Movies: Junzaburō Ban

This film follows the daily lives of a group of people barely scraping by in a slum on the outskirts of Tokyo. Yet as desperate as their circumstances are, each of them—the homeless father and son envisioning their dream house; the young woman abused...

The film depicts carnivalesque atmosphere summed up by the cry "Ei ja nai ka" ("Why not?") in Japan in 1867 and 1868 in the days leading to the Meiji Restoration. It examines the effects of the political and social upheaval of the time, and culminate...

This extraordinarily complex film is not only a send-up of every samurai film ever made, it is also an extrapolation of the value of life. The Yamatai, represented by Prince Susano-O and elderly advisor Sumuke, hire Yumihiko of Matsuro to hunt the ph...

Three robbers escape with loot from a heist before one of them kills the others. Their corpses wash up near the aftermath of a maritime calamity, provoking a policeman's interest....

In Osaka's slum, youths without futures engage in pilfering, assault and robbery, prostitution, and the buying and selling of identity cards and of blood. Alliances constantly shift. Tatsu and Takeshi, friends since boyhood, reluctantly join Shin's g...

When an American is murdered in a Japanese inn, Tokyo police detective Munesue follows the trail of the killer to New York. There he is joined by a New York City detective named Shuftan and together they sort out the crime....

To solve the mystery of a murder of an old governess which takes place at a wealthy Daidoji family's country estate, family secrets and lies dating back several generations must be sorted out once and for all....

1962 Japanese movie...

Five longtime friends get back together, but are disappointed to find that their bonds are not as strong as they once were....

The film is dedicated to the souls of flight school graduates killed in World War II. Young boys dream about becoming pilots and apply to flight schools. However, the flight schools have extremely demanding, harsh training, and once they finally beco...

The life in a small village in Shikoku and the love story between two young people....

Japanese comedy film....

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Young geisha Koshizu's wish of reuniting with the man, Yukichi, who helped her ten years ago comes true. When she learns of the trouble Yukichi's business is facing, she stands ready to come to his aid, and thus repay a debt that's long overdue....

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In the era of the twelfth Shogun, Tokugawa Ieyoshi, a notorious bandit known as "Shippu" (or "Swift Wind") emerged in Edo. Shippu would send a warning message called the "Thief's Summons" before striking, yet despite the magistrate's desperate search...

After finishing the course of junior high school, Kazuo comes up to Tokyo, leaving his mother alone in the unproductive northern district. He finds a job in a small laundry in downtown Tokyo and works hard till late at night. At a nearby restaurant a...

Third film in the "Ekimae" series set in Hamamatsu. A widow named Keiko and her brother Jiro run the bento shop, "Goraku." One day, Keiko asks for advice from her childhood friends Kintaro, a textile manufacturer, and Magosaku, an entrepreneur, about...

Second "Pfc. Story" sequel and the ninth and final sequel to "Story of Second Class Private", the only one in both series not directed by Seiichi Fukuda....

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