Toshiro Mifune swaggers and snarls to brilliant comic effect in Kurosawa's tightly paced, beautifully composed "Sanjuro." In this companion piece and sequel to "Yojimbo," jaded samurai Sanjuro helps an idealistic group of young warriors weed out their clan's evil influences, and in the process turns their image of a proper samurai on its ear.
Okawa Hashizo as 'Young Lord', the unlikely sleuth sets out to untangle the riddle of what went on at the Inner Palace, where a young woman who had served the Shogun came home in fear for her life. Will the Young Lord uncover the truth of what went on at the Palace, and does it relate to a series of murders that have been occurring just before the festival?
A family is brutally murdered in their own home and the official government's sake dealer is framed as a rebel by a corrupt member of the Shogun's Council of Elders. Young Lord decides to take on the Shogun's vile chief attendant.
A murdered pawnbroker found clutching a blood-soaked wedding gown, the kidnapped daughter of a Shogun vassal, mysterious robberies, brutal killings, a vault with no key, a suspect killed while in police custody. This fragmented trail of clues could well be one of the most baffling cases that Young Lord has ever had to solve as he attempts to unravel the mystery and bring the guilty party to justice.
All is not well in an a small fishing village not far from Edo. Mysterious goings-on are happening at Echigoya’s Red Crane Mansion, and when Young Lord comes to relax he finds no peace until he can unravel the mystery rooted in the past when a beautiful samurai princess prayed for a handsome bridegroom to take her away. When a body turns up on the riverbank it is high time for Young Lord to delve into the case, while avoiding dangerous gangsters who have taken over the town. This is the 7th case that Young Lord is called upon to solve. Leaving only the mystery of who he is and where he came from! As always, Okawa Hashizo plays the role to perfection.
Vladica lost the only thing that mattered to him - an amateur karate championship. Now he's back in his home town looking for a job, love and redemption.
Ryotatsu, the wayward Priest blinded by Shinkai, the Wicked Priest, has his own story in this ultra-violent tale from the era of the Meiji Reconstruction. When a woman leaves her blind son at the Monastery, Ryotatsu is forced to teach the boy how to cope as a blind person in old Japan. When he takes the child with him on the road to find the boy's mother, they run afoul of not only yakuza gangsters, but some corrupt army officers have been trying to sway public opinion against the Satsuma rebels by posing as members of Saigo Takamori's group. It's a bloody mistake for them to underestimate the strength of the Blind Priest, and he'll make them pay with their lives!
Villagers are afraid of Samurai Rauni Reposaarelainen, who keeps them on their toes every day. When someone places a bounty on Rauni's head, he goes after this mysterious person.
The stormy tale of the Shinsengumi is told from its birth by master filmmaker Sasaki Yasushi, with an all-star cast based on the original story by Shirai Kyoji. The battles between the royalists and Shogunate supporters come to a fever pitch during the Gion Festival as the exclusionists plot to burn Kyoto and kidnap the Emperor. From its earliest beginnings as a group of ronin brought from Edo to protect the Shogun when he is in Kyoto to see His Imperial Highness, the group had to face difficulties both from within and without. Commander Serizawa Kamo's corrupt practices threaten the group's very existence, as they try to recover from the bad reputation he left them with. Their redemption comes when they learn of Katsura Kogoro plans to gather men at Kyoto's Ikedaya Inn for his attack on the city. Along with Hijikata Toshizo and Okita Soji, Kondo leads the group in an attempt to save Japan from the rebels.
Thief Yaheiji (Keizo Kanie) helped a dying young samurai (Hiroaki Murakami), after recovering, he lost his memory and returned to Edo under the name of Yataro Tanigawa. Yaheiji meets Yataro again in Edo, by which time Yataro has become a dark hunter (Hired Assassin). The boss of thieves to whom Yaheiji obeys is killed, and Yaheiji participates in the battle to take his place Yataro helps him defeat and save his life, and Yaheiji also tries to save Yataro from the world of assassins... The drama "Dark Hunter" is based on the novel by Shotaro Ikenami, who is best known for his TV series Onihei Hankacho, Kenkaku Shobai and Fujieda Baian's Shikake-nin. The film version directed by Hideo Gosha is well known, but this version is more faithful to the original.
The tale of Taira Kiyomori who started as a young inexperienced warrior who led the Heike into the battle against the brutal pirates on Setouchi.
During the Taiping Rebellion of the mid-19th century, anti-Qing (Manchu) Chinese forces led by Taiping commander Li Xiucheng march on Shanghai. Although the Western powers are officially neutral, the British consul in Shanghai sides with the Qing imperial government, and counter to his own government's policy he retains American adventurer Frederick Townsend Ward to raise a mercenary force of foreigners in Shanghai and oppose the Taipings. Ward's force is routed, with heavy casualties, but since many of the casualties are British, the British army soon is drawn in on the side of the Qings. The only support for the Chinese comes from Japanese in Shanghai and anti-imperialist demonstrations in Japan. A family drama plays out against this historical background. After a Chinese home is destroyed by careless British shelling, killing the father and crippling a daughter, the surviving son vows revenge but begins to see that his true friends may be the Japanese.
The success story of a group of ronin who fights against traffickers during the Edo Tenpo period.
A samurai answers a village's request for protection after he falls on hard times. The town needs protection from bandits, so the samurai gathers six others to help him teach the people how to defend themselves, and the villagers provide the soldiers with food.
Returning to their lord's castle, samurai warriors Washizu and Miki are waylaid by a spirit who predicts their futures. When the first part of the spirit's prophecy comes true, Washizu's scheming wife, Asaji, presses him to speed up the rest of the spirit's prophecy by murdering his lord and usurping his place. Director Akira Kurosawa's resetting of William Shakespeare's "Macbeth" in feudal Japan is one of his most acclaimed films.
In 16th century Japan, a young man has to choose between becoming a master steel maker like his father and grandfather before him, or becoming a samurai so that he can help protect his village from attacks by the various clans which want the high-quality steel made there.
Baian Fujieda, an assassin for hire, got an unusual job from his usual fixer to end up with an unexpected twist of destiny from the past.
Lord Taro must deliver a money chest but is robbed by brigands led by Jibu. One of Jibu's men, Rokuro, steals the money from Jibu, but after meeting and befriending Taro, Rokuro decides to return the money to Taro. But Taro's unscrupulous brother Jiro falsely accuse Taro of the theft, and Taro reactively joins the outlaw band and encourages them to steal from the nobles and give to the poor.
In a poor district of Edo lives a young samurai named Soza. He has been sent by his clan to avenge the death of his father. He isn't an accomplished swordsman however, and he prefers sharing the life of the residents, teaching the kids how to write etc. When he finally finds the man he is looking for, he will have to decide whether he follows the way of the samurai or chooses peace and reconciliation.
A look at the relationship between a young blind samurai and his wife, who will make a sacrifice in order to defend her husband's honor.