Twins separated at birth kick back against the samurai corruption and growing Tokugawa authoritarianism i Umetsugu Inoue’s politically charged jidaigeki.
Feb 10, 2022 • Subscribe
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Crossroad (死の十字路, Umetsugu Inoue, 1956)
An adulterous industrialist’s life unravels after he accidentally kills his wife and tries to cover up the crime in Umetsugu Inoue’s gothic noir.


The Third Shadow Warrior (第三の影武者, Umetsugu Inoue, 1963)
A peasant dreaming of samurai glory finds himself sacrificing his identity in service of a false lord in Umetsugu Inoue’s dark existential drama


The Eagle and the Hawk (鷲と鷹, Umetsugu Inoue, 1957)
Strapping sailors meditate on revenge and forgiveness while trapped aboard a moribund cargo ship in Umetsugu Inoue’s otherwise charming musical youth drama.


The Green Music Box (緑はるかに, Umetsugu Inoue, 1955)
A lonely little girl finds herself dragged into conspiracy when her father is kidnapped by spies in Umetsugu Inoue’s bizarre musical adventure.
白と黒~Black & White~, Volume 1
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白と黒~Black & White~, Volume 2
In Volume 1, we met Shirakawa Junko and Kuroda Kayo two high-spec, elites in an international sales department, who are natural enemies. They don’t just fight…in fact, they…


Black Rain (黒い雨, Shohei Imamura, 1989)
A small family finds itself contending with social stigma and a changing Japan in Shohei Imamura’s harrowing exploration of the legacy of the atomic bomb


Between the White Key and the Black Key (白鍵と黒鍵の間に, Masanori Tominaga, 2023)
A jaded bar musician is confronted by his younger, more idealistic self in 1980s Ginza in Masanori Tominaga’s surrealistic adaptation of the memoirs of jazz musician Hiroshi Minami.


The Sands of Kurobe (黒部の太陽, Kei Kumai, 1968)
Kei Kumai directs a three-hour epic devoted to the sometimes brutal construction of the Kurobe Dam.


The Big Boss (暗黒街の顔役, Kihachi Okamoto, 1959)
A veteran yakuza falls foul of changing times trying to save his teen idol younger brother from the underworld in an early crime drama from Kihachi Okamoto


The Last Gunfight (暗黒街の対決, Kihachi Okamoto, 1960)
A maverick cop finds himself at the centre of a moribund gang war in Kihachi Okamoto’s anarchic western-inflected crime drama
The Time Thief
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The Naked Executive / 裸の重役 / Hadaka no juyaku (1964)
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Darkness in the Light (日本の黒い夏ー冤罪, Kei Kumai, 2001)
Idealistic teen reporters have some questions to ask of mass media and the police in Kei Kumai’s true life drama.


Toshiyuki Inoue
井上俊之 INOUE TOSHIYUKI MAD1/MAD2/Booru *Originally from Studio Junio alongside Satoru Utsunomiya and Takashi Nakamura. Cut his teeth on the series Gu Gu Ganmo before establishing himself as a…
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The Infantilization and Sexualization of Inoue Orihime in Bleach
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The Tycoon / 傷だらけの山河 / Kizudarake no sanga (1964)
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Tinker, Tailor, Liar, Thief
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Gohan is a clothes thief!!
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Chainsaw Minute: Chapter 119: Thief
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In Search of the Black Rose
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Brief Thoughts On: Ningyo (1964)
Serving as one of Osamu Tezuka's very first films, Ningyo is an interesting part of anime history to look back on.


Ken (剣, Kenji Misumi, 1964)
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Astro Note Episode 4 Review – The Breakfast Thief
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Whirlpool of Flesh (おんなの渦と淵と流れ, Ko Nakahira, 1964)
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The Desperate (どろ犬, Takaharu Saeki, 1964)
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August in the Water (水の中の八月, Sogo Ishii, 1995)
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A Hen in the Wind (風の中の牝鶏, Yasujiro Ozu, 1948)
A wife makes a fateful choice to save her child while her husband is away at war only to be resented for it on his return in an…