Acting

Shunji Kasuga

Born 1921-06-14 · Niigata, Japan

Acting credits

Cruel Story of Youth poster
6.6

A harsh young man seduces a freeloading young woman and eventually takes advantage of her knack for hitchhiking to rob middle-class men.

Cruel Story of Youth

1960

The Burmese Harp poster
7.8

In Burma during the closing days of WWII, a Japanese soldier separated from his unit disguises himself as a Buddhist monk to escape imprisonment as a POW.

The Burmese Harp

1956

What's Up, Tiger Lily? poster
5.4

In comic Woody Allen's film debut, he took the Japanese action film "International Secret Police: Key of Keys" and re-dubbed it, changing the plot to make it revolve around a secret egg salad recipe.

What's Up, Tiger Lily?

1966

13 Assassins poster
7.5

A sadistic Daimyo (feudal lord) rapes a woman and murders both her and her husband, but even when one of his own vassals commits suicide to bring attention to the crime, the matter is quickly hushed up. Not only will there be no punishment, but because the Daimyo is the Shogun's younger brother, he will soon be appointed to a high political position from which he could wreak even more havoc. Convinced that the fate of the Shogunate hangs in the balance, a plot is hatched to assassinate the Daimyo. The two most brilliant strategic minds of their generation find themselves pitted against each other; one is tasked to defend a man he despises, and has a small army at his disposal. The other is given a suicide mission, and has 12 brave men. They are the 13 Assassins.

13 Assassins

1963

The Street Without Sun poster
7.0

Based on the novel by proletarian writer Sunao Tokunaga. The story is about a long strike by workers at a large printing house and the strikers' steadfastness, which neither hunger nor violence could break. The heroine of this story actively participates in her colleagues' struggle against layoffs, oppression, and police brutality.

The Street Without Sun

1954

Flame and the Code poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Flame and the Code

1966

Fearful Witch poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Fearful Witch

1962

The Great Killing poster
7.3

A cynical samurai is left as the sole survivor to fulfill a plot to assassinate the puppet of a villain intent on usurping the shogunate in the 17th century. A Shogunate Elder connives to rule Japan by making his puppet, the Shogun's brother Tsunashige, the next Shogun. The best strategist in Japan, Yamaga, leads a plot to stop the Elder, but his cabal is betrayed and most of the conspirators are captured and tortured.

The Great Killing

1964

Gang vs. G-Men poster
7.5

Two rival gangs of gangsters clash for dominance of a neighborhood.

Gang vs. G-Men

1962

No artwork available
NR

Twenty years after the father’s death and the mother and child’s separation, when they are reunited, a pistol aimed at the mother glints coldly in the child’s hand.

Kenjū no mae ni tatsu haha

1950

Greed in Broad Daylight poster
8.0

After a successful robbery the culprits, from very different backgrounds, at once turn on each other.

Greed in Broad Daylight

1961

Tower of Lilies poster
6.8

A group of Okinawan high school girls are drafted as nurses during the American invasion of the island. As the enemy army advances further, the situation for the girls becomes increasingly desperate as food and shelter run out and the number of injured climbs, leading to the film's tragic finale.

Tower of Lilies

1953

Wolves, Pigs & Men poster
8.2

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.

Wolves, Pigs & Men

1964

Duel of the Underworld poster
7.0

No synopsis available yet.

Duel of the Underworld

1963

Sado Island Elegy poster
NR

Medical student Makoto Tachibana took advantage of his summer break to visit Sado Island, the hometown of his best friend Tago. Tago was the son of the owner of a ryokan in Ryotsu Port on Sado, and his younger sister, the aspiring singer Chieko, had also come to the island. The day Makoto arrived on the island was the opening ceremony for the Ryōtsu River, and the entire town was buzzing with the Okesa dance. That night, Chieko introduced Makoto to Fumiyo, whom she had noticed on the ferry and had been curious about. Although Makoto and Fumiyo were attracted to each other, her grandfather and older brother vehemently opposed their relationship.

Sado Island Elegy

1952

Tokyo's  Business District poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Tokyo's Business District

1962

Sasuke and His Comedians poster
6.6

Osaka in the early 1600s, aftermath of the historical Battle of Sekigahara; a group of orphan children are wandering through the battlefield scavenging for armour when they encounter a young boy named Sasuke with magical powers he says came from a meteor that crashed onto the Earth…

Sasuke and His Comedians

1963

Shinju fujin: Shojo no maki poster
NR

A story depicting the true nature of a vulnerable woman who abandons love, severs the bond between father and daughter, and challenges the very embodiment of greed and materialism.

Shinju fujin: Shojo no maki

1950

Shinju fujin: Hitozuma no maki poster
NR

A prostitute? A poisonous woman? A virgin widow writhing in agony night after night, tormented by her first misstep.

Shinju fujin: Hitozuma no maki

1950

The Yellow Climate poster
8.0

Based on the mystery novel of the same name by Seichō Matsumoto.

The Yellow Climate

1961

No artwork available
NR

A brutal murder in the dead of night. While the man who left bloody fingerprints and footprints screams he is innocent, the intelligent criminal, driven by greed and lust, smirks in the shadows.

Designated Criminal

1950

Key of Keys poster
6.8

Intelligence director Suritai asks agent Kitami to steal money from anti-government guerrillas.

Key of Keys

1965

Dissolution Rites poster
7.0

Sawaki is released from prison after serving eight years for murdering a rival gang leader in order to obtain the land rights to a landfill for the Kotaki clan and he discovers that the world has changed significantly in that time. The police have forced the disbanding of all yakuza groups in and around Tokyo and most of the former yakuza have moved on to legitimate jobs. Sawaki is disgusted that his yakuza brothers have abandoned their codes of honor and are abusing their newfound power in the legitimate business world to exploit the poor. Sawaki feels partly responsible for making them so powerful and enabling their corruption, so he decides to follow his traditional code of honor to save the residents of a small town where his former lover lives.

Dissolution Rites

1967

Mighty Jack poster
3.0

The organization Mighty Jack is formed to combat the criminal syndicate known as "Q", and are given a large array of advanced weapons, chief among them being a high-tech submarine. Harold Hatari is abducted by Q, and Mighty Jack is dispatched to rescue him. Hatari is interrogated and threatened with blinding lights, but the Mighty Jack crew rescue him in the nick of time. Later, Q is discovered to be using "hot ice" (water that remains solid at room temperature) to create weapons and a secret ocean base disguised as an iceberg (though it's not precisely clear how hot ice could be a major world threat). Q then attempts to take over the Mighty Jack sub.

Mighty Jack

1987