Films with: Mikuni, Rentarō

Fukushūsuru wa ware ni ari Vengeance is mine /

A true crime story about Iwao Enokizu, self-styled "King of criminals." Enokizu began his criminal career through a series of murders that made headlines and startled all Japan with a sense of uneasy fascination.

DVD 5731

Kaidan

Consists of four stories of the supernatural based on Japanese folk material. In The black hair, a poor young samurai leaves his first wife to marry a rich woman. When he is unhappy in his second marriage, he returns to his first wife, who at first appears unchanged from when he last saw her. In The woman of the snow, a woodcutter is spared by a mysterious ghost-like woman in the snow, but must promise never to tell anyone what he has seen. In Hoichi, the earless, a blind musician-monk named Hoichi is commanded by a gathering of ghosts to sing the saga of their ancient deeds. The head monk paints Hoichi's body with prayer verses to protect him, but unfortunately overlooks Hoichi's ears. In In a cup of tea, a writer wonders what would happen to a person who drinks another's soul and finds out.

DVD 7590

Miyamoto Musashi Samurai I.

Musashi is a brash and ambitious peasant who desires frame and power as a swordsman. His dreams of glory in war sour when his army is routed and he becomes hunted by the authorities. With the help of a severe monk, he develops from a hot-tempered into a thoughtful swordsman.

DVD 4825

Rikyu

The story of Sen-no Rikyu, a Buddhist priest, who four centuries ago brought the art of the tea ceremony to perfection. Living in one of the most turbulent moments in Japanese history, Rikyu gained unexpected political influence as the confidant and cultural mentor to the powerful warlord, Hideyoshi Toyotomi. The film illustrates the classic struggle between art and politics and between the impulse to create and the impulse to destroy.

DVD 1027