ncobb-watched's - Rented List
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The Sword of Doom (1966)Dai-bosatsu tôge
Tatsuya Nakadai and Toshiro Mifune star in this story of a wandering samurai who exists in a maelstrom of violence. A gifted swordsman plying his craft during the turbulent final days of shogunate rule in Japan, Ryunosuke (Nakadai) kills without remorse or mercy. It is a way of life that ultimately leads to madness. Kihachi Okamoto's swordplay classic is the thrilling tale of a man who chooses to devote his life to evil. - Director:
- Kihachi Okamoto
- Cast:
- Tatsuya Nakadai, Michiyo Aratama, Yûzô Kayama
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Ballad of Narayama (1958)Narayama bushiko
Based on the novel by Shichiro Fukazawa, the film recounts the ancient custom of younger inhabitants in a remote Japanese mountain village who are obliged to shepherd those over the age of seventy to the top of Mount Narayama to await their death. One such elder must first sort out the lives of her three children before she fulfils her duty to the village. - Director:
- Keisuke Kinoshita
- Cast:
- Kinuyo Tanaka, Teiji Takahashi, Yûko Mochizuki
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Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (1955)Miyamoto Musashi
The first episode of the trilogy covers Miyamoto's formative years, as he emerges from rural obscurity to search for fame and glory in civil war, but returns home a broken man. Brought back to sanity through the love of a warm hearted girl, she persuades him to place himself under the spiritual guidance of an unorthodox Buddhist priest. His methods of teaching the ways of enlightenment would make the fiercest of Zen masters seem positively gentle. Gaining in spiritual stature and insight, Miyamoto is forced to choose between settling for domestic happiness or continuing his search for perfection in the art of the sword. - Director:
- Hiroshi Inagaki
- Cast:
- Toshirô Mifune, Mariko Okada, Rentarô Mikuni
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The Burmese Harp (1956)Biruma no tategoto / Harp of Burma
At the close of World War II, a Japanese army regiment in Burma surrenders to the British. Private Mizushima (Shôji Yasui) is sent on a lone mission to persuade a trapped Japanese battalion to surrender also. When the outcome is a failure, he disguises himself in the robes of a Buddhist monk in hope of temporary anonymity as he journeys across the landscape - but he underestimates the power of his assumed role. - Director:
- Kon Ichikawa
- Cast:
- Rentarô Mikuni, Shôji Yasui, Tatsuya Mihashi
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Harakiri (1962)Seppuku
In a magnificent performance. Tatsuya Nakadai stars as Hanshiro Tsugumo. a masterless down-and-out samurai who enters the manor of Lord lyi. requesting to commit ritual suicide on his property. Suspected of simply fishing for charity, Hanshiro is told the gruesome tale of the last samurai who made the same request - but Hanshiro will not be moved... - Director:
- Masaki Kobayashi
- Cast:
- Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Ishihama, Shima Iwashita
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