Stray Dog

Stray Dog 1949

7.51

A bad day gets worse for young detective Murakami when a pickpocket steals his gun on a hot, crowded bus. Desperate to right the wrong, he goes undercover, scavenging Tokyo’s sweltering streets for the stray dog whose desperation has led him to a life of crime. With each step, cop and criminal’s lives become more intertwined and the investigation becomes an examination of Murakami’s own dark side.

1949

The Life of Oharu

The Life of Oharu 1952

7.80

In Edo Period Japan, a noblewoman's banishment for her love affair with a lowly page signals the beginning of her inexorable fall.

1952

Jigoku

Jigoku 1960

6.42

A group of sinners involved in interconnected tales of murder, revenge, deceit and adultery all meet at the Gates of Hell.

1960

Mother

Mother 1952

6.88

A teenaged girl witnesses her widowed mother's attempt to sustain her family.

1952

The Ghost of Yotsuya

The Ghost of Yotsuya 1959

6.60

This horror tale relates the consequences of a Japanese legend which tells of a man who has to betray his wife in order to achieve power.

1959

Love Letter

Love Letter 1953

6.80

A sad and troubled man finds a new job five years after the end of WWII, where he writes love letters for other people.

1953

Miki, the Swordman

Miki, the Swordman 1951

5.00

After mastering swordsmanship at the dojo of Chiba Shusaku, and unable to serve a clan due to his illness, Hirate Miki becomes a ronin who winds up as bodyguard to Shigezo of Sasagawa leading up to an epic battle.

1951

Enigmatic Explosion of the Battleship Mutsu

Enigmatic Explosion of the Battleship Mutsu 1960

1

During the naval battle of Midway in WWII, the battleship Mutsu was in its home port in Japan. The ship's officers and crew were frustrated at not being able to take part in the fighting. They had been held back by orders from the Naval Ministry, but there was also a plot by saboteurs, who were trying to prevent the sailing of the Mutsu. Director Komori developed a suspenseful plot by including a fictional adaptation of the Russian spy Richard Sorge, who had been captured in Japan and subsequently executed. Komori brings a fictional Russian spy to the screen by portraying him as a military attaché at the German embassy. As Germany was an ally of Japan in WWII, a secret agent being a mole in the German embassy is a perfect cover. The interaction of the saboteurs and the officers and crew of the Mutsu make an exciting story.

1960

The Ghosts of Yotsuya

The Ghosts of Yotsuya 1956

5.60

Oiwa has been searching for the one who killed her father for a long time. She comes to Yedo and sees a man named Naosuke. The film is based on the kabuki classic: Toukaidou Yotsuya Kaidan (1826) written by Tsuruya Nanboku and is one of the most famous ghost stories throughout Japan.

1956

The Munekata Sisters

The Munekata Sisters 1950

6.90

Setsuko is unhappily married to Mimura, an engineer with no job and a bad drinking habit. She had always been in love with Hiroshi but both of them failed to propose when Hiroshi left for France a few years ago. Now he is back and Mariko tries to reunite them. She too is secretly in love with Hiroshi.

1950

Dimple of Tokyo

Dimple of Tokyo 1952

1

Buntaro, the president of a food trading company got tired of the day-to-day routine of life. The new secretary, Nobuko, suggested her "shacho-san" (the president) run away from the job. Nobuko took Buntaro to her home and introduced him to her own family as friend, "Sachio-san"...

1952

Where Chimneys Are Seen

Where Chimneys Are Seen 1953

6.40

Where Chimneys Are Seen focuses primarily on the interconnected lives of two couples in a lower-middle-class neighborhood in Senju, a poor industrial section of Tokyo.

1953

The Blood Sword of the 99th Virgin

The Blood Sword of the 99th Virgin 1959

8.00

In the northern province, two waitresses Mieko and Hanako from Tokyo, are missing somewhere near the River Kitakami. At night, the villagers of Shirayama gather round a blazing fire, and utter incantations while an old headman tempers a sword...

1959

Beyond the Hills

Beyond the Hills 1950

1

Adaptation of a novel by Yojiro Ishizaka, originally released in two parts.

1950