Akahige 1965  N/R, 185 min.
Genre: Foreign / Drama
aka: Red Beard
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Yuzo Kayama, Yoshio Tsuchiya, Yoko Naito, Terumi Niki, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Reiko Dan, Akemi Negishi, Kyoko Kagawa, Kamatari Fujiwara
Set in the early 19th century, this long film tells the story of Dr. Kyojio Niide, "Red Beard" (Toshiro Mifine, in his last film for Director Kurosawa), who works at a charity clinic in a poverty-stricken area. Dr. Niide takes a new intern, Noboru (Yuzo Kayama) under his wing. Noboru is arrogant and rebellious, not understanding why so much time is spent on the poor. Over time, Red Beard brings the young doctor around.
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The Bad Sleep Well 1960  N/R, 135 min.
Genre: Foreign / Drama / Thriller
aka: The Rose in the Mud
The Worse You Are, the Better You Sleep
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Masayuki Mori, Takeshi Kato, Takashi Shimura, Ko Nishimura, Tatsuya Mihashi, Kamatari Fujiwara, Kyoko Kagawa, Chishu Ryu, Seiji Miyaguchi, Koji Mitsui, Ken Mitsuda, Nobuo Nakamura, Susumu Fujita, Koji Nambara
This indictment of the Japanese approach to business emphasizes the corruption at high levels through the story of Kiochi Nishi (Toshiro Mifune) who marries his boss Iwabuchi's (Masayuki Mori) daughter, Kieko (Kyoko Kagawa), to avenge his father's suicide, which can be traced back to Iwabuchi. But, as Kiochi plots revenge against Iwabuchi, Kiochi falls in love with Kieko just as Iwabuchi realizes who Kiochi really is.
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Donzoko 1957 N/R, 125 min.
Genre: Foreign / Comedy
aka: The Lower Depths
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Isuzu Yamada, Kyoko Kagawa, Ganjiro Nakamura, Minoru Chiaki, Bokuzen Hidari, Kamatari Fujiwara, Eijiro Tono, Eiko Miyoshi, Akemi Negishi, Nijiko Kiyokawa, Haruo Tanaka
Instead of Maxim Gorky's Russia, a slum flophouse in Japan is the setting for this Japanese film adaptation of Gorky's play. The story revolves around eccentric residents of the flophouse complaining about their lots in life.
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High and Low 1963 N/R, 143 min.
Genre: Foreign / Drama / Thriller
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Kyoko Kagawa, Tatsuya Mihashi, Yutaka Sada, Tatsuya Nakadai, Takashi Shimura, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Isao Kimura, Kenjiro Ishiyama, Takeshi Kato, Jun Tazaki, Nobuo Nakamura, Yunosuke Ito, Minoru Chiaki, Yoshio Tsuchiya
Wealthy businessman Kingo Gondo is ordered to pay a ransom to the kidnappers of his son (Kyoko Kagawa). He is ready to pay the ransom when he finds his son safe at home. In a case of mistaken identity, his chauffeur's (Yutaka Sada) son is the kidnap victim. The kidnapper calls Gondo, admits that he made a mistake, and still demands the ransom money. Now, Gondo must decide between another person's safety and his own financial security.
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Madadayo 1993 N/R, 134 min.
Genre: Foreign / Drama
aka: Not Yet
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Cast: Tatsuo Matsumura, Kyoko Kagawa, Hisashi Igawa, Joji Tokoro, Masayuki Yui, Akira Terao, Asei Kobayashi, Takeshi Kusaka
This movie, directed by the great filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, is the tale of Professor Hyakken Uehida (Tatsuo Matsumura) who retired after World War II but was so revered by his students that they supported him throughout his long life.
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Mothra 1961  N/R, 91 min.
Genre: Family / Sci-Fi / Action / Adventure / Fantasy
aka: Mosura
Director: Ishiro Honda
Cast: Frankie Sakai, Hiroshi Koizumi, Kyoko Kagawa, Emi Ito, Yumi Ito, Jerry Ito, Akihiro Tayama, Takashi Shimura, Akihiko Hirata, Kenji Sahara, Tetsu Nakamura, Obel Wyatt, Seizaburo Kawazu, Yoshifumi Tajima, Ken Uehara
Tiny (one-foot tall) twins (Emi Ito and Yumi Ito), who have supernatural powers, are abducted from their island by Clark Nelson (Jerry Ito) and taken to Tokyo where they are exploited in a vaudeville show. But, their singing reaches far away to a giant caterpillar, Mothra, that comes to their rescue–destroying Tokyo in the process.
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Sansho Dayu 1954  N/R, 126 min.
Genre: Foreign / Drama
aka: Sansho the Bailiff
The Bailiff
Director: Kenji Mizoguchi
Cast: Kinuyo Tanaka, Yoshiaki Hanayagi, Kyoko Kagawa, Eitaro Shindo, Akitake Kono, Masao Shimizu, Ken Mitsuda, Kazukimi Okuni, Yoko Kosono, Noriko Tachibana
Set in the 11th century during Japan's feudalism, this is the story of the tragedies suffered by the family of a venerable governor after he is sent into exile. A classic.
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Tokyo Story 1953 N/R, 139 min.
Genre: Foreign / Drama
Director: Yasujiro Ozu
Cast: Chishu Ryu, Chieko Higashiyama, So Yamamura, Haruko Sugimura, Kuniko Miyake, Nobuo Nakamura, Setsuko Hara, Kyoko Kagawa, Eijiro Tono, Shiro Osaka, Hisao Toake, Teruko Nagaoka
Aging couple Shukichi (Chishu Ryu) and Tomi Hirayama (Chieko Higashiyama) travel to Tokyo with their daughter Kyoko (Kyoko Kagawa) to visit their son Same Per (So Yamamura) and daughter Shige Kaneko (Haruko Sugimura). After they arrive in Tokyo, they learn that their children are too busy to visit with them when they send them to Alami Hot Springs resort instead. The parents soon return to Tokyo where their children still ignore them. They leave for home, but tragedy strikes on the trip, and–after the funeral–the children return to their self-centered lives in this story that illustrates how modern society does not hold the elderly in high regard.
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| 1. After Life (1998)
2. Akahige (1965)
aka: Red Beard
3. The Bad Sleep Well (1960)
aka: The Rose in the Mud
aka: The Worse You Are, the Better You Sleep
4. Donzoko (1957)
aka: The Lower Depths
5. High and Low (1963)
6. Madadayo (1993)
aka: Not Yet
7. Mothra (1961)
aka: Mosura
8. Sansho Dayu (1954)
aka: Sansho the Bailiff
aka: The Bailiff
9. Tokyo Story (1953)
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