Subgenre Sampler
Action/Adventure > Foreign Cinema: 401 Films to Buy & Rent
Tale of Zatoichi Continues, The (1962)
- Dir. Kazuo Mori
Feat. Shintaro Katsu
- The first of many sequels to the iconic TALE OF ZATOICHI, in which a blind, affable masseur (Katsu) who happens to be a lethally skillful swordsman…
Tale of Zatoichi, The (1962)
- Dir. Kenji Misumi
Feat. Shintaro Katsu
- The inaugural movie in the iconic 'Zatoichi' series – which followed the intriguing adventures in mythical Japan of a blind masseur, who has…
Daredevil in the Castle (Osaka jo monogatari) (1961)
- Dir. Hiroshi Inagaki
Feat. Toshiro Mifune, Kyoko Kagawa, Yuriko Hoshi…
- Another solid genre excursion from seasoned dir. Hiroshi Inagaki (THE SAMURAI TRILOGY), with Toshiro Mifune again taking the lead as a despondent,…
Yojimbo (1961)
- Dir. Akira Kurosawa
Feat. Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Yoko Tsukasa
- Mercenary Sanjuro walks into town and sells his services to both factions of rival gangs – to stand back and watch them destroy each other.…
Samurai Saga (Aru kengo no shogai) (1959)
- Dir. Hiroshi Inagaki
Feat. Toshiro Mifune, Yoko Tsukasa
- Feudal Japanese retelling of Rostand's 'Cyrano de Bergerac', with the charismatic Toshiro Mifune as the shogun–poet with a…
Hidden Fortress (1958)
- Dir. Akira Kurosawa
Feat. Toshiro Mifune
- Toshiro Mifune displays astounding skill with horse and sword as the ultimate warrior in this innovative amalgam of fairy–tale and Samurai…
Throne of Blood (1957)
- Dir. Akira Kurosawa
Feat. Toshiro Mifune, Isuzu Yamada, Takashi Shimura
- Kurosawa transposes MacBeth into a Samurai setting and the result justifies his reputation. Nothing short of an awesome spectacle Shakespeare himself…
Samurai Trilogy, The (Musashi Miyamoto, Duel at Ichijoji Temple, Duel at Ganryu Island) (1954-1956)
- Dir. Hiroshi Inagaki
Feat. Toshiro Mifune
- Sweeping saga of a legendary 17th century samurai Musashi Miyamoto, that made an icon of actor Toshiro Mifune. Played out against the turmoil of a…
Seven Samurai, The (1954)
- Dir. Akira Kurosawa
Feat. Takashi Shimura, Toshiro Mifune
- Kurosawa's classic 'Eastern Western' about a village who hire an elite band of warriors to fend off marauders. Compassionate storytelling with combat…
Fanfan la Tulipe (1952)
- Dir. Christian-Jaque
Feat. Gerard Philipe, Gina Lollobrigida, Genevieve Page
- Irresistible swashbuckling fluff, with Gerard Philipe imperious on the battlefield and in the bedroom. A daredevil pace matched with lusty female…