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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Kagemusha 1980  PG, 179 min.
Genre: Foreign / Drama
aka: The Shadow Warrior
The Double
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Cast: Tatsuya Nakadai, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Daisuke Ryu, Masayuki Yui, Kenichi Hagiwara, Koji Shimizu, Jinpachi Nezu, Hideji Otaki, Kaori Momoi, Mitsuko Baisho, Hideo Murota, Takayuki Shiho
Set in 16th-century Japan, this is the story of a thief, Kagemusha (Tatsuya Nakadai), who resembles the warlord Shingen Takeda (also played by Nakadai). When Shingen is killed during a battle, his death is kept secret, and Kagemusha turns over a new leaf when he transforms himself into the dead clan leader. A visually beautiful movie.
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 Ran 1985  R, 165 min.
Genre: Foreign / Action / Drama
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Cast: Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu, Daisuke Ryu, Mieko Harada, Yoshiko Miyazaki, Hisashi Igawa, Peter, Masayuki Yui, Kazuo Kato, Norio Matsui, Toshiya Ito, Mansai Nomura, Kanji Kodama, Takashi Watanabe
Based on Shakespeare's "King Lear," this epic film, set in feudal Japan, is about tragedy in family relationships that have gone berserk. The Great Lord Hidetora Ichimonji (Tatsuya Nakadai) decides to divide his kingdom among his sons (Akira Terao, Jimpachi Nezu, and Daisuke Ryu). Greed and lust for power rise to the fore, and the older sons manage to get their youngest brother banished from the kingdom. After accomplishing that goal, the two remaining brothers battle each other for control of the kingdom. Akira Kurosawa received an Academy Award nomination for Best Director.
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Samurai Rebellion 1967 N/R, 120 min.
Genre: Foreign / Drama
aka: Rebellion
Director: Masaki Kobayashi
Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Yoko Tsukasa, Tsuyoshi Kato, Tatsuyoshi Ehara, Shigeru Koyama, Masao Mishima, Tatsuya Nakadai, Etsuko Ichihara, Isao Yamagata, Michiko Otsuka, Tatsuo Matsumura, Takamaru Sasaki, Jun Hamamura, Emi Yamada, Hideo Fukuhara
In 18th-century Japan, father Isaburo Sasahara (Toshiro Mifune) and son Yogoro (Tsuyoshi Kato) are samurais who rebel against the feudal system when local rulers tell Yogoro that he must give up his wife, Ichi (Yoko Tsukasa). After Yogoro and Isaburo decline to give up Ichi, they are ordered to kill themselves. They refuse to commit hara-kiri, and a fight to the death ensues.
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Sanjuro 1962 N/R, 96 min.
Genre: Foreign / Action
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Takashi Shimura, Keiju Kobayashi, Yuzo Kayama, Reiko Dan, Akihiko Hirata, Kamatari Fujiwara, Takako Irie, Yunosuke Ito
This follow-on to 1961's "Yojimbo" is more lighthearted than that film but still has plenty of action. Sanjuro (Toshiro Mifune), the clever samurai drifter, takes on the task of educating a group of naive young men in the ways of the samurai while fending off attacks. Another good film from Akira Kurosawa.
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Seppuku 1962 N/R, 135 min.
Genre: Foreign / Action
aka: Harakiri
Director: Masaki Kobayashi
Cast: Tatsuya Nakadai, Rentaro Mikuni, Shima Iwashita, Yoshio Inaba, Akira Ishihama, Masao Mishima, Tetsuro Tamba, Ichiro Nakaya, Yoshio Aoki, Jo Azumi
Suicide was considered an honorable solution in 17th-century Japan when the feudal Shogun system ended leaving many samurai warriors in poverty. One samurai, Motome Chijiiwa (Akira Ishihama), killed himself but lost honor. Now, his father-in-law, Hanshiro (Tatsuya Nakadai), seeks revenge.
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The Sword of Doom 1966 N/R, 120 min.
Genre: Foreign / Action
Director: Kihachi Okamoto
Cast: Tatsuya Nakadai, Toshiro Mifune, Yuzo Kayama, Michiyo Aratama, Ichiro Nakaya, Yoko Naito, Tadao Nakamaru, Ko Nishimura, Kei Sato, Kamatari Fujiwara, Ryosuke Kagawa, Kunie Tanaka
After samurai Ryunosuke (Tatsuya Nakadai) is asked by an opponent's wife to throw a match with her husband, he kills the husband in competition and then is pursued by the slain man's brother.
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| 1. High and Low (1963)
2. Kagemusha (1980)
aka: The Shadow Warrior
aka: The Double
3. Ran (1985)
4. Samurai Rebellion (1967)
aka: Rebellion
5. Sanjuro (1962)
6. Seppuku (1962)
aka: Harakiri
7. The Sword of Doom (1966)
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