J-Cult
Japanese cult films that I need to watch
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- DirectorTeruo IshiiStarsTeruo YoshidaYôko MiharaShigeru AmachiA criminal drama told in a semi-documentary fashion. The murder of the chief official of Kobe city's Customs triggers an investigation of a prostitution ring called the 'Yellow Line' that sells Japanese women.
- DirectorNobuo NakagawaStarsShigeru AmachiNoriko KitazawaKatsuko WakasugiThe ghost of a samurai's wife takes revenge on her husband.
- DirectorYoshihiro IshikawaStarsShôzaburô DateNamiji MatsuuraNoriko KitazawaTwo lovers lost in the mountains find themselves in a mysterious forest pond, as if some kind of force doesn't want to let them go.
- DirectorTeruo IshiiStarsKen UtsuiAkemi TsukushiYôko MiharaAnother world of illicit pleasures lies beneath the glittering neon surface of Tokyo.
- DirectorMichiyoshi DoiStarsJun TataraShigeru AmachiKimi HoshiFive rough and ready prisoners , lead by the one nicknamed Capone, are idling in one prison cell in The Horizon Glitters when a sixth is added to the mix. Nicknamed Mite, which is short for Dynamite, the situation becomes explosive when the inmates plot their escape to get their hands on the diamond loot of whose whereabouts Mite is aware.
- DirectorKyôtarô NamikiStarsJunko IkeuchiYasuko MitaReiko SetoA woman is horribly disfigured after her peers from school throw her off a cliff. Later, the woman gets help from a witch and becomes a shapeshifting bat creature hellbent for revenge.
- DirectorNobuo NakagawaStarsMiyuki TakakuraTatsuo TerashimaYôichi NumataRich industrialist Imai wishes to marry his elder daughter Kyoko off to Aoki, who he sees as the ideal candidate to take over his business. Kyoko, however, prefers the rugged but poor Soichi to Aoki's goody-two-shoes.
- DirectorToshio ShimuraStarsSusumu FujitaMichiko MaedaKen UtsuiA story of sex and survival, Toshio Shimura's REVENGE OF THE PEARL QUEEN stars voluptuous Michiko Maeda as an office worker and future pearl diver trapped on a tropical beach with five lustful male castaways.
- DirectorKinji FukasakuStarsAkihiro MiwaEitarô OzawaMasakazu TamuraWhen the enigmatic woman Ryoko (played by Mishima-discovered female impersonator Akihiro Miwa) arrives at the Black Rose Mansion to perform, not only do the gentleman patrons seem smitten by her mystery and beauty, but past flames arrive to vie and die for her affections, as well. But things get even more complicated when the Mansion's manager and his wayward son both fall for the same dangerous woman.
- DirectorShirô ToyodaStarsHideyo AmamotoTadao FutamiMasao ImafukuA rebellious Korean artist tests the limits of his sadistic patron, an omnipotent feudal Japanese lord. Yoshihide demands a commission to paint screens of the Hell which he sees the egotistical lord's peasants suffer. Such a public display will challenge the uncaring upper class' obsession with their own personal beauty. With Chinese and Buddhist influences at a peak in 11th century Japan, the daimyo Horikawa wanted a mural of Buddhist paradise. As Yoshihide's ghastly artworks appear to come to life, the painter and his patron's mutual racism also take their toll.
- DirectorNagisa ÔshimaStarsKei SatôDo-yun YuFumio WatanabeA Korean man is sentenced to death by hanging, but he survives the execution. For the following two hours, his executioners try to work out how to handle the situation in this black farce.
- DirectorTokuzô TanakaStarsShiho FujimuraAkira IshihamaMachiko HasegawaThe lives of a master sculptor and his young apprentice are changed forever when they meet an evil witch during a snow storm.
- DirectorTeruo IshiiStarsMeiko KajiHoki TokudaMakoto SatôThe head of a yakuza gang is being trailed by a mysterious, vengeful blind woman.
- DirectorKinji FukasakuStarsBunta SugawaraShin'ichi ChibaMeiko KajiA young criminal joins a yakuza family to kill the gangsters who beat him up, but falls in love with his boss' widow's niece, piling up enemies and corpses along his wayward way.
- DirectorKazuhiko YamaguchiStarsMeiko KajiTatsuo UmemiyaTsunehiko WataseNami is an ex-convict who becomes a hostess to support a sick woman who bailed her out. In doing so, she gets involved in a local gangster's scheme to take over the bar she works for.
- DirectorNobuo NakagawaStarsToshio HosokawaMidori ChikumaYuriko EjimaThe descendant of the servant of a cruel and vicious samurai returns to the town where she was born, only to find that a cat who is possessed by the spirits of those murdered by the samurai is trying to kill her.
- DirectorNobuo NakagawaStarsKatsuko WakasugiTakashi WadaNoriko KitazawaA blind masseur visits a samurai to request the return of a loan. The samurai kills him in anger, then has his servant dump the body in the Kasane swamp. However, the ghost of the masseur returns to haunt the samurai, who kills his wife by mistake and then goes to the swamp and drowns himself. 20 years later, the masseur's daughter unknowingly falls in love with the samurai's son who has been brought up to be a servant. After she is horribly disfigured in an accident, he plots to run away with another woman, but the path of their escape lies by the Kasane swamp...
- DirectorShun'ya ItôStarsMeiko KajiMikio NaritaReisen RiMatsu is sheltered by an incestuous prostitute on her run from the police, her ex-prison mate and a cop whose arm she hacked off.
- DirectorShun'ya ItôStarsMeiko KajiFumio WatanabeYukie KagawaAfter spending a year in solitary confinement, Matsu escapes from prison with six more convicts, followed by the guards led by the vengeful warden who wants her dead at all costs.
- DirectorTokuzô TanakaStarsKazuo HasegawaRaizô IchikawaShintarô KatsuA team of samurai warriors team up to defeat a shape-changing, supernatural creature.
- DirectorToshio MatsumotoStarsPîtâOsamu OgasawaraYoshimi JôThe trials and tribulations of Eddie and other transvestites in Japan.
- DirectorShûji TerayamaStarsKaoru YachigusaKeiko NiitakaMasumi HarukawaA young boys' coming of age tale set in a strange, carnivalesque village becomes the recreation of a memory that the director has twenty years later.
- DirectorShôhei ImamuraStarsKen OgataRentarô MikuniChôchô MiyakoChronological exploits of Iwao Enokizu, a murderous thief on the run.
- DirectorNagisa ÔshimaStarsKayoko HonooKôji NakaharaMasahiko TsugawaIn Osaka's slum, capricious folks without futures engage in pilfering, assault and robbery, prostitution, and the trading of ID cards and blood.
- DirectorNagisa ÔshimaStarsFumio WatanabeAkiko KoyamaTetsuo AbeA young boy reluctantly aids his swindling father in a threatening scam.
- DirectorNagisa ÔshimaStarsKenzô KawarasakiAtsuko KakuAtsuo NakamuraUpon receiving a shocking telegram from his cousin, a man recounts his early life, as a member of a broad family full of dark secrets that slowly reveal themselves through the clan ceremonies.
- DirectorSydney PollackStarsRobert MitchumKen TakakuraEiji OkadaAmerican private-eye Harry Kilmer returns to Japan to rescue a friend's kidnapped daughter from the clutches of the Yakuza.
- DirectorEiichi YamamotoStarsAiko NagayamaChinatsu NakayamaMasaya TakahashiAfter being raped by an evil feudal lord and subsequently getting banished from her village, a peasant girl makes a pact with the Devil to gain magical powers and take her revenge.
- DirectorTai-Kit MakStarsLeon LaiJacky CheungMichelle ReisLung and his partner Ling is assigned to go after Daishu for selling a drug from the Rapters's world called 'Happiness' which causes people to evaporate, Lung, Ling and Wan-Gei join forces to fight the Rapters.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsYoshitaka ZushiKin SugaiToshiyuki TonomuraVarious tales in the lives of Tokyo slum dwellers, including a mentally deficient young man obsessed with driving his own commuter trolley.
- DirectorKinji FukasakuStarsRobert HortonLuciana PaluzziRichard JaeckelAfter destroying a giant asteroid heading towards Earth, a group of scientists unknowingly bring back a strange green substance that soon mutates into a monster.
- DirectorKinji FukasakuStarsHiroko YakushimaruHiroyuki SanadaShin'ichi ChibaPrincess Shizu was born under a terrible curse. Only the eight legendary samurai, hailing from across Japan, can protect her from an ancient supernatural clan to fulfill their destinies as foretold by prophecy.
- DirectorJun FukudaIshirô HondaToshio MasudaStarsKensaku MoritaYûko AsanoRyô IkebeEarth is attacked by alien spacecraft from Venus. But a Japanese scientist has constructed a space craft, the Gohten, with which he may save humanity.
- DirectorIshirô HondaShûe MatsubayashiStarsTadao TakashimaYôko FujiyamaYû FujikiWhen an ancient underground civilization and their snake-like guardian plots to reclaim the surface world, those of the surface fights back.
- DirectorNorifumi SuzukiStarsHiroyuki SanadaShin'ichi ChibaEtsuko ShihomiJoji learns a dark secret from his dying father; he learns he has a twin brother and a sister. He travels to find his brother and finds he has been murdered in mysterious circumstances. While staying with his sister he overhears his Uncle's plans to find a 130CT diamond (named the Queen of Sheba) and soon learns he may be behind other sinister schemes.
- DirectorMasahiro ShinodaStarsShima IwashitaMasao KusakariRie YokoyamaA freestyle, imagined telling of the life of shaman queen Himiko, who falls in love with her half-brother, making her powers weaken thus putting her position to risk.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsTatsuya NakadaiTsutomu YamazakiKen'ichi HagiwaraA petty thief with an utter resemblance to a samurai warlord is hired as the lord's double. When the warlord later dies the thief is forced to take up arms in his place.
- DirectorTakeshi KitanoStarsTakeshi KitanoMaiko KawakamiMakoto AshikawaA violence prone police officer discovers that his colleague is trafficking drugs.
- DirectorNagisa ÔshimaStarsTatsuya FujiEiko MatsudaAoi NakajimaA passionate telling of the story of Sada Abe, a woman whose affair with her master led to an obsessive and ultimately destructive sexual relationship.
- DirectorGakuryû IshiiStarsRena KomineTadanobu AsanoKotomi KyônoBus conductor Tomiko falls in love with driver Niitaka, even though she also suspects him of being a serial killer who killed his female conductors after tiring of them.
- DirectorGakuryû IshiiStarsKatsuya KobayashiMitsuko BaishôYoshiki ArizonoAfter moving into a new house, a family starts acting crazier and crazier.
- DirectorGakuryû IshiiStarsTatsuo YamadaMasamitsu OhikeKôji NanjôWhen the leader of the once-notorious biker gang of Tokyo falls in love with a barmaid and quickly loses his rebellious ideals, the rest of the gang feels betrayed. Especially the reputedly troubled kid Ken revolts against his former friend.
- DirectorKazuhiko HasegawaStarsBunta SugawaraKenji SawadaKimiko IkegamiA high school science teacher builds an atomic bomb and uses it to extort the nation, but cannot decide what he wants. Meanwhile, a determined cop is catching up to him, as is radiation poisoning.
- DirectorYûzô KawashimaStarsFurankî SakaiSachiko HidariYôko MinamidaIn the last days of the Shogunate, a resourceful grifter seeks to outwit competing prostitutes, rebellious samurai and other inhabitants of a brothel in order to survive the hardened times.
- DirectorGakuryû IshiiStarsTakanori JinnaiShinya OheYuto IsetaPunk rock gangs and music groups clash with one another and the brutal police force in a futuristic Tokyo setting.
- DirectorYoshitarô NomuraStarsTetsurô TanbaGô KatôKensaku MoritaDetectives investigate the murder of an old man found in a Tokyo rail yard.
- DirectorKore-eda HirokazuStarsMasaharu FukuyamaMachiko OnoYôko MakiRyota is a successful workaholic businessman. When he learns that his biological son was switched with another boy after birth, he faces the difficult decision to choose his true son or the boy he and his wife have raised as their own.
- DirectorKore-eda HirokazuStarsHiroshi AbeYôko MakiSatomi KobayashiAfter the death of his father, a private detective struggles to find child support money and reconnect with his son and ex-wife.
- DirectorTeinosuke KinugasaStarsMachiko KyôKazuo HasegawaIsao YamagataA samurai pursues a married lady-in-waiting.
- DirectorKeiichi OzawaStarsTetsuya WatariChieko MatsubaraKei SatôTo fulfill a prison mate's dying wish, and to right what is wrong, Gôro will kill again. Tetsuya Watari meets his archenemy Shuusuke Shirayama, a rival gangster who also wants to part with the yakuza ways.
- DirectorKinji FukasakuStarsBunta SugawaraTsunehiko WataseYuriko HishimiSugawara is Kuroda, an itinerant gambler who steps in when a hit by drug-addicted assassin Kusunoki goes wrong, and takes the fall on behalf of the Owada family, but when the gang fails to make good on financial promises to him, Kuroda targets the family bosses with a ruthless vengeance.
- DirectorMichio YamamotoStarsKayo MatsuoAkira NakaoYukiko KobayashiKeiko and her friend are trying to find her missing brother after he disappeared visiting his girlfriend Yuko.
- DirectorChih-Hung KueiStarsNi TienJung WangSzu-Chia ChenA man who believes that he has murdered his wife, sees her return as a vengeful ghost.
- DirectorYasuharu HasebeStarsMeiko KajiMasakazu TamuraYumi KaneiOnce again on the lam, Matsu is helped by a strip club worker who holds a grudge against the detective who's trying to find her.
- DirectorNorifumi SuzukiStarsReiko IkeAkemi NegishiRyôko EmaDuring the Meiji era, a gambler called Ocho takes revenge on three gangsters who killed her father, shelters a wanted anarchist and confronts a British spy.
- DirectorNorifumi SuzukiStarsReiko IkeYukie KagawaShinsuke TakiIn the 1970s, the Japanese youth emancipation also found it's way into the yakuza (crime) societies. A Girl Boss may have a choice between bikes, and between boyfriends. But she has to defend her choices the hard way, as her triumph and power over the girls' gang is questioned by her female rivals, and the all powerful Yakuza Boss. She inspires loyalty to her girls, and to men to the extent of many of them literally giving their lives for her - in a world of knife and gun fighting, bike and car chasing, and violent death.
- DirectorTeruo IshiiStarsReiko IkeMakoto AikawaArumi KuriOcho gets abducted by a yakuza clan that uses a gang of women to smuggle drugs in their vaginas. Finding out that the kingpin had killed the last boss and abducted his daughter, Ocho joins forces with the drug mules against the clan.
- DirectorYukio NodaStarsMiki SugimotoEiji GôTetsurô TanbaAfter a politician's daughter is kidnapped by a ruthless gang, a brutal policewoman is released from jail and sent after them.
- DirectorNorifumi SuzukiStarsMiki SugimotoReiko IkeMisuzu ÔtaA group of girls find themselves immersed in an Osaka gangland war when they escape from a detention transport. They form their own gang called The Gypsies.
- DirectorKazuhiko YamaguchiStarsReiko ÔshidaMasumi TachibanaYukie KagawaJuvenile delinquent Rika gets released from the reform school and ends up protecting the debt-ridden father of her friend from local gangsters.
- DirectorMitsuo YanagimachiThe 1970s in Japan saw the rise of motorcycle gangs, which drew the interest of the media. The movie follows a member of the "Black Emperors" gang and his interaction with his parents after he gets in trouble with the police.
- DirectorYasuharu HasebeStarsAkiko WadaMeiko KajiKôji WadaA wandering tough biker girl aids a female delinquent gang in their battles against an all-male Seiyu group over a fixed boxing match.
- DirectorYasuharu HasebeStarsMeiko KajiRikiya YasuokaTatsuya FujiA street girl gang clashes with racist local gangsters after one of the girls starts dating an Afro-Japanese man.
- DirectorToshiya FujitaStarsMeiko KajiBunjaku HanTakeo ChiiFive freewheeling friends conjure up a plan to rob 30 million yen from a religious movement.
- DirectorYasuzô MasumuraStarsMeiko KajiRyûdô UzakiHisashi IgawaA poor merchant and a prostitute plan to commit suicide together after being pressured and betrayed by their surroundings.
- DirectorMasahiro ShinodaStarsTomisaburô WakayamaShima IwashitaHiroko IsayamaA mountain man captures a beautiful, but a manipulative city woman and goes to excessive lengths to please her every whim.
- DirectorNagisa ÔshimaStarsKatsuo NakamuraMariko KagaYumiko NogawaAfter Atsushi commits murder, he is blackmailed into keeping a suitcase full of embezzled money. What follows is a descent into lustful, reckless actions and regret.
- DirectorNorifumi SuzukiStarsMiki SugimotoReiko IkeEmi JôMembers of the Red Helmet biker girl gang wind up in Kyoto, where they get into conflict with other girl gangs and local yakuza thugs.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsKô ShibasakiShin'ichi TsutsumiKazue FukiishiPeople mysteriously start receiving voicemail messages from their future selves, foretelling their deaths.
- DirectorToshio MatsumotoStarsKatsuo NakamuraJûrô KaraYasuko SanjoAfter being robbed by a geisha, a ronin warrior carves a bloody path to seek revenge.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneMasayuki MoriKyôko KagawaA vengeful young man marries the daughter of a corrupt industrialist in order to seek justice for his father's suicide.
- DirectorShûji TerayamaStarsEimei SasakiMasahiro SaitoYukiko KobayashiAn angst-ridden teen dealing with his dysfunctional family hits the streets. The story is inter-cut with various psychedelic, energetic vignettes.
- DirectorShûji TerayamaStarsTsutomu YamazakiMayumi OgawaYoshio HaradaA surreal, isolated village sees its inhabitants gradually leave behind their mutual traditions and superstitions as they leave for the city. Among them are two cousins who love each other and who get into a quarrel with other villagers.
- DirectorShûji TerayamaStarsHiroshi MikamiTakeshi WakamatsuKeiko NiitakaA young man, haunted by his past, travels the land in search of the lyrics to a lullaby his mother used to sing to him.
- DirectorGakuryû IshiiStarsRena KomineShinsuke AokiReiko MatsuoA teenage girl gains supernatural power after an accident and comes to understand her place in the universe.
- DirectorNobuo NakagawaStarsShigeru AmachiUtako MitsuyaYôichi NumataA group of sinners involved in interconnected tales of murder, revenge, deceit and adultery all meet at the Gates of Hell.
- DirectorHiroshi TeshigaharaStarsTatsuya NakadaiMikijirô HiraKyôko KishidaA businessman with a disfigured face obtains a lifelike mask from his doctor, but the mask starts altering his personality.
- DirectorToshio MatsumotoStarsYôji MatsudaShijaku KatsuraHideo MurotaA young man kills his bride on the day of his marriage and goes insane. He wakes up in an asylum with no memory, left in the hands of two mysterious doctors who relate his condition with his biological identity.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsYûta SoneKimika YoshinoShohei HinoA yakuza enforcer is ordered to secretly drive his beloved colleague to be assassinated. But when the colleague unceremoniously disappears en route, the trip that follows is a twisted, surreal and horrifying experience.