
Fifth film in the series. When Kyoshiro, in a moment of weakness, saves the life of a woman being attacked on the road, he quickly finds himself entangled in a conspiracy involving a corrupt chamberlain, a wily merchant, the survivors of a pirate gang, and a missing treasure trove. Read More »
Author Archives: rarefilm
Up for Murder (1931) Monta Bell, Edward L. Cahn, Lew Ayres, Genevieve Tobin, Purnell Pratt, Drama

Young reporter accidentially kills his newspaper’s editor in a fight over the publisher’s mistress, who is also the paper’s society editor. Read More »
Yôjinbô / Yojimbo (1961) Akira Kurosawa, Toshirô Mifune, Eijirô Tôno, Tatsuya Nakadai, Action, Drama, Thriller

Sanjuro, a wandering samurai enters a rural town in nineteenth century Japan. After learning from the innkeeper that the town is divided between two gangsters, he plays one side off against the other. Read More »
Grandma’s Boy (1922) Fred C. Newmeyer, Harold Lloyd, Mildred Davis, Anna Townsend, Comedy, Family

Always the mama’s boy, or in this case a grandma’s boy, Sonny joins a posse after a tramp accused of robbery and murder. Read More »
Kazoku gêmu / The Family Game (1983) Yoshimitsu Morita, Yûsaku Matsuda, Jûzô Itami, Saori Yuki, Comedy, Drama

A sendup of the stereo-typical Japanese family: dad is a salaryman jerk, unable to relate to anyone; mom is a hopeless housewife Read More »
Jiang shi shu shu / Mr. Vampire 4 (1988) Ricky Lau, Anthony Chan, Wu Ma, Kar Lok Chin, Comedy, Horror

A Taoist Priest isn’t too happy when his Buddhist Priest colleague moves in next door. Read More »
Chuji Tabinikki Daisanbu Goyohen / A Diary of Chuji’s Travels (1927) Daisuke Itô, Denjirô Ôkôchi, Hideo Nakamura, Kichiji Nakamura, Drama

The Japanese equivalent of penny dreadfuls glorifying Jesse James, A Diary of Chuji’s Travels gives a unique gloss to the tale of Chuji Kunisada, the legendary bakuto (or gambler, the precursors to modern-day yakuza). Read More »
Dama s sobachkoy / The Lady with the Dog (1960) Iosif Kheifits, Iya Savvina, Aleksey Batalov, Nina Alisova, Drama, Romance

In the Nineteenth Century, at the seaside resort of Yalta, the upper class Dimitri Gurov from Moscow meets Anna Sergeyovna walking with her little dog. Read More »
Mystery Submarine (1950) Douglas Sirk, Macdonald Carey, Märta Torén, Robert Douglas, Adventure, Crime, Drama, Thriller, War

Posing as an ex-German medical officer, a U.S. Navy Intelligence Officer sets out to rescue a kidnapped scientist, and sink a Nazi submarine, hiding off the coast of South America. Read More »
Yama no oto / Sound of the Mountain (1954) Mikio Naruse, Setsuko Hara, Sô Yamamura, Ken Uehara, Drama

The businessman Ogata Shingo works with his son Shuichi, who is his secretary, and they live together in the suburb with their wives Yasuko and Kikuko respectively. Read More »