The Samurai Film
Adopted from the book The Samurai Film by Alain Silver [2006 Expanded & Revised edition]
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- DirectorTokuzô TanakaStarsRaizô IchikawaTamao NakamuraShinobu ArakiNemuri Kyoshiro, a youthful and cynical ronin with unparalleled skill, is approached by both sides in a game of corruption, ambition, and double crosses. The leader of the Kaga clan, who thinks he has killed his smuggling partner, fears that the shogunate will discover his illegal activities. He learns of evidence that will prove his guilt. Meanwhile, his partner is not dead, and, assisted by a master of Shorenji boxing, is looking for revenge and for his loot. The Kaga leader sends the beautiful Chisa to enlist Nemuri's aid. The unexpected happens: the hard-bitten Nemuri falls in love. Can he protect her, topple the criminals, and avoid the boxer's deadly skill?
- DirectorKenji MisumiStarsRaizô IchikawaKôichi AiharaSan'emon ArashiThe orphan swordsman wanders into a town and stumbles upon the opportunity to do righteous deeds. He finds a larger plot is afoot with a corrupt court system, a well meaning public servant and lots of danger for all involved.
- DirectorKimiyoshi YasudaStarsRaizô IchikawaKyôko AzumaRyônosuke AzumaThe shogun's illegitimate son decapitates a peasant which draws in nomadic Nemuri Kyoshiro into more sword-fighting adventures when he's blamed for the beheading.
- DirectorKazuo IkehiroStarsRaizô IchikawaMichiko AiAkira AmemiyaThis film of the sleepy-eyed ronin series has the quite reluctant hero refuse to come to the assistance of a Japanese Christian in an age of both proselytizing and persecution, but later come around and render the services of his sword following a series of events, with the involvement of a malevolent princess, that lay to bare hypocrisy in many forms.
- DirectorKenji MisumiStarsRaizô IchikawaTamao NakamuraMichiko SugataThis film of the sleepy-eyed ronin series has the red-haired swordsman on his way to the city of Edo when he comes across the scene of a woman in the midst of a knife fight with a man. When he reluctantly and with considered hesitation becomes involved, his intervention has him involved in a thieving plot involving the top official of the local Todo Clan and a plan to cover up a theft from a band of pirates.
- DirectorTokuzô TanakaStarsRaizô IchikawaMiwa TakadaYaeko MizutaniTwo devious retainers are competing to take control of a fief when the current Lord dies, but involving Kyoshiro in the conflict against his will is a bad idea.
- DirectorKazuo IkehiroStarsRaizô IchikawaNaoko KuboShiho FujimuraJust when you think Kyoshiro's life can't get any stranger, someone starts running around raping and murdering, and leaving notes proudly proclaiming that he did it. Tracking down the real culprit willtake him along a twisted trail that involves the Shogun's harem, hidden christians, and positively pregnant politics.
- DirectorKimiyoshi YasudaStarsRaizô IchikawaMichiko SagaMachiko HasegawaTsurumatsu, a young boy, is supposed to be a new Lord but he's not really interested, he would rather be a carpenter. So he gets kidnapped and it's up to Nemuri Kyoshiro to save him.
- DirectorAkira InoueStarsRaizô IchikawaYaeko MizutaniIchirô NakataniPrincess Kiku, Shogun's daughter, wants revenge on Nemuri Kyoshiro for embarrassing her.
- DirectorKenji MisumiStarsRaizô IchikawaShigeru AmachiShiho FujimuraThe hero avenges a band of samurai whose master was unceremoniously assassinated for seeking justice and better conditions for the citizens. The city shall burn for the elite's greed.
- DirectorKazuo IkehiroStarsRaizô IchikawaNobuo KanekoToshio KimuraThis film of the sleepy-eyed ronin series has the hero talked into escorting a precious religious artifact to Kyoto, Japan. A sect of Christian swordsmen are lying in wait to steal the statuette. What does it take for the reluctant man to accept the assignment? Why, enjoying the company of a virgin daughter of course.
- DirectorKimiyoshi YasudaStarsRaizô IchikawaMako MidoriMaka SarijoOur anti-hero discovers locals who are oppressed, held captive against their will. For the swordsman to succeed, he first must wade through traps and assassins, and a few seductive maidens.
- DirectorHisatora KumagaiStarsChôjûrô KawarasakiKan'emon NakamuraShizue YamagishiJidai-geki surprisingly critical of bushido codes and practice of seppuku (aka hara-kiri). Yaichiemon Abe, denied permission to commit ritual suicide with more than a dozen vassals to Lord Hosokawa, commits suicide anyway, which in turn brings ruin upon his survivors, who are punished for misdeed.
- DirectorTakashi KoizumiStarsAkira TeraoYoshiko MiyazakiShirô MifuneDuring a downpour, a generous ronin and his supporting wife are stranded at a country inn. The ronin comes to the attention of a lord who wants to hire him as an instructor for his men, who treat the ronin with disrespect.
- DirectorHiroyuki NakanoStarsMasanobu AndôMegumi OkinaKumiko AsôA love triangle blooms between a team of three ninjas before tragedy strikes and forces them to reassess their clan's principles.
- DirectorKihachi OkamotoStarsToshirô MifuneShima IwashitaEtsushi TakahashiImpersonating 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.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneYûzô KayamaTsutomu YamazakiIn 19th-century Japan, a rough-tempered yet charitable town doctor trains a young intern.
- DirectorDaisuke ItôStarsKinnosuke NakamuraToshirô MifuneKeiju KobayashiThe story of Ryoma Sakamoto, considered to be the architect behind the downfall of the Tokugawa shogunate. He was considered an outlaw by his own clan, hunted by his government, and was despised by supporters of the Shogun as well as the Loyalists for desiring the opening of Japan to the West in order to learn its technology, in the hopes of one day defeating the West with a modern army and navy.
- DirectorHiroshi InagakiStarsToshirô MifuneYûjirô IshiharaRuriko AsaokaSent on a secret mission, a ronin must discover who his friends are and who must die.
- DirectorMasahiro ShinodaStarsTetsurô TanbaShima IwashitaEiji OkadaIn 1863, when Americans warships approach Japan, a enigmatic ronin becomes a important figure in a complex game of power between the Shogunate and the empire.
- DirectorMasatoshi TakeuchiStarsYasuki KumeKazunobu KawazuYumi Goto"Assassination" - Adaptation of Hermann Hesse's novel "Demian". A young man's detachment from and revolt against the superficial ideals of the world of appearances and eventually awakens into a realization of self. Max Demian is his childhood friend and mentor.
- DirectorRyûhei KitamuraStarsAya UetoKenji KohashiHiroki NarimiyaRaised to deal in cold blooded death, the teenage assassin girl Azumi must defeat three evil warlords while also battling her own heart.
- DirectorMitsuyuki YakushijiStarsKen WatanabeRiho MakiseTetta SugimotoIn the last days of the Tokugawa shogunate, there was a cute warrior, Souji Okita, who belonged to the armed police of the shogunate in Kyoto. Very few knew that Souji was not a boy, but a woman. Souji loved the vice-leader of the armed police, Toshizou Hijikata. Souji suffered from pulmonary tuberculosis and coughed up blood during a battle. Toshizou helped her but said that he did not care for the girl with a smell of blood. Souji had a real talent for swordsmanship and no one but Ryouma Sakamoto could compete with her. Ryouma was a liberal intellectual and tried to carry out a revolution without blood. However, the bloody Meiji Restoration broke out and Souji killed Ryouma who lost his dream. Because a friendship had sprung up between Toshizou and Ryouma, Toshizou got angry and slashed at Souji with a sword. Unwillingly, she unsheathed her sword and thought that she might get love if she was killed by the man she loved.
- DirectorSatsuo YamamotoStarsRaizô IchikawaShiho FujimuraYûnosuke ItôA young ninja becomes embroiled in a plot to kill a tyrannical warlord. He journeys across feudal Japan, facing deceit, betrayal, and enemy ninja at every turn. Goemon must complete his mission, regain his honor, and survive.
- DirectorSatsuo YamamotoStarsRaizô IchikawaSô YamamuraShiho FujimuraConfident that he has destroyed the Iga Ninja, the evil Oda Nobunaga continues his quest to conquer Japan. Meanwhile, Ishikawa Goemon (Ichikawa Raizo) has settled down with his wife and child, and wishes only to live in peace -- a wish that will not be granted. As mighty warlords battle and connive, Goemon must once again try to assassinate Nobunaga, in order to save the Bhuddist religious community that has come to mean so much to him. But the path to success is once again a twisted one, full of scheming samurai and nefarious traps!
- DirectorKazuo MoriStarsRaizô IchikawaAyako WakaoSaburô DateWhen we last saw the intrepid ninja Ishikawa Goemon (Raizo Ichikawa), he was about to be boiled alive. But a good ninja is both hard to find, and even harder to kill. With the help of the enigmatic Hattori Hanzo, Goemon lives to skulk another day, and sets his sights on bringing down the warlord who tried to turn him into soup -- Toyotomi Hideyoshi. And as always, in the background, the suble hand of Tokugawa Ieyasu is pulling strings as he plots to rule all of Japan!
- DirectorTokuzô TanakaStarsRaizô IchikawaSaburô DateMidori IsomuraTokugawa Ieyasu is the ruler of all Japan. But one last loose thread must be tied up before his domination is complete -- the destruction of the Toyotomi clan, now beseiged in Osaka castle. Ieyasu's ninja are the only ones who can penetrate the fortress, but unfortunately for Ieyasu, Kirigakure Saizo (Ichikawa) and the other Toyotomi ninja can just as easily get out. As armies of samurai maneuver for battle, the fate of the nation will be decided by a desperate struggle in the dark!
- DirectorKazuo IkehiroStarsRaizô IchikawaYukiko FujiShiho FujimuraIn part five of the 8-part Shinobi No Mono Ninja film series the heroic ninja Kirigakure Saizo (Raizo Ichikawa, of Sleepy Eyes of Death fame) serves the daimyo Sanada, played by Lone Wolf and Cub star Tomisaburo Wakiyama. They are assaulted by Ieyasu and his soldiers. They flee to an allied camp, and once there start plotting how to fight back and win the war. They come across a gun merchant with a unique, three-barrel gun, giving the holder incredible fire power. They begin to strategize ways to find out how the merchant selling these firearms has acquired them, hoping that possession of these weapons in their arsenal will lead to ultimate victory. The merchants of Tanegashima are the makers of the gun, and claim they have made it according to a blueprint gained from the only Western traders they are allowed to do business with, the Portuguese. The Sanada partisans know that can't be true because the 3-barrel gun is made of iron too fine for the Portuguese to have access to. They must unravel the secret of the "3-barrel gun". Kirigakure is sent to the Island city of Tanegishima to solve the mystery. Once there he will need all his ninja skills to survive, not only the Tanegishima cartel and their Chinese allies, but enemies from his past, in the form of the daughters of a slain enemy ninja. Can he get the job done and stay alive?
- DirectorKazuo MoriStarsRaizô IchikawaKaoru YachigusaIsao YamagataThe story of Saizo's son, Kirigakure Saisuke, who after seeing his father die at the Battle Of Shimabara, grows up to be an expert ninja.
- DirectorKazuo MoriStarsRaizô IchikawaShiho FujimuraYûko KusunokiThe dream of Tokugawa Ieyasu has come true: together with his son Hidetada he rules all over Japan.
- DirectorKazuo IkehiroStarsRaizô IchikawaManami FujiMichiyo YasudaIt is the 1570's in Japan. Ninja Kasumi Kanbey specializes in making gunpowder. He lives with his young son Kojiro, who witnesses his assassination by five skilled ninjas. Kanbey manages to kill two of his attackers before succumbing to their attack. Kojiro embarks on a journey to avenge his father against the remaining three assassins. His first attempts meet with failure and so he begins seeking training from a Ninjitsu master to become skilled enough to eliminate his enemies. The master is said to be hiding in the Kai Province of Takeda Shingen. Stars ninja superstar Raizô Ichikawa, and for ninja fans is a must see.
- DirectorHideo GoshaStarsTatsuya NakadaiKôshirô MatsumotoShima IwashitaKumokiri Nizaemon, a former samurai warrior, has abandoned his class to become the leader of a gang of thieves. He leads his outlaws in an attempt to rob the castle of his former clan.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsJohn WayneEiko AndoSam JaffeIn 1856, the first U.S. Consul General to Japan encounters the hostility of the local authorities and the love of a young geisha.
- DirectorAnn HuiStarsNuo AiShichang DaJie DengThe young leader of the rebel Red Flower Society discovers a secret about the current Manchu emperor which may change the fate of China.
- DirectorMasahiro ShinodaStarsTatsuya NakadaiShima IwashitaShôichi OzawaAn outlaw pushes the residents of Edo's red light district to rebel against a growing number of stifling, moralistic laws.
- DirectorYôji YamadaStarsTakuya KimuraRei DanMitsugorô BandôA look at the relationship between a young blind samurai (Kimura) and his wife, who will make a sacrifice in order to defend her husband's honor.
- DirectorTadashi ImaiStarsKinnosuke NakamuraEijirô TônoKyôko KishidaAfter a salary-man's fiancée attempts suicide, he remembers his gruesome family history, which sees his ancestors sacrificing themselves for the sake of their cruel lords, and realizes that he's about to repeat their mistakes.
- DirectorTsugunobu KotaniStarsRichard BooneToshirô MifuneMike StarrA steel samurai blade that was to be given to the American ambassador by the Emperor of Japan is stolen. American sailors and Japanese samurai are sent to find it.
- DirectorHiroshi InagakiStarsYûzô KayamaChûsha IchikawaToshirô MifuneAfter their lord is tricked into committing ritual suicide, forty-seven samurai warriors await the chance to avenge their master and reclaim their honor.
- DirectorSadatsugu MatsudaStarsYôko MatsuyamaIsamu NagatoAkitake KônoA young blind girl is abandoned by her mother. When her guardian is killed, she learns to wield a sword from a traveling "Ronin". She travels to seek her mother and her revenge.
- DirectorHirokazu IchimuraStarsYôko MatsuyamaYûki MeguroMeichô SoganoyaOichi, the blind bounty hunter, frees a woman from unjust prison and is now hunted by order of the local magistrate. She is concerned with the poor fishermen, who are oppressed and robbed by a gang in collusion with the authorities.
- DirectorAng LeeStarsChow Yun-FatMichelle YeohZiyi ZhangA young Chinese warrior steals a sword from a famed swordsman and then escapes into a world of romantic adventure with a mysterious man in the frontier of the nation.
- DirectorTomu UchidaStarsChiezô KataokaKinnosuke NakamuraYumiko HasegawaTsukue Ryunosuke is a master swordsman with an evil style, reflecting the evil in his heart.
- DirectorKenji MisumiStarsRaizô IchikawaKôjirô HongôTamao NakamuraThe story follows the life of Ryunosuke Tsukue, an amoral samurai and a master swordsman with an unorthodox style.
- DirectorKimiyoshi YasudaStarsMiwa TakadaYoshihiko AoyamaJun FujimakiA giant stone statue comes to life to protect the residents of a small town against the depradations of an evil warlord.
- DirectorKazuo MoriStarsHideki NinomiyaShinji HoriMasahide IizukaIn a mountainous region of Japan, Lord Arakawa kidnaps the men of nearby villages to use as slave labor, producing gunpowder from his sulfur pits. A band of young boys decide to rescue their enslaved fathers on their own.
- DirectorHideo GoshaStarsMariko IshiharaMasanori SeraMari NatsukiAfter their executions are faked by the authorities, three criminals are forced to become assassins under the Shogun's command
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsYoshitaka ZushiKin SugaiToshiyuki TonomuraVarious tales in the lives of Tokyo slum dwellers, including a mentally deficient young man obsessed with driving his own commuter trolley.
- DirectorMasahiro ShinodaStarsKichiemon NakamuraShima IwashitaShizue KawarazakiA doomed love between a paper merchant and a courtesan.
- DirectorHiroshi InagakiStarsToshirô MifuneMariko OkadaRentarô MikuniDepicts the early life of the legendary warrior Musashi Miyamoto; his years as an aspiring warrior, an outlaw and finally a true samurai.
- DirectorHiroshi InagakiStarsToshirô MifuneMariko OkadaKôji TsurutaMusashi Miyamoto returns to Kyoto after years of absence. After a series of fights against the Yoshioka School, he challenges its master to a duel.
- DirectorHiroshi InagakiStarsToshirô MifuneMariko OkadaKôji TsurutaMusashi Miyamoto is challenged to a duel by a confident swordsman Sasaki Kojiro. He agrees to fight him in a year's time.
- DirectorHideo GoshaStarsTatsuya NakadaiTetsurô TanbaYôko TsukasaA guilt-haunted samurai warrior attempts to stop a massacre taking place.
- DirectorMasaki KobayashiStarsTatsuya NakadaiAkira IshihamaShima IwashitaWhen a ronin requesting seppuku at a feudal lord's palace is told of the brutal suicide of another ronin who previously visited, he reveals how their pasts are intertwined - and in doing so challenges the clan's integrity.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneMisa UeharaMinoru ChiakiLured by gold, two greedy peasants unknowingly escort a princess and her general across enemy lines.
- DirectorHideo GoshaStarsShintarô KatsuTatsuya NakadaiYukio MishimaA destitute ronin allies himself with an established clan, but its ruthless leader tries to turn him into a mindless killer.
- DirectorMasahiro ShinodaStarsHiroshi AoyamaJun HamamuraOsamu HitomiThe legendary samurai Sasuke Sarutobi gets caught in a web of political intrigue, deception and espionage during the early 17th century.
- DirectorMasaki KobayashiStarsTatsuya NakadaiKomaki KuriharaWakako SakaiThe story takes place in feudal Japan, when any commerce with the rest of the world was strictly prohibited. An idealist suddenly appears in an isolated inn (the one that the title refers to), the head-quarters of a group of smugglers, with stolen money intended to ransom his loved one who is forced to work in a brothel.
- DirectorTeinosuke KinugasaStarsMachiko KyôKazuo HasegawaIsao YamagataA samurai pursues a married lady-in-waiting.
- DirectorMasaki KobayashiStarsToshirô MifuneYôko TsukasaGô KatôThe 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.
- DirectorGordon HesslerStarsShô KosugiDavid EssexKane KosugiIn the seventeenth century, Japan is divided between two forces. The Eastern Army, lead by the Warlord Tokugawa Ieyasu, and the Western Army, which fights for Toyotomi's clan. Despite wining a recent battle, things look grim for the Eastern Army. Toyotomi's Army has a supply of modern firearms, a weapon which might turn the tides of war. Tokugawa Ieyasu sends his trusted samurai Mayeda, and his son Yourimune, to Spain. There, they are to purchase five thousand muskets. But it's a dangerous journey, and there are many who plot against them, and when they finally arrive in Spain, nothing goes the way they expected.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsDenjirô ÔkôchiSusumu FujitaYukiko TodorokiSugata, a young man, struggles to learn the nuance and meaning of judo, and in doing so comes to learn something of the meaning of life.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsTatsuya NakadaiTsutomu YamazakiKen'ichi HagiwaraA petty thief with an utter resemblance to a samurai warlord is hired as the lord's double. When the warlord later dies the thief is forced to take up arms in his place.
- DirectorMasaki KobayashiStarsRentarô MikuniMichiyo AratamaMisako WatanabeA collection of four Japanese folk tales with supernatural themes.
- DirectorKihachi OkamotoStarsTatsuya NakadaiEtsushi TakahashiYuriko HoshiTwo ronin - an ex-samurai and an ex-farmer - get caught up in a local official's complex game of murder and betrayal.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneMinoru ChiakiIsuzu YamadaA war-hardened general, egged on by his ambitious wife, works to fulfill a prophecy that he would become lord of Spider's Web Castle.
- DirectorGeorges KeitaAn African queen agrees to sacrifice her own child to save her people from the wrath of the gods.
- 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.
- DirectorKenji MisumiStarsHideki TakahashiKen OgataTakahiro TamuraToranosuke Sugi, a brave and loyal Samurai, fights to practice and preserve his master's teachings amid a civil war. With friends on both side will he cave to temptation, or stand on principle and for freedom?
- DirectorEdward ZwickStarsTom CruiseKen WatanabeBilly ConnollyNathan Algren, a US army veteran, is hired by the Japanese emperor to train his army in the modern warfare techniques. Nathan finds himself trapped in a struggle between two eras and two worlds.
- DirectorNorman CampbellBrian MacdonaldStarsGidon SaksHenry IngramEric DonkinIn a mythical Japan, Ko-Ko, a cheap tailor, has been appointed Lord High Executioner and must find someone to execute before the arrival of the ruling Mikado. He lights upon Nanki-Poo, a strolling minstrel who loves the beautiful Yum-Yum. But Yum-Yum is also loved by Ko-Ko, and Nanki-Poo, seeing no hope for his love, considers suicide. Ko-Ko offers to solve both their problems by executing Nanki-Poo, and an agreement is reached whereby Ko-Ko will allow Nanki-Poo to marry Yum-Yum for one month, at the end of which Nanki-Poo will be executed, in time for the arrival of the Mikado. But what Ko-Ko doesn't know is that Nanki-Poo is the son of the Mikado and has run away to avoid a betrothal to an old harridan named Katisha. The arrival of the Mikado brings all the threads of the tale together.
- DirectorTomu UchidaStarsKusuo AbeHarue AkagiChiyonosuke Azuma
- DirectorTomu UchidaStarsUshio AkashiNoriko AobaHideo Ayuba
- DirectorTadashi ImaiStarsAyako WakaoJirô TamiyaMariko Okada
- DirectorKôsaku YamashitaStarsKen TakakuraJô ShishidoFumio WatanabeOne of Toei's last ninkyô yakuza pictures of the 1970's.
- DirectorMikio NaruseStarsMichiyo KogureTomoemon OtaniSô YamamuraKogure is the widow of an assassinated samurai and Otani was that man's pupil. They have been sent out to seek revenge on the murderer, Kogure's first suitor, but their long and arduous journey has so far been fruitless.
- StarsTomisaburô WakayamaShintarô KatsuJudy OnggA master swordsman, Kiichi Hogan, wanders Japan in search of the Spanish swordsman who murdered his parents and slashed his throat 18 years before. Renouncing any normal life the samurai has become the feared bounty hunter, "Devil" Hogan, the Mute Samurai.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsTatsuya NakadaiAkira TeraoJinpachi NezuIn Medieval Japan, an elderly warlord retires, handing over his empire to his three sons. However, he vastly underestimates how the new-found power will corrupt them and cause them to turn on each other...and him.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneMachiko KyôMasayuki MoriThe rape of a bride and the murder of her samurai husband are recalled from the perspectives of a bandit, the bride, the samurai's ghost and a woodcutter.
- DirectorKazuo KurokiMasahiro MakinoStarsYoshio HaradaKanako HiguchiRenji IshibashiA group of masterless samurai living in Edo's red light district must fend off a militia bent on wiping out local prostitutes.
- DirectorKazuo MoriStarsRick JasonAyako WakaoEijirô Tôno
- DirectorKihachi OkamotoStarsToshirô MifuneKeiju KobayashiMichiyo AratamaFebruary 17 to March 3, 1860, inside Edo castle. A group of assassins wait by Sakurada Gate to kill the lord of the House of Ii, a powerful man in the Tokugawa government, which has ruled Japan for 300 years. They suspect a traitor in their midst, and their suspicions fall on Niiro, an impoverished ronin who dreams of samurai status, and Kurihara, an aristocratic samurai who befriends Niiro. Niiro longs to identify his father, knowing he is a high-ranking official who will disclose himself only if Niiro achieves samurai status. With American ships in Japan's harbors, cynicism among the assassins, and change in the air, Niiro resolves to reach ends that may prove ephemeral.
- DirectorSeiichirô UchikawaStarsIsamu NagatoTetsurô TanbaShima IwashitaThe adventures of a ronin, a samurai without a feudal lord, trying to achieve safety in a neighbouring domain.
- DirectorHideo GoshaStarsMikijirô HiraGô KatôShima IwashitaAfter killing a counselor of his clan, a fugitive samurai befriends a couple poaching the shogun's gold in the mountains.
- DirectorHideo GoshaStarsIsao NatsuyagiRyôhei UchidaJunko MiyazonoA charismatic ronin gets snared into a conflict between officials at a waystation, and gains the enmity of a group of thugs.
- DirectorHideo GoshaStarsIsao NatsuyagiIchirô NakataniBin AmatsuKiba is caught in the intrigue between a crooked goldmine owner, a cynical, betrayed swordsman, a manipulative lady and an arrogant dojo master.
- DirectorHideo GoshaStarsTetsurô TanbaIsamu NagatoMikijirô HiraWhen poor peasants kidnap a magistrate's daughter to coerce him into reducing their unfair taxes, a wandering ronin decides to give them some help.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneTatsuya NakadaiKeiju KobayashiA crafty samurai helps a young man and his fellow clansmen trying to save his uncle, who has been framed and imprisoned by a corrupt superintendent.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsDenjirô ÔkôchiSusumu FujitaYukiko TodorokiSugata, a young man, struggles to learn the nuance and meaning of judo, and in doing so comes to learn something of the meaning of life.
- DirectorKenji MizoguchiStarsKinuyo TanakaYoshiaki HanayagiKyôko KagawaIn medieval Japan, a compassionate governor is sent into exile. His wife and children try to join him, but are separated, and the children grow up amid suffering and oppression.
- DirectorHideo GoshaStarsKinnosuke NakamuraTetsurô TanbaKeiko AwajiLoyal samurai Samanosuke is attacked, mutilated, and left for dead while carrying out a mission for his clan. He recovers but has lost an eye and an arm. Taking a new identity as Tange Sazen, he searches for a stolen urn which has hidden significance to his clan. But Tange Sazen has his own reasons for seeking the urn.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneTakashi ShimuraKeiko TsushimaFarmers from a village exploited by bandits hire a veteran samurai for protection, who gathers six other samurai to join him.
- DirectorKimiyoshi YasudaStarsShintarô KatsuShiho FujimuraYoshihiko AoyamaZatoichi, while fighting off the usual group of gangsters, meets the apprentice of the swordsman who created his blade, who relays bad news about the sword.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsTatsuya NakadaiTsutomu YamazakiKen'ichi HagiwaraA petty thief with an utter resemblance to a samurai warlord is hired as the lord's double. When the warlord later dies the thief is forced to take up arms in his place.
- DirectorKenji MizoguchiStarsNarutoshi HayashiRaizô IchikawaTatsuya IshiguroAfter his father is not rewarded for his military achievements, Taira Kiyomori rebels against the court and the monks who rule the country. He also falls in love with Tokiko and discovers unsettling revelations about his parentage.
- DirectorSatsuo YamamotoStarsRaizô IchikawaShiho FujimuraYûnosuke ItôA young ninja becomes embroiled in a plot to kill a tyrannical warlord. He journeys across feudal Japan, facing deceit, betrayal, and enemy ninja at every turn. Goemon must complete his mission, regain his honor, and survive.