Seizō Fukumoto

The Rugby Star

The success of Truck Yaro (1975-1979) initiated a whole load of movies that put "Yaro" in their title, including this semi-bonkers sports comedy/drama. Sonny Chiba's brother Jiro Chiba stars as a Rugby player whose team must find a way to beat the opponent. It's a standard storyline without any major surprises, but works surprisingly well. Training scenes are relatively nuts; much better than the actual matches actually, which tend to go on forever. There is no sex, nudity or graphic violence, making this a family friendly affair. Sonny Chiba appears for about 7 minutes during the last third as a truck driver who comes to Jiro's rescue.

Kumokiri Nizaemon

During the Kyoho period in the reign of Tokugawa Yoshimune, there is a gang of thieves active not just in Edo but also the Tokaido and the Nakasendo, and all across the Kansai region, stealing large sums of money with skillful techniques. They only target the very wealthy and never kill or injure people. They appear with the clouds and disappear like the mist. On the night that the beautiful Ochiyo is to become the bride of a dry goods dealer, a large amount of money hidden inside the shop is stolen. The gang disappears without injuring anyone. It was a two-year plan to marry Ochiyo off so that she could bring them in. The leader of this gang is Kumokiri Nizaemon, the greatest bandit of all time. He keeps a rein on his highly-skilled and notorious followers Nanabake no Ochiyo, Kinezumi no Kichigoro, Subashiri no Kumagoro, Ingakozo Rokunosuke and others.

Japanese Godfather: Ambition

An ambitious Kansai yakuza don moves in on Tokyo using financial and political tactics, sparking conflict with a local criminal association.

CHAIN/チェイン

Brothers Serving Time

While imprisoned, Tatsu encounters Danshi, a man who is a big honcho in the prison pecking order. After initial conflict they become sworn brothers. Tatsu and the sworn brothers he acquires weren’t really gangsters before their prison time, just ruffians. Prison, however, introduces them to plenty of gangland characters and three years later, they’re out of prison and enmeshed in the yakuza world.

Onihei Gaiden - Promise in the Shadows

Ex-bandit Komakichi has a random encounter with an ex-ally, Matsuzou. Seeing each other for the first time in 35 years, the two drink and talk about their past, without revealing their current lifestyles, Matsuzou then recounts an odd story... The doomed reunion slowly steers the old bandits toward a life-changing event.

The Last Samurai

Nathan Algren is an American hired to instruct the Japanese army in the ways of modern warfare, which finds him learning to respect the samurai and the honorable principles that rule them. Pressed to destroy the samurai's way of life in the name of modernization and open trade, Algren decides to become an ultimate warrior himself and to fight for their right to exist.

Japan's Don

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

Chambara: The Art of Japanese Swordplay

Veteran director Nakajima Sadao examines the appeal, background, context and transition of chambara, or period sword-fighting and samurai films, in Kyoto. Not only interviews with actors, choreographers and critiques are included, but the director orchestrates an original chambara scene for the documentary.

Juken Sentai Gekiranger

Beast-Fist is a form of martial arts where the powers of a beast can be acquired by sensing the beast in their hearts. There are two relative schools of the Beast-Fist. One, the Beast-Fist of justice, Geki Juken Beast Arts. And one, the evil Beast-Fist of Rin Juken Akugata. The two schools of warriors learn and change in order to increase in power every day, as they are destined to clash.