Isao Bitō

The documentary about how Beatles went popular in Japan and did a concert in Budokan back in 1966.

A film about an orphan kid in Japan in 1943

Master Shinkome asks Shinden to find a former disciple, Shintoto, from his rakugoka (comic storytelling) family. Shinden visits ex-disciples in his search for Shintoto.

Inugami Sahei, who built up the wealth of the Inugami Clan, passes away, leaving a will with Furudate, his legal adviser, for his daughters Matsuko, Takeko and Umeko, all of whom have different mothers, and for their sons, as well as for Nonomiya Tamayo, the granddaughter of a person to whom Sahei feels heavily indebted. The will states that all his assets are inherited by Tamayo alone, on the condition that she marries one of the sons of the daughters. Furudate's assistant learns the content of the will, and seeks advice from Kindaichi Kosuke, a private detective, as he senses the air of unease. Shortly afterwards, murders start to occur one after another in the clan.

A new magistrate in the town of Horisoto—widely reputed to be the most lawless township in Japan, uses guile and his opponents' own misperceptions and prejudices to defeat his enemies and uproot corruption.

Kotaro and Kuroe marry almost immediately in a Christian ceremony and move into an apartment. Life is completely joyous until, one day, Kuroe falls ill.

Okatsu is a widow raising five children - adults but still mama-dependent - in mid-eighteenth century Edo, Japan. Her frugality attracts unflattering comment even amid national tough times (the region is in famine) What Okatsu tells no one is that she saves so that a friend can start his own business once he's released from prison.

Shinjiro Iijima (Hakuryu) is a blackmail genius who never misses his prey. Using a robbery brought in by the local gangster Kasahara (Kazuki Namioka) as a joke, he sets up a blackmail trap, but there is a big mystery behind the robbery. Iijima, who pursues the case, finally reaches a local authority. And there's an even bigger shadow behind it... What is Iijima's trap for blackmailing the world...!

Kon Ichikawa's retelling of the classic true story of Samurai honor. When a young clan lord is forced to commit seppuku (ritual suicide), his loyal followers (now Ronin, masterless Samurai) dedicate their lives to avenging his death.

It is 1965. High-school student Takeyoshi Fujiwara hears "Pipeline" by the Ventures, and is mesmerized by their unique sound. With three friends, he forms a band called "The Rocking Horsemen." A warm and comic glimpse into high-school and small-town life in Japan in the 60's.

One night, as pub owner Sotaro is caring for his sick wife, Shizuko, she asks him to promise that if she dies, he will never remarry. Thinking she is just being dramatic, he promises and tells her to go to sleep. When he wakes the next morning, however, Shizuko is dead. Sotaro keeps his promise, until one day he meets Satoko. The two quickly fall in love, and agree to get married. Their first night together, however, is interrupted by Shizuko, who is angry over her husband's broken promise. Sotaro and Satoko must find some way of appeasing the spirit before she drives them from their home.

Traditional Japanese pop singer Reiko (Muroi) decides to enter a well-known TV program for amateur singers along with a confused teenager (Ôtomo) and a 40-year-old father of four (Bito).

No synopsis available yet.

A black comedy about a former Rock'n'Roll singer, who becomes the mayor of Tokyo.

No synopsis available yet.

No synopsis available yet.

Akagi appears again one year after the night where he first played mahjong.

A Japanese soldier is forced to question alliances when he meets and falls in love with the leader of the rebel movement.

Hot-selling artist Sosuke Natsume suddenly declares filmmaking on the final day of his concert. Although the staff at his music agency are panicking because of his sudden declaration, Natsume keeps preparing for it with the help of his old friend, cameraman Tamura. The film production finally starts after the staff agreed to his declaration. However, many obstacles, such as the severe public eyes on "cross-industry filmmakers," stand one after another in front of him...

After a death-defying game of chicken one evening in 1958, Akagi nonchalantly enters a Yakuza Mahjong parlor to shake the cops' trail. Even unfamiliar with the rules of Mahjong, his gambling intuition is enough to save a small time gambler, Nangou, and grant him a seat at the gambling table. As the night progresses, the stakes are raised both within the game and for Akagi, who is under the suspicion of local police. However, Akagi overcomes the situation with his tactics, defiant of both life and chance. When he leaves the gambling house, no one present is in doubt of his genius.

Comedy feature.

When Wabisuke's father-in-law unexpectedly dies, the family goes through a series of random events and occurrences as the funeral unfolds over three days in their home.

A young jazz musician's desire to advance in his career runs afoul of organized crime in this thriller from Haruki Kadokawa. After a saxophonist starts playing at a particular nightspot, a thug from the Yakuza adopts him as a special friend for no greater reason than he plays one of his favorite songs well. As the dangerous life of the gangster intertwines with that of the musician, it brings harm to the musician's girlfriend, who is raped. This changes the young saxophonist's attitude about his patron, but his Yakuza "friend" is still too embroiled in his own problems to worry about anything else.

No synopsis available yet.

Etsuko, a female college student, tries to beat the con artists at their own game after she gets scammed one after another.

Tora-san's nephew Mitsuo is exchanging letters with Izumi, a former classmate whose parents divorced and took her out of Tokyo.

An ex-Olympic athlete and a student commit cash robbery. Aki Hoshino, a pre-med student, becomes inspired to steal money the school collected as “special fees” from parents wanting to assure their offspring’s’ acceptance into the hallowed institution. He forms an unbeatable alliance with an ex-employee and crime bosses to retrieve the ill-gotten money from the “wrong” hands.

Seven raccoons with supernatural powers sneak into a freight train, disguise themselves as humans, and head to Tokyo with the intention to create a band. They become superstars "Checkers" but their true identity will be revealed very soon.

Young writer Tamako, who is wrongfully accused of killing the head yakuza, must find a way out of trouble.

No synopsis available yet.

Life seems to be good for Shintoto, an up-and-coming rakugo artist who has just had his first sexual experience at a local brothel. Lucky for him, he gets to date the beautiful sex worker he meets that day, and a younger high school rakugo aficionado is also vying for his attention. But for clumsy, heart-on-his-sleeve Shintoto, life doesn’t stay rosy for long.

The story of a Japanese man who as a 16-year-old went to Maui to work in the sugar cane fields in order to support his family back in Japan. Now 89 and still living in Hawaii he is visited by his granddaughter who brings him a letter from his disinherited and recently dead son. This brings back memories of his life with his wife and family following the attack on Pearl Harbor, in particular of his son who had gone off to join the war for the Americans.

At a certain high school in Karuizawa, students relied on ordinary local trains for their commute, but with only seven trains running per day, missing one meant spending two or three hours killing time in town. This sparse train schedule on the Shinetsu Main Line

After three consecutive days of heavy rain, the water level at Sumida River rises and the newly built Eitai Bridge collapses just two years after its completion. Among the 20 victims is Okou, the lover of Yokichi, a member of the theatrical entertainment district controlled by Samon Kamiyama. A body of a bridge carpenter is also found in the debris causing Samon to suspect the construction, which prompts him to launch an investigation. The superintendent, Horitome Tamba rules that the bridge collapse is due to a natural disaster and cleared the wrongdoing of master carpenter Jinbe, who was responsible for building the bridge. Yotaro, who is filled with grief and anger surrenders his jitte and joins forces with his former gambling buddies Juzaburo and Onami to abduct Tamb’s Daughter O-Sono to extract revenge…

Utamaro was an artist who lived in Edo (which was later to become modern-day Tokyo) in the late 18th century. This film, which has a complex and wide-ranging storyline, recreates the world of that time, as it appeared in Utamaro's paintings.

A yakuza leader must balance his violent tactics necessary for the rough streets of 1960s Tokyo with the domestic needs of his daughters.

Chiba, looking gnarly, and acting as animalistic as ever, stars alongside Matsukata as violent gangsters battling their way through fight after bloody fight with rival yakuza on the streets of Okinawa.

The eighth sequel of the series by the successful “Fukasaku and Bunta” collaboration revolves around the men of a lesser organization that are constantly bullied by the upper organization and “bleed in vain” in gang wars.

In 1930, the chance meeting of a novelist and one of his fans opens the door to a series of mysterious events culminating in the death of a wealthy industrialist who may have been leading a double life.

A man whose son has been murdered pushes to create laws to financially protect victims' families.

Political fixer Homei Yamaoka's misdeeds come to light, throwing Japanese politics into deadly confusion. But he's not going down without a fight.

No synopsis available yet.

About a girl who marries in the middle of the Pacific War, is widowed at 18, and her unflagging struggle to survive during and after the war with her son.

Hiroshi Kakurai is an assassin who was thinking of retiring. He travels to an island in the Seto Inland Sea and begins to live peacefully with Shinobu, a woman he has fallen in love with, but the intensity of his love for her begins to drive him towards destruction...

Follows the fluctuating fortunes of three ronin in feudal Japan who wander from castle to castle, selling their services to whichever lord will fill their rice bowls. Though they use the servants' entrance, they still feel themselves bound by the samurai code of Bushido; and this tension leads to tragedy.

Dramatic story of one man trying to make a difference.

No synopsis available yet.

This idol film centers on the love story between Mari Asami (Mari Amachi), a designer at a toy manufacturer, and Shunji Kawachi (Kensaku Morita), a newcomer in charge of planning, while also weaving in the love story of Mari's uncle ( Kunie Tanaka ), and featuring singing scenes by Mari Amachi throughout.

Motozo Imamura, a.k.a. Gen, grew up in an upper-class family, but he never went to school and spent his days playing around. One day, he walked into an orgy of male-female sexual misconduct, and when he dropped off Roze, whom he had met there, he saw her sister, Kaoru, forgetting her impurity. One day, he went to an orgy where he met Roze, and he could not forget the purity of her older sister, Kaoru. A few days later, Gen went to the party again and was mistaken for the boss's brother.

A professional hunter, Tetsuya, returns from Alaska to find that his hometown had become a lawless slum. He is shocked to learn that his younger sister had committed suicide after being raped by unknown men. One day, he rescues a girl from being attacked by some gang, and discovers that the same gang had driven his sister to death. Using his lethal hunting skills, Tetsuya begins to take revenge…

The four kinds of love that Yuriko experiences, namely, a childhood longing love, a dream of marriage, a maternal love, and a destined love between parents and children over two generations, as well as the sisterly love between Yuriko and her sister Kaori.

Kazama and three others defeated Yoshie Sangyo, but the Nishio group was disbanded due to public pressure, and the territory belonged to the Hirata group.

The story of love and friendship between a seamstress girl and a member of a student ensemble, who, against all odds, turned a song written by the composer about adversity into a real hit.

1964 musical.

No synopsis available yet.