Shogun Assassin

Shogun Assassin 1980

6.88

A Shogun who grew paranoid as he became senile sent his ninjas to kill his samurai. They failed but did kill the samurai’s wife. The samurai swore to avenge the death of his wife and roams the countryside with his toddler son in search of vengeance.

1980

Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx

Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx 1972

7.30

In the second film of the Lone Wolf and Cub series, Ogami Itto battles a group of female ninja in the employ of the Yagyu clan and must assassinate a traitor who plans to sell his clan's secrets to the Shogunate.

1972

Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades

Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades 1972

7.15

In the third film of the Lone Wolf and Cub series, Ogami Itto volunteers to be tortured by Yakuza to save a prostitute and is hired by their leader to kill an evil chamberlain.

1972

Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril

Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril 1972

7.29

In the fourth film of the Lone Wolf and Cub series, Ogami Itto is hired to kill a tattooed female assassin and battles Retsudo, head of the Yagyu clan, and his son Gunbei.

1972

Tenchu!

Tenchu! 1969

7.00

A ronin desperately seeks a way out of financial straits; he allies with the Tosa clan under the ruthless leader Takechi, who quickly takes advantage.

1969

Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo

Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo 1970

6.70

With a price on his head, Ichi seeks tranquillity in a favorite village. Since his last visit, it has fallen prey to Boss Masagoro, the son of a merchant rumored to have stolen gold from the shogunate. The boss has hired Yojimbo as his hard-drinking enforcer, but Yojimbo is both a spy for the shogunate, trying to find the gold, and in love with the merchant's unwilling mistress, Umeno. Ichi hires on as the merchant's masseur and buys Umeno's freedom with his employer's own money. This embarrasses Yojimbo who withdraws from a pact with Ichi to stir up trouble between father and son and their gangs. As the two sides fight, Ichi finds the gold and sets up a final set of confrontations.

1970

Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance

Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance 1972

7.40

In this first film of the Lone Wolf and Cub series, adapted from the manga by Kazuo Koike, we are told the story of the Lone Wolf and Cub's origin. Ogami Itto, the official Shogunate executioner, has been framed for disloyalty to the Shogunate by the Yagyu clan, against whom he now is waging a one-man war, along with his infant son, Daigoro.

1972

Hanzo the Razor: The Snare

Hanzo the Razor: The Snare 1973

6.30

Against the backdrop of the Edo treasury devaluing currency and driving many into poverty, Hanzo Itami enforces the law without regard to status. He shows inadequate respect to the treasurer, who wants him dead.

1973

Zatoichi: Darkness Is His Ally

Zatoichi: Darkness Is His Ally 1989

6.40

Older, wiser but still a wandering loner, the blind, peace-loving masseur Ichi seeks a peaceful life in a rural village. When he's caught in the middle of a power struggle between two rival Yakuza clans, his reputation as a deadly defender of the innocent is put to the ultimate test in a series of sword-slashing showdowns.

1989

Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in the Land of Demons

Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in the Land of Demons 1973

7.20

In the fifth film of the Lone Wolf and Cub series, Ogami Itto is challenged by five warriors, each has one fifth of Ogami's assassin fee and one fifth of the information he needs to complete his assassination.

1973

Hanzo the Razor: Who's Got the Gold?

Hanzo the Razor: Who's Got the Gold? 1974

5.90

Hanzo extracts a confession from a ghost using his assaulting methods, foils thieves, connects with Heisuke Takei a friend from his youth, offers protection to a forward-thinking physician Genan Sugino who has defamed his ruler, discovers a pleasure ring of young wives and a blind music teacher, and cuckolds a corrupt official under his very nose.

1974

Zatoichi Goes to the Fire Festival

Zatoichi Goes to the Fire Festival 1970

6.70

The blind masseuse is targeted by the leader of a powerful yakuza group while also fending off a jealous husband bent on revenge. Zatoichi tours Edo's underground via a rousing onsen fight scene, gambling houses and the gender-bending character of Umeji, before a final, flame-filled conflagration.

1970

Zatoichi Meets the One-Armed Swordsman

Zatoichi Meets the One-Armed Swordsman 1971

6.70

Zatoichi is a blind massage therapist and swordsman who finds out that something troubling is taking place on the outskirts of town. After discovering who the guilty parties are -- an accomplished Chinese martial artist named Wang Kang and his youthful attendant -- Zatoichi finds them and discovers that the pair's mixed up with a dangerous bunch of terrorist samurai who murdered the boy's parents. Now, Zatoichi must step in to save the day.

1971

Akumyo: Notorious Dragon

Akumyo: Notorious Dragon 1974

5.00

About small-time gangster Asakichi's chaotic life in the 1930s. His gambling addiction means that he must not continue working in the family business. Instead he supports himself by arranging cockfights. He becomes ex-geisha Okinu's patron and lover, and falls directly into disfavor with the yakuza.

1974

Hanzo the Razor: Sword of Justice

Hanzo the Razor: Sword of Justice 1972

6.30

Fearless Edo-period police inspector Hanzo Itami, nicknamed The Razor, has developed his own unique way of extracting information for his inquiries. His first adventure sees him investigating his superior officer's mistress, whom he suspects of having ties with a reputed criminal on the loose.

1972

Zatoichi the Outlaw

Zatoichi the Outlaw 1967

6.40

When a local gambling house kidnaps some peasants because they failed to pay their debts, a rival gambling house pays their debts and sets them free.

1967

Zatoichi's Conspiracy

Zatoichi's Conspiracy 1973

6.90

Zatoichi, the famed blind swordsman, returns to his home village for the first time in many years. He is befriended by Omiyo, who had the same wet-nurse as Zatoichi. He also encounters a boyhood friend, Shinbei, who now is wealthy and appears not to remember Zatoichi. Shinbei seems to be interested in repaying the villagers' debts, but is in reality manipulating the ownership of a now-valuable rock quarry. Zatoichi learns of the subterfuge and confronts his old friend, who has a score of yakuza swordsmen backing his play.

1973

Zatoichi at Large

Zatoichi at Large 1972

6.50

Blind masseur and master swordsman Zatoichi finds a robbed and fatally wounded pregnant woman, whose baby he delivers before she dies. He takes the baby in search of its father and finds the child's aunt, who is about to be forced into prostitution for want of a payment the dead mother was bringing. Zatoichi determines to save the woman from her cruel fate.

1972

Zatoichi in Desperation

Zatoichi in Desperation 1972

6.60

After accidentally causing the death of an old lady, Zatoichi tries to do right by buying the lady’s daughter’s freedom from a brothel - but this causes more problems than solves them.

1972