Japanese Noir
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- DirectorYasuzô MasumuraStarsYukio MishimaAyako WakaoEiji FunakoshiTakeo is a young yakuza who renounces his former criminal activities after being released from prison. But sometimes escaping the past is not so easy.
- DirectorSeijun SuzukiStarsMichitarô MizushimaMisako WatanabeShôichi OzawaA prison truck is assaulted and the two convicts inside are murdered. The prison guard on duty gets suspended for negligence and takes it upon himself to track down the killers.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneTakashi ShimuraKeiko AwajiDuring a sweltering summer, a rookie homicide detective tries to track down his stolen Colt pistol.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneMasayuki MoriKyôko KagawaA vengeful young man marries the daughter of a corrupt industrialist in order to seek justice for his father's suicide.
- DirectorToshio MasudaStarsYûjirô IshiharaMie KitaharaAkira KobayashiTwo friends who witnessed an organized crime murder are threatened by the local mob into keeping quiet.
- DirectorSeijun SuzukiStarsTetsuya WatariChieko MatsubaraHideaki NitaniAfter his gang disbands, a yakuza enforcer looks forward to life outside of organized crime but soon must become a drifter after his old rivals attempt to assassinate him.
- DirectorSeijun SuzukiStarsJô ShishidoMariko OgawaAnnu MariAfter a botched assignment, a rice-fetishizing hitman finds himself in conflict with his organization, and one mysterious, dangerous fellow-hitman in particular.
- DirectorKihachi OkamotoStarsYûzô KayamaJun TazakiYukiko ShimazakiAfter a long stint working in Alaska, Jiro returns to his hometown. He soon learns that his father, the town's mayor, was murdered and, in his absence, the yakuza gangs have seized control of the town. Jiro quickly becomes dangerously obsessed with finding his father's killer.
- DirectorYasuzô MasumuraStarsJirô TamiyaJunko KanôEiji FunakoshiTwo car manufacturers spy on each other to try to find out details and prices of a new sports car each is about to launch.
- DirectorKoreyoshi KuraharaStarsTamio KawajiChico LourantYuko ChishiroOne is a young, jazz-obsessed Japanese drifter and other is a black American GI on the lam in Tokyo. The two outsiders become outlaws and the movie depicts their growing bond as an alternately absurd and tragic culture clash.
- DirectorKihachi OkamotoStarsYûzô KayamaMakoto SatôTatsuya MihashiWhile testing the advance prototype of a revolutionary gas engine, the vehicle is involved in a mysterious accident killing its driver. The police report states that it was an accident, caused by the driver. But driver's younger brother senses foul play.
- DirectorTakashi NomuraStarsJô ShishidoJerry FujioChitose KobayashiA hit man is hired to kill a mob boss. After the deed is done, he and his driver are wanted dead by rival gangs who joined forces.
- DirectorTakumi FurukawaStarsJô ShishidoChieko MatsubaraTamio KawajiA convict fresh out of prison, with a handicapped sister, is coerced by a wealthy mob boss into organizing an armored racetrack car heist.
- DirectorNobuo NakagawaStarsMiyuki TakakuraTatsuo TerashimaYôichi NumataRich industrialist Imai wishes to marry his elder daughter Kyoko off to Aoki, who he sees as the ideal candidate to take over his business. Kyoko, however, prefers the rugged but poor Soichi to Aoki's goody-two-shoes.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsTakashi ShimuraToshirô MifuneReizaburô YamamotoA drunken doctor with a hot temper and a violence-prone gangster with tuberculosis form a quicksilver bond.
- DirectorSeijun SuzukiStarsJô ShishidoKôji WadaYumiko NogawaAn injured thief on the run finds sanctuary within a brothel of united, ruthless women.
- DirectorSeijun SuzukiStarsAkira KobayashiChieko MatsubaraDaisaburô HirataThree schoolgirls are infatuated with a yakuza, Katsuta, of the Izu Clan. They meet another yakuza, `Diamond` Fuyu, of the rival Yoshida clan. As he gets a tattoo, two of the girls become squeamish and run off but Hanako, the best friend of the daughter of Sota Izu, boss of the Izu clan, stays to watch. She is intrigued with the yakuza .....
- DirectorKoreyoshi KuraharaStarsKô NishimuraNobuo KanekoMari ShirakiA bank manager is blackmailed into robbing his own bank.
- DirectorTomu UchidaStarsRentarô MikuniSachiko HidariKôji MitsuiThree thieves escape from a heist, one of them killing the other two. He is sheltered by a prostitute and sought after by the police, but only after ten years his true motivation unravels.
- DirectorYôji YamadaStarsChieko BaishôOsamu TakizawaMichiyo AratamaKiriko attempts to hire a well-known lawyer to defend her brother's murder case. The lawyer turns Kiriko down as she cannot afford him. Some time later, Kiriko encounters the lawyer again, but this time it is he who needs her help.
- DirectorToshio MasudaStarsTetsuya WatariRuriko AsaokaJô ShishidoA young yakuza hitman named Goro does a job and needs to hideout away from Tokyo for a while. He hangs out with loose women and hard men and always manages to stay one step ahead of the law. In his exile, he comes under suspicion for a murder and meets the girlfriend of the murdered man. They develop a strange bond while unbeknown to Goro, another hitman is after him for the job he did in Tokyo.
- DirectorMasahiro ShinodaStarsRyô IkebeMariko KagaTakashi FujikiA gangster gets released from prison and has to cope with the recent shifts of power between the gangs, while taking care of a thrill-seeking young woman, who got in bad company while gambling.
- DirectorSeijun SuzukiStarsMakiko EsumiSayoko YamaguchiHanae KanThe No. 3 assassin of Japan is given the chance to usurp No. 1 and take their place.
- DirectorHiroshi TeshigaharaStarsShintarô KatsuEtsuko IchiharaOsamu ÔkawaA private detective is hired to find a missing man by his wife. Contradictory evidence and the lack of clues soon render the case as virtually unsolvable, as the detective grows more and more frustrated.
- DirectorSeijun SuzukiStarsMichitarô MizushimaMari ShirakiShinsuke AshidaReleased from prison, a gangster (Michitaro Mizushima) retrieves diamonds sought by fellow yakuza.
- DirectorSeijun SuzukiStarsJô ShishidoMisako WatanabeTamio KawajiA violent thug plays opposing yakuza bosses against each other.
- DirectorKihachi OkamotoStarsYûnosuke ItôFubuki KoshijiIchirô NakataniFilmed as a traditional Japanese play, a yakuza boss is released from prison, but finds his gang usurped by a shady politician. With the help of his former cell mate he decides to assassinate the politician with an explosive pen.
- DirectorKohei HisanoStarsYûko NatoriHiroshi FuseRumiko Koyanagi
- DirectorSeijun SuzukiStarsRyôji HayamaTamaki SawaMari ShirakiA jazz bandleader, falsely accused of murdering his girlfriend, tries to stay one step ahead of the police as he dives into Tokyo's sin-city in search of the real killer in this dark and beautiful noir from master Seijun Suzuki.
- DirectorShôhei ImamuraStarsHiroyuki NagatoMisako WatanabeKô NishimuraEndless Desire is a black comedy on the spoils of war much extended and enhanced by the greed, treachery, laziness, and lust of the postwar decade.
- DirectorTatsuo ÔsoneStarsMinoru ÔkiMariko OkadaChishû Ryû
- DirectorMasahiro ShinodaStarsYûsuke KawazuShima IwashitaKayoko HonooA young journalist turns to an assassin for help when a team of hired killers comes gunning for her.
- DirectorSeijun SuzukiStarsHiroyuki NagatoKazuko YoshiyukiShinsuke AshidaA businessman returns from an extended trip, but something seems off. Criminal operations and religious cults come into play, while the man's daughter and her journalist boyfriend race to find the truth.
- DirectorTeruo IshiiStarsShigeru AmachiKyôko KatsuraYôko MiharaA reporter investigating a prostitution ring is framed for murder.
- DirectorHideo SuzukiStarsIsao KimuraKeiko TsushimaTakashi Shimura
- DirectorMikio NaruseStarsKeiju KobayashiMichiyo AratamaMitsuko KusabueTwo friends meet in a bar. Later that night, one friend's flirtatious wife is reportedly in an accident. The other friend doesn't feel well. What's come over him?
- DirectorShun NakaharaStarsKimiko YoHiroaki MurakamiYoriko Dôguchi
- DirectorNobuo NakagawaStarsKanjûrô ArashiRanko HanaiYoshiko Kuga
- DirectorTeruo IshiiStarsTeruo YoshidaYôko MiharaMako SanjôA man meets a woman. He is wrongfully suspected for the murder of her lover. She is a pick-pocket who's involved in an organized crime against her will. They pursue the truth of the murder and the secret of the prostitution syndicate.
- DirectorSôkichi TomimotoStarsAyako WakaoMasaya TakahashiMasahiko NaruseA woman's desperate attempt to prove her husband's innocence after he has been sentenced to death for the murder of his mistress. She tracks down four men in the victim's life, one of whom she suspects may be the real murderer, and systematically destroys them. In the end, her obsession becomes madness and she has ruined her own life along with her victims' lives to save her philandering husband.
- DirectorYoshitarô NomuraStarsYoshiko KugaHizuru TakachihoIneko ArimaTeiko's new husband disappears on a business trip. She discovers a pair of mysterious postcards hidden away in a book that may be clues to his fate.
- DirectorYoshitarô NomuraStarsMinoru ÔkiTakahiro TamuraSeiji MiyaguchiTwo cops on stakeout wait for a murderer.
- DirectorYasuo FuruhataStarsKen TakakuraAyumi IshidaHisamitsu NakamuraShuji was once a feared member of the Yakuza crime syndicate, but he's reformed his ways, abandoned his old life and left the city for a small coastal fishing town where he's become an honest fisherman.
- DirectorTakeshi KitanoStarsTakeshi KitanoMaiko KawakamiMakoto AshikawaA violence prone police officer discovers that his colleague is trafficking drugs.
- DirectorTakeshi KitanoStarsTakeshi KitanoYûrei YanagiYuriko IshidaTwo disquieted junior baseball players seek revenge on the local yakuza for attacking their coach.
- DirectorTakeshi KitanoStarsTakeshi KitanoAya KokumaiTetsu WatanabeSeveral yakuza from Tokyo are sent to Okinawa to help end a gang war. The war then escalates and the Tokyo drifters decide to lay low at the beach.
- DirectorTakashi IshiiStarsKôichi SatôMasahiro MotokiJinpachi NezuFive men plot to steal a large sum of money from the local yakuza, but everything does not go as planned and the men find themselves hunted down by contract killers.
- DirectorTakeshi KitanoStarsTakeshi KitanoYusuke SekiguchiKayoko KishimotoA young, naive boy sets out alone on the road to find his wayward mother. Soon he finds an unlikely protector in a crotchety man and the two have a series of unexpected adventures along the way.
- DirectorTakeshi KitanoStarsTakeshi KitanoClaude MakiOmar EppsA Japanese gangster is exiled to Los Angeles where his brother lives with a small but respectable multi-racial gang, who he inspires to expand their influence.
- DirectorTakeshi KitanoStarsTakeshi KitanoKippei ShînaRyô KaseThe boss of a major crime syndicate orders his lieutenant to bring a rogue gang of drug traffickers in line, a job that gets passed on to his long-suffering subordinate.
- DirectorTakeshi KitanoStarsToshiyuki NishidaTomokazu MiuraTakeshi KitanoAs the police launch a full-scale crackdown on organized crime, it ignites a national yakuza struggle between the Sanno of the East and Hanabishi of the West.
- DirectorTakeshi KitanoStarsTakeshi KitanoToshiyuki NishidaTatsuo NadakaFive years after surviving the all-out war between the Sanno and Hanabishi crime families, former yakuza boss Otomo now works in South Korea for Mr. Chang, a renowned fixer whose influence extends into Japan. A relatively minor incident causes tensions to rise between Chang Enterprises and the faraway powerful Hanabishi. The growing conflict gets out of hand and ignites a ferocious power struggle among the top echelons of the Hanabishi. When eventually Chang's life is endangered, devoted yakuza Otomo returns to Japan to settle things once and for all.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneYutaka SadaTatsuya NakadaiAn executive of a Yokohama shoe company becomes a victim of extortion when his chauffeur's son is kidnapped by mistake and held for ransom.
- DirectorKoreyoshi KuraharaStarsYûjirô IshiharaMie KitaharaIsamu KosugiA former boxer gets involved with a club hostess trying to escape the clutches of her gangster employer.
- DirectorTakeshi KitanoStarsTakeshi KitanoKayoko KishimotoRen ÔsugiNishi leaves the police in the face of harrowing personal and professional difficulties. Spiraling into depression, he makes questionable decisions.
- DirectorKinji FukasakuStarsTetsurô TanbaNaoko KuboIssac SaxsonAfter a successful robbery the culprits, from very different backgrounds, at once turn on each other.
- DirectorMasahiro KobayashiStarsRyo IshibashiNene ÔtsukaKen Ogata
- DirectorMasaki KobayashiStarsFumio WatanabeTatsuya NakadaiIneko ArimaA love triangle develops between a benevolent student, his innocent girlfriend, and a cruel petty criminal, all as a point of diagnosis of a social disease that had Japan slowly succumbing to lawlessness during the post-War era.
- DirectorKaizô HayashiStarsMasatoshi NagaseShirô SanoKiyotaka NanbaraMaiku Hama is a private detective working in Yokohama. Hama comes to the aid of a Taiwanese waiter named Yang and agrees to track down his missing brother. Through a series of double-crosses Hama gets embroiled in a gang war and a revenge plot between the two brothers.
- DirectorKaizô HayashiStarsMasatoshi NagaseYui NatsukawaTomoko YamaguchiJapan's favorite hard-boiled detective Maiku Hama (Masatoshi Nagase) returns for the third time in this crime drama. A crazed killer has been poisoning women around the city and planting Hama's fingerprints on the bodies. Hama must leave his cozy office behind the movie theater projection booth to clear his name.
- DirectorKaizô HayashiStarsMasatoshi NagaseKiyotaka NanbaraHaruko WanibuchiMike Hama is a private investigator who has been reduced to combing the mean streets of the Yokohama waterfront on a borrowed bicycle.
- DirectorShinji AoyamaStarsMasatoshi NagaseKyôka SuzukiNene ÔtsukaFinancially strapped private detective Hama Maike is hired by a businessman to retrieve his daughter from a cult-like refuge in a secluded area. Hama checks in and meets the group's leader, known just as "sensei" (teacher), who encourages her followers to discover their true desires (even if they're violent). Hama then has a series of experiences that are more existential than hard-boiled.
- DirectorKon IchikawaStarsYutaka MizutaniToshiyuki NagashimaRie NakaharaThere is a shooting at a small bookstore in town. When the police arrive they find three victims two of whom have already died. One of the dead uttered something strange before dying. The criminal has fled the scene. Coincidentally, one of the victims is the girlfriend of one of the policemen.
- DirectorTsuneo KobayashiStarsHiroshi MinamiIsao YamagataMieko TakamineA senior detective is determined to find the truth behind an apparent double suicide.
- DirectorSenkichi TaniguchiStarsToshirô MifuneTakashi ShimuraYoshio KosugiThree bank robbers on the run from the police hide out in a remote mountain lodge high up in the snowy Japanese Alps.
- DirectorKazuo MoriStarsRaizô IchikawaMikio NaritaYumiko NogawaA former soldier, reduced to working at a restaurant post-war, becomes a contract killer for the yakuza gangs he's in contact with.
- DirectorYasuzô MasumuraStarsJirô TamiyaKei SatôMako MidoriPsychological action drama about the activities of a corrupt lawyer.
- DirectorHideo SekigawaStarsKôji TsurutaJohn BromfieldNaoko Kubo
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsMitsuko IchimuraTokihiko OkadaChishû RyûA desperate man with a sick daughter decides to commit a robbery in order to help her. He begins to feel remorse though, which makes him question his decision.
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsKinuyo TanakaJôji OkaSumiko MizukuboA gangster tries to find redemption with the inadvertent help of an innocent shop girl and his jealous girlfriend will do anything to keep him.
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsMinoru TakadaHiroko KawasakiSatoko DateA small-time hood wants to go straight for a good girl but finds that starting over isn't as simple as it sounds.
- DirectorHaruki KadokawaStarsHironobu NomuraTakeshi KagaMitsuko BaishôUniversity student sax player gets a lesson in the hard-boiled noir life.
- DirectorTomu UchidaStarsEiji NakanoIsamu KosugiTaisuke MatsumotoItami, a young policeman, meets his high school friend, Tetsuo, a gangster, at a roadblock. As they rekindled their friendship, a complex relationship is established between them.
- DirectorShigeo TanakaStarsMitsuko MitoMasao WakaharaEijirô Tôno
- DirectorKon IchikawaStarsRyô IkebeJun TazakiMichitarô Mizushima
- DirectorHideo ÔbaStarsTôru AbeYumeko AizomeSugisaku Aoyama
- DirectorYasuzô MasumuraStarsAyako WakaoHiroshi KawaguchiEitarô OzawaAyako is charged with murdering her much older academic husband while climbing a mountain. Ayako was having an affair, apparently with her husband's approval, and this complicates the trial.
- DirectorKyôtarô NamikiStarsJunko EbataSaburô SawaiKen Utsui
- DirectorKiyoshi KurosawaStarsKoji YakushoJun FubukiTsuyoshi KusanagiA psychic housewife and her husband become burdened with a kidnapped girl who escaped her assailant. Junko will not let her husband call the hospital or the police for purely selfish reasons. The girl dies while still in their house and her ghost begins to haunt not only Junko but also her husband, Sato (Koji Yakusho).
- DirectorKeisuke KinoshitaStarsMitsuko MitoEitarô OzawaA dark secret awaits a dance-hall girl when she goes to meet her former lover.
- DirectorYutaka AbeStarsShirley YamaguchiDen ÔhinataSô Yamamura
- DirectorSabuStarsShin'ichi TsutsumiHiroshi ShimizuAkira YamamotoYamazaki has spent a lot of time plotting a robbery of a local bank, but when he actually gets to the bank he finds another robber escaping with the money. Through an improbable chain of events Yamazaki gets hold of the money and during a panicked escape accidentally kills an innocent girl.
- DirectorTai KatôStarsMakoto SatôChieko BaishôSanae NakaharaPolice investigators investigate the link between a serial killer's machinations and a young man who committed suicide under murky circumstances.
- DirectorKihachi OkamotoStarsToshirô MifuneKôji TsurutaYôko TsukasaJapanese police detective Saburo Fujioka is suspected of corruption, demoted, and sent to the city of Kojin. Kojin is the scene of fierce fighting between rival gangs. Fujioka is assigned to investigate the death of the wife of gangster Tetsuo Maruyama of the Kozuka gang, probably at the hands of one of the Oka gang. During a gang gunfight, Maruyama is rescued by Detective Fujioka and the two become friends. But Maruyama insists on avenging his wife's murder, even if it means conflict with his new friend.
- DirectorYoshishige YoshidaStarsKeiji SadaKaneko IwasakiShin'ichirô MikamiAn insurance company employee threatens suicide after a massive layoff is announced by the management. The company takes advantage of his threat by turning it into an advertising campaign.
- DirectorJean-Pierre LimosinStarsShinji TakedaHinano YoshikawaKaori MizushimaThe police are tracking a man who shoots at people. But the young sister of a detective find that he's not the mad vigilante portrayed in newspapers.
- DirectorToshio MasudaStarsYûjirô IshiharaMie KitaharaYukiko Todoroki50s subculture icon Yujiro Ishihara (Crazed Fruit) stars in Masuda's Red Pier as "Jiro the Lefty", a killer with a natural talent. Shortly after arriving in Kobe, he witnesses a man die in a crane accident which turns out to be a cover-up for a murder. Jiro soon finds himself on the run, tailed by a determined cop...