The Ballad of Narayama 1982  N/R, 130 min.
Genre: Foreign / Comedy / Drama
Director: Shohei Imamura
Cast: Ken Ogata, Sumiko Sakamoto, Aki Takejo, Tonpei Hidari, Shoichi Ozawa, Seiji Kurasaki, Kaoru Shimamori, Ryutaro Tatsumi, Nijiko Kiyokawa, Junko Takada, Mitsuko Baisho, Sansho Shinsui
Based on a Japanese legend of a famine-ridden village, a person is taken to the top of Mt. Narayama and left to die upon reaching the age of 70. This beautiful remake of the 1958 film is realistic as a 69-year-old woman is determined to climb the mountain despite her son's objections. Grand Prize winner at the Cannes Film Festival.
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Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters 1985  R, 120 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Paul Schrader
Cast: Ken Ogata, Masayuki Shionoya, Hiroshi Mikami, Junya Fukuda, Shigeto Tachihara, Junkichi Orimoto, Naoko Otani, Go Riju, Kyuzo Kobayashi, Haruko Kato, Masato Aizawa, Yuki Nagahara, Yuki Kitazume
This is the fictionalized account of the flamboyant Japanese author Yukio Mishima who not only had his own private army but had a ceremonial suicide in 1970 on a schedule he had previously developed. The story is told in four "acts," or episodes, depicting his writings, his private and public life, and his death. Excellent photography in both color and black & white, and the musical score is outstanding.
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The Pillow Book 1995  N/R, 120 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Peter Greenaway
Cast: Vivian Wu, Yoshi Oida, Ken Ogata, Hideko Yoshida, Ewan McGregor, Judy Ongg, Ken Mitsuishi, Yutaka Honda
Fleeing from an unhappy forced marriage after her husband burned her precious papers and their house, Nagiko (Vivian Wu), finds work as a model in Hong Kong hoping to fulfill her bizarre dreams.
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Under the Banner of Samurai 1969  N/R, 166 min.
Genre: Foreign / Drama
aka: Samurai Banners
Director: Hiroshi Inagaki
Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Kinnosuke Nakamura, Yoshiko Sakuma, Yujiro Ishihara, Katsuo Nakamura, Kankuro Nakamura, Kanemon Nakamura, Masakazu Tamura, Ken Ogata, Mayumi Ozora, Takashi Shimura
In the 1500s, a samurai convinces his warlord to kill a rival warlord, and then the samurai and his warlord fall in love with the slain warlord's daughter. Years of fighting ensue.
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| 1. The Ballad of Narayama (1982)
2. Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985)
3. The Pillow Book (1995)
4. Under the Banner of Samurai (1969)
aka: Samurai Banners
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