Kinji Fukasaku — Director (64)
Shanghai Rhapsody (1984) [Movie] TMDB IMDb
上海バンスキング
other title: Rhapsodie de Shanghai / 上海バンスキング
Set in the 1930s in the international city of Shanghai, the film follows the extravagant life and times of a group of jazz musicians, living from one advance paycheck to the next, as the country teeters over the brink into the Second Sino-Japanese War.
The Abe Clan (1995) [Movie] TMDB IMDb
阿部一族
other title: 阿部一族
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, 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.
Sure Death 4 (1987) [Movie] TMDB IMDb
必殺4 恨みはらします
director: Kinji Fukasaku actor: Makoto Fujita / Kazuko Kato
other title: La Vengeance du samouraï / 必殺4 恨みはらします
Having been demoted for failing to prevent the murder of one of his superiors, Mondo is startled by a group of masked thugs who are soon attacked in turn by an unseen force. He begins to suspect the work of assassins, but whose side are they on?
The Triple Cross (1992) [Movie] TMDB IMDb
いつかギラギラする日
other title: Double Cross - Das Action-Massaker / Un jour étincelant
Following the bloody aftermath of a heist, three robbers are double-crossed by a new accomplice, who is then tracked down amid escalating carnage and spectacular car chases.
The Geisha House (1999) [Movie] TMDB IMDb WikiData
おもちゃ
director: Kinji Fukasaku actor: Maki Miyamoto / Sumiko Fuji
other title: La Maison des geishas / おもちゃ
Set in a Kyoto geisha house during the post-WWII era, the young Omocha begins her rigorous apprenticeship within the traditional community of geiko and maiko. She must navigate complex internal rivalries and a strict social hierarchy while the house struggles to maintain its customs. As modern society shifts around them, the residents face the increasing pressure of Japan's changing cultural identity.
Rampaging Dragon of the North (1966) [Movie] TMDB WikiData IMDb
北海の暴れ竜
other title: Le Dragon sauvage d'Hokkaido / 北海の暴れ竜
The son of a prominent member of a fishing community returns home after a stint with the yakuza to find his father has died under orders of a local gang leader. He sets out to avenge his father, keeping his plans secret from his mother who is cold to him since his perceived abandonment of the family. This wonderful, if little-seen, Fukasaku gem deals with family, community and what it means to do right by both.
Wolves, Pigs & Men (1964) [Movie] TMDB IMDb
狼と豚と人間
director: Kinji Fukasaku actor: Ken Takakura / Rentaro Mikuni
other title: Hommes, porcs et loups / 狼と豚と人間
Sabu and his pals hold a pauper's funeral for Sabu's mother. His brother Jiro arrives home, fresh out of jail, and Sabu pointedly states that Jiro is not invited. Jiro meanwhile is planning a big job - steal 40 million in cash and drugs, and he invites Sabu and gang to act as decoys, for 50,000 each. The sting is a success, but the double-crossing starts almost immediately. Sabu discovers how little of the take they were promised and hides the stash. Jiro and his slimy partner pressure the kids to fess up. Meanwhile, their respectable elder brother Ichiro is being leaned on by the town's big boss, whose money it was.
Gate of Youth (1981) [Movie] TMDB IMDb
青春の門
other title: The Gate of Youth / 青春の門
The story of Shinsuke, a young man who lives through a stormy life as a poverty-stricken coal miner. Ranging from Shinsuke's infanthood to his mid-teens. Coal workers and the mines dominate nearly every aspect of his life. Shinsuke's father a group leader at the mine, dies while bravely using dynamite to rescue a group of trapped Korean miners. Several older men attempt to help he and his mother cope, including a friendly Harley-riding yakuza boss. This movie has it all, drama, romance, sex, yakuza and violence! It is based on a story by Hiroyuki Itsuki that was originally serialized in the magazine Shukan Gendai in 1969-70.
Bloodstained Clan of Honor (1970) [Movie] TMDB IMDb WikiData
血染の代紋
other title: Le Blason ensanglanté / 血染の代紋
The story takes place in the sunset days of the yakuza in 1965. The postwar turmoil that created the black market and lubricated illegal business opportunities was giving way to Japan Inc. A young Bunta Sugawara takes over as the oyabun of a crime syndicate in Yokohama, where he is struggling to keep operations at the port there alive. As his syndicate is eroding quickly, a major heavy industries company offers his gang the chance to chase some vagrants out of a shantytown where they are squatting on land where a factory is to be built. The job would secure steady profits for Bunta's crime ring for years to come. However, Bunta and other members of his outfit grew up in the shanty, and they would be muscling their friends and neighbors. This sets the stage for an internal struggle that complicates the violent struggle with a rival mafia organization in Tokyo.
The Challenge (1962) [Movie] TMDB IMDb WikiData
誇り高き挑戦
director: Kinji Fukasaku actor: Koji Tsuruta / Tatsuo Umemiya
other title: Défi d'amour propre – Fierté agressive / 誇り高き挑戦
Journalist Kuroki is investigating clandestine arms sales to Southeast Asia. He discovers that the point man in an arms trade was also involved in the cover-up of a murder on an American base during the Allied Occupation. The film rolls along as a suspenseful thriller while offering a critique of political corruption, hypocrisy, and journalistic cowardice in postwar Japan.
Drifting Detective: Tragedy in the Red Valley (1961) [Movie] TMDB IMDb WikiData
風来坊探偵 赤い谷の惨劇
director: Kinji Fukasaku actor: Sonny Chiba / Harumi Sone
other title: Le Policier vagabond : La Tragédie de la vallée rouge / 風来坊探偵 赤い谷の惨劇
The great Sonny Chiba stars as Goro Saionji, a drifting thrill-seeker. Out to investigate a suspisious plane crash in the Red Valley, he uncovers a plot involving yakuza and a shady land developer to evict an old farmer off of his land to build a sky resort. Goro must now help the old farmer and his daughter and take those criminals on.
Crest of Betrayal (1994) [Movie] WikiData TMDB IMDb
忠臣蔵外伝 四谷怪談
director: Kinji Fukasaku actor: Koichi Sato / Saki Takaoka
other title: Histoire de fantômes à Yotsuya / 忠臣蔵外伝 四谷怪談
Weaving two storylines together: the first is the story of 18th-century shogunate intrigue and loyalty, and the second is a ghost story about a beautiful woman who falls victim to passion and evil.