Japanese films I've watched from the 1970s
List activity
398 views
• 6 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
41 titles
- DirectorKôsei SaitôStarsShin'ichi ChibaJun EtôMoeko EzawaA squadron of Japanese Self-Defense Force soldiers find themselves transported through time to their country's warring states era, when rival samurai clans were battling to become the supreme Shogun. The squad leader, Lt. Iba, sees this as the perfect opportunity to realize his dream of becoming the ruler of Japan. To achieve this, he teams his troops up with those of Kagatori, a samurai daimyo who also aspires to become Shogun. Are either of these power-hungry warriors to be trusted?
- DirectorJun'ya SatôStarsKen TakakuraRyôko NakanoHiroko YakushimaruA Japanese Warrior leaves the secretive battalion he is apart of. As a skilled soldier, he confronts evil and serves his people.
- DirectorYôji YamadaStarsHisashi IgawaChieko BaishôChishû RyûOn a beautiful island in Seto Inner Sea, Seichi and Minko make their living by transporting rocks to construction sites by boat. They cherish the deepest affection for this piece of land they call home, and the simple life they lead. But rapid industrial growth makes it all but impossible to continue their chosen living style, and they are forced to leave their beloved hometown in search of a brighter future. But their hometown lingers on their hearts, and they dream of a time when they may once again return.
- DirectorKazuhiko HasegawaStarsBunta SugawaraKenji SawadaKimiko IkegamiA high school science teacher builds an atomic bomb and uses it to extort the nation, but cannot decide what he wants. Meanwhile, a determined cop is catching up to him, as is radiation poisoning.
- DirectorShôhei ImamuraStarsKen OgataRentarô MikuniChôchô MiyakoChronological exploits of Iwao Enokizu, a murderous thief on the run.
- DirectorToshiya FujitaStarsMeiko KajiToshio KurosawaMasaaki DaimonA strikingly beautiful young woman is trained from birth to be a deadly instrument of revenge against the swindlers who destroyed her family.
- DirectorKinji FukasakuStarsBunta SugawaraHiroki MatsukataKunie TanakaDuring the violent chaos of post-War Japanese black market, a young gangster called Shozo Hirono has to keep up with the rapid shifts of power between unscrupulous bosses.
- DirectorKinji FukasakuStarsBunta SugawaraShin'ichi ChibaMeiko KajiA young criminal joins a yakuza family to kill the gangsters who beat him up, but falls in love with his boss' widow's niece, piling up enemies and corpses along his wayward way.
- DirectorKinji FukasakuStarsBunta SugawaraAkira KobayashiTsunehiko WataseYakuza boss Shozo Hirono must choose his alliances carefully as the local gangster family affiliations prove themselves to be wildly unstable, causing gang conflicts to slowly escalate.
- DirectorYôji YamadaStarsKen TakakuraChieko BaishôKaori MomoiThree complete strangers embark on a road-trip to Hokkaido.
- DirectorYukio NodaStarsShin'ichi ChibaRyôji HayamaMachiko YashiroAn undercover cop befriends a yakuza underling who through his contacts helps him infiltrate two rival Yakuza gangs. He pits the two rival gangs against each other in hopes that they will cross each other out.
- DirectorShigehiro OzawaStarsShin'ichi ChibaGoichi YamadaYutaka NakajimaAfter failing to reach a deal with her enemies, a mercenary karateka protects the daughter of a recently-deceased oil tycoon from the evil conglomerate gunning for her inheritance.
- DirectorAkio JissôjiStarsMichiko TsukasaRyô TamuraEiji OkadaNear a remote Buddhist monastery, a young man falls in love with his sister and gets her pregnant. After a monk finds out, the young man becomes an assistant to a master sculptor, only to proceed to complicate matters with his affairs.
- DirectorKinji FukasakuStarsSeizô FukumotoNobuo KanekoJô ShishidoWhile Hirono is in prison, his rival Takeda turns his own crime organization into a political party, whose two executives stir up new tensions in their thirst for power.
- DirectorKinji FukasakuStarsBunta SugawaraAkira KobayashiTatsuo UmemiyaConflicts between Hirono's family and Yamamori's family (and their allies) are made more tense by the ambitious underlings and the police's efforts to impose a crackdown on the gangs.
- DirectorKatsumi NishikawaStarsMomoe YamaguchiTomokazu MiuraHitoshi Nakayama"The Izu dancer" describes Young solo to Izu peninsula, and close to an entertainer troupe, in particular with the dancer named Kaoru,but to that brief love is just a featuring lyrical and pale memories by their sad waves farewell.
- DirectorKinji FukasakuStarsTetsuya WatariTatsuo UmemiyaYumi TakigawaA self-destructive man becomes a powerful member of the Japanese mafia but quickly loses his self control. Based on the true story of Rikio Ishikawa.
- DirectorHiroshi InagakiStarsToshirô MifuneYûjirô IshiharaRuriko AsaokaSent on a secret mission, a ronin must discover who his friends are and who must die.
- DirectorKon IchikawaStarsKôji IshizakaYôko ShimadaTeruhiko AoiWhen a tycoon passes away, he unexpectedly leaves the family fortune to outsider Tamayo on the condition that she marries one of the grandsons, pitting blood against blood.
- DirectorNorifumi SuzukiStarsBunta SugawaraJunko NatsuYutaka NakajimaA pair of truckers show off their driving skills to each other while evading pursuing law enforcement.
- DirectorNorifumi SuzukiStarsBunta SugawaraKin'ya AikawaMasumi HarukawaThe second of many movies featuring the lighthearted adventure of two truck drivers. Tojiro and his best friend Kinjo take to the road on their cargo trucks impressing each other with their skills in driving fast and evading the police while transporting commodities throughout the country. Chance encounters with people along the way have them to come to terms with events clouding their past and offer them a shot a redemption.
- DirectorNorifumi SuzukiStarsBunta SugawaraKin'ya AikawaMasumi HarukawaA truck driver in Yamagata prefecture finds himself stuck on the road due to a police speeding checkpoint. The trucker decides to use the road shoulder instead. Wen stopped they explain to the police that they have an emergency and are in a rush. Then a police cruiser with two policewomen again catches them. Apparently, this time it is for the crime of having been in a woman's public bath.
- DirectorNorifumi SuzukiStarsBunta SugawaraKin'ya AikawaMasumi HarukawaHoping to romance an alien, Momojiro meets beautiful animal trainer Eriko instead. Then he and Jonathan get drawn into her old friend's fraud.
- DirectorKatsumi NishikawaStarsMomoe YamaguchiTomokazu MiuraIchirô ArishimaLonely youth Shinji meets Hatsue, a pretty pearl diver, on the beach and the two fall in love. But Shinji has a rival for Hatsue's affections, Yasuo. Yasuo spreads unpleasant gossip about his rival, and Hatsue's father forbids her to see Shinji. But when the boy saves the passengers on a boat owned by Hatsue's father, his luck in love begins to change.
- DirectorYoshitarô NomuraStarsTetsurô TanbaGô KatôKensaku MoritaDetectives investigate the murder of an old man found in a Tokyo rail yard.
- DirectorKon IchikawaStarsKôji IshizakaKeiko KishiAkiko NishinaKôsuke Kindaichi, a somewhat peculiar private detective, visits a remote town. He meets a police detective and they start to investigate an old unsolved murder. Then some murders happen. Kindaichi must find out about the past in order to reveal who the murderer is.
- DirectorKon IchikawaStarsKôji IshizakaYôko TsukasaReiko ÔharaA scruffy detective investigates the murders of three sisters on a small Japanese island in 1946.
- DirectorKon IchikawaStarsKôji IshizakaMieko TakamineKeiko KishiPrivate detective Kindaichi investigates a series of murders in scenic rural Japan.
- DirectorMasahiro ShinodaStarsTamasaburô BandôGô KatôTsutomu YamazakiOutside of a small village in Japan, a mysterious pond is inhabited by mythic creatures. Their story is of revenge, tragedy, and the power of real love. A classical tale which translates wonderfully to film.
- DirectorKon IchikawaStarsKôji IshizakaYoshiko SakumaJunko SakuradaKosuke visits a photo studio to take photo for his passport. There he happens to meet a daughter who came to request a wedding anniversary photo shoot.
- DirectorYôji YamadaStarsChieko BaishôHisashi IgawaChishû RyûA poor family of miners from Kyushu uproot themselves and make the long journey to what they hope is a better life in Hokkaido. Their journey is beset with hardship and tragedy.
- DirectorShûji TerayamaStarsKaoru YachigusaKeiko NiitakaMasumi HarukawaA young boys' coming of age tale set in a strange, carnivalesque village becomes the recreation of a memory that the director has twenty years later.
- DirectorKazuhiko HasegawaStarsYutaka MizutaniMieko HaradaEtsuko IchiharaThough his parents help him run the family business, Jun still feels persecuted by their love; when they bar him from meeting with his girlfriend, tensions increase.
- DirectorKenji MisumiStarsShintarô KatsuYukiji AsaokaMari AtsumiHanzo Itami is an incorruptible Edo officer who learns that an infamous killer has fled from his island prison. Hanzo begins tracking him down using his unorthodox interrogation techniques.
- DirectorKinji FukasakuStarsBunta SugawaraHiroki MatsukataNobuo KanekoBunta Sugawara is Miyoshi, a low-level assassin of the Yamamori gang who is sent to jail after a bungled hit. While in stir, family member Aoki attempts to seize power from the boss, and Miyoshi finds himself stuck between the two factions with no honorable way out.
- DirectorNobuhiko ÔbayashiStarsKimiko IkegamiMiki JinboKumiko ÔbaA schoolgirl and six of her classmates travel to her aunt's country home, which turns out to be haunted.
- DirectorKinji FukasakuStarsShin'ichi ChibaJanet HattaEiko MatsudaA tough-as-nails cop from Okinawa investigates a savage murder in Tokyo's nightlife district. Originally dismissed as a bumpkin, he soon proves more savvy than the local police.
- DirectorYasuzô MasumuraStarsShintarô KatsuKeiko AikawaKazuko InanoDuring the currency devaluation by the Edo treasury, officer Hanzo deals with a temple priestess who sells her pupils as prostitutes, and a notorious thief who plans to rob the mint.