In medieval Japan, a brutal and corrupt magistrate is planning to kill the child who is about to become the heir to the estate and position of the local lord and substitute his own "heir", an orphan, in order to get control of the late lord's estate and rule as the impostor's "regent". However, a mysterious stranger appears and sets out to thwart the magistrate's plans and free the people from his oppressive rule.
Kenji and Chuko travel to Hokkaido as migrant workers and enlist as miners under the strict leadership of Guzuyasu. On the boat journey to Hokkaido, Kenji attracts Ohama, who is travelling to Hokkaido to open a bar. When Kenji visits the bar, he chases away a sailor who was hassling a shy girl, Ofuji, which makes Ohama jealous.
Early Japanese sound film, a remake of Josef von Sternberg’s DOCKS OF NEW YORK set in Yokohama.
Directed by Mikio Naruse. It is presumed to be lost.
Kato's splendid mustache is an obstacle when it comes to finding a job. However, he gets a job as a security guard at a construction site. The president of the construction company tries to grow a mustache like Kato's and, failing, orders Kato to shave off his.
This 1932 adaptation is the earliest sound version of the ever-popular and much-filmed Chushingura story of the loyal 47 retainers who avenged their feudal lord after he was obliged to commit hara-kiri due to the machinations of a villainous courtier. As the first sound version of the classic narrative, the film was something of an event, and employed a stellar cast, who give a roster of memorable performances. Director Teinosuke Kinugasa was primarily a specialist in jidai-geki (period films), such as the internationally celebrated Gate of Hell (Jigokumon, 1953), and although he is now most famous as the maker of the avant-garde silent films A Page of Madness (Kurutta ichipeji, 1926) and Crossroads (Jujiro, 1928), Chushingura is in fact more typical of his output than those experimental works. The film ranked third in that year’s Kinema Junpo critics’ poll, and Joseph Anderson and Donald Richie noted that 'not only the sound but the quick cutting was admired by many critics.
The Siege of Osaka
A modern girl suddenly intrudes into a widower's family home.
Directed by Mikio Naruse. It is presumed to be lost.
Directed by Mikio Naruse. It is presumed to be lost.
Michiko gets pregnant after a rape. She marries a boring business partner of her father to avoid the shame. Later she meets the rapist again who is now a union leader in opposition of her husband.
