Toshirō Mifune
Toshirō Mifune (April 1, 1920 - December 24, 1997) was a Japanese actor who is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors in the history of Japanese cinema. He was born in Qingdao, China, but was raised in Japan. Mifune's career spanned over 50 years, during which he... Read full bio →
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Akage
1969
Mifune: The Last Samurai
Nearly 20 years after his death and in the run-up to his centenary, Toshiro Mifune remains a true giant of Japanese cinema.
Final Cut: Hölgyeim és uraim
A film where anything can happen - the hero and the heroine changes their faces, age, look, names, and so on. The only same thing: the LOVE between man and woman... in an archetypical love story cut from 500 classics from all around the world.
Shadow of the Wolf
In the 1930s, Agaguk lives his traditional Inuit life. But one day, there is a murder in the tribe and Agaguk becomes a suspect. Soon he becomes persecuted by Henderson, a mean mountie, and he must flee through the cold winter of Northern Quebec.
Otoko wa tsurai yo: Shiretoko bojô
When his travels take him to rural Hokkaido, Tora-san helps a cantankerous old veterinarian (Mifune) in his relationships with his estranged daughter, and a woman in whom he is secretly interested.
The Challenge
A down-and-out American boxer becomes involved in a feud between two Japanese brothers.
Shogun
An English navigator becomes both a player and pawn in complex political games in feudal Japan.
Winter Kills
The younger brother of an assassinated US President is led down a rabbit hole of conspiracies and dead ends after learning of a man claiming to be the real shooter.
1941
In the days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, panic grips California, where a military officer leads a mob chasing a Japanese sub.
Yagyû ichizoku no inbô
Following the death of the second Tokugawa shogun, it is revealed that he was poisoned by retainers of his son Iemitsu in hopes of gaining him the shogunate despite the stammer and birthmark which undermine his respect.
Akô-jô danzetsu
This is the story of "The Forty-Seven Ronin." Based on historical events in 1701-2, the movie tells the tale of the Asano clan's downfall and the revenge of its former samurai on the perpetrator of the catastrophe. Lord Asano was goaded, or tricked, into drawing his sword inside the Shogun's palace -- a crime which carried the death penalty.
Ningen no shômei
When an American is murdered in a Japanese inn, Tokyo police detective Munesue follows the trail of the killer to New York. There he is joined by a New York City detective named Shuftan and together they sort out the crime.
Midway
This war drama depicts the U.S. and Japanese forces in the naval Battle of Midway, which became a turning point for Americans during World War II.
Soleil rouge
An ancient Japanese sword is robbed by gangsters from the Japanese ambassador while he is traveling through west America. The embassador's bodyguard, a samurai, foes after them with the help of one of the gang leaders who was betrayed by his fellows.
Zatôichi to Yôjinbô
Zatoichi treks to a village that has always been a favorite spot of his, only to discover that it’s become a living hell, plagued by feuding father and son yakuza as well as the younger crime boss’s bodyguard, scruffy, smart-mouthed, cash-hungry Yojimbo of legend.
Shinsengumi
Near the end of the nineteenth century, as the balance of power shifts from Shogunate towards the Emperor, Japan restlessly awaits the dawning of a new age. But not all are content...The Shinsengumi, a small army of samurai, farmers and peasants, band together to do battle against the tide of history.
Furin kazan
Kansuke Yamamoto is a samurai who dreams of a country united, peaceful from sea to sea. He enters the service of Takeda, the lord of Kai domain. He convinces Takeda to kill the lord of neighboring Suwa and take his wife as a concubine. He then convinces the widow, Princess Yu, to accept this arrangement and to bear Takeda a son.
Akage
Impersonating an Imperial Army officer by wearing a "red lion's mane", a poor servant returns to his village after 10 years of absence to end the village's suffering caused by corrupt officials and businessmen. Written by Alex Ebora
Hell in the Pacific
During World War II, a shot-down American pilot and a marooned Japanese navy captain find themselves stranded on the same small uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean.
Nihon no ichiban nagai hi
Following the detonation of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Japanese military and the government clash over the demand from the Allies for unconditional surrender. Minister of the Army Anami leads the military officers who propose to fight on, even to the death of every Japanese citizen.
Jôi-uchi: Hairyô tsuma shimatsu
The mother of a feudal lord's only heir is kidnapped away from her husband by the lord. The husband and his samurai father must decide whether to accept the unjust decision, or risk death to get her back.
Grand Prix
Grand Prix driver Pete Aron is fired by his team after a crash at Monaco that injures his teammate, Scott Stoddard. While Stoddard struggles to recover, Aron begins to drive for another team, and starts dating Stoddard's wife.
Dai-bosatsu tôge
Through his unconscionable actions against others, a sociopath samurai builds a trail of vendettas that follow him closely.
Abare Gôemon
Farmer Abare Goemon is confronted by brigand-like samurai. He raises an army of farmers to fight them and does so brilliantly. When Lord Asakura sees the success Goemon has achieved, he attempts to recruit him to fight in a conflict between Asakura and another clan. Goemon refuses, and Lord Asakura sets out to destroy him.
Sugata Sanshiro
The story of Sanshiro Sugata, a young man who wants to learn the new art of judo. A wise teacher reveals to Sanshiro that judo is not merely a means of combat nor a demonstration of physical skill, but an art which reveals the artist to himself.
Samurai
Japan, 1860. The men of the Mito clan, victims of the Ansei purge, anxiously prowl around the Sakurada Gate of Edo Castle with the intention of assassinating Naosuke Ii of Hikone, tairō of the Tokugawa shogunate and responsible for their misfortune.
Chi to suna
Charged with insubordination for punching a superior, Sergeant Kosugi is shipped to China in the last desperate days of the Second World War. His commander, Captain Sakuma, is vicious and dictatorial. Sakuma places Kosugi in charge of training for combat what once was the military band.
Akahige
Set in feudal times, novice physician, Yuzo Kayama, is sent to a poor infirmary expecting just to visit, but is infuriated to learn he must stay. He tries to provoke his termination, but is foiled by head doctor "Red Beard" (Toshiro Mifune), a man whose methods are as caring as they are unpredictable.
Shikonmado - Dai tatsumaki
Set at the end of the Siege of Osaka this film follows the exploits of several members of the defeated Toyotomi clan as they cope with the post battle chaos and the persecution of the Shogun's army. Five samurai decide on different fates when it becomes clear that their side is being destroyed.
Tengoku to jigoku
An executive on the outs with his company gets in deeper when he pays off kidnappers who have abducted the wrong boy.
Gojuman-nin no isan
During World War II Japan sends gold to the Phillipines. After the war, the gold is lost in the bay of Manille. Takeichi Matsuo, a former soldier is working now as a buisiness executive. He meets Mintsura Gunji the boss of a large company who offers him to go to the Philippines and bring back the gold.
Ánimas Trujano (El hombre importante)
Animas Trujano is a colorful but irresponsible Indian in a small Mexican village. He hopes above all things someday to be chosen mayordomio of his village, a place of great honor usually conferred upon the wealthiest and most respected citizens. Animas has a loyal wife, but cheats on her and gambles away every cent they raise.
Tsubaki Sanjûrô
A crafty samurai helps a young man and his fellow clansmen save his uncle, who has been framed and imprisoned by a corrupt superintendent.
Chûshingura
After their lord is tricked into committing ritual suicide, forty-seven samurai warriors await the chance to avenge their master and reclaim their honor.
Yôjinbô
A crafty ronin comes to a town divided by two criminal gangs and decides to play them against each other to free the town.
Warui yatsu hodo yoku nemuru
A young executive hunts down his father’s killer. Continuing his legendary collaboration with actor Toshiro Mifune, Kurosawa combines elements of Hamlet and American film noir to chilling effect in exposing the corrupt boardrooms of postwar corporate Japan.
Dokuritsu gurentai
When Sergeant Okubo's brother is murdered at a Japanese outpost in Northern China during the Second World War, Okubo poses as a war correspondent and seeks out his brother's killer.
Aru kengo no shogai
Edmund Rostand's play Cyrano de Bergerac, transplanted to Japan. A poet-warrior with an oversized nose (matched only by his great heart) loves a lady. But she sees him only as a friend, so he helps another man to woo her by giving him the poetry of his own heart.
Muhomatsu no issho
The story of Muhōmatsu, a rickshaw man who becomes a surrogate father to the child of a recently widowed woman.
Kakushi-toride no san-akunin
Lured by gold, two greedy peasants escort a man and woman across enemy lines. However, they do not realize that their companions are actually a princess and her general.
Kumonosu-jô
Mikio and Washizu are the commanders of the 1st and 2nd Fortress under a local lord, who reigns in the Spiders' Web Castle. After defeating the lord's enemies in battle, they visit the fortress. Washizu, driven by his wife, conspires and murders the lord, becoming lord of the castle. But his evil deeds come back to haunt him.
Donzoko
Residents of a rundown boardinghouse in 19th-century Japan, including a mysterious old man and an aging actor, get drawn into a love triangle that turns violent. When amoral thief Sutekichi breaks off his affair with landlady Osugi to romance her younger sister, Okayo, Osugi extracts her revenge by revealing her infidelity to her jealous husband.
Miyamoto Musashi kanketsuhen: kettô Ganryûjima
Musashi Miyamoto is challenged to a duel by a confident swordsman Sasaki Kojiro. He agrees to fight him in a year's time.
Zoku Miyamoto Musashi: Ichijôji no kettô
After years on the road establishing his reputation as Japan's greatest fencer, Takezo returns to Kyoto. Otsu waits for him, yet he has come not for her but to challenge the leader of the region's finest school of fencing. To prove his valor and skill, he walks deliberately into ambushes set up by the school's followers.
Ikimono no kiroku
Kiichi Nakajima (Toshirō Mifune), an elderly foundry owner convinced that Japan will be affected by an imminent nuclear war, resolves to move his family to safety in Brazil. His family decides to have him ruled incompetent and Dr. Harada (Takashi Shimura), a Domestic Court counselor, attempts to arbitrate.
Shichinin no samurai
Seven Samurai is the masterpiece from Akira Kurosawa from 1954 in which a town hires an old samurai to protect their village. A mix of action, comedy, and social drama. This epic film is an intimate look into the powerful emotions of the characters and named the greatest film in Japanese cinema history.
Miyamoto Musashi
Starring Toshiro Mifune as Musashi Miyamoti, this first film in Hiroshi Inagaki's Samurai Trilogy won a 1956 Honorary Oscar for Best Foreign Film. Struggling to elevate himself from his low caste in 17th century Japan, Mayamoto trains to become a mighty samurai warrior. In the film's bracing climax, Miyamoto finally gets a chance to prove himself.
Hakuchi
Kameda, who has been in an asylum on Okinawa, travels to Hokkaido. There he becomes involved with two women, Taeko and Ayako. Taeko comes to love Kameda, but is loved in turn by Akama. When Akama realizes that he will never have Taeko, his thoughts turn to murder, and great tragedy ensues.
Shûbun
Akira Kurosawa directed this drama about a paparazzi photo that a tabloid magazine spins into a scandalous story and soon sparks a court case.
Rashômon
In ancient Japan a crime take place as told from three different travelers who have experienced the crime: a man being killed and his wife being raped. Which if any of the stories is true? A Akira Kurosawa film about morals, truth, and communication.
Shizukanaru kettô
A young army surgeon, Kyoji Fujisaki, accidentally contracts syphilis during a WWII field operation. Back at his father’s clinic, he treats himself in secret and breaks off his engagement rather than risk his fiancée’s future, even as he confronts the irresponsible patient who infected him—testing his ethics, pride, and capacity for sacrifice.
Nora inu
In Akira Kurosawa's gritty Stray Dog, a young police detective gets his pistol stolen on a crowded bus during the oppressive heat of a late 1940s Tokyo summer. The gun is later used in a robbery and murder making finding it even more important.
Yoidore Tenshi
An alcoholic doctor builds a shaky friendship with a dying gangster