Summer of the Lion Kings

Katsu, who belongs to the Murai group of the Sakagami Union, was frustrated by the distance from the

Chicken Is Barefoot

A disabled child of separated parents gets caught up in police espionage due to his uncanny ability

Confessions Among Actresses

In this intricately layered Japanese film, the nature of actresses and what they gain from acting is

Yankee Bokou ni Kaeru SP

In 1988, Hokkaido's Hokusei Yoichi High School became the first high school in Japan to accept stude

Barefoot in Blue Jeans

Coming-of-age comedy set in Yokosuka.

Castle of Sand

This drama adaptation follows the original work's historical setting and is told from Yoshimura's pe

The Taika Reforms

A drama introduces the well known coup in the 7th Century Japan followed by the Taika reform which m

Cabaret

A young jazz musician's desire to advance in his career runs afoul of organized crime in this thrill

Disciples of Hippocrates

The story revolves around Ogino, who is in the last year of his medical studies. Between lectures, e