
A spell of time in the life of a family living in rural Tochigi prefecture, north of Tokyo. Though her husband is busy working at an office, Yoshiko is not an ordinary housewife, instead working on an animated film project at home. Read More »
Tag Archives: japanese
Sleepy Eyes of Death 9: Trail of Traps (1967) Kazuo Ikehiro, Raizô Ichikawa, Nobuo Kaneko, Toshio Kimura, Action, Drama

The Son of the Black Mass returns in this ninth installment in Daiei’s longstanding Nemuri Kyoshiro series. Read More »
Shiroi yajuu / White Beast (1950) Mikio Naruse, Mitsuko Miura, Sô Yamamura, Eiji Okada, Drama

The critical establishment was clearly not prepared to accept a woman’s prison film featuring former prostitutes recovering from venereal diseases, unwanted pregnancies, and estranged lovers. Read More »
Sleepy Eyes of Death 8: Sword of Villainy (1966) Kenji Misumi, Raizô Ichikawa, Shigeru Amachi, Shiho Fujimura, Action, Drama

Nemuri Kyoshiro discovers a conspiracy centering around a band of disgruntled samurai wanting to avenge the death of their sensei Read More »
Haruka naru yama no yobigoe / A Distant Cry from Spring (1980) Yôji Yamada, Ken Takakura, Chieko Baishô, Hidetaka Yoshioka

A mysterious stranger appears at the door of a farmhouse on a stormy night and asks for shelter. The young widow who owns the farm puts him up in the barn. Read More »
Nora Inu / Stray Dog (1949) Akira Kurosawa, Toshirô Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Awaji, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller

Murukami, a young homicide detective, has his pocket picked on a bus and loses his pistol. Read More »
Sleepy Eyes of Death 7: The Mask of the Princess (1966) Akira Inoue, Raizô Ichikawa, Yaeko Mizutani, Ichirô Nakatani, Drama

The masked daughter of the Shogun wants to kill a samurai who has seen her scarred face. She sends waves of ninja warriors to kill the samurai and plots diabolical schemes / ambushes without much success. Read More »
Sleepy Eyes of Death 6 – Sword of Satan (1965) Kimiyoshi Yasuda, Raizô Ichikawa, Michiko Saga, Machiko Hasegawa, Action, Drama

Sixth film in the series. A little boy who just wants to be a carpenter is at the center of a plot that might topple — or save — a mighty Clan Read More »
Pikunikku / Picnic (1996) Shunji Iwai, Chara, Tadanobu Asano, Koichi Hashizume, Drama, Fantasy

Believing that the world will end that very day, three mental patients Coco, Tsumuji, and Satoru set out upon a journey. Read More »
Nemuri Kyôshirô 5: Enjôken / Sleepy Eyes of Death 5: Sword of Fire (1965) Kenji Misumi, Raizô Ichikawa, Tamao Nakamura, Michiko Sugata, Action, Drama

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 »