Fuyuki Murakami

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Battle in Outer Space (1959)

In 1965, the space station JSS-3 is destroyed by a fleet of UFOs, which then begin a global siege on Earth, using rays to manipulate gravity and control the minds of men. In response, a global council meeting is held to determine the source of the attacks and ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ishirō Honda
CAST:  Ryō Ikebe  •  Kyōko Anzai  •  Koreya Senda  •  Minoru Takada

In 1965, the space station JSS-3 is destroyed by a fleet of UFOs, which then begin a global siege on Earth, using rays to manipulate gravity and control the minds of men. In response, a global council meeting is held to determine the source of the attacks and ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ishirō Honda
CAST:  Ryō Ikebe  •  Kyōko Anzai  •  Koreya Senda  •  Minoru Takada

Godzilla (1954)

Japan is thrown into a panic after several ships are sunk near Odo Island. An expedition to the island led by Dr. Yemani soon discover something far more devastating than imagined in the form of a 50 meter tall monster whom the natives call Gojira. Now the monster ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ishirō Honda
CAST:  Takashi Shimura  •  Momoko Kôchi  •  Akira Takarada  •  Akihiko Hirata

Japan is thrown into a panic after several ships are sunk near Odo Island. An expedition to the island led by Dr. Yemani soon discover something far more devastating than imagined in the form of a 50 meter tall monster whom the natives call Gojira. Now the monster ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ishirō Honda
CAST:  Takashi Shimura  •  Momoko Kôchi  •  Akira Takarada  •  Akihiko Hirata

Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956)

During an assignment, foreign correspondent Steve Martin spends a layover in Tokyo and is caught amid the rampage of an unstoppable prehistoric monster the Japanese call 'Godzilla'. The only hope for both Japan and the world lies on a secret weapon, which may prove ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ishirō Honda  •  Terry O. Morse
CAST:  Raymond Burr  •  Frank Iwanaga  •  Takashi Shimura  •  Momoko Kôchi

During an assignment, foreign correspondent Steve Martin spends a layover in Tokyo and is caught amid the rampage of an unstoppable prehistoric monster the Japanese call 'Godzilla'. The only hope for both Japan and the world lies on a secret weapon, which may prove ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ishirō Honda  •  Terry O. Morse
CAST:  Raymond Burr  •  Frank Iwanaga  •  Takashi Shimura  •  Momoko Kôchi

Ikiru (1952)

Kanji Watanabe is a middle-aged man who has worked in the same monotonous bureaucratic position for decades. Learning he has cancer, he starts to look for the meaning of his life.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Akira Kurosawa
CAST:  Takashi Shimura  •  Haruo Tanaka  •  Nobuo Kaneko  •  Bokuzen Hidari

Kanji Watanabe is a middle-aged man who has worked in the same monotonous bureaucratic position for decades. Learning he has cancer, he starts to look for the meaning of his life.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Akira Kurosawa
CAST:  Takashi Shimura  •  Haruo Tanaka  •  Nobuo Kaneko  •  Bokuzen Hidari

Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965)

Astronauts Glenn and Fuji investigate Planet X and encounter mysterious aliens known as the Xiliens, who ask Earth's people to help save their world from "Monster Zero". In exchange for borrowing Godzilla and Rodan, the Xiliens offer a cure for cancer. As Glenn ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ishirō Honda
CAST:  Nick Adams  •  Akira Takarada  •  Jun Tazaki  •  Akira Kubo

Astronauts Glenn and Fuji investigate Planet X and encounter mysterious aliens known as the Xiliens, who ask Earth's people to help save their world from "Monster Zero". In exchange for borrowing Godzilla and Rodan, the Xiliens offer a cure for cancer. As Glenn ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ishirō Honda
CAST:  Nick Adams  •  Akira Takarada  •  Jun Tazaki  •  Akira Kubo

Rodan (1956)

Mining engineer Shigeru investigates the disappearance and death of his fellow coworkers when prehistoric nymphs are discovered emerging from the mines. After an attack on the local village, Shigeru heads deeper into the mines only to make a more horrifying ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ishirō Honda
CAST:  Kenji Sahara  •  Yumi Shirakawa  •  Akihiko Hirata  •  Akio Kobori

Mining engineer Shigeru investigates the disappearance and death of his fellow coworkers when prehistoric nymphs are discovered emerging from the mines. After an attack on the local village, Shigeru heads deeper into the mines only to make a more horrifying ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ishirō Honda
CAST:  Kenji Sahara  •  Yumi Shirakawa  •  Akihiko Hirata  •  Akio Kobori

The Secret of the Telegian (1960)

Fast paced

Men are being murdered by a psycho called "The Telegian," who uses a matter-transmitting device to locate his victims.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Jun Fukuda
CAST:  Koji Tsuruta  •  Akihiko Hirata  •  Yoshio Tsuchiya  •  Tadao Nakamaru

Men are being murdered by a psycho called "The Telegian," who uses a matter-transmitting device to locate his victims.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Jun Fukuda
CAST:  Koji Tsuruta  •  Akihiko Hirata  •  Yoshio Tsuchiya  •  Tadao Nakamaru

The Human Vapor (1960)

A librarian is subject to a scientific experiment which goes wrong and transforms him into 'The Human Vapour'. He uses his new ability to rob banks to fund the career of his girlfriend, a beautiful dancer. The Human Vapour is ruthless in his quest for money and ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ishirō Honda
CAST:  Tatsuya Mihashi  •  Kaoru Yachigusa  •  Yoshio Tsuchiya  •  Keiko Sata

A librarian is subject to a scientific experiment which goes wrong and transforms him into 'The Human Vapour'. He uses his new ability to rob banks to fund the career of his girlfriend, a beautiful dancer. The Human Vapour is ruthless in his quest for money and ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ishirō Honda
CAST:  Tatsuya Mihashi  •  Kaoru Yachigusa  •  Yoshio Tsuchiya  •  Keiko Sata

The Mysterians (1957)

In Japan, scientifically advanced invaders from the war-destroyed planet Mysteroid cause an entire village to vanish, then send a giant robot out to storm the city by night, after which they request a small patch of land on Earth and the right to marry earthling ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ishirō Honda
CAST:  Kenji Sahara  •  Yumi Shirakawa  •  Momoko Kôchi  •  Akihiko Hirata

In Japan, scientifically advanced invaders from the war-destroyed planet Mysteroid cause an entire village to vanish, then send a giant robot out to storm the city by night, after which they request a small patch of land on Earth and the right to marry earthling ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ishirō Honda
CAST:  Kenji Sahara  •  Yumi Shirakawa  •  Momoko Kôchi  •  Akihiko Hirata

Varan the Unbelievable (1962)

In an effort to find an economic means of purifying salt water, a joint U.S.-Japanese military command is set up on an isolated Japanese island where an unusual salt water lake is situated. However, their purifying experiments arouse the prehistoric monster Obaki ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ishirō Honda  •  Jerry A. Baerwitz
CAST:  Kōzō Nomura  •  Ayumi Sonoda  •  Fumito Matsuo  •  Clifford Kawada

In an effort to find an economic means of purifying salt water, a joint U.S.-Japanese military command is set up on an isolated Japanese island where an unusual salt water lake is situated. However, their purifying experiments arouse the prehistoric monster Obaki ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ishirō Honda  •  Jerry A. Baerwitz
CAST:  Kōzō Nomura  •  Ayumi Sonoda  •  Fumito Matsuo  •  Clifford Kawada

The Lovelorn Geisha (1960)

A woman and her daughter are in love with the same man, a chef at the restaurant that the mother manages. He is slightly crippled from frostbite in his years in Siberian labor camps and considers himself "already dead."  (more)

DIRECTION:  Mikio Naruse  •  Yūzō Kawashima
CAST:  Yōko Tsukasa  •  Isuzu Yamada  •  Akira Takarada  •  Tatsuya Mihashi

A woman and her daughter are in love with the same man, a chef at the restaurant that the mother manages. He is slightly crippled from frostbite in his years in Siberian labor camps and considers himself "already dead."  (more)

DIRECTION:  Mikio Naruse  •  Yūzō Kawashima
CAST:  Yōko Tsukasa  •  Isuzu Yamada  •  Akira Takarada  •  Tatsuya Mihashi

Big Shots Die at Dawn (1961)

An early Okamoto yakuza film, though it's not in the Underworld series (along with The Last Gunfight and The Big Boss) despite being alternatively known as "Death of the Boss." While Okamoto did not write this film and took on the project because he was assigned ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Kihachi Okamoto
CAST:  Yūzō Kayama  •  Jun Tazaki  •  Yukiko Shimazaki  •  Akihiko Hirata

An early Okamoto yakuza film, though it's not in the Underworld series (along with The Last Gunfight and The Big Boss) despite being alternatively known as "Death of the Boss." While Okamoto did not write this film and took on the project because he was assigned ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Kihachi Okamoto
CAST:  Yūzō Kayama  •  Jun Tazaki  •  Yukiko Shimazaki  •  Akihiko Hirata

Two in the Shadow (1967)

A man is involved in a fatal car accident, and though he is blameless, his company transfers him to a remote branch in a small town. Before he leaves, he gives the man's widow a large sum of money that she uses to move back to her hometown.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Mikio Naruse
CAST:  Yūzō Kayama  •  Yōko Tsukasa  •  Mitsuko Kusabue  •  Mitsuko Mori

A man is involved in a fatal car accident, and though he is blameless, his company transfers him to a remote branch in a small town. Before he leaves, he gives the man's widow a large sum of money that she uses to move back to her hometown.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Mikio Naruse
CAST:  Yūzō Kayama  •  Yōko Tsukasa  •  Mitsuko Kusabue  •  Mitsuko Mori

Falling into the Evening (1998)

Rica and Kengo have been living together for the past four years. It’s been a very happy time for Rica; the only dark spot being an accident she caused during a shoot for a commercial in which Kengo’s good friend, Shibata, nearly lost his life. The memory of this ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Naoe Gozu
CAST:  Tomoyo Harada  •  Atsuro Watabe  •  Miho Kanno  •  Midori Kiuchi

Rica and Kengo have been living together for the past four years. It’s been a very happy time for Rica; the only dark spot being an accident she caused during a shoot for a commercial in which Kengo’s good friend, Shibata, nearly lost his life. The memory of this ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Naoe Gozu
CAST:  Tomoyo Harada  •  Atsuro Watabe  •  Miho Kanno  •  Midori Kiuchi

Life of a Country Doctor (1960)

A skilled country doctor's talents are such that he can even perform operations as difficult and novel as removing a patient's kidney for the first time in Japan. Unfortunately for him, however, his wife's addiction to gambling is of such a magnitude that he is ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Hiroshi Inagaki
CAST:  Takashi Shimura  •  Hisaya Morishige  •  Setsuko Hara  •  Yōsuke Natsuki

A skilled country doctor's talents are such that he can even perform operations as difficult and novel as removing a patient's kidney for the first time in Japan. Unfortunately for him, however, his wife's addiction to gambling is of such a magnitude that he is ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Hiroshi Inagaki
CAST:  Takashi Shimura  •  Hisaya Morishige  •  Setsuko Hara  •  Yōsuke Natsuki

Tokyo Sweetheart (1952)

Following the Second World War, the lives of various people in a poverty-stricken area of Tokyo are entertwined. Pachinko parlor girls, shoeshine boys, a maker of costume jewelry, and a streetcorner artist all struggle to make their livings and to find happiness in ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Yasuki Chiba
CAST:  Setsuko Hara  •  Toshirō Mifune  •  Yōko Sugi  •  Hisaya Morishige

Following the Second World War, the lives of various people in a poverty-stricken area of Tokyo are entertwined. Pachinko parlor girls, shoeshine boys, a maker of costume jewelry, and a streetcorner artist all struggle to make their livings and to find happiness in ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Yasuki Chiba
CAST:  Setsuko Hara  •  Toshirō Mifune  •  Yōko Sugi  •  Hisaya Morishige

Stray Sheep (1955)

1955 Toho adaptation of Natsume's novel.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Nobuo Nakagawa
CAST:  Shinji Yamada  •  Kaoru Yachigusa  •  Chishū Ryū  •  Yoshio Tsuchiya

1955 Toho adaptation of Natsume's novel.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Nobuo Nakagawa
CAST:  Shinji Yamada  •  Kaoru Yachigusa  •  Chishū Ryū  •  Yoshio Tsuchiya

The Scent of Incense (1964)

After her mother runs away from home, Tomoko is raised to be a geisha. One day Tomoko meets her mother in a red-light district in Tokyo and her life deeply gets in trouble.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Keisuke Kinoshita
CAST:  Mariko Okada  •  Nobuko Otowa  •  Gō Katō  •  Kinuyo Tanaka

After her mother runs away from home, Tomoko is raised to be a geisha. One day Tomoko meets her mother in a red-light district in Tokyo and her life deeply gets in trouble.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Keisuke Kinoshita
CAST:  Mariko Okada  •  Nobuko Otowa  •  Gō Katō  •  Kinuyo Tanaka

Fancy Dance (1989)

Yohei, a punk rocker, becomes a Buddhist monk in order to inherit a mountain temple. Though initially rebelling against the tough monastic discipline, he learns to adjust. Then his girlfriend shows up, enticing him to return to his rock 'n' roll roots.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Masayuki Suō
CAST:  Masahiro Motoki  •  Honami Suzuki  •  Ken Osawa  •  Hiromasa Taguchi

Yohei, a punk rocker, becomes a Buddhist monk in order to inherit a mountain temple. Though initially rebelling against the tough monastic discipline, he learns to adjust. Then his girlfriend shows up, enticing him to return to his rock 'n' roll roots.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Masayuki Suō
CAST:  Masahiro Motoki  •  Honami Suzuki  •  Ken Osawa  •  Hiromasa Taguchi

The Last Gunfight (1960)

Japanese police detective Saburo Fujioka is suspected of corruption, demoted, and sent to the city of Kojin. Kojin is the scene of fierce fighting between rival gangs. Fujioka is assigned to investigate the death of the wife of gangster Tetsuo Maruyama of the ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Kihachi Okamoto
CAST:  Toshirō Mifune  •  Koji Tsuruta  •  Yōko Tsukasa  •  Yōsuke Natsuki

Japanese police detective Saburo Fujioka is suspected of corruption, demoted, and sent to the city of Kojin. Kojin is the scene of fierce fighting between rival gangs. Fujioka is assigned to investigate the death of the wife of gangster Tetsuo Maruyama of the ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Kihachi Okamoto
CAST:  Toshirō Mifune  •  Koji Tsuruta  •  Yōko Tsukasa  •  Yōsuke Natsuki
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