When British Intelligence discovers that an Iron Curtian country is developing insects as weapons they persuade eminent entomologist Frances Gray to get into the country to collect some specimens. On arrival her cover is almost immediately blown and her contact murdered. The future looks grim for her and also perhaps for the world.
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Action
Bakuto Kaisan-shiki / Gambler’s Farewell (1968) Kinji Fukasaku, Kôji Tsuruta, Fumio Watanabe, Tetsurô Tanba, Action, Crime
The story of men devoted to the yakuza lifestyle and their struggles during a time of fading yakuza power.
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Abe ichizoku / The Abe Clan (1995) Kinji Fukasaku, Yumi Asô, Mariko Fuji, Renji Ishibashi, Drama, Action
A Choice between Loyalty or Duty of the Samurai! Can the heartlessness of society crush the honor of an individual? In the spring of the 18th year of Kanei (Feb/30/1624 – Dec/16/1644), Hosokawa Tadatoshi, feudal lord of the Higo area, died. Although Tadatoshi forbade his vassals to follow him in death before he died, they still committed seppuku one after the other. The new feudal lord, Mitsunao, Tadatoshi’s son, also gave the order forbidding seppuku. Abe Yaichiemon obeyed his former lord’s last wish but is now being called a coward by his comrades and finally decided to follow Tadatoshi in death in order to save his family’s honor. Mitsunao, upset by Yaichiemon actions, punished the Abe family unfairly. Objected to this, the Abe family shut themselves up in their manor as the lords troops moved in… This is the true story of what happened within the Hosokawa clan in early Edo era. A masterpiece by director Kinji Fukasaku that boldly depicts the struggle between humanity and the code of the Samurai.
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The Fearless Avenger / Mushukunin mikogami no jôkichi: Kawakaze ni kako wa nagareta (1972) Kazuo Ikehiro, Tôru Abe, Yoshio Harada, Akio Hasegawa, Action, Drama
Thirsting for revenge, Jokichi rashly attempts to assassinate the evil Chogoro but ends up being captured by Yakuza. His life is spared by Boss Juzaburo, in order that the harmony of an important commemoration not be further disturbed. Though now even more of an outcast, Jokichi is asked by another Yakuza boss, Umezo, to guard Oyuki, the wayward daughter of Juzaburo. The tragic consequences of this assignment will lead him into a deadly trap and a final confrontation with Chogoro.
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Chronicle of the Town Magistrate / Machibugyo Nikki (1987) Eiichi Kudô, Enami Anko, Ikariya Chousuke, Kimiko Ikegami, Action, Drama
In a maelstrom of evil, can a new magistrate, samurai Mochizuki Koheita, with a reputation like an alley cat, bring order to the town of Horisoto, or is he, too a corrupt villain looking to gain wealth from the oppressed people?
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The Walls Came Tumbling Down (1946) Lothar Mendes, Lee Bowman, Marguerite Chapman, Edgar Buchanan, Action, Adventure, Crime, Mystery, Romance
The Columbia mystery melodrama The Walls Came Tumbling Down is regarded in many circles as star Lee Bowman’s finest hour-and-a-half. Bowman is cast as Winchellesque Broadway columnist Gilbert Archer, who insists upon investigating the death of an old friend, a priest. The police insist that the priest hanged himself, but Archer believes otherwise, and together with Boston socialite Patricia Foster (Marguerite Chapman) he begins to play detective – though “play” is hardly the word. Key ingredients to the mystery are two rare Bibles and a painting of the fall of Jericho. The principal villainy comes at the grubby hands of Columbia contractees George Macready and Edgar Buchanan, while J. Edward Bromberg has a few amusing moments as a kooky art dealer.
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L’Uomo, l’Orgoglio, la Vendetta / L’Homme, l’Orgueil et la Vengeance (1968) Luigi Bazzoni, Franco Nero, Tina Aumont, Klaus Kinski, Action, Drama, Romance
The film tells the story of a Spanish soldier, who falls in love with a gypsy only to end up deserting the army and being chased into the border lands, where he joins the gypsy smugglers to rob money for a journey to America. But it turns out his love has a husband and is only using him again and again….
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Os Imortais / The Imortals (2003) António-Pedro Vasconcelos, Joaquim de Almeida, Emmanuelle Seigner, Nicolau Breyner, Action, Crime, Drama
Every year, four ex-soldiers who call themselves “Os Imortais” (“The Immortals”), get together with four women to celebrate their war deeds and remember the old days, back in the war. On the summer of 1985, tired of their monotonous lives, they decide to rob a bank. Joaquim Malarranha, a chief inspector from the local police force who is about to retire, crosses their path and chooses to spend his last days of duty trying to solve the robbery. But as he carries on with his investigation, he discovers more than he could have ever imagined…
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Vigilante (1983) William Lustig, Robert Forster, Fred Williamson, Richard Bright, Action, Crime, Thriller
New York City factory worker Eddie Marino is a solid citizen and regular guy, until the day a sadistic street gang brutally assaults his wife and murders his child. But when a corrupt judge sets the thugs free, Eddie goes berserk and vows revenge. Now there’s a new breed of marauder loose on the city streets, enforcing his own kind of law. His justice is swift. His methods are violent. He is the VIGILANTE.
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The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981) William A. Fraker, Klinton Spilsbury, Michael Horse, Christopher Lloyd, Action, Adventure, Western
When the young Texas Ranger, John Reid, is the sole survivor of an ambush arranged by the militaristic outlaw leader, Butch Cavendich, he is rescued by an old childhood Comanche friend, Tonto. When he recovers from his wounds, he dedicates his life to fighting the evil that Cavendich represents. To this end, John Reid becomes the great masked western hero, The Lone Ranger. With the help of Tonto, the pair go to rescue the President Grant when Cavendich takes him hostage.
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Yakuza gurentai / Yakuza Hooligans (1966) Sadao Nakajima, Hiroki Matsukata, Shigeru Amachi, Kazuko Inano, Action
A bunch of young angry misfits and hoods who aren’t quite up to joining the yakuza, hatch and execute a variety of petty scams. The youngest, a high school student who has a way with women, is approached by a yakuza and asked to spy for them.
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Daisatsujin orochi / The Betrayal (1966) Tokuzô Tanaka, Raizô Ichikawa, Kaoru Yachigusa, Shiho Fujimura, Action, Drama
A naively honorable samurai (played by Raizo) comes to the bitter realization that his devotion to moral samurai principles makes him an oddity among his peers, and a very vulnerable oddity in consequence. He takes the blame for the misdeeds of others, with the understanding that he will be exiled for one year and restored to the clan’s good graces after the political situation dies down. As betrayal begins to heap upon betrayal, he realizes he’ll have to live out his life as a master-less ronin, if not hunted down and killed.
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Kobe Kokusai Gang / International Gangs of Kobe (1975) Noboru Tanaka, Ken Takakura, Bunta Sugawara, Isao Natsuyagi, Action
In International Gangs of Kobe the opposite occurs; it’s Sugawara’s presence that brings out Takakura’s ruthless side. Although the two start off as allied gang members, Kobe proves too small a town for the giants of yakuza cinema. The gang splits into rival factions and Takakura and Sugawara settle their differences with violence. Tons of action and a notable cast make the unexceptional International Gangs of Kobe a load of silly yakuza fun.
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The Fighting Vigilantes (1947) Ray Taylor, Lash La Rue, Al St. John, Jennifer Holt, Action, Western
Taylor’s men are robbing incoming supply wagons to enable Taylor to sell goods at inflated prices. The Vigilantes led by Frank Jackson are doing the same so the ranchers won’t starve. Marshals Lash and Fuzzy arrive to try and find the real culprits.
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Fear Is the Key (1972) Michael Tuchner, Barry Newman, Suzy Kendall, John Vernon, Action, Crime, Drama
Following the death of his family in an aeroplane crash, a man plots an elaborate revenge scheme on those responsible. By setting himself up as a criminal, he plans to get close to a certain tycoon who has been approached by the culprits to help them retrieve the cargo of the lost plane.
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