Takao Saitō

After the Rain (2000)

A group of travelers is stranded in a small country inn when the river floods during heavy rains. As the bad weather continues, tensions rise amongst the trapped travelers. ...

Rainbow Bridge (1993)

Set in Edo-era Kyoto, this drama depicts the adolescent battles and the love between parents and children who are born and raised in the same tenement house. ...

Madadayo (1993)

In postwar Tokyo, beloved writer-professor Hyakken Uchida retires and is buoyed through hardship by the fierce devotion of his former students, who honor him each year with a raucous "Not yet!" birthday toast. Told in warm, gently comic vignettes, Kurosawa ...

Rhapsody in August (1991)

An elderly Nagasaki hibakusha spends a summer caring for her four grandchildren, whose curiosity about the 1945 bombing stirs buried memories and moral questions. When an American nephew from Hawaii visits, the family confronts grief, guilt, and the possib ...

Dreams (1990)

Eight visually rich vignettes drawn from Kurosawa's own dreams—fox weddings and vanished orchards, a soldier's ghosts, a walk through Van Gogh's canvases, nuclear nightmares, and a water-mill utopia—meditate on childhood, art, mortality, and humanity's ...

Oración (1988)

Set on a quiet ranch in Hokkaido. One day, a colt is born from a legendary bloodline. It is given the name Oracion or "prayer". When Oracion is grown, a factory owner buys the horse. Will he be the key to solving the man's problems? Based on the novel by T ...

Secret Agreement: Ministry of Foreign Affairs Secret Leak Incident (1988)

TV film about the "Nishiyama Incident", a scandal surrounding the 1972 return of Okinawa to Japan. Produced to commemorate the 20th anniversary of TV Asahi in 1978 and released theatrically by Office Henmi in 1988. ...

Ran (1985)

Shakespeare's King Lear is reimagined as a singular historical epic set in sixteenth-century Japan where an aging warlord divides his kingdom between his three sons. ...

Lake of Illusions (1982)

A free-spirited girl living in a Japanese province spends her time working in a brothel and running with her dog. When her routine is shattered she gets on a path of hate and self discovery. ...

Kagemusha (1980)

Akira Kurosawa's lauded feudal epic presents the tale of a petty thief who is recruited to impersonate Shingen, an aging warlord, in order to avoid attacks by competing clans. When Shingen dies, his generals reluctantly agree to have the impostor take over ...

Dog Whistle (1978)

In this crime thriller produced by Toshiro Mifune (who has a supporting role), hard-boiled Shiro Akitsu goes on a relentless search for his abducted 7-year old daughter, with the aid of an Ainu dog summoned by a whistle she gave him. ...

Morning for Two (1971)

While Keisuke and Jiro were brothers, the characters of the two were opposite. My older brother Keisuke was a sophomore college graduate, a honest and passionate young man, but his brother Jiro was only a student of a ronin who failed in taking the univers ...

Dodes'ka-den (1970)

On a Tokyo dump's shantytown edge, interwoven vignettes follow residents scraping by: a boy who "drives" an imaginary trolley, a homeless father and son designing a dream house, a young woman brutalized at home, drunks, schemers, and saints of small kindne ...

Red Lion (1969)

Japan, February 1868. As the Tokugawa shogunate declines and the power of Emperor Meiji grows, Gonzo, a soldier of the Restoration Army, returns to Sawando, his hometown, to announce the end of tyranny. ...

Bullet Wound (1969)

Yuzo Kayama is an American-Japanese operative working for the US to uncover an arms deal between an American seller and Chinese communists, and to take out both parties. After almost getting assassinated himself, he takes a wounded civilian with him despit ...

My Brother, My Love (1968)

Japanese romance film. ...

Kojiro (1967)

Sasaki Kojiro tells the story of the genius who staked his love, glory, and life on a duel with the supreme master of the sword, Miyamoto Musashi (Tatsuya Nakadai). Oscar winning Hiroshi Inagaki directs this epic motion picture based on Genzo Murakami's fa ...

The Killing Bottle (1967)

In Hong Kong an International Secret Police (ISP) Agent is murdered while investigating ZZZ, a group bent on assassinating the Prime Minister of Buddhabal. ISP Agents Carter and Kitami are assigned to the case. When the Prime Minister arrives in Tokyo for ...

The Mad Atlantic (1966)

Captain Murakami takes over as skipper of the Azuma Maru, replacing the well-liked former captain. Murakami forces the crew to work harder than they ever have, creating enmity and exhaustion. Just when the ship has taken a huge catch of tuna in its nets, M ...

Japan's No. 1 Sesame Paste Man (1965)

Red Beard (1965)

Aspiring to an easy job as personal physician to a wealthy family, Noboru Yasumoto is disappointed when his first post after medical school takes him to a small country clinic under the gruff doctor Red Beard. Yasumoto rebels in numerous ways, but Red Bear ...

Samurai Pirate (1963)

An adventurous and daring sailor sets sail to the castle of an ailing king to stop an evil premier, hungry for power and wealth, from succeeding the throne and marrying the king's beautiful daughter. Along the way, with the help of some courageous rebels a ...

Legacy of the 500,000 (1963)

During World War II, Japan sends gold to the Phillipines. After the war, the gold is lost in the bay of Manille. Former soldier Takeichi Matsuo is now working as a business executive. He meets Mintsura Gunji, the boss of a large company, who offers him to ...

High and Low (1963)

A Yokohama shoe executive faces a wrenching choice when kidnappers mistakenly seize his chauffeur's son but demand the ransom anyway. ...

Attack Squadron (1963)

Lt. Col. Senda resists the idea of sending Japanese fighter pilots on suicide missions. He believes that what is really necessary for Japan to regain momentum in the war is for the air force to gather its most brilliant pilots into an elite squadron and us ...

Irresponsible Age of Japan (1962)

An irresponsible salaryman works his way to the top of the corporate ladder. ...

Sanjuro (1962)

In this companion piece and sequel to "Yojimbo," jaded samurai Sanjuro helps an idealistic group of young warriors weed out their clan's evil influences, and in the process turns their image of a proper samurai on its ear. ...

Yojimbo (1961)

A nameless ronin, or samurai with no master, enters a small village in feudal Japan where two rival businessmen are struggling for control of the local gambling trade. Taking the name Sanjuro Kuwabatake, the ronin convinces both silk merchant Tazaemon and ...

The Bad Sleep Well (1960)

In this loose adaptation of "Hamlet," illegitimate son Kôichi Nishi climbs to a high position within a Japanese corporation and marries the crippled daughter of company vice president Iwabuchi. At the reception, the wedding cake is a replica of their corp ...

Seven Samurai (1954)

A samurai answers a village's request for protection after he falls on hard times. The town needs protection from bandits, so the samurai gathers six others to help him teach the people how to defend themselves, and the villagers provide the soldiers with ...

Life Work of Akira Kurosawa (2022)

Acclaimed filmmaker Akira Kurosawa has been misunderstood. Despite his public perception an a perfectionist who would clash with anyone in his way, the real Kurosawa was actually a very gentle and soft-spoken director. This documentary depicts the human be ...

Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create: 'The Bad Sleep Well' (2002)

Documentary made by Toho for the Masterworks reissue of all of its Kurosawa films. This one focuses on "The Bad Sleep Well" (1960). ...

Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create: 'Sanjuro' (2002)

Documentary made by Toho for the Masterworks reissue of all of its Kurosawa films. This one focuses on "Sanjuro" (1962). ...

Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create: 'Dodes'ka-den' (2002)

Documentary made by Toho for the Masterworks reissue of all of its Kurosawa films. This one focuses on "Dodes'ka-den" (1970). ...

Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create: 'High and Low' (2002)

Documentary made by Toho for the Masterworks reissue of all of its Kurosawa films. This one focuses on "High and Low" (1963). ...

Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create: 'The Hidden Fortress' (2002)

Documentary made by Toho for the Masterworks reissue of all of its Kurosawa films. This one focuses on "The Hidden Fortress" (1958). ...

Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create: 'Kagemusha' (2002)

Documentary made by Toho for the Masterworks reissue of all of its Kurosawa films. This one focuses on "Kagemusha" (1980). ...

Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create: 'Yojimbo' (2002)

Documentary made by Toho for the Masterworks reissue of all of its Kurosawa films. This one focuses on "Yojimbo" (1961). ...

A. K. (1985)

An intimate chronicle of the shooting of Ran (1985), a film directed by the legendary Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa. ...