East Asian Cinema: China, Japan & Korea
South/Southeast Asia cinema videography
China, Korea, Japan documentary videography
South/Southeast Asia documentary videography
- Bibliography of books and articles about East Asian cinema
Bibliography of books and articles about South/Southeast Asian cinema
Chinese Cinema/Chinese Filmmakers: Mainland China
- 2046 (China/Hong Kong, 2004)
- Directed by Wong Kar Wai. Cast: Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Zhang Ziyi, Gong Li, Maggie Cheung, Faye Wong, Takuya Kimura, Chang Chen, Dong Jie, Carina Lau. A young man, who has tried to forget his lost love by meeting different young women, starts to write a novel about a young man falling in love with a machine-made woman on the 2046 train. The number 2046 is the room number where he met his lost love. 128 min. DVD 1287
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress: A Tailor Made Romance (Xiao cai feng) (France / China, 2002)
- Directed by Sijie Dai. Cast: Xun Zhou, Kun Chen, Ye Liu, Shuangbao Wang, Zhijun Cong.
At the height of Mao's Cultural Revolution, two teenage boys are among thousands exiled to the countryside for "re-education." The narrator and his best friend find themselves in a remote village where their only distractions are a violin and the beautiful daughter of the local tailor. But it is when they discover a hidden stash of Western classics in Chinese translation that their re-education takes its most surprising turn. 111 min. DVD 8098
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Beijing Bicycle (Shi qi sui de dan che) (China/Taiwan, 2001)
- Directed by Xiaoshuai Wang. Just as Guai, a bicycle messenger, makes his final payment for the silver mountain bike loaned by his company, he finds it stolen. After endless searching, Guai discovers his bicycle is now in the hands of Jian who bought the bicycle with stolen money. Though Guai and Jian finally work out a deal, they find themselves on an unexpected journey of self-discovery. 113 min. DVD 1287
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Buscombe, E. "Beijing bicycle." Sight & Sound v. ns12 no. 7 (July 2002) p. 38-9
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Donald, Stephanie Hemelryk. "Beijing Bicycle." Metro, Winter2002 Issue 133, p190, 3p
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Lu, Jie. "Metropolarities: The Troubled Lot and Beijing Bicycle." Journal of Contemporary China, Nov2008, Vol. 17 Issue 57, p717-732, 16p;
Xu, Jian. "Representing rural migrants in the city: experimentalism in Wang Xiaoshuai's "So Close to Paradise" and "Beijing Bicycle." Screen v. 46 no. 4 (Winter 2005) p. 433-49
- Blind Shaft (Mang jing)(2003)
- Directed by Yang Li. Cast: Li Yixiang, Wang Shuangbao, Wang Baoqiang.
In modern northwestern China, itinerant coal miners Tang and Song befriend fellow miners, murder them in staged "accidents", then pass their victims off as relatives in order to pocket their employer's hush money. The recruiting of Feng, a naive young farm boy, threatens to drive a wedge between the two killers. 89 min. DVD 9601
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Ban Wang. "Documentary as Haunting of the Real: The Logic of Capital in Blind Shaft." Asian Cinema, Spring/Summer2005, Vol. 16 Issue 1, p4-15, 12p
Garcia, Maria. "Blind Shaft." Film Journal International, Mar2004, Vol. 107 Issue 3, p38-39, 2p
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- The Blue Kite (Lan Feng Cheng) (China, Hong Kong, 1993)
- Directed by Tian Zhuangzhuang. Banned in China, this film is the most acclaimed and controversial to come out of the new Chinese cinema. Told from the perspective of a young boy, Tieh-tou, it traces the fate of a Beijing family and their neighbors through the political and social upheavals in 1950's and 60's China. 138 min. DVD 1791; vhs 999:1832
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Movie Review Query Engine - Along the Sungari River (Songhua jiang shang) (China, 1947)
- Directed by Shan Jin. Cast: Zhang Ruifang, Pu Ke, Wang Renlu, Zhou Diao.
In Manchuria, a village inn by a river is a regular stop for carters, so it's not surprising that the daughter of the innkeeper has a carter for a sweetheart. But all sweetness and tranquility is shattered by the invasion of the brutal Japanese in 1931. Quinnian and Sunnu end up as slaves in a coal mine, but are soon heading up a workers' rebellion to overthrow their Japanese masters. 120 min. DVD 9433 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- The Big Road (Da lu) (China, 1935)
- Directed by Sun Yu. Cast: Jin Yan, Chen Yanyan, Li Lili, Zheng Junli, Han Langen.
Six friends decide to 'head north' and become involved in the construction of a highway crucial for the Chinese Army. A hymn to the solidarity necessary for China to move ahead (and defeat the enemy), [the film] shows its young protagonists only discovering who they are when they become part of collective action.
100 min. DVD 9432 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Chinese Animation. Volume 1. (1960-1981)
- Contents: Where is Mama (Te Wei, Qian Jiajun, 1960, 10 min.): Pioneering brush-painting animation of a school of tadpoles in search of "mama." Clever Duckling (Yu Zhenguang, 1960, 5 min.): Animation adapted from the folk art of folded paper. One Night in an Art Gallery (A Da, Lin Wenxiao, 1978, 15 min.): This controversial cel animation ostensibly made for children features a sub-text about the reign and fall of the "Gang of Four," the leaders responsible for the devastation of the cultural revolution. Three Monks (A Da, 1980, 20 min.): Offers a unique version of an ancient proverb about learning to live and work together for survival. Monkeys Fish the Moon (Zhou Keqin, 1981, 10 min.): Charming cut-paper animation about some very mischievous monkeys. Buffalo Boy and the Flute (Te Wei, Qian Jiajun, 1963, 20 min.): Brush-painted animation expressing the delicate relationship between man and nature. 90 min. total; all credits and titles in Chinese. 999:2829
- Chinese Animation. Volume 2. (1983-1998)
- Contents: Snipe-clam Grapple (Hu Jinqing, 1983, 7 min.): Delicate cut-paper animation drawn from a Chinese proberb. Wanderings of San Mao (A Da, 1984, 10 min.): Features the life of a small orphan boy trying to survive in a war torn world. 36 Characters (A Da, 1984, 12 min.): Authentic Chinese pictograms are used for the humans and animals in this ancient Chinese story. Selecting Beauty (Wang Shuchen, 1987, 8 min.): A cel animation feature showing the way in which royalty choose their wives. Mantis Stalks Cicada (Hu Jinqing, 1988, 4 min.): Created from observations of nature, a film impeccably animated with cut-paper and landscape painting. Fishdish (Fang Runnan, 1988, 4 min.): A painted fish appears to swim off its dish. Feeling from Mountain and Water (Te Wei, Yan Sanchun, Ma Kexuan, 1988, 20 min.): A brush-painting animation of the tender story of the bond between a master musician and his protege. Deer and Bull (Zou Qin, 1992, 10 min.): Using only strips of bamboo bent into the shapes of animals this puppet animation is a powerful metaphor for war. Cat and Rat (Hu Jinqing, 1992, 3 min.): Another exquisite cut-paper animation. Snow Fox (Hu Jinqing, 1998, 2 min.): This cut-paper animation is an appeal for the protection of wildlife. 999:2830
- Crossroads (Shizi jietou) (China, 1937)
- Directed by Shen Xiling. Cast: Zhao Dan, Yang Bai, Ban Lu, Yin Ying, Meng Sha, Ming Yi. Follows four recent graduates: Zhao wants to be a writer but is stuck proofreading; Tang wants to be an artist but is hired to dress windows. Xu has given up hope, while Liu has "gone north" to fight the Japanese. Zhao lives in a crowded boardinghouse with an annoying female neighbor. Unbeknownst to each other, the two meet on a bus and a romance develops. 105 min.DVD 9414
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- Crows and Sparrows (Wu ya yu que) (China, 1949)
- Directed by Zheng Junli. One of China's social commentary films of the 1940s, this film is considered to be a landmark work in pre-revolutionary Chinese cinema and an example of Chinese Neo-realism. The plot portrays a dramatic struggle between tenants and landlords on the eve of the Communist revolution. 111 min. 999:3166 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Daybreak (Tianming ) (China, 1933)
- Directed by Sun Yu. Cast: Lili Li, Zhanfei Gao, Congmei Yuan.
Perhaps more than any other director working at that time, Sun Yu consistently sought to portray the working class affected by feudalism and imperialism. In Daybreak, Li plays a villager forced into prostitution in Shanghai, while her lover (Gao) joins the revolutionaries. After she helps him flee the authorities, she is sentenced to death by a firing squad, a scene of devastating impact. 115 min. DVD 9414
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- Devils on the Doorstep (Gui zi lai le) (2000)
- Director: Jiang Wen. Cast: Jiang Wen, Jiang Hongbo, Kagawa Teruyuki, Yuan Ding, Cong Zhijun. Banned in China, Jiang Wen's ravishingly photographed anti-war epic is set in 1945 in Japanese-occupied rural China where a peasant is forced to shelter two prisoners: one Japanese who wants to die, and his Chinese interpreter who wants to live. 139 min. DVD 3748 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Reynaud, Berenice. "Devils on the Doorstep." Film Comment, Nov/Dec2002, Vol. 38 Issue 6, p75, 1pUC users only
Yu Tian. "From Red Sorghum To Devils On The Doorstep: Conceptual Evolution In Chinese Film Adaptations." Post Script; Summer2004, Vol. 23 Issue 3, p64-73, 10p
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- Dream of the Red Chamber (Hong lou meng) (China, 1944)
- Directed by Bu Wancang. Cast: Zhou Xuan, Yuan Meiyun.
One of the earliest filmed versions of the classic Chinese novel. In this Chinese costume epic, set during the 1700s, a prominent family loses its good fortune when one of the sons loses the jade chip that was embedded in his mouth. Their luck returns when the chip is found, but eventually he brings disgrace to the family when he marries against his father's will. 125 min. DVD 9423 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Drifters (Er di) (2003)
- Directed by Wang Xiaoshuai. Cast: Duan Long, Shu Yan, Wang Zhilang, Zhao Yiwei, Tang Yang. A Chinese man feels pulled between his responsibilities in America where he has fathered a son, and China where he has fallen in love with an opera singer. 120 min. DVD 6319 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- East Palace, West Palace (Dong gong xi gong) (China, 1997)
- Directed by Yuan Zhang. Cast: Si Han, Hu Jun, Liu Yuxiao, Ma Wen, Lu Rong. This film focuses on a young gay Chinese writer, A-Lan who, being attracted to a young policeman, manages to have himself interrogated for a whole night. His life-story which he tells during the interrogation reflects the general repression of the Chinese society. The policeman's attitude shifts from the initial revulsion to fascination and finally, to attraction. 90 min. DVD 8948; vhs 999:2202 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie DatabaseMovie Review Query Engine
- Electric Shadows (Meng ying tong nian) (2004)
- Directed by Jiang Xiao. Cast: Xia Yu, Jiang Yihong, Jiang Shan, Niu Zhenhua. When a delivery man crashes into a girl, she asks him to feed the pets in her apartment, while she is in the hospital. There he finds her diary that exposes the story of a young girl's passion for the movies, which re-ignites his own longing for the days when the cinema enchanted China's masses. 95 min. DVD 5857
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- Empress Wu Zetian (Wu Zetian) (China, 1939)
- Directed by Fang Peilin. Cast: Hong Bai, Lanjun Gu, Zhizhi Hang.
Empress Wu rose to power after the decline of the Tang Dynasty (690 to 705 A.D.) and ruled at a time when women were still bound by tradition and a patriarchal social structure. This film traces her entry into the Imperial Palace as a favored concubine, her rise to power and her dalliances with her lovers, the Zhang brothers, who later conspired to remove her from the throne. 95 min. DVD 9423 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- The Emperor and the Assassin (Jing Ke ci Qin Wang) (France, Japan, China, 1999)
- Directed by Chen Kaige. In this visually stunning epic Ying Zheng, the King of Qin, has one driving ambition: to unify China's seven kingdoms into one magnificent empire. Impressed by her lover's convictions, Lady Zhao helps Ying Zheng create an assassination plot that would justify the conquest of Qin's most powerful enemy, but when the mission explodes into a brutal holocaust, she is forced to question her loyalty. 161 min. DVD 857 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database Movie Review Query Engine
- Porter, Deborah. "Character Assassination?: Empire Building and Cultural Pathology in Chen Kaige's The Emperor and the Assassin." Film & History , Fall2008, Vol. 38 Issue 2, p21-31, 11p
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Zhiwei Xiao. "The Emperor and the Assassin." The American Historical Review. Washington: Apr 2001. Vol. 106, Iss. 2; p. 694 UC users only
- The Emperor's Shadow (Chin sung) (China, Hong Kong, 1996)
- Directed by Zhou Xiaowen. A drama about the rise of Chin Shih-huang, China's first emperor, and the love story between his court musician Kao Chien-li and Princess Li-yang. 123 min. DVD 429; VHS 999:2822 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database Movie Review Query Engine
- Farewell My Concubine (Ba Wang Bie Ji) (China, Hong Kong, 1993)
- Directed by Kaige Chen. Story that spans more than 50 years in the lives of two gay male actors at the Peking Opera and of the woman who comes between them. Also an absorbing drama of the period in Chinese history from the warlord era through the Cultural Revolution. Based on the novel by Li Pi-hua. 157 min. DVD 191 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database Movie Review Query Engine
- Fish and Elephant (Jin nian xia tian) (China, 2001)
- Directed by Yu Li. Cast: Xiao Qun works at the Beijing Zoo as an elephant keeper, while her lover, Xiao Ling runs a clothes stall in an indoor market. Their relationship comes under fire, however, with the arrival of Qun's divorced mother who, unaware that her daughter is gay, tries to set her up with a man. Further complicating matters is the appearance of Qun's ex-girlfriend, Junjun, now wanted by the police for killing her abusive father. 97 min. DVD 9862
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- Frozen (Jidu hanleng) (China, 1996)
- Directed by Wu Ming (Xiaoshuai Wang). Based on a true story according to the filmmaker, this film provides a rare look at the avant-garde art world of Beijing. A young performance artist decides to make his own suicide his last work of art. On the longest day of the year, he plans to melt a huge block of ice with his own body heat and die of hypothermia. His "Ice Burial" is a chilling expression of post Tiananmen Square ennui in China. 95 min. DVD 430; VHS 999:2810 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database Movie Review Query Engine
- Goodbye Dragon Inn (Bu san) (Taiwan, 1989)
- Director, Ming-liang Tsai. Cast: Kang-sheng Lee, Shiang-chyi Chen, Kiyonobu Mitamura, Shih Chun, Tien Mao, Chao-jung Chen, Kuei-Mei Yang.
A Japanese tourist takes refuge from a rainstorm inside a run-down movie theater that is screening a martial arts classic, King Hu's 1966 "Dragon Inn." Even with the rain bucketing down outside, it doesn't pull much of an audience -- and some of those who have turned up are less interested in the movie than in the possibility of meeting a stranger in the dark. 83 min. DVD 7348
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- The Horse Thief (Tao ma zei) (China, 1989)
- Director, Tian Zhuangzhuang. The story of Norbu, a horse thief, who is thrown out of his tribe in an effort to purge it of evil. Norbu repents after the birth of his son, but he is forced to steal again after the birth of a second son. The story takes place in 1923 in Tibet. 88 min. 999:3202
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- I Love Beijing (Xiari nuanyangyang) (China, 2000)
- Directed by Ying Ning. Cast: Tao Hong, Yu Lei, Zuo Botao.
This romantic drama follows the fortunes of a young Chinese cab driver who is depressed because of a recent divorce. He turns his personality around to become a ladies man, wooing a waitress, a librarian, and then a talk-show host. Lost in the dating wars, he longs to find the love of his life in the rapidly changing city of Beijing. 78 min. DVD X543
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- Ju Dou (China / Japan, 1991)
- Directed by Zhang Yi-Mou and Yang Feng-liang. The abused wife of a sadistic Chinese mill owner and his overworked nephew fall in love. Only murder could free the lovers from the mill owner's tyranny- or could it? 98 min. DVD 190; VHS 999:841
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- Kung Fu Hustle (China / Hong Kong, 2004)
- Directed by Stephen Chow. Cast: Stephen Chow, Wah Yuen, Qiu Yuen, Kwok Keun Chan, Siu Lung Leung, Dong Zhi Hua, Chiu Chi Ling, Xing Yu, Chi Chung Lam, Kai Man Tin. Sing, a hapless gangster, must overcome his inability to wield a knife and demonstrate his mettle in order to become a member of the notorious Axe Gang. He realizes he is the greatest kung fu master of them all, destined to protect the sacred streets. 99 min. DVD 4340
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Eagan, Daniel. "Fu the Hustle!" Film Journal International; May2005, Vol. 108 Issue 5, p16-17,
Srinivas, S.V. "Kung Fu Hustle : a note on the local." Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, Jun2005, Vol. 6 Issue 2, p289-295, 7p
Szeto, Kin-Yan. "The politics of historiography in Stephen Chow’s Kung Fu Hustle." Jumpcut, No. 49, spring 2007
- Lan Yu (China, Hong Kong, 2001)
- Directed by Stanley Kwan. Chronicles the turbulent gay relationship between a closeted middle-aged businessman and a young college student amid the violent uprising of Tiananmen Square. 86 min. DVD 4316; or PAL format DVD 2791
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- The Last Emperor (China / UK / France / Italy, 1987)
- Directed by Bernardo Bertolucci. Cast: Cast: John Lone, Joan Chen, Peter O'Toole, Ying Ruocheng.
The epic adventure and true story of Pu Yi (1906 ? 1967), the last Emperor of China, from his ascension to the throne as Emperor Xuan Tong, the 10th Emperor of the Qing Dynasty in 1908, to his rehabilitation and employment by the communists as a guide around his former palace in 1959. 86 min. DVD 213; vhs 999:259
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- Life on a String (Bian zou bian chang) (China, 1991)
- Director, Chen Kaige. Cast: Liu Zhongyuan, Huang Lei, Xu Qing. Story of a saintly blind man who as a boy was promised the restoration of his sight if he devoted his life to music. He and a young blind disciple travel the countryside seeking enlightenment and inspiring people with their singing and banjo playing. 107 min. DVD 4946
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- Lust, Caution (Se, jie) (USA / China / Taiwan / Hong Kong, 2007)
- Directed by Ang Lee. Cast: Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Wei Tang, Joan Chen, Lee-Hom Wang, Chung Hua Tou.
Set Japanese-occupied Shanghai, a young woman finds herself swept up in a radical plot to assassinate a ruthless and secretive intelligence agent. As she immerses herself in her role as a cosmopolitan seductress, she becomes entangled in a dangerous game of emotional intrigue, love and betrayal. Bonus feature: "Tiles of deception, lurid affections" featurette. 159 min. DVD 9937
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- A Mongolian Tale (Ai zai cao yuan de tian kong) (1995)
- Directed by Fei Xie. When Beiyinpalica returns to Inner Mongolia he makes a discovery which leaves him feeling betrayed by his fiance. He leaves Mongolia and his dreams of happiness with the woman he loves and becomes a famous troubadour, recounting in song his true love for the woman he abandoned while his search to find her again ensues. 103 min. 999:3647
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- Myriad of Lights (Wan jia deng huo) (China, 1948)
- Directed by Fu Shen. Cast: Lan Ma, Shangguan Yunzhu, Wu Yin.
This tale of familial warfare and sacrifice takes place in hard-pressed Shanghai at the end of the 1940's. Hu Zhiqing can barely support his wife and children, and his situation is worsened by the unexpected arrival of his mother, brother and sister-in-law. When he is fired by his unscrupulous boss, the whole family becomes embroiled in one emotional/economic struggle after another. 110 min. DVD 9433 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Not One Less (Yi ge dou bu neng shao) (China, 1999)
- Directed by Zhang Yimou. A young woman is ordered to a remote Chinese village to be a substitute teacher. Barely older than her students, the shy girl is charged with keeping the class intact for one month or she won't be paid. When one of her students disappears into the city to find work, the stubborn teacher is determined to follow the boy and bring him back to school. Once in the city, her simple peasant pleas fall on deaf ears, and only when the local television sympathizes does her search bear fruit. 106 min. DVD 696
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- Wang, Yiman. "From the Indexical to the Spectacle: On Zhang Yimou's Postmodern Turn in Not One Less." Journal of Film & Video; Fall2005, Vol. 57 Issue 3, p3-13, 11pUC users only
- An Orphan on the Street (Wan jia deng huo) (China, 1949)
- Directed by Fu Shen. Cast: Longji Wang, Lin Zhen, Guan Hongda, Du Lei.
The misadventures of a street urchin based on a popular comic character named Three Hairs, because of the three thin stalks of hair sticking straight up. After a night on the streets, Three Hairs looks for work wherever he can get it; he polishes shoes, picks garbage and sells newspapers, but finally decides to give up. He puts a "for sale" sign on his back and goes looking for a buyer. 110 min. DVD 9434 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- The Painted Veil (China / US, 2006)
- Directed by John Curran. Cast: Naomi Watts, Edward Norton, Liev Schreiber, Toby Jones, Diana Rigg, Juliet Howland, Anthony Wong Chau-Sang, Maggie Steed, Lorraine Laurence, Johnny Lee, Li Feng.
Set in the 1920s. A young English couple, Walter a middle class doctor and Kitty, an upper-class woman, get married for all the wrong reasons and relocate to Shanghai. Kitty falls in love with someone else. When Walter discovers her infidelity, in an act of vengeance, he accepts a job in a remote village in China that is being ravaged by a deadly epidemic. He takes his wife along and their journey brings meaning to their relationship and gives them purpose in one of the most remote and beautiful places on earth. 125 min. DVD X600 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Princess Iron Fan (Tie shan gong zhu) (China, 1941)
- Directed by Wan Guchan and
Wan Laiming. Produced by the Wan brothers in the midst of World War II, this is the first feature length animated film produced in China. The film is also one of the earliest works to extensively use the rotoscoping animation process. Following the Monkey King, his master and friends on their journey to the West reach Fire Mountain. They are unable to pass because of the fire but learn that a special iron fan can quench the flames. However, the fan belongs to Princess Iron Fan and she will not willingly lend it to them. 73 min. DVD 9420
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- Queen of Sports (Ti yu huang hou) (China, 1934)
- Directed by Yu Sun. Cast: Li Lili, Zhang Yi, He, Feiguang, Langen Han.
An athletic village girl comes to Shanghai, where she discovers the true nature of competition and love. The focus of the film is clearly on sport, including physical training, study and competition, though while at the school, she becomes rather fond of her coach, the brother of a classmate whom she knew in her childhood, as well as earning the jealousy of some catty classmates. The film advocates sport and physical health as important for the whole nation, and there is also implicit criticism of the effete manners of the upper-classes in the city. An interesting and entertaining example of an early sports film. 83 min. DVD 9432
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- Raise the Red Lantern (Da Hong Deng Long Gao Gao Gua) (China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, 1991)
- Directed by Zhang Yi-Mou. Set in 1920's China, 19-year-old Songlian has become Fourth Wife to the wealthy Chen. Yet she must share her husband with three existing wives. Each must wait until dusk for the arrival of a red lantern, which signifies with whom the master will sleep tonight. When Songlian discovers that the other wives cheat to win the red lantern, she decides to join the fight for Chen's attention. 125 min. DVD 1300; vhs 999:707
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- Red Firecracker, Green Firecracker (Pao Da Shuang Deng) (China, Hong Kong, 1994)
- Directed by He Ping. Set against the close of the Ching Dynasty at the turn of the century, this tale of forbidden love and loyalty ignites the screen with passion. With no male heirs to run their fireworks factory, the Chai family's beautiful daughter has been groomed for the role of master. Renounced of her femininity, she is clothed like a man and forbidden to marry, a role which she dutifully accepts until a rebellious young artist becomes employed at the factory. He unleashes in her an unbridled passion that challenges her loyalty to her ancestral heritage and threatens the tradition that has bound her. 117 min. 999:2460
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- Holden, Stephen. "Red Firecracker, Green Firecracker." (movie reviews) New York Times v144 (Fri, March 17, 1995):B6(N)pC19(L), col 6, 13 col in.
Rayns, Tony. "Red Firecracker, Green Firecracker." (movie reviews) (Paoda Shuang Deng). (movie reviews) Sight and Sound v5, n9 (Sept, 1995):59 (1 page).
- Rickshaw Boy (Luo tuo Xiangzi) (1982)
- Directed by Ling Zifeng. In the 1920s, a young hardworking peasant arrives in Beijing to become a rickshaw boy at a time when the city is torn by dueling warlords. The owner of the rickshaw company's daughter falls in love with the boy despite a ten year age difference and decides to marry him. Not long after their marriage she dies in labor and his world becomes empty and meaningless. He is a wreck of emotional suffering induced by an archaic society, at the mercy of his environment. 120 min. DVD 6566
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- The Road Home (Wo de fu qin mu qin) (China, 1999)
- Directed by Zhang Yimou. Cast: Zhang Ziyi, Sun Hongiei, Zheng Hao, Zhao Yulian. As a son helps his mother arrange for the burial of his father in the traditional Chinese custom of his mother's village, the beautiful and touching story of his parent's courtship unfolds. His father was from the city and came to his mother's village to become the schoolmaster. In the days of arranged marriages, the son discovers that his parent's marriage was the first marriage based on love. 89 min. DVD 4885 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Shen Nu Goddess (Goddess of Shanghai) (Silent, 1934)
- Director, Yonggang Wu. Cast: Ruan Lingyu, Zhang Zhizhi, Li Keng, Tian Jian. A young woman can only support and educate her son by working as a prostitute in 1930s Shanghai. One of the rare films of famed Chinese star Ruan Lingyu. 74 min. DVD 5995
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- Shower (Xi zao) (China, 1999)
- Directed by Zhang Yang. Mistakenly believing his father has passed away, a bathhouse master's son returns home and soon discovers the magic of the family business and its importance to the community. 94 min. DVD 2798; or DVD 2788 (Multi-zone DVD)
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- Song at Midnight (Ye ban ge sheng) (China, 1937)
- Directed by Weibang Ma Xu. Cast: Hu Ping, Jin Shan, Gu Menghe, Shi Chao.
"An exciting Chinese interpretation of 'The Phantom of the Opera'." Ten years after supposedly being killed in an opera house, Song Danping returns to relate his story - when he fell in love with the daughter of a rich feudal lord, he was beaten, disfigured with acid and left to die in the burning opera house by her father. He's been waiting in the rebuilt theatre for someone to take over his artistic mantle and he's chosen the opera troupe's new young star. 118 min. DVD 9415
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- Song of China (Dian luan) (China, 1936)
- Directed by Lo Ming-yu. A rare film produced in China in 1936 dealing with a cavalcade of families through three generations set during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The film deals with the universal problem of the generation gap and filial piety with great sensitivity. Features a native Chinese cast and authentic Chinese music. 65 min. 999:2034
- A Spray of Plum Blossoms (Yi jian mei) (China, 1931)
- Directed by Wancang Bu. Cast: Ruan Lingyu, Jin Yan, Gao Zhanfei, Lin Chuchu, Wang Cilong.
"Adapted from Shakespeare's 'The two gentlemen of Verona,' this film is set in 1920s China. Hu Luting and Bai Lede are both graduates from the Shanghai Military Academy. Hu Zhuli (Hu's sister) and Bai are in love. Hu is set to Canton under General Shi's command. Shi Luohua, the general's daughter, falls in love with Hu. Later, Bai joins his friend in Canton and feels attracted by Miss Shi. From then on, the two young men become rivals."
100 min. DVD 9422
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- Spring in a Small Town (Xiao cheng zhi chun) (China, 1948)
- Directed by Fei Mu. Cast: Shi Yu, Wei Wei, Li, Wei, Zhang Hongmei, Cui Chaoming.
A young woman married to a depressed man finds herself face to face with her first love, and the feelings she had for him. 90 min.DVD 9399
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- The Spring River Flows East (Yi jiang chun shui xiang dong liu) (China, 1947)
- Directed by Chusheng Cai and
Junli Zheng. Cast: Bai Yang, Tao Jin, Wu Yin, Shu Xiuwen, Gao Zheng.
This epic melodrama, recognized as China's equivalent to 'Gone with the wind', was considered the most significant Chinese film of the late 1940s. The film was released in two parts, 'Eight years of turmoil' and 'Before and after dawn', and tells the melodramatic story of a family during and after the War of Resistance Against Japan. A young woman married to a depressed man finds herself face to face with her first love, and the feelings she had for him. Disc 1. Part one, Eight war torn years [Eight years of turmoil] (90 min.) -- Disc 2. Part two, The dawn [Before and after dawn] (92 min.). DVD 9421
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- Stolen Life (Sheng si jie) (China, 2005)
- Directed by Shaohong Li. Cast: Zhou Xun, Wu Jun, Cai Ming. When the withdrawn and reclusive Yan'ni starts college she believes she is embarking on a new life away from her family, and she is, but not the new beginning she anticipates. Once at school, she immediately meets and falls in love with a man named Muyu, at truck driver, and her life takes a different path of misguided love. 94 min.DVD 8348
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- The Story of Qui Ju (Qiu Ju da guan si) (China, Hong Kong, 1992)
- Directed by Yi-mou Zhang. A stoic peasant woman demands an apology when her husband is brutalized and humiliated by the village chief. But the chief is a proud man who refuses to apologize, sending her on a futile trek through the complicated Chinese court system. Based on the novel: "The Wan Family's Lawsuit / Chen Yuanbin. 100 min. DVD 5789; vhs 999:963
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- Street Angel (Ma lu tian shi) (China, 1937)
- Directed by Yuan Muzhi. Cast: Zhao Dan, Wei Heling, Zhou Xuan.
Upon arriving in Shanghai, two sisters are coerced into a corrupt environment in the poorest part of the city. A neighbor tries to help them escape from the dregs of society. This classic film was loosely based on Frank Borzage's silent classic 'Seventh heaven'. 91 min.DVD 9400
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- Temptress Moon (Feng yue) (1996)
- Directed by Chen Kaige. Cast: Leslie Cheung, Gong Li, Kevin Lin, He Saifei, David Wu. This is a captivating story of a beautiful young woman, her seductive lover and their struggle for power, passion and revenge. Highly provocative and filled with sensual imagery, it was banned in the director's own country. 127 min. DVD 2044
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- Twin Sisters (Zi mei hua) (China, 1933)
- Directed by Zheng Zhengqiu. Cast:Hu Die, Zheng Xiaoqiu, Xuan Jinglin.
Twin girls separated at birth are reunited when the one raised in poverty becomes a servant in the household of her sister, now the pampered wife of a warlord general. 81 min.DVD 9400
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- To Live (Huo zhe) (China, Hong Kong, 1994)
- Directed by Zhang Yimou, Bin Wang, Xleochun Zhang. In a smoky gambling den in 1940's China, a drunken young man runs through his family's fortune, losing their ancestral home and all their possessions. This staggering loss proves to be their salvation, and the first step in an odyssey of survival that will take them through war and revolution love and loss, tragedy ... and triumph. 132 min. DVD 1680; vhs 999:2747
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- Together (He ni zai yi qi) (China, South Korea, 2002)
- Directed by Chen Kaige. Cast: Liu Peiqi, Chen Hong, Wang Zhiwen, Chen Kaige, Tang Yun. When a shy small-town boy heads to Beijing for violin lessons, he discovers a new world filled with first loves, lasting friendships ... and a secret that will change his life forever. 119 min. DVD 4868
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- Two Stage Sisters (Wu tai chieh mei) (China, 1965)
- Directed by Wie Jin. Chronicles the fortunes of two actresses in pre-revolutionary China who become friends, however one woman falls into the lowlife, gangster world, while the other looks up to the heavens and revolutionary awareness dawns. The two end up in court as the corrupted Western-style "sister" has attacked the other. The expected justice prevails and the next scenes are of revolutionary China in 1950. This film was released just at the outbreak of the Cultural Revolution and was banned for its "bourgeois" content, but the ending of the film is such unadulterated propaganda that it is shocking that most of the people involved with the film were punished. 112 min. 999:2091
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- Marchetti, Gina. "Two Stage Sisters: The Blossoming of a Revolutionary Aesthetic." In: Celluloid China : cinematic encounters with culture and society / Harry H. Kuoshu. pp: 32-51. Carbondale : Southern Illinois University Press, c2002. (Main Stack PN1995.K86 2002)
- Two Stars in the Milky Way (Yin han shuang xing) (China, 1931)
- Directed by Tomsie Sze. Cast: Violet Wong, Raymond King, Kao Chien Fei, Yeh Chuen Chuen, V.K. Chung.
"Yan, a well-know actor, meets Li, a pretty singer who is to play with him in a film adaptation of an old Chinese play. The film is a success for both actors who soon become an ideal couple in real life, too. But Yan forgot to mention he was already married. A disillusioned Li abandons the film world and returns to the contryside to live with her father."
100 min. DVD 9422
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- The Watch (Biao) (China, 1949)
- Directed by Zuo Lin. Cast: Zhao Qiansun, Han Mingde. Tells the story of a homeless orphan and the valuable watch he stole and how the watch affects those who come in contact with it. 90 min. DVD 9434
- Windhorse (1998)
- Directed by Paul Wagner. Based on true events, focuses on the lives of two siblings and their cousin who as young children witnessed their Tibetan grandfather brutally murdered over his resistance of Chinese aggression. Eighteen years later, the memory of losing their grandfather has affected each of them differently. On the verge of pop-stardom, Dolkar has assimilated herself into Chinese culture while her disgusted brother Dorjee's hatred of the Chinese has turned him into an embittered vagrant. Their cousin Pema has become a Buddhist nun and now she too risks her life by defying Chinese rule. 97 min. 999:3646
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- Woman, Demon, Human (Jem gui qing) (China, 1987)
- Directed by Shuqin Huang. Qui Yun is a famous "Kunqu" Chinese opera actress who specializes in male roles, and attains her greatest success as Zhong Kui in "Zhong Kui Marries Off His Sister." Her career successes do not bring her happiness in her personal life. More and more she comes to rely on the character of Zhong Kui to keep her going. 115 min. DVD 2797
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- Women From the Lake of Scented Souls (Xian hun nu) (China, 1993)
- Directed by Xie Fei. Xiang Ersao is the driving force behind her family's successful sesame oil mill. But despite her prosperity, Xiang is profoundly unhappy. As society dictates, she must endure the drunken and abusive behavior of her husband, to whom she was sold at the age of seven and married at thirteen. When her mentally ill son asks for a wife, Xiang perpetuates her own destiny by "buying" a poor, reluctant peasant girl, Huanhuan, for him. Will Xiang recognize the parallel between her own life and Huanhuan's before it is too late? 100 min. 999:1746
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- Maslin, Janet. "Women From the Lake of Scented Souls." (movie reviews) New York Times v143 (Wed, Feb 16, 1994):B3(N), C20(L), col 1, 15 col in.
- Women's Story (Nu jen ti ku shih) (China, 1988)
- Directed by Peng Xiaolian. A poignant tale of three peasant Chinese women who flee their village to taste freedom in the big city and escape the sexist oppression of rural China. There they experience failure and success, finally starting new lives. When they eventually return to their village they find that while life there has not changed, they have. 96 min. 999:2828
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- The World (Shijie) (China, 2004)
- Directed by Jia Zhangke. Cast: Zhao Tao, Cheng Taisheng, Wang Hongwei, Huang Yiqun, Jiang Zhongwei, Ji Shuai. On the outskirts of Beijing is an amusement park called The World. The staff may be happy around the guests, but it's a different story behind the scenes. The park is seen through the eyes of the staff, along with romances, dreams, and loneliness. Special features: Video interview with film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum, original theatrical trailer, on-set photo gallery, including rare shots of director Jia Zhangke, character sketches and an essay on the real World Park, production notes by director Jia Zhangke. 139 min. DVD 5156; DVD X497
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- Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl (China, Hong Kong, USA, 1998)
- Directed by Joan Chen. Between 1967 and 1976, nearly 8 million Chinese youths were "sent down" for specialized training to the remotest corners of the country. The young and beautiful Xiu Xiu dreamt of becoming a horse trainer in Tibet, far away from her busy city home. Her training begins in the isolated plains of Tibet but slowly Xiu Xiu discovers that she is unlikely to ever see her home again without a wealthy sponsor. Her world becomes a horrifying cage, where "patrons" promise her escape in exchange for her sexual compromise. 100 min. DVD 104; VHS 999:2417
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- Yellow Earth (Huang tu ti) (China, 1984)
- Directed by Chen Kaige. In this story set in 1939 the life of a young peasant girl in Northern Shaanxi province is changed forever by a Communist soldier sent out to collect folk songs for the use of revolutionary armies. Based on Ke Lan's Echo in the Deep Valley. 999:1082
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- As Tears Go By (Wangjiao kamen) (Hong Kong, 1988)
- Directed by Wong Kar-Wai. Cast: Andy Lau, Maggie Cheung, Jacky Cheung. Stretched to breaking in a loyalty tug of war between Triad bosses and a loose cannon partner, a rising film star in the Hong Kong underworld finds himself saddled with his beautiful cousin. The fascination is his last chance to escape a violent past. 102 min. DVD 4858
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- Autumn Moon (Hong Kong, 1992)
- Directed by Clara Law. Set in contemporary Hong Kong, a young Japanese tourist is bargain-shopping and looking for food, sex, or preferably both. He meets a fifteen-year-old waif and the friendship that develops allows the young man's passion for food to be assuaged by the girl's grandmother, the wielder of a magic wok. But sex is a different matter than friendship - which is what this film is really about. 102 min. 999:3207
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- A Better Tomorrow (Ying huang boon sik) (Hong Kong, 1986)
- Directed by John Woo. The first in a trilogy of Chinese "Godfather" films, it portrays countless difficulties and setbacks experienced by a couple of counterfeit money smugglers who have decided to wash their hands of their past and choose a better life. In the first part, Sung Tzu-hao, one of the main protagonists is on his last "business" trip. 90 min. DVD 3377; vhs 999:1325
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- The Big Boss (Tang shan da xiong) (2004)
- Directed by Directed by Wei Lo. Cast: Bruce Lee, Maria Yi, James Tien, Nora Miao.
Having made a vow never to fight again, a factory worker named Cheng (Lee) does his best to put up with an abusive boss. But when Cheng's beautiful cousin is kidnapped by company thugs, he is forced to take matters into his own hands--and fists--to save her. The first starring role of legendary martial arts star Bruce Lee. Dubbed into English; soundtracks also in Cantonese and Mandarin with traditional and simplied Chinese and English subtitles; Closed captioned. 100 min. DVD 6853
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- Black Sun: The Nanking Massacre (Hei tai yang: Nan Jing da tu sha) (1995)
- Directed by Tun Fei Mou.An uncompromising portrayal of the war crimes perpetrated by the Japanese Imperial Army upon the Chinese military and civilian population of Nanking during the occupation of the city. Black Sun is unflinching in its depiction of the barbaric cruelty with which the occupying army raped, pillaged and terrorized the defeated populace. Portrays the ordeals of a poor Chinese family as they try to survive the Japanese occupation of their city. Two young children, Jean and John, excape with their uncle after witnessing the gruesome murder of their mother and father by Japanese soldiers. While fleeing from the Japanese, they are separated and the children have to fend for themselves in the war torn city. The film embraces myriad genres -- drama, horror, documentary, exploitation, war and even propaganda. Special features: "Why we fight: the battle of China" 1944 propaganda film ; production and historical photos; T.F. Mou interviews; history of the Nanking Massacre; interactive map; trailers. 95 min. DVD 8751 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- The Boy From Hell (Jigoku kozô) (2004)
- Directed by Mari Asato. Cast: Mirai Yamamoto, Mitsuru Akaboshi, Kanji Tsuda.
A mysterious old woman appears before Setsu, who has recently lost her only child in a tragic accident. She says she can bring Setsu's son, Daio back to life. After agreeing to this sinister proposal, Daio returns to his mother, but to Setsu's horror, he is half decomposed and inhuman. To make him human again, he needs fresh human organs. Setsu does everything she can to reincarnate her son, but Daio just turns into a different kind of monster. No one can stop him as he continues to feed his hunger, claiming victim after victim. Based on the horror comic strips of Hideshi Hino. 50 min. DVD 6796
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- The Bride with White Hair (Bai fa mo nu zhuan) (Hong Kong, 1993)
- Directed by Ronny Yu. Cast: Leslie Cheung, Brigitte Lin, Ching Hsia. The story of doomed lovers caught in the cross-fire of warring clans, each being a champion warrior on opposite sides of the strife. The film sets itself apart in its ability to combine over-the-top action sequences and rapturous love scenes. 92 min. DVD 843
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- A Bullet in the Head (Diexie jietou) (Hong Kong, 1990)
- Director, John Woo. Cast: Tony Leung, Jacky Cheung, Waise Lee, Simon Yam, Fennie Yeun, Yolinda Yan. This sprawling story centers around three childhood friends who, in their journey through wartorn Vietnam, encounter grueling emotional territory. Traveling through many levels of living hell, the three men must find their way through betrayal and greed in the midst of the war. 126 min. DVD 1456
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- Centre Stage (Ruan Lingyu) (Hong Kong, 1992)
- Directed by Stanley Kwan. Cast: Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung Ka-Fai, Liang Jiahui, Liu Jialing. Dramatized biography based on the life of the Chinese silent movie actress Ruan Ling-yu, of the 1930s. Tells the sad story of a young woman who is rescued from poverty to show business and is subsequently destroyed by it. 121 min. DVD 1776
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- Chinese Box (1997)
- Director, Wayne Wang. Cast: Jeremy Irons, Gong Li, Maggie Cheung, Michael Hui, Ruben Blades. Drama about a British journalist and a Hong Kong bartender with a jaded past, set against the backdrop of Hong Kong's return to Chinese rule. 99 min. DVD 4945
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- The Chinese Connection (Fist of Fury) (Jing wu men ) (Hong Kong, 1972)
- Directed by Lo Wei, featuring Bruce Lee. In this action-packed Bruce Lee classic Kung fu student Chen, upon learning of the murder of his revered kung fu instructor, travels to Shanghai searching for the gang responsible and ends up facing some of his most dangerous opponents. 107 min. DVD 1222; Uncut & restored version is DVD 1692 (102 min.)
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- The Chinese Feast (Jin yu man tang) (Hong Kong, 1995)
- Directd by Tsui Hark. Cast: Kenny Bee, Leslie Cheung, Anita Yuen. Kit is a gangster looking to start a new life as a chef in Canada, so he can be closer to his girlfriend. But in his struggle to learn the fine art of cuisine, he runs across a red-headed beauty who will change his plans, and soon finds himself off in search of the retired master who can teach him how to win in the ultimate cooking challenge. 110 min. DVD 1792
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- A Chinese Ghost Story (Sinnui Yauman) (Hong Kong, 1987)
- Directed by Siu-Tung Ching. Featuring Leslie Cheung, Joey Wang, Wu Ma. The story of Ning Tsai-chen, a Chinese scholar who befriends and falls in love with Nieh Hsiao-chien, a she-ghost captured and tyrannized by the Tree Ogre. 97 min. DVD 842; VHS 999:2418
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- A Chinese Ghost Story II (Qian nu you hun II; Tao tao tao; Sinnui yauwan II; Qian nu you hun II) (Hong Kong, 1990)
- Director, Siu-Tung Ching (Ching Siu-Tung); Hark Tsui. Cast: Zhang Guorong, Wang Zuxian, Zhang Xueyou, Li Jiaxin.
Lin meets a young and witty Taoist, Chi Chau, and they become good friends. They run into some people who pretend to be ghosts. These people are actually trying to save the innocent Fu from imprisonment. Fu has two daughters Ching Fung and Yet Chi who both fall in love with Lin. Fu tries to ask the emperor's right-hand man, Liu Suen, for help but Liu turns out to be a goblin. Lin, Chi Chau and the two sisters all team up to fight against the evil force in order to help Fu. 103 min. DVD 8757
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- A Chinese Ghost Story III (Qian nu you hun III; Tao tao tao; Sinnui yauwan III; Qian nu you hun III) (Hong Kong, 1991)
- Director, Siu-Tung Ching (Ching Siu-Tung); Hark Tsui. Cast: Tony Leung, Joey Wang, Jacky Cheung, Nina Li.In the heart of a weird wood stands Orchid Temple, a haunted place that is the doom of men. Beautiful spirits lure travelers to their doom. When the lowly monk Fong ventures to the temple, intent on driving the ghosts away, he instead falls in love with the beautiful Lotus. This forbidden passion places the couple in danger from both the local ghostbusters, and the forest's hideous supernational beings. 106 min. DVD 4884
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- Chop Socky: Cinema Hong Kong
- Offers an in-depth look at Hong Kong's wu xia film legacy and its influence on global cinema, from its roots in Beijing Opera to Quentin Tarantino's tribute to Hong Kong martial arts action in Kill Bill, Vol. 2. All of the bases are covered, from Hong Kong cinema's first martial-arts hero, Wong Fei Hung, to the balletic choreography of Chang Che, including the "one-punch" impact of Bruce Lee and the evolution of kung-fu comedy as epitomized by Jackie Chan. The Hong Kong technique of editing-in-camera is demonstrated in a multi-screen sequence. Film clips provide samples of the genre's classic films. Interviews with: Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Jet Li, Ng Ho, John Woo, Lau Ka Fai, Cheng Pei Pei, Chor Yeuen, Sir Run Run Shaw, Tong Kay-Ming, David Chiang, Lau Ka Leung, Tsu Sung Hok, Sek Kin, Siu Sung, Wai Ying Hung. Written & directed by Ian Taylor. 2003. 55 min. DVD 3776
- Chungking Express (Chung-ching sen lin) (Hong Kong, 1994)
- Directed by Wong Kar-Wai. Two interwined romantic tales take place inside the Chung-ching high-rise shopping center in downtown Hong Kong: A policeman falls in love with a snack bar waitress while a house detective gets involved with a female drug dealer. 104 min. DVD 4167; vhs 999:1971
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- City on Fire (Long hu feng yun) (Hong Kong, 1987)
- Director, Ringo Lam. Cast: Chow Yun Fat, Sun Yeuh, Lee Sau Yin Danny. An undercover cop sent to infiltrate a notorious crime ring, Ko Chow must replace a fellow officer who was killed in a violent confrontation. But, as he earns the trust of the syndicate, he develops a tight friendship with one of the thieves. Then, when a planned heist turns into a bloody shoot-out with police, suspicions arise about who could be the informant. 100 min. DVD 840
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- Come Drink With Me (Da zui xia) (1965)
- Director, King Hu. Swordplay adventure in ancient China. Chang, a woman warrior, and Fan Ta-pei, a martial arts master, fight to release Chang's brother, who is being held hostage by bandits. 95 min. 999:3273
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- Comrades, Almost a Love Story (Tian mi mi) (Hong Kong, 1996)
- Directed by Peter Chan. A young woman and a charming young man, who is engaged to a girl in his hometown, each come to Hong Kong to pursue success. At first perfect strangers, they grow emotionally close as they share trials and joys in their lonesome struggle in an unfamiliar world. Their individual dreams and ambitions, however, force them to eventually take separate paths in their lives. PAL format DVD. 116 min. DVD 2792
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- Curse of the Golden Flower (Man cheng jin dai huang jin jia) (Hong Kong / China, 2006)
- Directed by Yimou Zhang. Cast: Jin Chen, Jay Chou, Yun-Fat Chow, Li Gong, Qin Junjie, Man Li, Ye Liu, Dahong Ni.
Set in China in the later Tang Dynasty, 10th Century, this is a tale of a royal family divided against itself which builds to a climax as lines are crossed, trust is betrayed, and family blood is spilled in the quest for redemption and revenge. 114 min. DVD 8246 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Rayns, Tony. "Curse of the Golden Flower." Sight & Sound, May2007, Vol. 17 Issue 5, p58-59 UC users only
- The Day the Sun Turned Cold (Tien kuo ni tzu) (Hong Kong, 1994)
- Directed by Yen Hao. A drama based on a true crime which occurred in China. A young welder comes to a police station and accuses his mother of killing his father ten years ago. The police finally reopen the case and slowly the truth about ugly family secrets is revealed. 99 min. 999:2584 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie DatabaseMovie Review Query Engine
- Days of Being Wild (A fei cheng chuan) (Hong Kong, 1990)
- Directed by Wong Kar-Wai. A story about six young people living in Hong Kong in the 1960's interweaving love-hate relationships and passion. 90 min. DVD 3199; vhs 999:1975 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database Movie Review Query Engine
- Dragon Inn (Xin Long men ke zhan) (Hong Kong, 1992)
- Director, Raymond Lee. Dragon Inn becomes the chaotic center of battle between the government's villainous eunuchs and a band of righteous heroes. Set in the great Northwestern deserts of China during the Ming dynasty, Dragon Inn gracefully blends precision swordplay with breathtaking cinematography. 103 min. DVD 1332 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Devil Killer (2005?)
- Directed by Robert Tai. Cast: Alexander Lo, Jackie Chiang. Set in China, tells the story of the battles between two rival gangs who have expertise in the most unique fighting skills, including Mo Chia boxing and iron kicking techniques. English language version. 88 min. DVD 6252
- Durian, Durian (Liu lian piao piao) (Hong Kong, 2000)
- Directed by Chen Guo. Cast: Qin Hailu, Mai Huifen. The film is divided into two parts, with the first half taking place in Hong Kong and the latter half another world away, in Mudanjiang near the North Korean border. The consistent thread is a young Mainland lady, Yan. The movie records her stay in Hong Kong where, on a three-month visa, she services as many as three dozen clients a day, and her post-Hong Kong existence back home where she uses her hard-earned cash to become a successful and respected entrepreneuse. PAL format DVD. 116 min. DVD 2867 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- The East is Red (Tung-fang Pu-pai feng yun tsai chi) (Hong Kong, 1992)
- Directed by Siu-Tung Ching (Cheng Hsiao-tung) and Raymond Lee. In this third segment of the Swordsman series Tung-fang Pu-pai returns and unleashes a destructive omnipotent force to battle those who have used His/Her name for power and evil. Vowing to destroy the impostors, Tung-fang seeks to gain back the love of Snow or destroy her as well. 108 min. 999:1972
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- Enter the Dragon (Hong Kong, USA, 1973)
- Director, Robert Clouse. Bruce Lee, John Saxon, Ahna Capri, Shih Kien, Bob Wall, Angela Mao Ying, Betty Chung, Geoffrey Weeks, Yang Sze, Peter Archer, Jim Kelly.
Lee goes to the island of a warlord of crime, Han, who carries on his opium smuggling and prostitution activities under the disguise of a martial arts academy. Determined to avenge the death of his sister, Lee penetrates Han's stronghold and enters a brutal martial arts tournament Hans is staging -- a breathtaking visual feast of competitions fusing skills in karate, judo, tai kwan do, tai chi chuan and hapkido, staged by Lee himself. Bonus features: Feature length audio commetary by producer Paul Heller; three documentaries: "Blood and steel: making of Enter the dragon," " Bruce Lee: in his own words," and a 1973 behind-the-scenes featurette; Linda Lee Cadwell interview gallery and home movie footage: Backyard workout with Bruce. 102 min. DVD 9944; vhs 999:2229
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- Ermo (Hong Kong, China, 1995)
- Director, Chou Hsiao-wen (Xiaowen Zhou). Comedy about Ermo, a humble noodle-maker in a remote Chinese province who finds that money can't buy happiness - but it can get you very close. 95 min. 999:3454
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- David Leiwei. "'What Will Become of Us If We Don't Stop?': Ermo's China and the End of Globalization." Comparative Literature. 53(4):442-61. 2001 Fall
- The Eye (Jian Gui) (2002)
- Directed by Oxide and Danny Pang. In this Chinese horror film, a blind girl gets a cornea transplant after 18 years of blindness but the face she sees in the mirror is not her own and she begins to realize she is seeing ghosts. So she sets out of find the origins of her cornea and the history of the previous dead owner. 95 min. DVD 1777
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- Fallen Angels (To lo tien shih) (Hong Kong, 1995)
- Directed by Wang Chia-wei (Wong Kar-Wai). Set in the underworld of present day Hong Kong, this film intertwines two tales of love and isolation. First there's the unconsummated love affair between a contract killer and the ravishing female agent who books his assignments. When the killer decides that he must move on, he leaves her with only a coin for the jukebox and instructions to play a song, "Wang ji ta" ("Forget him"). In the second drama ex-convict Ho makes a living by re-opening shops that have closed for the night and intimidating customers into buying goods and services from him. After an awkward romance with a girl named Cherry, Ho finds himself all the more alone. 96 min. DVD 241; VHS 999:2526 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database Movie Review Query Engine
- The Fate of Lee Khan (Ying chun ge zhi feng bo) (Hong Kong, Taiwan, 1973)
- Director, King Hu. At the end of the Yuan dynasty, a group of Chinese gather at a bar for the task of overthrowing the dynasty. The story tells about the planning and execution of the uprising against their Mongolian oppressors and their eventual success. 105 min. 999:3274 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Fist of Fury (Jing wu men) (Hong Kong, 1972)
- Directed by Lo Wei, featuring Bruce Lee. In this action-packed Bruce Lee classic Kung fu student Chen, upon learning of the murder of his revered kung fu instructor, travels to Shanghai searching for the gang responsible and ends up facing some of his most dangerous opponents. 107 min. DVD 1222; Uncut & restored version is DVD 1692 (102 min.)
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- Fist of Fury (Jing wu men) (Hong Kong, 1995)
- Directed by Shiu-Kee Lung, and inspired by Bruce Lee's "Fist of Fury" (DVD 1222 & DVD 1692). Featuring Donnie Yen. In Japanese-occupied Shanghai, Chen Jun joins the legendary Ching Wu Martial Arts Academy to refine his skills and to assist in the academy's underground resistance against the enemy. But when Chen's master is poisoned by the Japanese, Chen vows revenge on the murderer and seeks justice for his master's death. 120 min. DVD 1154 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Full Contact (Xia dao Gao Fei) (Hong Kong, 1991)
- Director, Lin Lingdong. Cast: Chow Yun-fat, Simon Yam, Ann Bridgewater, Anthony Wong, Bonnie Fu. Betrayed by both his partner and his girl, and persecuted by a rival smuggling ring, a daredevil adventurer turns into a lonely gunman seeking bloody revenge from the suburbs of Bangkok to the streets of Hong Kong. 98 min. DVD 841 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Game of Death (Hong Kon / USA, 1978)
- Directed by Robert Clouse. Cast: Bruce Lee, Gig Young, Dean Jagger, Colleen Camp, Hugh O'Brian, Chuck Norris.
Billy Lo (Bruce Lee), is a young kung fu movie star with a flourishing career and a promising future. As the leader of a syndicate known for its exploitation of entertainers, Dr. Land jumps at the chance to capitalize on Billy's celebrated status and that of his singer-girlfriend. Refusing to sign with Land, Billy's martial arts mastery is put to the test when he is brutally harassed by Land's men in an attempt to change his mind. In a stunning showdown, Billy goes one-on-one with a villainous stream of deadly kung fu fighters in a final bid for his freedom. (Bruce Lee's last film work, he died during production of the film) 100 min. DVD 6855 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Game of Death II (Hong Kon / USA, 1981)
- Directed by Robert Clouse. Cast:Bruce Lee, Tong Lung, Roy Chiao, Wong Ching Lei.
In this dark tale of revenge, Bruce Lee "returns" as Billy Lo, whose best friend Chin Ku dies of a sudden illness. But suspicion of foul play arises when a gang tries to steal Ku's coffin at the funeral using a helicopter. When Lo's younger brother Bobby Lo hears about the incident, he leaves his Buddhist master to investigate the truth. His trail soon leads him to the Castle of Death, the last place Chin Ku was seen alive. There, he meets and befriends an unlikely ally--a cruel and merciless martial arts expert who is also the tower's master. But when the master dies under mysterious circumstance, Lo ends up dueling with someone far more terrifying. Created post-humously using Bruce Lee fight scenes originally filmed for Game of Death (1978) 96 min. DVD 6856 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- General Stone (1976)
- Directed by Yuen Siu Ling. Cast: Tan Tao Liang, Polly Shan Kwan. Tan is the son of the famous General Stone, who was killed in battle under mysterious circumstances. Tan is trained in hand and sword techniques, but his schooling is lifted to another level when his father and the spirits of fallen heroes inhabit the stone forms of warriors who teach him skills long thought extinct. Now Tan has a new found power to find the truth behind his father's death. English language version. 79 min. DVD 6254 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Happy Together (Cheun gwong tsa sit) (Hong Kong, Argentina, 1997)
- Directed by Wong Kar-Wai. A film about a pair of Chinese gay lovers living out the waning days of their relationship as expatriates in Buenos Aires. Lusty tango bars, the salsa music of the La Boca sidewalks, and a hypnotic visit to the nearby Iguazu Falls gives further dimension to the tensions growing between the two men. 97 min. DVD 909; VHS 999:2159 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database Movie Review Query Engine
- Hard Boiled (Lashou shentan) (Hong Kong, 1992)
- Directed by John Woo. Featuring Chow Yun-Fat, Tony Leung, Teresa Mo, Philip Chan, Philip Kwok. In a ruthless world of gun-smugglers and mobsters Tequila, a die-hard cop, stops at nothing to see that justice is done. To avenge his partner's murder, Tequila joins forces with a rebel cop, and then the body count mounts to a hair raising climax. 126 min. DVD 1702; vhs 999:2048 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database Movie Review Query Engine
- Hero (Ying xiong) (Hong Kong, 2002)
- Directed by Zhang Yimou. The Kingdom of Qin obsessed with conquering all of China had long been the target of assassins throughout the other six states. No matter how hard the King tried, it seemed impossible for him to defeat the three legendary assassins, Broken Sword, Flying Snow, and Sky. Suddenly, an enigmatic hero, Nameless, comes to the palace bearing the legendary weapons of the slain assassins to the King and tells his extraordinary tale sitting only ten paces from the King. 93 min. DVD 1848 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- "Hero." Sight & Sound, Apr2005, Vol. 15 Issue 4, p84-84
Lau, Jenny. "Hero: China’s response to
Hollywood globalization." Jump Cut, No. 49, spring 2007
Nylan, Michael. "Hero." The American Historical Review. Jun 2005. Vol. 110, Iss. 3; p. 769
- House of Flying Daggers (Shi mian mai fu) (Hong Kong, 2004)
- Directed by Zhang Yimou. Cast: Takeshi Kaneshiro, Andy Lau, Zhang Ziyi, Song Dandan. During the reign of the Tang dynasty in China, a secret organization called "The House of the Flying Daggers" rises and opposes the government. Leo is a police officer who sends officer Jin to investigate a young dancer named Mei, claiming that she has ties to the "Flying Daggers" organization. Leo ends up arresting Mei, only to have Jin break her free in a plot to gain her trust and lead the police to the new leader of the secret organization. But things are far more complicated than they seem. 115 min. DVD 3718 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
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- Beale, Lewis. "House of Flying Daggers." Film Journal International, Nov2004, Vol. 107 Issue 11, p100-100UC users only
Felperin, Leslie. "House of Flying Daggers." Sight & Sound, Jan2005, Vol. 15 Issue 1, p51-52
Levitin, Jacqueline. "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Hero, and House of the Flying Daggers: Interpreting Gender Thematics in the Contemporary Swordplay Film-A View from the West." Asian Cinema, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 166-82, April 2006
- In the Mood for Love (Hua yang nian hua) (France, Hong Kong, 2000)
- Directed by Wong Kar-Wai. Cast: Maggie Cheung Man-yuk, Leung Tony Chiu Wai. A man and a woman move into neighboring Hong Kong apartments and form a bond when they both their spouses of extra-marital activities in this masterful evocation of romantic longing and fleeting moments in time. 98 min. DVD 1156 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Infernal Affairs (Mou gaan dou) (Hong Kong, 2002)
- Directed by Wai Keung Lau and Siu Fai Mak. Cast: Tony Leung, Andy Lau, Anthony Wong, Eric Tsang.
A story of a mole in the Hong Kong police department and an undercover cop. Their objectives are the same - to find out who is the mole, and who is the cop. 101 min. DVD 7613 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Leary, Charles. "Infernal Affairs: High Concept in Hong Kong." Senses of Cinema 26: (no pagination). 2003 May-June.
Wing-sang, Law. "Hong Kong undercover: an approach to 'collaborative colonialism'." Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, Dec2008, Vol. 9 Issue 4, p522-542, 21p
Wing-sang, Law. "The violence of time and memory undercover: Hong Kong’s Infernal Affairs." Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, Sep2006, Vol. 7 Issue 3, p383-402, 20p UC users only
- Infernal Affairs II (Mou gaan dou II) (Hong Kong, 2002)
- Directed by Wai Keung Lau and Siu Fai Mak. Cast: Anthony Wong, Eric Tsang, Carina Lau, Francis Ng, Edison Chen, Shawn Yue, Hu Jun.
In this prequel to Internal affairs (2002), Chan Wing Yan has just become an undercover cop in the triads while Lau Kin Ming joins the police force. Both the triads and the police find an enemy in a rival crime boss. 119 min. DVD 7614 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Infernal Affairs III (Mou gaan dou III, Chung gik miu gaan) (Hong Kong, 2003)
- Directed by Wai Keung Lau and Siu Fai Mak. Cast: Tony Leung, Chiu-Wai, Andy Lau, Leoni Lai, Chen Daoming, Kelly Chen, Anthony Wong, Eric Tsang.
In the third edition to the Internal Affairs series, the unit has their hands full again. The conclusion to the groundbreaking trilogy that inspired 'The Departed'. 118 min. DVD 7615 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- [Jackie Chan's] Project A (Hong Kong, 1983)
- Directed by Jackie Chan. Dragon Ma, a determined coast guard officer on patrol in late 19th century Hong Kong, battles with a ruthless syndicate in a seemingly never-ending struggle for control of the dangerous waters. 105 min. 999:3480 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- The Killer (Die xue shuang xiong) (Hong Kong, 1989)
- Directed by John Woo. Jeffrey is The Killer, hired by the mob for one last job. Lee is the relentless cop trying to stop the killer at any cost. The two enemies form a strange and powerful bond that blur the lines between good and evil. 110 min. DVD 1868; vhs 999:848 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database Movie Review Query Engine
- Legend of Zu (Shu shan zheng zhuan) (Hong Kong, 2001)
- Directed by Tsui Hark. Cast: Zheng Yijian, Zhang Bozhi, Gu Tianle, Hung Jinbao (Samo Hung), Zhang Ziyi. In this fantasy film immortals train for hundreds of years to perfect their martial arts. However, an evil force is threatening their existence on the mountains of Zu, and they must band together to fight back. 105 min. DVD 4893 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Love in a Fallen City (Qing cheng zhi lian) (Hong Kong, 1984)
- Directed by Ann Hui. A love story set in Shanghai and Hong Kong in the wake of the Japanese invasion. PAL format DVD. 93 min. DVD 2790 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Nagareru (Flowing) (1956)
- Directed by Mikio Naruse. Cast: Tanaka Kinuyo, Yamada Isuzu, Takamine Hideko, Okada Mariko, Sugimura Haruko, Kurishima Sumiko.
The employees of a geisha house struggle with their diminishing status in Japanese society. Otsuta is running a geisha house Tsuta in Tokyo. Her daughter Katsuyo doesn't see any future in her mothers trade in the late days of Geisha. But Otsuta will not give up. This film portraits the day time life of a geisha when not entertaining customers. . Accompanied by a Book (183 p.) containing essays by Catherine Russell ("Naruse Mikio", "The salaryman's wife", "Naruse as modernist" & "House of women"), Audie Bock ("The art of the sidelong glance : the cinema of Naruse Mikio), and Phillip Lopate ("A taste for Naruse").
Special features: Optional audio commentary by Kent Jones and Phillip Lopate. 117 min. DVD X281 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Fox, Joan. "Profile: Hideko Takamine." Kinema. Spring 1994
- North & South Shaolin (1986)
- Directed by Wong HIng. Cast: Casanova Wong. Warrior Two is one of the North Shaolin's top monks in the fighting chambers, but all of his training is not enough when he goes against the dreaded Vulture Master who picks him apart, and nearly kills him in their first encounter. Casanova then goes to South Shaolin where he learns the arts of close combat ... his next face off with the Vulture won't be the same. English language version. 90 min. DVD 6253 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Once Upon a Time in China: Wong Fei-hung (Hong Kong, 1991)
- Director/producer, Tsui Hark. Featuring Jet Li, Yuan Biao, Rosamond Kwan, Kent Cheng, Jacky Cheung, Simon Yam. Set in 19th century China this is the story of young Huang Fei-Hung, the legendary Cantonese martial arts master and folk hero, who leading his misfit militia, is determined to stop the immoral slave trade that serves the California gold fields. When his aunt is kidnapped to be sold as a prostitute, Wong must battle his countrymen and the superior firepower of the slave traders, all for the very soul of traditional China. 134 min. DVD 831 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database Movie Review Query Engine
- Once Upon a Time in China II: Wong Fei-hung II (Hong Kong, 1993)
- Director, Tsui Hark. Featuring Jet Li, David Chiang, Rosamond Kwan, Yan Yee Kwan. Huang Fei-hung, the legendary Cantonese martial arts master and folk hero, joins forces with the brave revolutionary Sun Yat Sen when a terrorist group -- The White Lotus Clan -- initiates a campaign of violence against all foreigners in an attempt to preserve Chinese culture. 113 min. DVD 832 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database Movie Review Query Engine
- Once Upon a Time in China III: Wong Fei-hung III (Kong Kong, 1993)
- Director, Tsui Hark. Featuring Jet Li, Rosamund Kwan, Max Mok. The Empress has announced a Lion Dance martial arts contest. Wong Fei-Hung and his sidekick Chung arrive just in time. Along with his secret fiancee, Wong has to deal with a Russian diplomat and the brutal Club Foot, who has beaten up Wong's father. 111 min. DVD 833 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database Movie Review Query Engine
- The Opium War (Ya pian zhan zheng) (Hong Kong, 1997)
- Directed by Jin Xie. Cast: Bao Guo'an, Lin Liankun, Lang Xiong. A dramatization of the Chinese people's heroic resistance to British imperialism in the Opium War of 1840. VCD. 153 min. DVD 3672 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Painted Skin (Hua pi zhi yinyang fawang) (Hong Kong, China, 1992)
- Director, King Hu. An evil warlord torments the wandering ghost of a beautiful woman so mercilessly that her only recourse is to disguise herself with the face paint of a concubine. Her plight attracts the attention of an honorable ghost-fighter determined to set her soul free. 95 min. DVD 1153 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Peking Opera Blues (Tao ma tan) (Hong Kong, 1986)
- Director, Tsui Hark. Set against the elegant backdrop of Chinese opera in China's warlord period in 1913, the film focuses on three young women who become entangled with revolutionary guerillas. 102 min. DVD 868 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Red Sorghum (Hong gao liang) (China, 1987)
- Directed by Zhang Yimou. Film begins as a lusty romantic comedy about a nervous young bride's arrival and ensuing seduction at a remote winery, and ends as a heroic drama of partisan resistance during the Japanese occupation. Based on the novel by Yen Mo (PL2886.O1684 H8613 1993 Main Stack, Moffitt) 91 min. 999:1310 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database Movie Review Query Engine
- The Reincarnation of Golden Lotus (Pan Jinlian zhi qian shi jin sheng) (Hong Kong, 1989)
- Director, Clara Law. Parallel stories of ancient and modern China. In ancient China Golden Lotus is raped, married to a man she does not love, and when she finds love is beheadedfor it. In modern China Lotus is raped by the prefect of her school in Shanghai and sent to a work camp. Sheescapes to decadent Hong Kong by marrying a rich man. She finds herself drawn both to her husband's chauffeur and to a sadomasochistic relationship with adebauched designer. She dies in a fiery car wreck atthe end. A contemporary reworking of a 12th century Chinese novel. Multi-zone DVD. 92 min. DVD 2787 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Revenge of the Drunken Master (1984)
- Directed by Godfrey Ho. Cast: Johnny Chan, Eagle Han, Bruce Cheung, Wang Sao. Fei Hong is a happy go lucky kung fu master who becomes a target of the Black Mask Ninja Gang. They set out to make sure Fei Hong and Sam the Seed never meddle in their schemes again. Big mistake! English language version. 81 min. DVD 6256 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles (Qian li zou dan qi) (Hong Kong / China, 2005)
- Directed by Zhang Yimou. Cast: Ken Takakura, Kiichi Nakai, Shinobu Terajima, Li Jiamin, Qiu Lin, Jiang Wen, Ken Nakamoto, Yang Zhenbo.
Voice: Kiichi Nakai.
Takata is an aging Japanese fisherman who has been estranged from his son for many years. When the son is diagnosed with terminal cancer his daughter-in-law, Rie, summons him to the hospital. When his son refuses to see him, Rie gives him a videotape about the work his son was doing on a documentary film in a remote region of China's Yunnan province. Still troubled by the relationship, Takata decides to go to China and complete his son's work in part to develop an understanding of his son, and in part to do something for him. Once in China a series of obstacles and relationships bring him unexpectedly closer to both an understanding of himself and of his son. 45 min. DVD 9416 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Romance of the Western Chamber (Xixiang ji) (Hong Kong / China, 1927)
- Directed by Minwei Li and Hou Yao. Cast: Cijiang Ge, Chichang Hu, Cho-cho Lam, Dandan Li, Yaoting Zhu.
A young scholar going through a turbulent time in his life falls in love with the prime minister's daughter. When a group of robbers attack her mother declares that she will marry off her daughter to whoever saves them.
45 min. DVD 9416 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Rouge (Yan zhi kou) (Hong Kong, 1987)
- Directed by Stanley Kwan. Having committed suicide some fifty years ago, the ghost of a famous courtesan returns to the world to seek her septuagenarian lover. Multi-zone DVD. 93 min. DVD 2789 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Rumble in the Bronx (Hong Kong, Canada, 1996)
- Directed by Stanley Tong. Cast: Jackie Chan, Anita Mui, Francoise Yip, Garvin Cross, Yueh Hua, Bill Tung. Keung, a Hong Kong cop, comes to New York to see his uncle get married. The uncle has recently sold his store to Elaine, who wants to sell it after she refuses to pay protection money to a biker gang. When Keung finds out about her situation, he does all he can to protect her. Meanwhile, a crippled Chinese boy is surprised to discover that someone has stashed stolen diamonds in his wheelchair. He and Keung become friends and work on solving this case. 91 min. DVD 368
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- Seven Swords (Qi jian; Chat gim) (South Korea / Hong Kong / China, 2005)
- Directed by Hark Tsui. Cast: Li Ming, Zhen Zidan, Yang Caini, Sun Honglei, Lu Yi, Jin Suyan.
In northwest China, seven men with magic swords help the local martial artist group Tian Ti Hui prevent the slaughter of innocent villagers by an evil Manchurian warlord. 153 min. DVD 7487
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- Shanghai Triad (Yao a yao, yao tao wai po chiao) (China, France, 1995)
- Director, Zhang Yimou. Featuring Gong Li, Li Baotian, Li Xuejian, Sun Chun, Wang Xiaoxiao. The charms of an alluring prostitute are used as bait between feuding ganglords against a dramatic backdrop of 1930s Shanghai in this exotic and captivating thriller. Freely adapted from the novel "Gang Law" by Li Xiao. 109 min. DVD 546 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database Movie Review Query Engine
- Shaolin Iron Claws (Hawk's Fist) (1978)
- Directed by Wong Fong. Cast: Lee I. Min, Wong Tao, Chang Yi. Lee I Min and Wong Tao are on a collision course with the White Haired Fox played by Chang Yi. Lee and Wong must team up and combine their skills to defeat the treacherous master of the talon styles. There is no mercy given or taken in this classic martial arts film. English language version. 85 min. DVD 6255 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Shaolin Temple (Shao Lin si) (1976)
- Directed by Cheh Chang. Cast: Sheng Fu, Kuan-Chun Chi, Lung Ti, David Chiang, Philip Kwok.
The Tang emperor is betrayed by one of his generals, who installs himself as emperor in the East Capital. The son of one of his slave workers escapes to the Shaolin Temple, learns kung fu, and sets out to kill the traitor, who killed his father. The monks have to help him, and in the process, they save the true emperor, who rewards them greatly. 84 min. DVD X555 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Song of the Exile (Ketu qiuhen) (Hong Kong, Taiwan, 1990)
- Directed by Ann Hui. Graduating from a university in Britain, returns home to attend her sister's wedding but quickly finds herself at social and emotional odds with her seemingly imperious mother. The turbulent homecoming revives Heuyin's memories of the charged atmosphere of her childhood in Macao. Hueyin reluctantly agrees to accompany her mother on a visit to her once rich and prominent family in Japan. There, she begins to understand that she and her mother are very much alike, both having suffered similar feelings of loss and alienation throughout their adult live. 100 min. 999:1067 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database Movie Review Query Engine
- Erens, Patricia Brett. "Crossing borders: time, memory, and the construction of identity in Song of exile." Cinema Journal v 39 no4 Summer 2000. p. 43-59
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Chua, Siew-Keng. "The politics of "home": Song of the exile." Jump Cut no42 1998. p. 90-3
- Sons of Good Earth (Da di er nu) (Hong Kong, 1964)
- Director King Hu. During the Sino-Japanese conflict, a married couple are individually arrested and lose contact with one another. Meanwhile villagers employ guerrilla tactics against their Japanese oppressors. In the film's bloody climax, the peasants stage a massive revolt and slaugher the invaders. After the war is over the couple are reunited. 70 min. 999:3275
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- The Soong Sisters (Song jia huang chao) (Hong Kong, 1996)
- Directed by Mabel Cheung. Cast: Zhang Manyu, Jiang Wen, Yang Ziqiong, Wu Junmei. At the end of Qing dynasty, the Soong sisters--Ai-ling, Ching-ling and May-ling became legends in their own time. One loved money, one loved power, and one loved her country. Their lives were interwoven into the turbulent history of modern China. Ching-ling married Dr. Sun who led the 1911 revolution and embarked on a long journey of vagrant life. 145 min. DVD 4869
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- Swordsman (Hsiao ao chiang hu) (Hong Kong, Taiwan, 1990)
- Directed by Siu-Tung Ching, King Hu, Ann Hui, Hark Tsui. Towards the end of the Ming dynasty, three major "tongs" come into conflict with a group of evil eunuchs, in a desperate search for a lost manuscript which may unveil the ultimate secrets of Kung fu. 90 min. DVD 4894; vhs 999:1974
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- Three Extremes (Hong Kong / Japan / South Korea, 2004)
- Cast: Box: Kyoko Hasegawa, Atsuro Watabe. Dumplings: Miriam Yeung, Bai Ling, Tony Ka-Fai Leung. Cut: Lee Byung-Hun, Lim Won-Hee, Gang Hye-Jung, Yum Jung-Ah. Presents a cross-cultural trilogy of odd and horrific film shorts by Asian directors. In Box, beautiful successful novelist Kyoko lives a solitary life. In Dumplings a woman experiments with anti-ageing dumplings containing a sinister secret ingredient. In Cut, a happy and successful film director encounters a stranger in his living room. Contents: Box: Kyoko Hasegawa, Atsuro Watabe. Dumplings: Miriam Yeung, Bai Ling, Tony Ka-Fai Leung. Cut: Lee Byung-Hun, Lim Won-Hee, Gang Hye-Jung, Yum Jung-Ah. 126 min. DVD X792
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- Time and Tide (Seunlau ngaklau) (Hong Kong, Taiwan, 2000)
- Directed by Hark Tsui. Cast: Nicholas Tse, Wu Bai, Joventino Cuoto Remotigue, Anthony Wong, Candy Lo, Cathy Chui. A restless, streetwise 21-year-old has had trouble gaining the trust of others all his life. Now he is forced to deal with the reality of impending fatherhood. Needing quick cash, he joins a bodyguard company. He makes friends with a once disillusioned mercenary determined to begin life in a new way, since he is also about to become a father. However, their companionship is brief and they both are uncontrollably forced toward opposite sides of a deadly showdown. 114 min. 999:1974 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Way of the Dragon (Meng long guojiang) (1971)
- Directed by Directed by Wei Lo. Cast: Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, Nora Miao.
In this high-kicking martial arts thriller, a young man (Bruce Lee) is called to Rome to help a family friend whose restaurant is being targeted by local gangsters. Used to getting their own way, these ruthless men make the mistake of underestimating the young man's ingenuity. When they are unable to get rid of him, they call in an international martial arts champion (Chuck Norris), creating the ultimate clash of kung fu masters in the ancient city's majestic coliseum. Dubbed into English; soundtracks also in Cantonese and Mandarin with traditional and simplied Chinese and English subtitles; Closed captioned. 99 min. DVD 6854
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- We're Going to Eat You (Di yu wu men) (Hong Kong, 1980)
- Directed by Hark Tsui. Cast: Han Guocai, Norman Chu, Eddy Ko, Melvin Wong, Feng Feng, Tony Liu, Siu- Ming To, Hon Gwok Choi, Din Long Lee, Cory Yuen.
Agent 999 is on a mission in pursuit of a bandit called Rolex. On the route he goes to a remote island where local people are all merciless cannibals. 90 min. DVD 7506 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Zhantai (Platform) (Hong Kong / China / Japan / France, 2000)
- Director, Zhang Ke Jia. Cast: Wang Hongwei, Zhao Tao, Liang Jingdong, Yang Tianyi.
Set in China, this drama spans the turbulent 1980s by following four performers in the state-run Peasant Culture Group. Based in Fenyang, these "art workers" praise the late Chairman Mao with approved revolutionary classics. When an "open door" cultural policy is instituted, China begins to move toward Western-influenced consumer capitalism. 148 min. DVD X456
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- Zu, Warriors from the Magic Mountain (Shu Shan) (Hong Kong, 1983)
- Director, Tsui Hark. In ancient China, the forces of evil are about to take over the Earth. A young warrior must endure hardship to locate the mythical twin swords which are the only weapons powerful enough to defeat the monstrous demons and save the mortal world. 97 min. DVD 869
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Chinese Cinema/Chinese Filmmakers: Taiwan
- The Boys from Fengkuei (Fenggui lai de ren) (Taiwan, 1983)
- Directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien. Ah-Ching and his friends have just finished school in their island fishing village, and now spend most of their time drinking and fighting. Three of them decide to go to the port city of Kaohsiung to look for work. They find an apartment through relatives, and Ah-Ching is attracted to the girlfriend of a neighbor. There they face the harsh realities of the big city. 110 min. DVD 1598 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database Movie Review Query Engine
- Butterfly and Sword (Hsin liu hsing hu tieh chien) (Taiwan, Hong Kong, 1993)
- Directed by Mai Tang-chieh. In this spectacular swordfighting tale the loyalist famous foursome parry and trust their way through a deliriously paced yarn as they attempt to keep the King's empire from being overthrown by a revolutionary group. 86 min. 999:2022 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
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- Dragon Inn (Long men ke zhan) (Taiwan, 1966)
- Directed by King Hu. Cast: Shangguan Lingfeng, Shi Jun, Bai Ying.
Epic takes place during the Ming dynasty. A power-hungry Eunuch employs the evil Eastern Chamber Sect in his quest to single-handedly rule China. However, a warrior named Chow is opposed to his corrupt ambitions and joins a group of warriors aiming to resist the Sect. The two forces eventually battle it out at the Dragon Inn, hosted by murderous bandit Jade.
DVD. 109 min. DVD 1598; also VHS 999:2806
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- Dust in the Wind (Lien lien feng chen) (Taiwan, 1986)
- Directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien. A story about a young couple from a village in the southern part of Taiwan. Filled with details of urban Taipei, and depicting the transition from rural to industrial life in contemporary Taiwan, this is also a poignant story of young love lost. A teenaged couple moves to the city to find work, but are separated when the boy is drafted and the girl marries another. 109 min. DVD 1598; also VHS 999:2806
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- Eat Drink Man Woman (Yinshi nan nu) (Taiwan, USA, 1994)
- Directed by Ang Lee. A retired master chef and widower is worried about the future of his three unmarried daughters who are skeptical about marriage. Yet he himself surprises them with his secret love affair with a young woman many years his junior. 124 min. DVD 1321; vhs 999:1494
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- Flowers of Shanghai (Hai shang hua) (Taiwan, 1998)
- Director, Hou Hsiao-hsien. Cast: Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Michiko Hada, Lee Yu-ming, Carina Lau Ka-ling. Based on the 1894 novel by Han Ziyun this film is set in the elegant brothels of late nineteenth century Shanghai, a hermetic world with its own highly ritualized codes of behavior, where "flower girls," must win, and then hold, the affection of their wealthy callers. 113 min. DVD 1229; vhs 999:2537
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- Good Men, Good Women (Hao nan hao nu) (Taiwan, Japan, 1995)
- Directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien. This film consists of three intermingling stories: a film within a film as well as the past and present as linked by an actress in present-day Taipei. The film in which she plays is about a couple who return to mainland China to participate in the anti-Japanese movement in the 1940s and are arrested as Communists when they return to Taiwan. Images of the film-in-progress contrast with images from the actress' own past, when she was a party girl involved with a gangster. 108 min. 9099:2535
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- Ma, Jean Y. "Doubled lives, dissimulated history: Hou Hsiao-Hsien's Good Men, Good Women." (Critical Essay)." Post Script 22.3 (Summer 2003): 21(14).
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- HHH: Portrait de Hou Hsiao-Hsien
- Taiwanese film director Hou Hsiao-Hsein examines questions of identity and "native land," as he returns to the places of his youth to talk to childhood friends and discuss his films. His work is inseparably linked with the recent history of Taiwan and the emergence of the Taiwanese "Nouvelle Vague," an intellectual movement that united Taiwanese writers, journalists and filmmakers at the end of the 1970s; a movement that only became possible with the end of censorship and the advent of free discussions, through film and literature, about Taiwan's society. 1998. 90 min. Video/C 9081
- The Hole (Dong) (Taiwan, 1998)
- Directed by Ming-liang Tsai. Seven days into the 21st century the rain will not let up in Taiwan and a strange disease reaches epic proportions. Tenants of a run-down apartment refuse to leave. The plumber comes to fix a leak and leaves a gaping hole through which the tenant spies on his neighbor. 95 min. DVD 2799
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- The Personals (Zheng hun qi shi) (Taiwan, 1998)
- Directed by Chen Kuo-fu. An attractive and successful ophthalmologist quits her job and places a personal ad in the newspaper. She has a specific purpose in her ad - she is looking for marriage. After a series of blind dates with men who are either lonely, desperate, strange, perverted, or all of the above, what she really wants is her mysterious ex-lover to came back to her. 105 min. DVD 2800
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- Puppetmaster (Hsi meng jen sheng) (Taiwan, 1993)
- Directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien. Based on the highly dramatic autobiography of real life Taiwanese puppetmaster Li Tian-lu. The story covers the period of Japanese colonization from 1910 to World War II. Li's puppetry, like all Chinese culture, was banned by the Japanese, but during World War II, the Japanese used the traditional Chinese puppet theater for their war propaganda. Only after the war did street theatres start playing again. 142 min. DVD 940; VHS 999:2662
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- Pushing Hands (Tui shou) (Taiwan, 1991)
- Directed by Ang Lee. A tai-chi master and widower moves from Beijing to a New York suburb to live with his only son. With a daughter-in-law who has no use for him and an ever-changing society, problems quickly arise. He is forced to call upon his tai-chi teachings and it's "pushing hands" to give him the balance needed to survive in this poignant and comic tale. 999:1339
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- Sheng-mei Ma. "Ang Lee's Domestic Tragicomedy: Immigrant Nostalgia, Exotic/Ethnic Tour, Global Market." Journal of Popular Culture, vol. 30 no. 1. 1996 Summer. pp: 191-201.
- Rebels of the Neon God (Qing shao nian nuo zha) (Taiwan, 1992)
- Directed by Ming-liang Tsai. Cast: Chao-jung Chen, Chang-bin Jen, Kang-sheng Lee, Hsaio-Ling Lu, Tien Miao, Yu-Wen Wang.
Set amidst the urban jungle of Taipei, is this stylish tale of teen angst and despair. Centering on four disaffected, disillusioned youth, the storyline shuttles between the deadpan, petty con games of two Taipei hoods, a young woman, and a cab driver's son who's being pressured to study by his parents. 106 min.DVD 9347
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- The River (He liu) (Taiwan, 1997)
- Directed by Ming-liang Tsai. Cast: Lee Kang-sheng, Miao Tien, Lu Hsiao-ling, Chen Shiang-chyi, Chang Long, Anne Hui, Chen Chao-jung.
A troubled Twainese family living separate lives is driven on a quest to alleviate the son's pain after taking a dunk in the polluted Tansui River. They try virtually every intervention for his neck pain: Western medicine, a chiropractor, acupuncture, an herbal doctor, and a faith healer, Master Liu. Are the family's silent dynamics and his neck pain connected?
115 min. DVD 9354
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- A Summer at Grandpa's (Dong dong de jia qi) (Taiwan, 1984)
- Directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien.After their mother becomes hospitalized, two city children find themselves spending the summer in the country with their grandfather. 93 min. DVD 1598
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- The Taiwan New Cinema
- A documentary focusing on the two stages of motion pictures produced in Taiwan: beginnings and foundation building of the 1980s and the pluralistic creativity of the 1990s. Includes interviews with directors and film critics, extensive clips from films and commentary on the relationship between Taiwanese cinema and social development of the society. Commentary: Hou Hsiao-hsien, Tsai Ming-liang, Stan Lai, Ang Lee, Wang Toon, Peggy Chiao, Edmond K. Y. Wong, Lee Tain-dow, Hsu Hsiao-ming, Ho Ping , Wu Nien-Jen, Chen Yun-hou, Edward Yang, Chang Yi, Ko T-cheng.1998. 71 min. Video/C 9597
- That Day on the Beach (Hai tan ti i tien) (Taiwan, 1983)
- Directed by Edward Yang. Brought up in a strict and well-protected environment, Chia-li fought against a pre-arranged marriage, left home and married Te-wei. As Te-wei's career advances, they gradually grow apart and problems arise which Chia-li refuses to confront. In Mandarin with Chinese and English subtitles. 166 min. 999:1873
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- Three Times (Zui hao de shi guang) (Taiwan/France, 2005)
- Directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien. A rapturous and beautiful love story set in three different eras - a pool hall in 1966, a 1911 brothel, and present-day Taipei. The director brings to life the culture of each period as the tales unfold. 135 min. DVD 6514
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- A Time to Live and a Time to Die (Tung nien Wang Shih) (Taiwan, 1985)
- Directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien. The film depicts a family transplanted from mainland China to Taiwan in the early 1950s. The Father dies of illness and the elder sister marries. A-ha, the protagonist, struggles to deal with adolescence. 137 min. DVD 1598; VHS 999:1581
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- Vive l'Amour (Ai qing wan sui) (Taiwan, 1994)
- Directed by Tsai Ming-Liang. Cast: Yang Kui-mei, Lee Kang-sheng, Chen Chao-jung. Drama without dialog takes place in Taipei, Taiwan where a strange love triangle develops between a chic, seductive real estate agent, a street merchant and a shy, gay man who spies on the couple's trysts. 118 min. DVD 4886
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- Wedding Banquet (Hsi yen) (Taiwan, USA, 1993)
- Director, Ang Lee; featuring Ah-Leh Gua, Sihung Lung, May Chin, Winston Chao, Mitchell Lichtenstein. A comedy about the relationship between a gay Asian american and his Taiwanese parents. In New York, the Taiwanese half of the gay couple hopes to end his parents' matchmaking by announcing that he's engaged. What he doesn't count on is that they'll fly in to meet the bride and plan the nuptials. 109 min. Video Disc 122; VHS 999:1495
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- What Time Is It? (Ni na bian ji dian) (Taiwan, 2001)
- Directed by Tsai Ming-Liang. Cast: Lee Kang-Sheng, Chen Shiang-Chyi, Lu Yi-Ching, Miao Tien, Cecilia Yip, Chen Chao-Jung, Tsai Guei, Jean-Pierre Leaud. Hxiao Kang sells watches on the streets of Taipei for a living. Shortly after his father's death, he meets a young woman who leaves for Paris the next day. He sells her his own watch which has two dials so she can keep time with both Paris and Taipei. His brief encounter with the young woman makes him run around setting all the watches in Taipei to Paris time. 116 min. DVD 1626
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- Yi Yi: A One and a Two (Taiwan, Japan, 1999)
- Directed by Edward Yang. This story follows the individual lives of the Jian family: NJ Jian, his wife Min-Min, and their two kids who share their Taipei apartment with Min-Min's elderly mother. Due to many circumstances, the entire family is forced to re-evaluate who they are and what their lives have become. 173 min. DVD 1170
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Japanese Cinema
| Feature Films | Animated Classics of Japanese Literature |
| Anime (on separate page) |- 2LDK (2003)
- Director, Yukihiko Tsutsumi. Cast: YMaho Nonami, Eiko Koike, Daisuke Kizaki.
Two actresses who share an apartment in Tokyo are in fierce competition with each other. As they vie for the same film role and the same boyfriend, their petty squabbles escalate to all-out war as they resort to violence to settle their dispute. 70 min. DVD 9675
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- Actor's Revenge (Yukinojo henge)(aka Revenge of a Kabuki Actor; The Revenge of Ukeno-Jo; The Revenge of Yuki-No-Jo) (1963)
- Director, Kon Ichikawa. Cast: Kazuo Hasegawa, Fujiko Yamamoto, Ayako Wakao, Ganjiro Nakamura.
The story of a female impersonator in a Kabuki troupe determined to wreak vengeance on the villians who caused his parents' miserable deaths. 97 min. vhs 999:2025
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- Afraid to Die (Karakkaze yaro) (1960)
- Director, Masumura Yasuzo. Cast: Yukio Mishima, Ayako Wakao, Eiji Funakoshi, Takashi Shimura, Shigeru Koyama, Yoshie Mizutani, Keizo Kawasaki, Michiko Ono, Jun Negami, Reiasaburo Reizaburo Yamamoto.
After finishing his prison sentence for killing a mob boss, Asahina reluctantly re-enters Japanese society where he tries to stay one step ahead of the mob. 97 min. DVD 6980
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- After Life (1998)
- Director, Kore-eda Hirokazu. In Kore-eda's thought-provoking vision, the newly deceased find themselves in a way station somewhere between Heaven and Earth. With the help of dedicated caseworkers, each soul is given three days to choose one cherished memory for their life that they will relive for eternity. As the film reveals, recognizing happiness and finding a life's worth of meaning in a single event is no simple task. 118 min. DVD 1341
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- Akahige: Red Beard (1965)
- Directed by Akira Kurosawa. Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Yuzo Kayama, Tsutomu Yamazaki. A vain young doctor fresh from study of the latest in Western medicine in Nagasaki is assigned to an impoverished clinic. At first rebellious against the seemingly autocratic ways of the clinic's head, he is won over by the wisdom and compassion of the dedicated director. 185 min. DVD 1260
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- All Night Long Collection
- Written and directed by Katsuya Matsumura. DVD 6845
All Night Long (Ooru naito rongu) (1994)
- Cast: Eisuke Tsunoda, Yoji Ietomi, Ryosuke Suzuki, Hiromasa Taguchi. The first of three sequential psychological horror films from Japanese director Katsuya Matsumura. A dark and twisted film following three Japanese school mates. One day one of their girl friends is brutally tortured and raped by a gang. The three friends can't take it any more and embracing the shocking underworld of savagery, the three teenagers make a pact to find the perpetrators and exact revenge.
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie DatabaseAll Night Long, Atrocity (Ooru naito rongu 2: Sanj) (1995)- Cast: Masashi Endo, Kanori Kadomatsu, Masahito Takahashi. The second of three sequential psychological horror films from Japanese director Katsuya Matsumura. In downtown Japan, a lonely computer nerd tries to maintain a peaceful existance while being stalked by a gang of deviant homosexuals who want to use him for their brutal S&M activities. 76 min.
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie DatabaseAll Night Long, the Final Chapter (Ooru naito rongu 3: Saishuu-sh?) (1996)- Cast: Yujin Kitagawa, Kanori Kadomatsu, Tomoro Taguchi. The third of three sequential psychological horror films from Japanese director Katsuya Matsumura. A bellboy stalks a woman who frequents the hotel where he works. The boundaries he will cross are limitless, and the distance he will go to satiate his needs are beyond redemption. The conclusion to the series reiterates that human existence is meaningless and "human beings are garbage." 76 min.
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database - Angel Dust (Enjeru dasuto) (1994)
- Director: Sogo Ishii. Cast: Minami Kaho, Toyokawa Etsushi, Takizawa Ryoko.
A beautiful Japanese investigator is assigned to a series of brutal murders against young women in the Tokyo subway. Fate reunites her with a former lover, a controversial psychiatrist expelled from his post who is now suspected of the murders.
116 min. DVD 9317
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- Atomic Rulers of the World (Japan, 1964)
- Directors: Koreyoshi Akasaka, Teruo Ishii, and others. Cast: Nakayama, Kan Hayashi, Minoru Takada, Utako Mitsuya.
A hero from the deepest reaches of space arrives on planet Earth to save mankind from atomic destruction in this feature film comprised of episodes of the popular Japanese sci-fi series Super Giant. As the citizens of the distant planet Emerald watch over Earth, they are shocked to discover that the rouge nation of Mirapolia has distributed atomic weapons all over the planet. Though the Mirapolians have vowed to destroy Earth if they cannot rule over it, the arrival of space savior Starman provides the frightened citizens of the endangered planet a ray of hope in what may be their darkest hour. In English ; dubbed from the original Japanese.
76 min. DVD 7732
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- Autumn Afternoon (Sanma no aji) (1962)
- Directed by Yasujiro Ozu. Cast: Ryu Chishu, Iwashita Shima, Sada Keiji, Okada Mariko, Yoshida Teruo.
After living alone with his daughter for years, a widower must learn how to let her go, letting her be free to move on with her life, by arranging a marriage for her. Special features: Audio commentary featuring David Bordwell; excerpts from 1978 French television program, "Yasujiro Ozu and the taste of sake"; theatrical trailer ; new, restored high-definition digital transfer. 113 min. DVD DVD X369
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- The Bad Sleep Well (Warui yatsu hodo yoku nemuru) (1960)
- Directed by Akira Kurosawa. Akira Kurosawa, the acclaimed Japanese director, adopts the American gangster-film style to weave a fascinating tale of corporate greed. The story focuses on a grieving son, (Toshiro Mifune), who seeks revenge for his father's murder as he infiltrates the corrupt construction company that was responsible for his father's death. 152 min. DVD 2834; vhs 999:2283
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- Maxfield, James. "The Moral Ambiguity of Kurosawa's Early Thrillers." Film Criticism v. 18 (Fall '93) p. 20-35.
- The Ballad of Narayama (Narayama Bushiko) (1982)
- Director: Shohei Imamura. A century ago, inhabitants from a remote mountian village lived in constant fear of starvation. Their lives were cruel, horrible, and at best, hopeless. To survive, a number of ruthless laws were passed. One of the most brutal-taking the elderly to the distant peak of Narayama to die. 129 min. DVD 9868; vhs 999:858
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- Hung, Lee Wood. "Natural culturalism in Narayamabushi-ko (The ballad of Narayama): a study of Shohei Imamura's thematic concerns." In: How East Asian films are reshaping national identities : essays on the cinemas of China, Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong Edited by Andrew David Jackson, Michael Gibb, and Dave White ; with a foreword by Hyangjin Lee. Lewiston, N.Y. : Edwin Mellen Press, c2006. (MAIN: PN1995.9.N353 H69 2006)
- Barefoot Gen (Hadashi no Gen) (1983; animation with English voice-over; closed-captioned for the hearing impaired)
- Director: Mamoru Shinzaki. Six year old Gen has lived practically his entire life in the shadow of war yet he is not prepared for the horrors which follow the bombing of Hiroshima. In this animated film, drawn from Keiji Nakazawa's true life experiences in the aftermath of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima, Barefoot Gen tells the story of one family's struggle to survive against overwhelming odds. 85 min. DVD 411; VHS 999:1211
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- The Battle of Okinawa (Gekido no showashi: Okinawa kessen)(1971)
- Directed by Kinji Fukasaku. Cast: Keiju Kobayashi, Tetsuro Tamba, Tatsuya Nakadai, Yuzo Kayama, Mayumi Ozora, Wakako Sakai.
This final stand against the Allied onslaught soon becomes the bloodiest battle of the Pacific Theater, taking the horrors of war to a level never before seen, as the desperate Japanese Army tries to demonstrate to the Americans what they should expect when they assault the Japanese mainland. 149 min.DVD 8765
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- Battle Royale (Batoru rowaiaru) (2000)
- Directed by Kinji Fukasaku. Cast: Takeshi Kitano, Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, Taro Yamamoto, Masanobu Ando.
Sometime in the near future, near anarchy has broken out in Japan. The government responds by passing the Battle Royale Act, a piece of legislation mandating that a group of young people - and only young people - are forcibly marooned together on an island, and forced to kill each other until one survivor is left. If more than one is still alive after three days, every survivor will be killed. The film follows a class of 14-year-olds who believe they're on a school trip, when they are drugged. They wake up, in a derelict building on a deserted island; they're each given enough provisions for three days, a weapon, and the ultimatum. Based on a novel by Takami Koshun.
Special features: TV spots, The making of Battle Royale, Battle Royale press conference, instructional video: birthday version, audition and rehearsal footage, special effects comparison featurette, Tokyo International Film Festival 2000, Battle Royale documentary, basketball scene rehearsals, behind-the-scenes featurette, filming on-set, original theatrical Trailer, director's Statement, filmographies. 122 min.DVD 86; VHS 999:73
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- The Bird People in China (Chugoku no chojin) (1998)
- Directed by Takashi Miike. Cast: Masahiro Motoki, Renji Ishibashi, Makoto 'Mako' Iwamatsu, Li Li Wang. Tokyo salaryman Wada ventures into deepest, darkest China to investigate a massive deposit of high-quality jade. Tailing him is Ujiie, a snarling yakuza hell-bent on getting Wada's company to repay its debts. Led by their unflappable guide, the trio stumbles upon a hill tribe, whose children are adorned with wings made from bamboo and paper. Their teacher, a blue-eyed woman named Yan, tells them that she is teaching them to fly. Wada quickly becomes obsessed with this curious local. After she tells him that she has a book on human-powered flight and that her grandfather was a downed British airman, he almost believes that she can teach her students to soar. Soon Wada feels purged from the evils of city life while Ujiie decides to dedicate his life to protecting the village. 18 min. DVD 5197 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Black Rain (Kuroi Ame) (1989)
- Director: Shohei Imamura. This is an unforgettable movie about humanity and survival after the 1945 atomic catastrophe that changed the world forever. Stunning photography vividly details the horror of ravaged Hiroshima, while its shocked survivors struggle with radiation sickness as they rebuild their shattered lives. 123 min. 999:112 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database Movie Review Query Engine
- Tachibana, Reiko: "Seeing between the lines: Imamura Shohei's Kuroi Ame (Black Rain)" Literature/Film Quarterly (26:4) 1998:4 , 304-312
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- Boiling Point (3-4x jugatsu) (1990)
- Director, 'Beat' Takeshi Kitano. Two members of a Japanese junior baseball team get mixed up with the local yakuza. After their coach is severely injured by the gangsters, the two boys set off to Okinawa to purchase a gun in order to get revenge. While in Okinawa they get befriended by a psychotic yakuza outcast who is planning a revenge of his own. 98 min. DVD 1093; vhs 999:3200 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database Movie Review Query Engine
- Brother (2000)
- Directed by Takeshi Kitano. After his crime boss is murdered in a Tokyo gang war, a yakuza gangster is exiled to Los Angeles. He has a big bag of money and a really bad attitude and hooks up with his half-brother who is the leader of a small-time drug ring. Together, with a local street hustler, the brothers declare war on the other local drug traffickers. This ignites into the bloodiest, dirtiest, nastiest power struggle L.A. has ever seen. 113 min. DVD 1084
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- Burmese Harp (Biruma no tategoto) (1956)
- Director: Kon Ichikawa. Following the actions of a young Japanese officer separated from his battalion at the close of the Pacific War in Burma, the film shows one man's journey from the comforts of companionship in adversity to a solitary confrontation with, and the eventual grasp of, mass death in the name of patriotism. 116 min. DVD 8429; 999:1054
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- Cafe Lumière (Kohi jiko) (2003)
- Director: Hou Hsiao-Hsien. In a residential Tokyo neighborhood, Yoko, a freelance writer, becomes pregnant and chooses, against tradition and her parents' wishes, to raise the baby alone. In her loneliness and confusion, Yoko befriends the owner of a second-hand bookstore, who silently falls in love with her as she contemplates the choice she has made. 104 min. DVD 4867
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- Carnival in the Night (Yami no kanibaru) (1982)
- Director: Yamamoto Masashi. Cast: Ota Kumiko, Kuwabara Enkyo, Edo Akemi, Endo Michiro. Punk rocker Kumi leaves her son with her ex-husband and sets off on an unusual journey through Tokyo's underbelly, with each person she meets being stranger than the last, and each encounter more disturbing. 108 min. DVD X246
- Cruel Story of Youth (Seishun zankoku monogatari) (1960)
- Director: Nagisa Oshima. In this daring statement about the disillusionment that took hold in Japan following World War II, a teenage girl and her criminal boyfriend perform sexual shakedowns on well-to-do middle-aged men. 96 min. 999:2024
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- The Cure (Kyua) (1997)
- Directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Cast: Koji Yakusho, Masato Hagiwara, Tsuyoshi Ujiki, Anna Nakagawa, Yoriko Douguchi, Yukijiro Hotaru. Set in and around a bleak, decaying Tokyo, a series of murders have been committed by ordinary people who claim to have had no control over their horrifying actions. Detective Kenichi Takabe puts his own sanity on the line as he tries to end the terror. 111 min. DVD 4257
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- Dark Water (Honokurai mizu no soko kara)(2001)
- Directed by Hideo Nakata. Cast: Kuroki Hitomi, Kanno Rio, Oguchi Mirei, Mizukawa Asami. Yoshimi Matsubara fights to gain legal custody of her five year-old daughter Ikuko while the two live together in a dark, sullen and musty apartment building. Already insecure and uncertain about her future with her daughter, Yoshimi is haunted by murky water dripping through the ceiling and walls, and by the almost taunting appearances of a small red bag that once belonged to a girl who had mysteriously disappeared two years prior. Though she desperately struggles to find the strength within herself for Ikuko's sake, her horror intensifies as she comes closer to discovering the connection between these events, and is completely unprepared for the truth that lies ahead. 100 min. DVD 6832
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- Dead Girl Walking (Kaiki! Shinin shôjo) (2004)
- Directed by Koji Shiraishi. Cast: Ayaka Maeda, Katsumi Nagashio, Kansai Eto, Moe Karasawa.
The unimaginable happens when Sayuri is pronounced "dead" by her doctor, but her body continues to function. Her wounds begin to fester and her body begins to rot. Her once loving family are now repulsed by her. She flees from them, but is snatched away by a strange man who runs a freak show, where she is forced to exhibit her putrefied body. Based on the horror comic strips of Hideshi Hino. 44 min. DVD 6794
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- Dead or Alive (Hanzaisha) (1999)
- Directed by Takashi Miike. Cast: Riki Takeuchi, Sho Aikawa, Renji Ishibashi, Hitoshi Ozawa, Shingo Tsurumi.
Without a home and feeling no obligation to Japanese society or Yakuza, Ryuichi and his small group decide to make their own place by trying to take over the Shinjuku underworld and the drug trade from Taiwan. As they plan an all-out-assault on the remaining Chinese and Japanese mafia kings, only Detective Jojima stands between them and complete domination. 105 min. DVD 8354
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- Dead or Alive 2: Birds (Tôbôsha)) (2000)
- Directed by Takashi Miike. Cast: Show Aikawa, Riki Takeuchi, Edison Chen, Kenichi Endo, Teah.
Now reunited, Mizuki and Shuichi team up to pay off their spiritual debts while staying one trigger-pull ahead of the mobsters and killers who want them dead. 97 min. DVD 8355
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- Death Train (Kyôfu ressha) (2004)
- Directed by Kazuyuki Sakamoto. Cast: Aja, Narumi Konno, Saya Tuki.
Three high school friends on a weekend trip experience a strange flash of light and loud sound while on a train to an amusement park. Everything seems normal at first, but then strange things start happening including being chased by strange men in black. Plagued by nightmarish sensations they flee only to find themselves at the amusement park. They are stuck between nightmare and reality, between the walls of two worlds that are closing in on them. But which world is real? Based on the horror comic strips of Hideshi Hino. 61 min. DVD 6801
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- Dersu Uzala (1974)
- Director: Akira Kurosawa. An enthralling tale of an eccentric Mongolian frontiersman who is taken on as a guide by a Soviet surveying crew. While the soldiers at first perceive Dersu as a naive and comical relic of an uncivilized age, he quickly proves himself otherwise with displays of ingenuity and bravery unmatched by any member of the inexperienced mapping team, on more than one occasion becoming their unlikely savior. Originally made as a motion picture in 1974 as a joint Soviet and Japanese production. 140 min. DVD 408; VHS 999:2040
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- Dr. Akagi (Kanzo sensei) (1998)
- Directed by Imamura Shohei. Set on a small Japanese island near the end of World War II, this is the story of a doctor's obsession to retain his decency and stamp out a deadly disease. 117 min. DVD 1285
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- DOA Final (2002)
- Director: Takashi Miike. Cast: Show Aikawa, Riki Takeuchi, Richard Chen, Maria Chin.
In Yokohama, AD 2346, a multiethnic melting pot is ruled by cruel Dictator Woo. Woo and his agenda are resisted by underworld rebels and enforced by super-cops.
DVD. 88 min. DVD 8356
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- Dodes Ka-den (Dodesukaden) (1970)
- Director: Akira Kurosawa. A group of Tokyo slum dwellers who huddle together on the desolate fringes of the city overcome adversity while retaining their hopes and dreams. 140 min. 999:753
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- Desser, David "The Place of Dodeskaden." Post Script: Essays in Film and the Humanities, 2000 Fall, 20:1, 68-78.
- Dogura Magura (1988)
- Director: Toshio Matsumoto. A man is confined to a mental institution after trying to murder his fiancee. Two doctors relate his problem to an Asian philosophy that states that mental defects are transmitted from generation to generation. But is the whole thing merely a game concocted by the two physicians, who may even have driven themselves mad?. 109 min. DVD 3517 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Dolls (Doruzu) (2002)
- Director, Takeshi Kitano. Cast: Kanno Miho, Hidetoshi Nishijima, Tatsuya Mihashi, Kyoko Fukada. Three stories of undying love. Bound by a long red cord, a young couple wanders in search of something they have forgotten. An aging yakuza returns to the park where he used to meet his long-lost girlfriend. A disfigured pop star confronts the phenomenal devotion of her biggest fan. 113 min. DVD 5994 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Double Suicide (Shinju ten no amijima) (1969)
- Director: Masahiro Shinoda. Jihei has an affair and falls in love with the geisha, Koharu. His attempts to pay the price for her freedom bankrupts the family business. The town calls for divorce, and Jihei stands to lose his wife, children, and home. 105 min. DVD 528; VHS 999:1398
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- Cornyetz, Nina. "Gazing Disinterestedly: Politicized Poetics in Double Suicide."
differences: A Journal of Feminist Cultural Studies - Volume 12, Number 3, Fall 2001, pp. 101-127UC users only
- Dreams (Kon-na yume o mita) (1990)
- Director: Akira Kurosawa. Eight episodes shimmering with rich imagery and insight which explore the costs of war, the perils of nuclear power and especially mankind's need to harmonize with nature. 120 min. DVD 1696; vhs 999:1138
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- Drunken Angel (Yoidore tenshi) (1948)
- Director: Akira Kurosawa. Cast: Takashi Shimura, Toshiro Mifune, Reizaburo Yamamoto, Michiyo Kogure, Chieko Nakakita, Noriko Sengoku, Shizuko Kasagi.
Set in post-war Tokyo in 1945, a tuberculosis-infected criminal starts an unhealthy relationship with an alcoholic doctor. The patient needs to feel better so that he can retain his status as gang-leader after the ex-leader is released from prison, and the doctor needs to feel like he has a place in society and that life is worth living.
Special features: Commentary soundtrack by film scholar Donald Richie, a making-of documentary (31 min.), a short (25 min.) looking at the challenges from censors that Kurosawa faced in making Drunken angel, and a booklet featuring an essay by cultural historian Ian Buruma and excerpts from Kurasawa's autobiography. 98 min. DVD 8890
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- Early Spring (Soshun) (1956)
- Director: Yasujiro Ozu. Cast: Chikage Awashima, Ryo Ikebe, Keiko Kishi, Teiji Takahashi, Chishu Ryu, So Yamamura, Haruko Sugimura, Takako Fujino, Masami Taura, Kumeko Urabe, Kuniko Miyake.
A salaryman in postwar Tokyo has an illicit affair with an officemate in this moving portrait of a fragile marriage. 144 min. DVD 8131; also DVD 3566
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- Early Summer (Bakushu) (1951)
- Director: Yasujiro Ozu. Details the conflicting senses of obligation and individualism faced by a young daughter as her family-arranged wedding approaches. 125 min. DVD 3565; DVD 3501; also VHS 999:260
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- The Eel (Unagi) (1996)
- Director, Shohei Imamura. Cast: Koji Yakusho, Misa Shimizu, Fujio Tokita, Mitsuko Baisho, Makoto Sato, Akira Emoto, Etsuko Ichihara. Finding his wife in bed with another man, Takuro Yamashita murders her, serves an eight year prison sentence, and then moves to a small town to begin life anew as a barber. His only solace has been through an eel he has kept as a pet since his days in prison, until he agrees to help a young woman with a troubled past by offering her a job as his assistant. 117 min. DVD X149; vhs 999:3164
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- The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On (Yuki yukite shingun)
- Directed by Kazuo Hara. In this absorbing documentary, Kenzo Okuzaki--a veteran of Japan's WWII New Guinea campaign--painstakingly tracks down the former military officers responsible for the mysterious deaths of several fellow soldiers. Director Kazuo Hara not only captures the zeal of Okuzaki's mission but also exposes the atrocities committed by the Japanese military against its soldiers, resulting in a controversial film of undeniable power. 1987. 122 min. DVD 7172
- The End of Summer (Kohayagawa-ke no aki) (1962)
- Director: Yasujiro Ozu. This bittersweet elegy for a vanishing world examines the difficulties faced by the Kohayagawa family as they struggle to adapt their traditional values to a rapidly changing post-war Japan. 103 min. DVD 6415
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- Equinox Flower (Higanbana)(1958)
- Director: Yasujiro Ozu. Cast: Shin Saburi, Kinuyo Tanaka, Ineko Arima, Keiji Sada, Teiji Takahashi, Miyuki Kuwano, Chishu Ryu, Chieko Naniwa, Fumio Watanabe, Nobuo Nakamura, Fujiko Yamamoto.
In Ozu's first color film, a stubborn Japanese businessman, who disapproves of his daughter's fiance, must learn to embrace modern romance. 118 min. DVD 8130
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- Evil Brain from Outer Space(1964)
- Directors: Koreyoshi Akasaka,
Teruo Ishii, and others. Cast: Ken Utsui, Sachihiro Ohsawa, Junko Ikeuchi, Minako Yamada, Shoji Nakayama, Kan Hayashi, Minoru Takada, Utako Mitsuya.
From a Japanese television series complete with corny costume, super strength, and the ability to fly from planet to planet, Starman clobbers the bad guys with a frenzied fighting style that looks like a cross between martial arts and a berserk ballet. "The most brilliant mind in the universe" tries to conquer the earth with an army of mutants, monsters, mad doctors, and a "super germ" that turns into a white-faced-witch-like woman with killer-claws. Dubbed in English. 78 min. DVD 7740
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- Face of Another (Tanin no kao) (Japan, 1966)
- Directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara. Cast: Tatsuya Nakadai, Machiko Kyo, Mikijiro Hira, Kyoko Kishida, Miki Irie, Eiji Okada, Minoru Chiaki, Hideo Kanze, Kunie Tanaka, Bibari Maeda, Etsuko Ichihara, Yoshie Minami.
Okuyama, after being burned and disfigured in an industrial accident and estranged from his family and friends, agrees to his psychiatrist's radical experiment: a face transplant, created from the mold of a stranger. As Okuyama is thus further alienated from the world around him, he finds himself giving in to his darker temptations. 124 min. DVD 9081
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- Family Game (Kasoku gêmu) (1983)
- Director: Yoshimitsu Morita. Cast: Matsuda Yusaku, Itami Juzo, Saori Yuki.
A film that pokes fun at contemporary Japanese ideals, portraying a middle-class family as it battles against the Japanese educational system. Shigeyuki Numata has been the underachieving, troubled teen slacker in his somewhat dysfunctional family, but he's about to get severely schooled when Yoshimoto, a hard-nosed tutor with his own unique brand of hands-on teaching, crashes into his life. 107 min. DVD 8409; vhs 999:262
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Knee, Adam. "The Family Game Is Up: Morita Revises Ozu." Post-Script 1991 Fall, 11:1, 40-47.
McDonald,-Keiko-I."Family, Education, and Postmodern Society: Yoshimitsu Morita's The Family Game."
East-West Film Journal, 1989 Dec., 4:1, 53-68.
- Fires on the Plain (Nobi) (1959)
- Director: Kon Ichikawa. Cast: Eiji Funakoshi, Osamu Takizawa, Mickey Curtis. In the most powerful of all Japanese anti-war films, acts of cannibalism bring home the terrifying brutality of war. Japanese troops are in retreat in the Philippines. Supplies run out and discipline crumbles. 105 min. DVD 8423; vhs 999:1311
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- Hauser, William B. "Fires on the Plain: The Human Cost of the Pacific War." In: Reframing Japanese Cinema: Authorship, Genre, History / edited by Arthur Nolletti, Jr. and David Desser. pp: 193-209. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, c1992. (Main Stack PN1993.5.J3.R44 1992; Moffitt PN1993.5.J3.R44 1992)
- Fireworks (Hana-bi) (1997)
- Director, Takeshi Kitano. In this gangster film combining cool violence and powerful emotions a hard-boiled ex-cop, haunted by a troubled past and pushed to the edge by the shooting of his partner, confronts his demons in a ruthless quest for justice and redemption. 103 min. DVD 1083; vhs 999:2693
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- Flavor of Green Tea Over rice (Ochazuke no aji) (1952)
- Director: Yasujiro Ozu. This is the story of a modern Japanese married couple trying desperately to hold themselves together as husband and wife. But there is conflict between her busy lifestyle spent with friends and his desire for a simpler life.
146 min. DVD 3566; DVD 6509
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- Floating Weeds (Ukigusa) (1959)
- Director: Yasujiro Ozu. An aged actor with a hidden past returns with his Kabuki theater company to a small Japanese town. There his secret is uncovered and his troupe disbands due to lack of funds, but the actor finds the strength to continue living. This is his remake of his 1934 silent feature, "A Story of Floating Weeds" (also on DVD 2625). 128 min. DVD 2625; DVD 6416; vhs 999:697
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- Lopate, Philip. "Floating Weeds." (Review) Cineaste v23, n3 (Summer, 1998):26 (4 pages).
- The Forty-Seven Ronin (Genroku Chushingura) (1941)
- Director: Kenji Mizoguchi. This fact-based account, created to inspire patriotic spirit during WWII, is a cinematic exploration of heroism and self-sacrifice which provides a rare glimpse at the price heroes sometimes paid to preserve their honor. 225 min. DVD 193; VHS 999:1388 (2 parts)
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- The Funeral (Ososh) (1985)
- Director: Juzo Itami. An old man's unexpected death creates hilarious havoc with his family. The traditional three-day undertaking becomes a sly comedy of manners as the younger generation struggles with the complex rituals of the Buddhist ceremony. 124 min. DVD 1379; vhs 999:1057 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Funeral Parade of Roses. (Bara no soretsu) (1969)
- Director: Toshio Matsumoto. Eddie and the transvestite Leda both have sexual designs on bar manager and drug dealer Gonda. Gonda fears Leda will expose him to the police if he does not give in to his advances. When Leda commits suicide, Eddie and Gonda are free to engage in their homosexual yearnings for each other. When Gonda discovers he is Eddie's father, he kills himself with a knife. A distraught Eddie uses the same knife to cut his own eyes. Special DVD features on DVD 8460: Full length audio commentary by the director Toshio Matsumoto ; video interview wih director Toshio Matsumoto ; promotional material gallery and original Japanese trailer ; 40-page book with new essays by Jim O'Rourke and Roland Domenig. 107 min. DVD 8460; DVD 3515 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Gate of Hell (Jigokumon) (1953)
- Director: Teinosuke Kinugasa. The story of a samurai who accidentally murders the woman he loves and becomes a monk to expiate his offense. Based on a real crime committed in Japan in 1159. 86 min. 999:1097 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database Movie Review Query Engine
- Giants & Toys (Kyojin to gangu) (1958)
- Directed by Yasuzo Masumura. Cast: Hiroshi Kawaguchi, Hitomi Nozoe, Hideo Takamatsu, Michiko Ono, Yunosuke Ito, Kyu Sazanka.
When three rival candy companies go to war for market supremacy, World Caramels enlists a lower-class girl with appallingly bad teeth to be their new spokesmodel. In a world of industrial spies, hostile takeovers and boardroom hysterics, the animal instincts of this overnight star prove to be the most cutthroat of all. 95 min. DVD 6982 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Good Morning (Ohayo) (1959)
- Directed by Ozu Yasujiro. A satiric comedy set in a 1950s residential suburb of Tokyo, about two young brothers who refuse to talk until their parents agree to buy them a television set. 93 min. DVD 2759 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Harakiri (Seppuku) (1962)
- Directed by Masaki Kobayashi. Cast: Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Ishihama, Shima Iwashita, Tetsuro Tamba, Rentaro Mikuni. Peace in 17th-century Japan causes the Shogunate's breakup of warrior clans, throwing thousands of samurai out of work and into poverty. An honorable end to such fate under the samurai code is ritual suicide, or hara-kiri. Tensions grow until an elder warrior strikes out one last time against the abusive society that crafted such cruelty. 133 min. DVD 4439 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- The Hidden Fortress (Kakushi toride no san akunin) (1958)
- Directed by Akira Kurosawa. In this spirited adventure a loyal general and a princess must dodge enemy clans while smuggling a royal treasure out of hostile territory with two bumbling greedy peasants at their sides. 139 min. DVD 702
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- High and Low (Tengoku to jigoku) (1963)
- Director: Akira Kurosawa. A complex crime thriller in which a wealthy shoe manufacturer's chauffeur's son is kidnapped in mistake for his own, and he faces a moral dilemma.
143 min. DVD 2819; vhs 999:2284 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- I Live In Fear (Ikimono no kiroku) (1955)
- Director: Akira Kurosawa. Cast: Mifune Toshiro, Miyoshi Eiko, Shimura Takashi, Chiaki Minoru.
An elderly and wealthy industrialist is driven to madness over fears of a nuclear attack. In a futile attempt to save his family he pressures them to leave Japan and move to the rain forest in Brazil where he believes they will be safe. His family, complacent and cynical, is outraged and moves to have him declared insane.
103 min. DVD 9127 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- I Was Born, But-- (Shochiku) (1932)
- Directed by Yasujiro Ozu. Cast: Hayami, Seichi Kato, Shoichi Kofujita. A young father's promotion brings his family to his boss's neighborhood in the suburbs. But it is less rewarding to his sons who are bullied by neighborhood ruffians including the boss's son and feel humiliated by their father's public submission to his boss. 89 min. DVD 9595; vhs 999:2954 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- The Idiot (Hakuchi) (1951)
- Director: Akira Kurosawa. Cast: Hara Setsuko, Mori Masayuki, Kuga Yoshiko, Mifune Toshiro
Based on Dostoyevsky's fable of a holy fool, this story which takes place in Hokkaido in the winter is about a man who returns home after a stay in an asylum. He is being drawn toward Christianity, his antagonist is an anarchist. 166 min. DVD 9126; vhs 999:1390 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Ikiru (To Live) (1952)
- Director: Akira Kurosawa. Discovering that he is in the terminal stages of cancer, a government clerk spends his last months in search of a meaning to life. After an uncomprehending pursuit of pleasure has failed, he finds self-fulfillment by forcing through his former department the building of a children's playground in the slums and dies quietly. 143 min. DVD 2820; VHS 2579 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database Movie Review Query Engine
- In the Realm of Passion (Ai no borei)(L'empire de la passion) (1978)
- Directed by Nagisa Oshima. Tells the story of a pair of lovers and the ghost of her betrayed and murdered husband. Guilt over the affair brings the lovers to the scene of the crime, where the husband's ghost and their consciences finally get revenge. 108 min. DVD 3716
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- In the Realm of the Senses (Ai no corrida) (1976)
- Directed by Nagisa Oshima. Set in 1936 and based on one of Japan's most notorious scandals, this erotic masterpiece is the story of Sada Abe, an ex-prostitute who becomes involved in an obsessive love affair with the master of the household where she is employed as a servant. 104 min. DVD 910 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Infection (Kansen) (2004)
- Directed by Masayuki Ochiai. Cast: Koichi Sato, Masanobu Takashima, Mari Hoshino, Michiko Hada, Kaho Minami, Shiro Sano.
A patient in a hospital dies due to malpractice. In a panic, the doctors who are responsible stage a cover-up. Meanwhile, an ambulance leaves a patient in the emergency with a lethal infection. When the muscles and internal organs of the patient liquefy, Dr. Kiyoshi Akai convinces his two colleagues to examine and research the virus, leading the employees of the night shift to a tragic end. 98 min. DVD 6941
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- An Inn in Tokyo (Tokyo no yado) (1935, silent)
- Directed by Tadao Ikeda. Cast: Takeshi Sakamoto, Tokkan Kozo, Takayuki Suematsu. A poor man (Kihachi) struggles to care for his two sons as he roams industrialized Tokyo in search of work. The family encounters and befriends Otaka and her young daughter. When the daughter becomes seriously ill, Kihachi desperately attempts to help find money for the hospital bills. 77 min. 999:3659 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Ju-On (The Grudge) (2000)
- Directed by Takashi Shimizu. Cast: Megumi Okina, Misaki Ito, Misa Uehara, Yui Ichikawa, Kunji Tsuda, Takako Fuji. Presents an eerie tale of a family who is brutally killed in their own home, leaving behind an evil spirit lurking in the shadows. When an unknowing homecare worker enters the spirit is awakened and a terrifying chain of events begin. 92 min. DVD 3159 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Junk Food (Janku fudo) (1997)
- Directed by Masashi Yamamoto. Junk Food depicts the hitherto unseen world of aberrant sexuality and savage violence that emerges when the sun goes down and clean, orderly Tokyo exposes its sordid underbelly. 82 min. DVD 2765 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Kagemusha (1980)
- Director: Akira Kurosawa. Set in 16th century Japan, the drama centers on the rise of a Japanese peasant who impersonates a nobleman in battle to become an unlikely leader of Samurai warriors. 160 min. DVD 3666; vhs 999:1055 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database Movie Review Query Engine
- Kagero-za (1981)
- Directed by Seijun Suzuki. Cast: Yusaku Matsuda, Michiyo Okusu, Emiko Azuma, Eriko Kusuda, Mariko Kaga, Ryutaro Otomo, Yoshio Harada, Katsuo Nakamura. Playwright Matsuzaki finds himself so obsessed with a beautiful woman that he follows a trail of messages left by this enchantress across the country, only to realize that he is possibly being lured to his own demise. 139 min. DVD 5478 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Kikujiro (1999)
- Directed by Takeshi Kitano. Lonely nine-year-old Masao leaves Tokyo in search of his mother, whom he has never met. He's accompanied on his journey across the Japanese countryside by the surly, middle-aged crook Kikujiro, who is none too happy being the chaperone. When Kikujiro gambles away all the travel money, the two must rely on their wits and the kindness of strangers. 116 min. DVD 1088 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database Movie Review Query Engine
- Kiru (Kill!) (1968)
- Directed by Kihachi Okamoto. Cast: Tatsuya Nakadai, Yuriko Hoshi, Etsushi Takahashi, Tadao Nakamaru, Akira Kubo, Shigeru Koyama, Eijiro Tono, Shin Kishida, Atsuo Nakamura.
A pair of down-on-their-luck swordsmen arrive in a dusty, windblown town, where they become involved in a local clan dispute. One, a former farmer, dreams of being a samurai. The other, a former samurai, prefers living anonymously. 114 min. DVD 4580 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Kwaidan (1964)
- Director: Masaki Kobayashi. Four terrifying tales (The black hair; The woman of the snow; Hoichi, the earless; In a cup of tea) of the supernatural filmed with exquisite visual sensitivity. The film is filled with graceful camera movements, dream-like settings, elaborately stylized action, unusual colors, and haunting sound effects and music. 164 min. DVD 357; VHS 999:835:1&2 (2 tapes) Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database Movie Review Query Engine
- The Lady of Musashino (Musashino fujin) (1951)
- Director: Kenji Mizoguchi. Kinuyo Tanaka, Masayuki Mori, Yukiko Todoroki, Akihiko Katayama.
Tells the story of Michiko, a disillusioned young woman trapped in a loveless marriage. She confides in her younger cousin, Tsutomo, and the two become close, but decide not to consummate their affair. He instead becomes involved with the flirtatious Tomiko, who is also conducting an affair with Michiko's husband. When Michiko finds that her husband has abandoned her, she decides to take fate into her own hands. 85 min. DVD 6418 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database Movie Review Query Engine
- Late Autumn (Akibiyori)(1960)
- Director: Yasujiro Ozu. A young girl named Ayako is living with her widowed mother and refuses offers of marriage because she does not want her mother to be alone. Friends of the mother's husband recognize this problem and advise her to remarry. Ayako is upset by this and leaves home. Mother and daughter are later reconciled and take a pleasant autumn together to work out their feelings. 128 min. DVD 3732 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Late Spring (Banshun) (1949)
- Director: Yasujiro Ozu. In this tale of filial devotion and parental sacrifice, a widowed professor, knowing his daughter is too devoted to leave him, tricks her into believing he plans to remarry, forcing her to break away and find a life of her own. 108 min. DVD 3565; VHS 999:1132 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database Movie Review Query Engine
- Thompson, Kristin. "Late Spring and Ozu's unreasonable style." In: Breaking the glass armor: neoformalist film analysis / Kristin Thompson. pp: 317-52 Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, c1988. (UCB Main PN1995 .T46 1988; UCB Moffitt PN1995 .T46 1988)
- Life of O-Haru (Saikaku ichidai onna) (1952)
- Director: Kenji Mizoguchi. O-Haru is a beautiful courtesan in 17th century Japan who surrenders to her passion for a commoner. As punishment, she and her parents are banished into exile where O-Haru desperately attempts to escape her past. A compelling and powerful critique of feudal Japan as seen through the eyes of a woman, the film portrays the human dramas and historical settings with unflinching realism and atmospheric detail. 131 min. DVD 6417
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- Lizard Baby (Watashi no akachan) (2004)
- Director, Yoshihiro Nakamura. Cast: Cast: Kurume Arisaka, Mansaku Ikeuchi, Matomu Onda.
Horror screenwriter, Umeki, has writer's block. He goes with his pregnant wife, Akiko, to a check-up and is struck with an incredible idea - a horror story about a woman who gives birth to a reptile! Despite his wife's disgust, Umeki goes ahead with the screenplay, which the critics love. But the horrible prophecy fulfills itself, as his wife gives birth to a freak of nature. His baby is born half human, half lizard! The reptilian baby slithers on the floor, leaving a wet trail of slime behind it. To his horror, his wife, Akiko, holds it lovingly in her arms. His movie has become a mirror image of his own life as Umeki slips slowly into madness... Based on the horror comic strips of Hideshi Hino. 50 min. DVD 6795
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- Love & Pop (1998)
- Director, Hideaki Anno. A day-in-the-life drama about a quartet of "enjo kosai," Japanese schoolgirls who engage in "casual" prostitution so as to afford such things as designer clothes. 110 min. DVD 2772
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- Lower Depths (Donzoko) (1957)
- Director, Akira Kurosawa. The story of a group of social outcasts living together in a filthy rooming house in Japan, some trying to escape, some attempting to adjust, and others hoping to maintain their illusions. 125 min. DVD 2769; vhs 999:651 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Maborosi (Maboroshi no hikari) (1995)
- Director: Koreeda Hirokazu. Haunted by the mysterious loss of her grandmother many years before, a young mother struggles to come to terms with her husband's apparent suicide. Yumiko remarries and with her young son moves to her new husband's home in a remote village on the wild, untamed Sea of Japan. There, with time, she finds love, understanding, happiness and a sense of peace. Based on an original story by Miyamoto Teru. 110 min. DVD 934; VHS 999:2692 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database Movie Review Query Engine
- Madadayo (1992)
- Directed by Akira Kurosawa. Set in postwar Japan, the film follows the last two decades in the life of Hyakken Uchida, a free spirited writer and teacher, highlighted by his relationship with his students who venerate him in his old age. 134 min. DVD 622
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- Maiku Hama Private Eye Trilogy
- The Most Terrible Time in My Life (Waga jinsei saiaku no toki) (Japan / China / Taiwan, 1994)
- Director:Kaizo Hayashi. Cast: Masatoshi Nagase, Jo Shishido, Yu Wei Yan, Caroline Lu, Wu Kao Hsiung, Haruko Wanibuchi, Noriko Sengoku, Kaho Minami. Detective Maiku Hama navigates the Yokohama underworld with super cool threads and two-fisted street smarts. But when he comes to the aid of a Taiwanese waiter at a local parlor, the unflappable Hama has no idea what he's in for. Though seemingly a luckless immigrant on the threshold of Yokohama's gutter, Hama's client holds the secret to a ferocious gangland revenge triangle that soon has bullets and fists flying. 92 min. DVD 8330
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- Geller, Theresa L. "Transnational noir : style and substance in Hayashi Kaizo's The most terrible time in my life." In: East Asian cinemas : exploring transnational connections on film / edited by Leon Hunt and Leung Wing-Fai.
London : New York : I.B. Tauris, 2008. (Main Stack PN1993.5.E19.E27 2008)
The Stairway to the Distant Past (Harukana jidai no kaidan o) (Japan, 1995) - Directed by Kaizo Hayashi. Cast: Masatoshi Nagase, Jo Shishido, Kiyotaka Nanbara, Haruko Wanibuchi, Shiro Sano, Eiji Okada, Tetta Sugimoto, Mika Ohmine, Shinya Tsukamoto, Keiji Matsuda. Broke, his vintage Nash convertible repossessed, private eye Mike Hama is reduced to combing the mean streets of the Yokohama waterfront on a borrowed bicycle. But when Lily, a beautiful stripper from out of Hama's past, returns to town, the fuse is lit on a criminal powder keg set to blow the lid off the Yokohama underworld. Hama's search for his long lost parents soon has him up to his neck in a simmering conspiracy pitting corrupt politicians, local Yakuza gangsters and the Taiwanese mafia against the mysterious 'Man in White.' 100 min. DVD 8332
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The Trap (Wana) (Japan 1997) - Directed by Kaizo Hayashi. Cast: Nagase Masatoshi, Natsukawa Yui, Yamaguchi Tomoko, Shishido Jo. In love for the first time, cases booked solidly for months and a brand new fax machine prodding his office into the nineties, down-on-his-luck private eye 'Maiku' Mike Hama has the world on a string at last. Or does he? When a hooded stranger appears in his office with the cryptic challenge "I want you to look for me," Hama is drawn into a string of bizarre serial murders that have Yokohama's police baffled and the city terrified. 100 min. DVD 8331
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database - Director:Kaizo Hayashi. Cast: Masatoshi Nagase, Jo Shishido, Yu Wei Yan, Caroline Lu, Wu Kao Hsiung, Haruko Wanibuchi, Noriko Sengoku, Kaho Minami. Detective Maiku Hama navigates the Yokohama underworld with super cool threads and two-fisted street smarts. But when he comes to the aid of a Taiwanese waiter at a local parlor, the unflappable Hama has no idea what he's in for. Though seemingly a luckless immigrant on the threshold of Yokohama's gutter, Hama's client holds the secret to a ferocious gangland revenge triangle that soon has bullets and fists flying. 92 min. DVD 8330
- Masterpieces of Japanese Silent Cinema[DVD-ROM; computer files]
- A searchable database of Japanese silent films imbued with the essence of the Japanese people of those days -- their emotions, mannerisms and expressions, offering an insight into the atmosphere of the times. Includes over 12,000 titles, including story synopses, commentaries and still photos from 1,000 films, profiles of 560 staff and cast members, and clips of famous scenes from 45 silent films presented by benshi narrators. Compu/D 515
- Meshi (1951)
- Directed by Mikio Naruse. Cast: Uehara Ken, Hara Setsuko, Shimazaki Yukiko, Sugi Yoko, Kazami Akiko, Sugimura Haruko.
A young married woman is disturbed by the increasing emotional distance between herself and her husband. Michiyo moved to Osaka two years ago, when her husband Hatsunosuke who works at a stock brokerage was transfered. Now she washs, cooks and cleans 365 days a year. All the dreams and hopes she had when they got married five years ago seems to be gone. Accompanied by a Book (183 p.) containing essays by Catherine Russell ("Naruse Mikio", "The salaryman's wife", "Naruse as modernist" & "House of women"), Audie Bock ("The art of the sidelong glance : the cinema of Naruse Mikio), and Phillip Lopate ("A taste for Naruse").
Special features: optional audio commentary by Kent Jones and Phillip Lopate; "Notes on 'Repast'" featurette (with Jones & Lopate ; 2006, 14 min.). 97 min. DVD X279 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Moon Child (Japan, 2003)
- Directed by Takahisa Zeze. Cast: Hyde, Gackt, Wang Leehom, Zeny Kwok, Taro Yamomoto, Anne Suzuki.
Part futuristic science fiction and part John Woo style gunplay, Mood Child is a gothic vampire horror film from Japan. Director Takahisa Zeze brings a deliciously stylized vision to this tale of doomed friends whose gangster lifestyle becomes corrupted. 119 min. DVD 9674
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- Mother (Okaasan) (1952)
- Director: Mikio Naruse. A Japanese working class mother struggles to resurrect her family from postwar ruins. 98 min. 999:261
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- Davis, Darrell William. "Ozu's Mother." In: Ozu's Tokyo Story. Edited by David Desser. pp: 76-100. Cambridge, U.K.; New York, N.Y., U.S.A.: Cambridge University Press, 1997. Cambridge film handbooks series (Main Stack PN1997.T5953.O92 1997)
- Nagisa Oshima's 100 Years of Japanese Cinema
- The forces and themes that have shaped Japan's motion pictures are presented entirely through film clips and stills with narration. 1997. 52 min. Video/C MM440
- No Regrets for My Youth (Waga seishun ni kuinashi)(1946)
- Directed by Akira Kurosawa. Cast: Hara Setsuko, Fujita Susumu, Okochi Denjiro, Sugimura Haruko.
A story of feminist self-discovery set in pre-war Japan. A woman breaks with cultural conventions by striking out on her own and being self-sufficient. 110 min. DVD 9123 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Occult Detective Club: the Doll Cemetery (2004)
- Directed by Kiyoshi Yamamoto. Cast: Sayaka Hosaka, Kazunori Tani, Hitomi Miwa. Out of curiosity, Nanami and Daisuke decide to join their high school's Occult Research Club. They are currently investigating a "curse" surrounding a student who committed suicide last year. An old doll found in the back of her closet may hold a clue. Daisuke is freaked out, while Nanami is intrigued, until she is possessed by the same spirit of the "doll." As a result, the group decides to investigate a criptic spot called "The doll cemetery," a wretched graveyard with piles of discarded mannequins and stuffed animals. Sensing intruders, the "dead" dolls suddenly come to life, and Nanami and the group must desperately fight off ghoulish toy clowns and zombie dolls. But what awaits them is far worse.... Based on the horror comic strips of Hideshi Hino. 54 min. DVD 6800
- Odd Obsession (Kagi) (1960)
- Directed by Kon Ichikawa. A blend of comic satire and drama, the film follows an elderly man's attempts to satisfy his younger wife. When "potency" injections fail, Mr. Kenmochi incites his own jealousy by orchestrating an affair between his wife and his doctor, who happens to be his daughter's fiance. 96 min. 999:3512 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Ôdishon (Audition) (1999)
- Director Takashi Miike. Cast: Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina, Tetsu Sawaki, Miyuki Matsuda, Renji Ishibashi, Jun Kunimura. A widower takes an offer to screen girls at a special audition for a phony film, arranged for him by a friend to find him a new wife. The one he fancies is not who she appears to be after all and the widower becomes drawn into her sadistic and vengeful world. 115 min. DVD 3135 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- One missed call (Chakushin ari)(2003)
- Directed by Takashi Miike. Cast: Kou Shibasaki, Shinichi Tsutsumi, Kazue Fukiishi, Renji Ishibashi, Yutaka Matsushige, Goro Kishitani.
Teens mysteriously start receiving voicemail messages from their future selves, in the form of the sound of them reacting to their own violent deaths. Special features: Trailers; making-of documentary; cast & crew interviews; alternate ending; TV spots; exclusive interview with the director, screenings, A day with the Mizunuma family; TV show special. 109 min. DVD X606 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- One Wonderful Sunday (Subarashiki nichiyobi)(1947)
- Directed by Akira Kurosawa. Cast: Numasaki Isao, Nakakita Chieko, Watanabe Atsushi, Nakamura Zeko, Sugai Ichiro, Nriyama Midori.
A young factory worker and his fiancee spend their weekly holiday together. It is a Sunday in spring and they have just thirty-five yen, but together they overcome several near disasters. 109 min. DVD 9124 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Onibaba (Demon Woman) (1964)
- Director: Kaneto Shind?. Cast: Nobuko Otowa, Jitsuko Yoshimura, Kei Sato, Jukichi Uno, Taiji Tonoyama, Sensho Matsumoto, Kentaro Kaji, Hosui Araya.
An impoverished mother and her daughter-in-law eke out a lonely, desperate existence. In order to survive in feudal Japan, they are forced to murder worn-out samurai and sell their belongings for grain, then dump their corpses down a deep, dark hole. Special features: New video interview with writer/director Kaneto Shindo ; rare footage provided by actor Kei Sato, shot on location during the filing of Onibaba ; original trailer ; stills gallery featuring production sketches and promotional art ; essay by Chuck Stephens ; filmmakers statement from Kaneto Shindo ; rare English translation of the original Buddhist fable that inspired the film. 103 min. DVD 6943 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Osaka Elegy (Naniwa erejî) (1936)
- Director: Kenji Mizoguchi. A candid and revealing look at discrimination against women in 1930's Osaka, Japan. Tells the story of a young telephone operator who consents to become her boss' mistress in order to support her family. To save her embezzler father from jail and pay for her brother's education she sacrifices her body, but not her honor. 71 min. DVD X525; vhs 999:1389 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database Movie Review Query Engine
- Passing Fancy (Dekigokoro) (1933)
- Directed by Yasujiro Ozu. Cast: Takeshi Sakamoto, Nobuko Fushimi, Den Ohinata, Choko Iida, Tomio Aoki, Reiko Tanki.
Examines the relationship between an illiterate brewery worker and his educated son, Kihachi, whose impulses land him in trouble with those around him. The story focuses on his unrequited interest in a younger woman and the effect this infatuation has on both father and son. An early example of Ozu's masterful chronicling of the evolution of family ties and the minuatiae of family life. 100 min. DVD 9596
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- Peep "TV" Show (2003)
- Directed by Yutaka Tsuchiya. Cast: Takayuki Hasegawa, Shiori Gechov. Two mixed up misfits have a meeting of the minds when they run into each other on a Tokyo street. Shooting video of unsuspecting people which they broadcast over the Internet, together the jaded couple takes the concept of reality TV to a new, hideous level in a post 9-11 world of surveillance and paranoia. Blending factual images and fiction, the film offers compelling insight into a media-driven society and how it rules lives with images of fear, terror and torture. 98 min. DVD 5154 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Pitfall (Otoshiana)(Japan, 1962)
- Directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara. Cast: Hisashi Igawa, Kunie Tanaka, Hideo Kanze, Kazuo Miyahara, Sumie Sasaki, Kanichi Omiya, Kei Sato, Sen Yano, Ton Shimada, Shigeru Matsuo, Kikuo Kaneuchi.
When a miner leaves his employer and treks out with his young son to become a migrant worker, he finds himself moving from one eerie landscape to another, intermittently followed (and photographed) by an enigmatic man in a clean, white suit, and eventually coming face-to-face with his inescapable destiny.
97 min. DVD DVD 9080 Credits and information from the Internet Movie Database
- The Pornographers (Jinruigaku nyumon) (1966)
- Director: Shohei Imamura. Ogata, a small time porno filmmaker in Osaka, struggles to cope with the corrupted sexual mores in his family, the world outside, and himself. For this presentation of the seedier and offbeat side of Japanese life usually not found on the screen, Imamura was severely attacked by the media for his nonchalant treatment of incest but he rejected the criticism on the grounds that black comedy is required to break taboos. 128 min. 999:2137 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database Movie Review Query Engine
- The Quiet Duel (Shizukanaru ketto)(1949)
- Directed by kira Kurosawa. Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Noriko Sengoku, Miki Sanjo.
During a life-saving operation, army surgeon Fujisaki contaminates himself with syphilis, a disease virtually incurable in 1940s Japan. After the war, he returns to work at the hospital maintained by his obstetrician father, but agonizes over the disease that threatens to destroy his impending marriage, while simultaneously trying to save other patients' lives -- including the man from whom he contracted the disease. Special features: Interviews with cinematographer Setsuo Kobayashi, actress Miki Sanjo and composer Akira Ifukube; original Japanese theatrical trailer; news reel footage from the set of the film; photo gallery; liner notes by film critic Stuart Galbraith. 95 min. DVD 6993 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Rampo (1994)
- Directed by Kazuyoshi Okuyama. In the process of trying to solve a murder that mimics the plot of his latest book, a mystery author is drawn into a strange and surreal world where his fictional story begins to merge with the world of reality. 101 min. DVD 2362 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Ran (1986)
- Director: Akira Kurosawa. In 16th century Japan, an aging ruler attempts to divide his kingdom among his three sons, who turn against each other and betray their father, triggering events that ultimately shatter the kingdom, destroy the family, and drive their father insane. Based on Shakespeare's King Lear. 160 min. DVD 4741; DVD 20; vhs 999:174 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database Movie Review Query Engine
- Ranma 1/2 (1983)
- Japanaese animation of comic book "Rumiko Takahashi's Ranma 1/2: OAV series". It's not easy being a teenage martial artist named Ranma. His martial artist father Genma takes him at an early age on a decade-long training mission and insists on bringing him to the cursed training ground known as Jusenkyo, where falling into one of many springs instantly turns one into whoever -- or whatever -- drowned there last. Contents: Disc 1. Curse of the contrary jewel -- Tendo Family Christmas scramble -- Akane vs. Ranma! I'll be the one to inherit mother's recipes! -- Stormy weather comes to school! Growing up with Miss Hinako. -- Disc 2. The One to carry on, Pt. 1-2 -- Reawakening memories, Pt. 1-2. -- Disc 3. Team Ranma vs. the Legendary Phoenix -- Oh cursed tunnel of lost love! Let my love be forever -- Hell hath no fury like Kasumi scorned -- The two Akanes, "Ranma, look at me!".
3 DVD discs, 375 min. DVD 412 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Rashomon (1950)
- Director: Akira Kurosawa. In medieval Japan, four people have different versions of a violent incident when a bandit attacks a nobleman in the forest. 83 min. DVD 1143; VHS 999:50 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database Movie Review Query Engine
- The Ravaged House: Zoroku's Disease (2004)
- Directed by Kazuyoshi Kumakiri. Cast: Cast: Marie Kawaguchi, Satoshi Morishita. Without warning, one day a kind young man is ravaged by a bizarre disease that blisters his skin and deforms his body. Fearful that the villagers will see his grotesque transformation, his parents lock him up in the house. But the village chief's son sees him and soon, he is ostracized by his community and his sister is viciously assaulted. Unable to watch his suffering any futher his parents reluctantly decide to end his misery themselves. He and his sister escape from the confines of the house...but to what end? Based on the horror comic strips of Hideshi Hino. 63 min. DVD 6799
- Record of a Tenement Gentleman (Nagaya shinshiroku) (1947)
- Director: Yasujiro Ozu. An irresistible and touching tale of a young boy abandoned to poverty by his father, and the subsequent relationship that he has with Tane, a local widow who is begrudgingly given the task of looking after the boy. 71 min. DVD 6509 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- The Red Angel (Akai tenshi) (1966)
- Director, Masumura Yasuzo. Cast: Ayako Wakao, Shinsuke Ashida, Yusuke Kawazu, Jotaro Senba, Ranko Akagi.
A fresh young army nurse on the front finds herself the nighttime prey of hungry soldiers and awash in a sea of blood and torn bodies. Despite the hell around her she struggles to maintain her strength and compassion, but her attempts at salvation, with an amputee soldier and a morphine-addicted surgeon, could lead to her own sexual and spiritual martyrdom. 95 min. DVD 6981
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- Rhapsody in August (Hachigatsu no kyoshikyoku) (1991)
- Director: Akira Kurosawa. A visit from her grandchildren and the discovery of a half-American relative causes an elderly woman to relive her memories of the atomic bomb that fell on Nagasaki. Based on the novel Nabe no naka by Kiyoko Murata. 100 min. DVD 2818; 999:2963 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database Movie Review Query Engine
- Samurai Trilogy
- Director, Hiroshi Inagaki. Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Rentaro Mikuni, Kuroemon Onoe, Koji Tsuruta, Mariko Okado, Kaoru Yachigusa, Michiko Saga. A sweeping saga of the legendary seventeenth-century samurai, Musashi Miyamoto, set against the turmoil of a devastating civil war.
- Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (1954) follows the formative years of Musashi as he goes off to a civil war in search of glory but finds defeat instead. He returns to his village a crazed outlaw, but is redeemed by the love of a girl and a Buddhist priest. 93 min. DVD 2731
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database- Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple (1955) Musashi is set upon by eighty samurai disciples - orchestrated by the villanous Kojiro. 104 min. DVD 2731
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database- Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island (1956) Musashi must decide between the love of two women as he prepares to battle with Kojiro in a climatic final confrontation. 115 min. DVD 2731
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database - Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (1954) follows the formative years of Musashi as he goes off to a civil war in search of glory but finds defeat instead. He returns to his village a crazed outlaw, but is redeemed by the love of a girl and a Buddhist priest. 93 min. DVD 2731
- Samurai Rebellion (Joiuchi) (1967)
- Directed by Masaki Kobayashi. Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Yoko Tsukasa, Go Kato, Shigeru Koyama, Masao Mishima, Isao Yamagata. A clan lord orders an aging swordsman to have his son marry the lord's mistress, but reverses his decision after the young couple falls in love. 121 min. DVD 4577 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Samurai Spy (Ibun sarutobi sasuke) (1965)
- Directed by Masahiro Shinoda. Cast: Eiji Okada, Koji Takahashi, Tetsuro Tamba, Matsuhiro Toura, Rokko Toura, Misako Watanabe, Jitsuko Yoshimura. Spy networks gather information for the clans supporting and opposing the shogunate. Filled with clan intrigue, ninja spies, and multiple double crosses, the film marks a bold stylistic departure from swordplay film convention. 100 min. DVD 4579 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Sanjuro (1962)
- Director: Akira Kurosawa. A samurai turns up in a town where nine young men are plotting to overthrow a corrupt regime. In this comic parody of a samuri film, our hero takes charge of the inept group, pretends to join the bad guys, and finally restores law and order. 94 min. DVD 185; VHS 999:1208 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database Movie Review Query Engine
- Sansho the Bailiff (Sanshô dayû) (1954)
- Director: Kenji Mizoguchi. In this legendary tale set in the 11th century Japan, a kindly governor is exiled, his wife forced into prostitution, and his son and daughter sold into slavery to the tyrannical baliff Sansho. Ten years later, the son escapes, rises to power and searches for his mother. Special DVD features: Audio commentary by Japanese literature professor Jeffrey Angles; new video interviews with critic Tadao Sato, assistant director Tokugo Tanaka, and legendary actress Kyoko Kagawa on the making of the film and its lasting importance; a book featuring a new essay by scholar Mark Le Fanu; the story on which the film was based, Mori Ogai's "Sansho dayu," from 1915, in an acclaimed translation by J. Thomas Rimer; a written form of an oral variation of the same tale, dating back to the fifteenth century, in a rare English translation. 125 min.DVD 8117; vhs 999:2432 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Seven Samurai (Shichinin no samurai) (1954)
- Director: Akira Kurosawa. In 16th century Japan, a small farming village has been continually victimized by bandits who take their crops and their women. The villagers, desperate to end the terror, hire seven samurai to help defend the village. Special features on DVD 8410: Disc 1: Two audio commentaries --one by film scholars David Desser, Joan Mellen, Stephen Prince, Tony Rayns, and Donald Richie, and one by Japanese-film expert Michael Jeck; theatrical trailers and teaser; gallery of rare posters and behind-the-scenes and production stills ; Disc 2: A 50-minute documentary on the making of 'Seven samurai', created as part of the "Toho masterworks" series "Akira Kurosawa : it is wonderful to create" ; Disc 3: "My life in cinema", a two-hour video conversation between Akira Kurosawa and Nagisa Oshima from 1993, produced by the Directors Guild of Japan; "'Seven samurai': origins and influences", a new documentary looking at the samurai traditions and films that impacted Kurosawa's masterpiece.
Booklet features essays by Kenneth Turan, Peter Cowie, Philip Kemp, Peggy Chiao, Alain Silver, and Stuart Galbraith IV; tributes from Arthur Penn and Signey Lumet; and a reminiscence by Toshiro Mifune. 197 min. DVD 8410 (Criterion); DVD 19; VHS 999:52; 999:2390) Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database Movie Review Query Engine
- Shall We Dance? (Shall we dansu?) (Japan. 1996)
- Directed by Masayuki Suo. Cast: Koji Yakusho, Tamiyo Kusakari, Naoto Takenaka, Eriko Watanabe. A middle-aged Japanese businessman's dull life takes an interesting turn when he signs up for a ballroom dance class just to meet the beautiful dance instructor. But he becomes ashamed to tell his family his secret. Meanwhile, his wife feels the changes in the behavior of her happier husband, and hires a private eye to investigate whether Shohei is having an affair. DVD 7285
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- Shubun (Shubun Sukyandaru; Scandal)(1950)
- Directed by Akira Kurosawa. Cast: Mifune Toshiro, Yamaguchi Yoshiko, Shimura Takashi, Katsuragi Yoko.
Portrayal of a sensitive young artist who is dragged through the mud by a tabloid entertainment magazine after an innocent encounter with a pop singer and decides to sue. 109 min. DVD 9125 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Shura (1971)
- Director: Toshio Matsumoto. A stark, desperate tale of vengeance, Shura examines the plight of Gengobe -- a Ronin (Samurai without Master) -- and his quest to right the wrongs done unto him. Based on the play by Nanboku Tsuruya. 134 min. DVD 3516 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Sisters of the Gion (Gion no shimai) (1936)
- Director: Kenji Mizoguchi. Filled with compositions as exquisite as they are realistic, this story of two geisha sisters illuminates the plight of women in Japan. The elder sister, Umekicki, is conservative, traditional, and dependent on her patrons. Omocha, the modern younger sister, exploits her customers as much as she can. In the end the story makes it clear that the sisters' attitudes have no real impact on their circumstances as both women remain trapped in a cruel existence. 66 min. DVD X526; vhs 999:2445 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Sonatine (1993)
- Directed by Takeshi Kitano. Featuring Takeshi Kitano, Aya Kokumai, Tetsu Watanabe, Masanobu Katsumura, Susumu Terashima, Ren Ohsugi, Tonbo Zushi. A seasoned mobster goes to the island of Okinawa on a "peacekeeping" mission, even though he suspects his boss is secretly trying to eliminate him. Determined not to go down without a fight, he and his gang know exactly what they have to do. 94 min. Video/C 999:3266 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database Movie Review Query Engine
- Sounds From the Mountain (Yama no oto) (1954)
- Directed by Mikio Naruse. Cast: Hara Setsuko, Yamamura So, Uehara Ken, Sugi Yoko, Nagaoka Teruko, Tanami Yatsuko.
Tells the story of a young married woman who satisfies her need for emotional intimacy by developing a close friendship with her father-in-law. A moving account of the complex relationship that develops between an older man and a younger woman. Adapted from a novel by Yasunari Kawabata, the first Japanese author to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Accompanied by a Book (183 p.) containing essays by Catherine Russell ("Naruse Mikio", "The salaryman's wife", "Naruse as modernist" & "House of women"), Audie Bock ("The art of the sidelong glance : the cinema of Naruse Mikio), and Phillip Lopate ("A taste for Naruse").
Special features: Optional audio commentary by Kent Jones and Phillip Lopate. 95 min. DVD X280 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Story of a Prostitute (Shunpuden) (1964)
- Directed by Seijun Suzuki. Cast: Tamio Kawachi, Yumiko Nogawa, Isao Tamagawa, Shoichi Ozawa, Tomiko Ishikawa, Kazuko Imai, Megumi Wakaba, Kayo Matsuo, Kentaro Kaji. Volunteering as a "comfort woman" on the Manchurian front where she is expected to service hundreds of soliders, Harumi is commandeered by the brutal Lieutenant Narita but falls for the sensitive Mikami, Narita's direct subordinate. 96 min. DVD 4440 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- A Story of Floating Weeds (Silent, 1934)
- Directed by Yasujiro Ozu. A troupe of travelling players visiting a remote town where the ex-mistress of the leading actor lives. She has a son by the leading actor, but hasn't told her child the identity of his father. This is the original 1934, black & white, silent film, which was remade in 1959 in color as "Floating Weeds". 86 min. Both versions are on DVD 2625 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum (Zangiku monogatari) (1939)
- Director: Kenji Mizoguchi. When Kikunosuke, a mediocre actor from a famous Kabuki family, falls in love with a maid, he is cast out. The faithful Otoku supports her husband as he struggles to perfect his art. In the end, she is quite ill, yet willing to leave her husband so that he may take his rightful place at the head of the Kabuki community. 115 min. 999:2033 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Stray Cat Rock: Sex Hunter (Nora-neko rokku: Sekkusu hanta) (1970)
- Director: Yasuharu Hasebe. Set in Tokyo during the late 1940's, the film captures the chaos and humiliation that existed in Japan immediately after World War II. When detective Murakami loses his revolver, he must descend into Tokyo's underworld and face the killer who has taken it. 85 min. DVD X571 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- The Stray Dog (Nora inu) (1949)
- Director: Akira Kurosawa. Set in Tokyo during the late 1940's, the film captures the chaos and humiliation that existed in Japan immediately after World War II. When detective Murakami loses his revolver, he must descend into Tokyo's underworld and face the killer who has taken it. 122 min. DVD 2732; vhs 999:2243 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Street of Love and Hope (Ai to kibo machi) (1959)
- Directed by Nagisa Oshima. Cast: Hiroshi Fujioka, Yuki Mochizuki, Fumio Watanabe, Kakuko Chino. A poor boy becomes friends with a rich girl. He has a pigeon which he sells, but since it is a homing pigeon, he can sell it over and over again. The bird becomes the symbol of his friendship for the girl as well, but in the end she has her brother shoot and kill it. Non-US format DVD. 62 min. DVD 3417 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Street of Shame (Akasen chitai)(1956)
- Director, Kenji Mizoguchi. Cast: Machiko Kyo, Ayako Wakao, Yasuko Kawakami.
In a brothel in Tokyo's red-light district, a group of working women, their profession on the verge of being outlawed, deal with life's disappointments, large and small. This beautiful, humane film was Mizoguchi's last. 85 min. DVD X528
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- Suicide Club (Jisatsu sakuru) (2002)
- Director: Sion Sono. Cast: Ryo Ishibashi, Masatoshi Nagase, Yoko Kamon, Kimiko Yo, Hideo Sako, Akaji Maro, Rolly.
A wave of suicides begins with the enigmatic mass suicide of 54 high school girls jumping in front of a subway train. When a detective receives a phone call tip that there is a website tracking the suicides before they happen, he sets out to solve the mystery. 94 min. DVD 9676 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Sword of Doom (Dai-bosatsu tôge) (1967)
- Director: Kihachi Okamoto. A samurai assassin driven by impulse, lusts for revenge. His teacher and mentor prepares the young samurai for the harrowing life and death clashes required to defend his honor. 120 min. 999:1207 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Sword of the Beast (Kedamono no ken) (1965)
- Directed by Hideo Gosha. Cast: Mikijiro Hira, Go Kato, Eijiro Tono, Kunie Tanaka, Toshie Kimura, Yoko Mihira, Takeshi Kato, Shigeru Amachi, Kantaro Suga.
A low-level swordsman decides to live in the wild countryside after being betrayed by his former comrades. 85 min. DVD 4578 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Taboo (Gohatto) (1999)
- Director, Nagisa Oshima. Cast: Beat Takeshi, Ryuhei Matsuda, Shinji Takeda, Tadanobu Asano, Yoichi Sai. Set in Kyoto in the spring of 1865 ... Those hoping to be chosen as new samurai recruits must face off against the best man in the militia, Soji Okita... only two are chosen: Hyozo Tashiro, a low-level samurai from the Kurume clan, and Sozaburo Kano, a bewitching young man to whom Tashiro is immediately attracted. 100 min. DVD 2221 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Tampopo (1987)
- Director: Juzo Itami. Tampopo follows the life of a young widow who runs a small noodle restaurant in Tokyo and her quest for the perfect bowl of ramen. Helping her to attain top ramen status is Goro, the truck driver who at first criticizes Tampopo's cooking ability and then helps her to master it. 114 min. 999:797 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database Movie Review Query Engine
- Tetsuo, The Iron Man (1988)
- Written,edited and directed by Shinya Tsukamoto. Fueled by cyberpunk sensuality and wrought iron perversion, the film begins with a bizarre merging of flesh and metal and accelerates into a hyper-hallucinatory state where springs, wires, and solder erupt fountain-like from a man's body. As the "Iron man" mutates uncontrollably into a walking, clanking man-machine, terrorized by his new body parts, sex becomes dehumanized and mechanical. 67 min. DVD 821 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database Movie Review Query Engine
- They Who Step on the Tiger's Tail (Men Who Tread on the the Tiger's Tail) (Tora no o wo fumu otokotachi) (1945)
- Director: Akira Kurosawa. A 12th century Japanese story of a famous general and his six followers. 60 min. 999:1312 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database Movie Review Query Engine
- Three Extremes (Hong Kong / Japan / South Korea, 2004)
- Cast: Box: Kyoko Hasegawa, Atsuro Watabe. Dumplings: Miriam Yeung, Bai Ling, Tony Ka-Fai Leung. Cut: Lee Byung-Hun, Lim Won-Hee, Gang Hye-Jung, Yum Jung-Ah. Presents a cross-cultural trilogy of odd and horrific film shorts by Asian directors. In Box, beautiful successful novelist Kyoko lives a solitary life. In Dumplings a woman experiments with anti-ageing dumplings containing a sinister secret ingredient. In Cut, a happy and successful film director encounters a stranger in his living room. Contents: Box: Kyoko Hasegawa, Atsuro Watabe. Dumplings: Miriam Yeung, Bai Ling, Tony Ka-Fai Leung. Cut: Lee Byung-Hun, Lim Won-Hee, Gang Hye-Jung, Yum Jung-Ah. 126 min. DVD X792
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- Throne of Blood (Kumonosu jo) (1957)
- Director: Akira Kurosawa. Adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth, set in feudal Japan. Tells the story of a Samurai lord who kills his master and usurps his power in fulfillment of a witch's prophecy. 105 min. DVD 1752; vhs 999:37 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database Movie Review Query Engine
- Tokyo Chorus (Tokyo no kôrasu) (1931)
- Director: Yasujiro Ozu. Cast: Tokihiko Okada, Emiko Yakumo, Hideo Sugawara, Hideoko Takamine, Tatsuo Saito, Choko Ida, Takeshi Sakamoto, Reiko Tani.
An insurance salesman, Shinji Okajima's colleague was fired for no apparent reason, so he protested against his company's president on behalf of his colleague. Then, Shinji also gets fired and starts working for his old school teacher's restaurant. 90 min. DVD 9594 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Fox, Joan. "Profile: Hideko Takamine." Kinema. Spring 1994
- Tokyo Drifter (Tokyo nagaremono) (1966)
- Director: Seijun Suzuki. Tetsu, a gangster who honors the old code long after it has been abandoned by the mob is called back to Tokyo to help in the struggle between his old employers, the Kurata gang and the rival Otsuka gang. Then he is on the run in a mad chase across Japan, pursued by rival mobsters and his own bosses, in this frenzied, visually daring, breathless action film which represents the best of Suzuki's inventive films. 83 min. DVD 5859; vhs 999:2426 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Tokyo-ga (1985)
- Directed by Wim Wenders. A film diary of filmmaker Wim Wenders' journey to Tokyo to discover the city he came to know through the films of Yasujiro Ozu, one of Japan's greatest and most prolific filmmakers. This perceptive critique of the Ozu career presents a fascinating portrait of different cultures defining themselves through filmmaking and film images. 141 min. DVD 5882 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Tokyo Story (Tokyo monogatari) (1953)
- Director, Yasujiro Ozu. A deceptively simple tale of an elderly couple who journey to Tokyo, where they are received less than enthusiastically by their grown-up children; then generational conflicts are stilled--momentarily--by death. 134 min. DVD 2050; vhs 999:409 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database Movie Review Query Engine
- Tokyo Twilight (Tokyo boshoku) (1957)
- Director: Yasujiro Ozu. Two sisters live with their father. The elder sister has run away from her husband and returned with her child, while the younger sister is embroiled in an affair and has become pregnant. Both are astonished when their mother, long thought dead, turns up alive. They are even more stunned when they learn what their mother's life has been. 140 min. DVD 3567 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- A Tokyo Woman (Tokyo no onna) (1933)
- Directed by Ozu Yasujiro. In order to earn money to put her younger brother, Ryoichi, through school Chikako works as a typist by day and moonlights in a seedy bar at night. Unfortunately Ryoichi commits suicide when he learns that his sister earned much of the money as a prostitute. 45 min. 999:3689 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Tomie (1998)
- Directed by Ataru Oikawa. Following some trauma in her past that has since been repressed, a young woman is trying to recover her memories with the help of a psychiatrist. During her hypnosis sessions, she repeats the name "Tomie" but is unable to recall where she knows it from. Meanwhile, a police detective is investigating a string of brutal murders, where he also runs across the name "Tomie." How are two connected? 95 min. PAL format DVD. DVD 2850 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Tsigoineruwaizen (Zigeunerweisen)(1980)
- Director: Seijun Suzuki. Cast: Yoshio Harada, Naoko Otani, Toshiya Fujita, Michiyo Okusa, Akaji Maro. The story of the relationship between a Japanese professor and Nakasago, a former friend he runs into while on vacation. Nakasago has been charged with murder and as the two former friends become more involved, the professor gets a glimpse of Nakasago's odd life. 148 min. DVD 5477 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Ugetsu(1953)
- Director: Kenji Mizoguchi. Two peasants in war-torn 16th-century Japan abandon their families to seek their fortunes. In attaining his goal, each man destroys his own life. Based on the stories of Akinari Ueda. 96 min. DVD 4643; also vhs 999:558 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database Movie Review Query Engine
- Underworld Beauty (Ankokugai no bijo) (1958)
- Directed by Seijun Suzuki. The moment he is released from prison, the honorable gangster Miyamoto recovers the stolen diamonds he had stashed before getting pinched. When he returns to his old haunt to make good by a friend who took a bullet for him, he is diverted by the greedy boss Oyane and his insatiable taste for Miyamoto's precious stones. 87 min. DVD 2363 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Vengeance Is Mine (Fukushû suruwa wareniari) (1979)
- Director: Shohei Imamura. Cast: Ken Ogata, Rentaro Mikuni, Chocho Mikayo, Mayumi Ogawa, Mitsuko Baisho.
Tells the story of a murderer and rapist who eludes a nationwide dragnet while brazenly traveling throughout Japan committing crimes. Based on police records and the nonfiction work by author Ryuzo Saki on the actual case. Special features: Full-length audio commentary by noted Asian film historian, critic, and filmmaker Tony Rayns ; Video introduction by Alex Cox ; 36-page booklet with a new essay by Jasper Sharp ; an essay by Dr. Alastair Phillips ; a reprint of the original Japanese film programme, rare Shochiku production stills, and a piece about the film by Shohei Imamura. 140 min. DVD 8459
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- Village of Dreams (Eno nakano bokuno mura) (1996)
- Director: Isaka Satoski. A nostalgic tale of identical twin boys' daily life in a small village of Japan in 1940's. Based on the account of popular children's book artist, Seizo Tajima, and his twin brother, Yukihiko Tajima, who is also an artist. Based on the autobiographical essay by Seizo Tajima. 112 min. 999:2694 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database Movie Review Query Engine
- Violence at High Noon (Hakuchu no torima) (1966)
- Directed by Nagisa Oshima. Cast: Saeda Kawaguchi, Akiko Koyama, Kei Sato, Mutsuhiro Tou, Fumio Watanabe, Taiji Tonoyama. Story of a brutal sex murderer, his protective wife, and a woman he has previously raped, all of whom live in a rural commune with a group of Tokyo intellectuals. 109 min. 999:3705 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Violent Cop (Sono otoko kyobo ni tsuki) (1989)
- Director, Takeshi Kitano. Detective Azuma is a Dirty-Harry style rogue cop who often uses violence and unethical methods to get results. While investigating a series of drug-related homicides, Azuma discovers that his friend and colleague Iwaki is supplying drugs from within the police force. After Iwaki is murdered and Azuma's sister is kidnapped, he breaks all the rules to dish out his particular form of justice. 98 min. DVD 1082; vhs 999:3199 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database Movie Review Query Engine
- Vital (2004)
- Director, Shinya Tsukamoto. Cast: Tadanobu Asano, Nami Tsukamoto, Kiki, Jun Kunimura, Ittoku Kishibe. After losing his memory due to a car accident, Hiroshi Takagi tries to pick his life back up and enrolls in medical school. There, his memory becomes jarred by a female cadaver; he begins to have visions of a life with this woman, and unlocks the dark memories of his forgotten past. 86 min. DVD 5438 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Wandering Days (Horoki); Growing Up (Animated Classics of Japanese Literature.) (1986)
- Wandering days: In the early 1900's earning a modest income was a struggle for most. As a young girl, Fumiko wandered the countryside with her parents who earned their livelihood peddling medicine. Moving from town to town, the young Fumiko knew deep inside that there was more that she wanted out of life. Dreams of becoming a writer were Fumiko's salvation during these difficult times. Would her dream be able to survive the harsh realities of life? Growing up: Amongst the small street gangs that inhabit the red light district of Yoshiwara, Shinnyo and Midori were on good terms until news spread that Shinnyo had joined a rival gang. Midori is the sister of an Oiran and is often teased and called a whore by the street rascals. Yet she maintains herself with pride and tries desperately to retain her individuality. Now unfriendly gang members are making trouble for Midori and her friends...and she blames Shinnyo, mistakenly believing that he is behind the trouble. Now faced with the prospect of growing up to be like her sister, she finds the pain unbearable... but what can she do? 48 min. 999:2590
- When a Woman ascends the Stairs (Onna ga kaidan o agaru toki) (1960)
- Directed by Mikio Naruse. Cast: Hideko Takamine, Masayuki Mori, Reiko Dan.
A young widow with family obligations, Keiko is the madam of an upstairs bar in the exclusive Ginza district of Tokyo in 1960. As she approaches 30, she realizes that her life is at a crossroads: she must either go into business and open her own bar or marry. 111 min. DVD 7596 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Fox, Joan. "Profile: Hideko Takamine." Kinema. Spring 1994
- Who's Camus Anyway? (Kamyu nante shiranai) (2005)
- Directed by Mitsuo Yangimachi. Cast: Shuji Kashiwabara ; Hinano Yoshikawa, Ai Maeda, Hideo Nakaizumi, Hirotaro Honda. Who is Camus, anyway? This drama, unfolded around the filming activities on the campus of a university in Tokyo, presents the personal lives and loves of the modern youth of Japan. 115 min. DVD 6347 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Woman in the Dunes (Suna no Onno) (1964)
- Director: Hiroshi Teshigahara. An entomologist is tricked by villagers into spending the night in a shack in a sandpit with a widow whose task is endlessly to haul away sand. He finds he cannot escape and gradually develops an intense bond with his companion and resigns himself to a lifetime of hypnotic routine. 127 min. DVD 184; VHS 999:779 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database Movie Review Query Engine
- Women of the Night (oru no onnatachi)(1948)
- Director, Kenji Mizoguchi. Cast: Kinuyo Tanaka, Sanae Takasugi, Tomie Tsunoda, Mitsuo Nagata.
Filmed on location in Osaka, Women of the night concerns two sisters, Fusako, a war widow, and Natsuko, in an affair with a narcotics smuggler, who, along with their younger friend Kumiko, descend into prostitution and moral chaos amid the postwar devastation surrounding them. Based on the novel Joseimatsuri by Eijiro Hisaita. 74 min. DVD X527
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- The World Sinks Except Japan (Nihon igai zenbu chinbotsu) (Japan, 2006)
- Directed by Minoru Kawasaki. Cast: Kohashi Kenji, Kashiwabara Shu-ji, Matsuo Masatoshi. The year is 2011. Thanks to global warming and shifting tectonic plates, planet Earth's landmass has just gotten a massive overhaul. Japan is the only country on the planet that has managed to avoid being devastated by the unprecedented natural disaster, and it isn't long before refugees from every affected nation are attempting to integrate themselves into Japanese society. Meanwhile geologists discover that there's more seismic activity on the horizon, and the worst may be yet to come.
Based on the novel by Tsutsui Yasutaka and Komatsu Sakyo 98 min. DVD X705
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- Yojimbo (1961)
- Director: Akira Kurosawa. Two warring clans vying for power bid for the services of a wandering samurai-for-hire. He becomes embroiled in the dispute and orchestrates the town's self-destruction. A humorous parody of a classic western. 110 min. DVD 79; VHS 999:1096 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database Movie Review Query Engine
- Yumeji (1991)
- Director, Seijun Suzuki. Cast: Kenji Sawada, Tomoko Mariya, Masumi Miyazaki, Tamasaburo Bando.
A sensual, absurdist ghost story spun around the character and work of real-life painter and poet Yumeji Takehisa (1884-1934), seen as a chronic philanderer and dreamer. 128 min. DVD 5479 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Zegen (1998)
- Director, Imamura Shohei. Cast: Baisho Chieko, Ogata Ken. A dramatization of the life of Muraoka Iheiji who was active as a pimp in Southeast Asia from approximately 1910 through the early 1930's. He got his start by rescuing women from pirates in Hong Kong and gradually branched out to own 4 houses of prostitution at the peak of his career. 128 min. 999:3245 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
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- Animated Classics of Japanese Literature
- Animated Classics of Japanese Literature
- Animated Classics: A Ghost Story (Kaidan) (1986) Some 800 years ago, a great battle took place between the Genji and Heiki families at a location known as Dan-no-ura. The Heiki family suffered a terrible defeat. Houichi, a lutist, lives at the temple which is close to the sight of this great battle. His great talent for chanting the old legends gains him notice by many in the community-- including the ghosts of the Heiki family. Unwittingly, the blind Houichi soon finds himself performing for the dead. The chief priest fears that something evil is happening to Houichi and devises a plan to make him invisible to the ghosts. 999:2586 Animated Classics: The Theater of Life (Jinsei gekijo) (1986) Hyokichi is regarded by his peers as the neighborhood sissy. His father knows that to become a great man one must have courage, so he teaches Hyokichi to climb a gingko tree. Orin, the girl next door, looks on with concern. He eventually succeeds, with Orin's encouragement, and as time passes a bond forms between them. As they grow up, he goes off to a distant school and she goes to Tokyo to become a Geisha. Missing her dearly, he is now driven toward a goal of success even his father could not imagine. 999:2586 Animated Classics: The Harp of Burma (Biruma no tategoto) (1986)A platoon of Japanese soldiers is struggling through the mountains of Burma when notification of the war's end is received. But high up on Triangle Mountain, where the news is greeted with disbelief, the fighting continues. Captain Inoue sends Private Yasuhiko Mizushima to the mountain to persuade the soldiers to stop fighting and dying in vain. Meanwhile, Captain Inoue's troops are moved to a concentration camp at Mudon and await Mizushima's return. As time passes, their worst fears are realized when news of Mizushima's death is received. The news is especially difficult to accept when the soldiers recall their encounter with a strange monk during the first days in the concentration camp--a monk who bore a striking resemblance to Mizushima. Could he have possibly survived and still be alive? 999:2587 Animated Classics: The Season of the Sun (Taiyo no kisetsu) (1986) Tatsuya Tsugawa belongs to the university sports club where he and his friends spend time boxing which makes them very popular with the local women. Tsugawa has one casual relationship after another until he meets Eiko. They soon fall in love, but he remains indifferent. Will he be able to express his love for her before it's too late? 999:2588 Animated Classics: The Grave of the Wild Chrysanthemum (Nogiku no haka) (1986) It's exam time and Kenkichi knows he must study hard if he is to be accepted at the prestigious Ichiko School. He encounters a young woman who drops a good luck charm. He is surprised to learn that he is the intended recipient of the charm. How will the results of the exam be affected by his superstition? 999:2588 Animated Classics: The Grave of the Wild Chrysanthemum (Nogiku no haka) (1986) Tamiko is to be married in an arranged wedding, yet her mind and spirit are focused only on Masao. Will the strength of their love be strong enough to sustain this couple? 999:2588 Animated Classics: The Izu Dancer (Izu no odoriko) (1986) Mizuhara, a student from Tokyo, takes a few days off to travel through the countryside and happens upon a family of strolling players. He is quite taken with Kaoru, a young dancing girl who is part of this group. The feeling is mutual but their love is fleeting as Mizuhara must go back to school and Kaoru is just a strolling dancing girl. 999:2598 Animated Classics: The Dancing Girl (Maihime) (1986) The time is the early 1900's; the city is Berlin. Toyotaro Ota has accepted a long term assignment for his government. Well educated and with talents in high demand, he makes a good living until he meets Elise, the daughter of a tailor, who lives with her recently widowed mother and earns a meager living as a ballet dancer. She has been forced to borrow money from a local shark to supplement the family's income. Toyotaro and Elise are soon faced with a grave personal conflict that threatens to tear them apart--for Toyotaro must choose between his career and Elise. 999:2598 Animated Classics: Shiosai (The sound of the Waves) (1986) A young fisherman, Shinji, falls in love with Hatsue, the daughter of a wealthy fisherman who is destined for an arranged marriage with Yasuo. Shinji arranges to meet Hatsue secretly and when Yasuo finds out he assumes the worst. Jealous and feeling betrayed, he tries to take Hatsue by force and then by threats of blackmail. When Hatsue's father hears of the events, he makes both young men sailors on his fishing vessel and devises a test to determine which man is truly worthy of his daughter. Based on the story by Mishima Yukio. 999:2638 Animated Classics: Sugata Sanshiro (Sanshiro, the Judoist) (1986) Sanshiro aspires to become a master of the art of Jujitsu. When his master is defeated by a master of Judo, Sanshiro switches to Judo and eventually becomes a master of the art. He meets Otomi whose father is a master of Jujitsu and in an ironic twist of fate is slated to fight Otomi's father. During a meeting Otomi apprises Sanshiro of her father's scheduled bout with a man from Kodo-Kan. Should her father lose, he would have to resign his position and Otomi would be forced to marry his most despicable student. With the pressure mounting, Sanshiro must face the challenges of a lifetime. Based on the story by Tomita Tsuneo. 999:2639 Animated Classics: Kaze Tachinu (The Wind Rises) (1986) A young man stops in Karuizawa in search of a place in which to write a novel. Shortly after his arrival in the off season, he meets Setsuko, a beautiful young lady who is also staying at the hotel. Since they are the only two guests they become acquainted and she reveals that she has tuberculosis. Fortunately the young man is not dissuaded and with renewed passion, he writes his novel. As their love blossoms, will their dreams be fulfilled? Based on the story by Hori Tatsuo. 999:2640 Animated Classics: Orinposu no Kajitsu (Fruit of Olympus) (1986) Several Japanese teams train for the Olympics and then travel to America. On the voyage to America, Sakamoto on the rowing team meets Akiko, a high-jumper but all members of the Olympic teams are forbidden to make contact with members of the opposite sex. In America Sakamoto's team doesn't do well and Akiko seems to have taken an interest in a foreigner ... how will they fare. 999:2640 Animated Classics: Asunaro Monogatari (Asunaro Story). (1986) 19-year-old Seeko has come to live with 13-year-old Ayuta's family. With the reputation of a "bad girl," Seeko seems oddly unashamed of her expulsion from school and is fatalistic while speaking of a certain man. A few days later, she sends Ayuta to deliver a letter to this man, Kajima, who turns out to be an excellent student. He acts fatherly toward Ayuta, advising him to study twice as hard as the others so that he will excel in the school entrance exams. What will become of Ayuta and Seeko as each confronts their own situation? Based on the story by Inoue Yasushi. 999:2641 Animated Classics: Takayasuken Monogatari (The Story of Koyasu Dog). (1986) Hisao admires dogs, particulary the pure-blooded Koyasu dog which was thought to have died out at the beginning of the Showa era. However, one such dog, known as Shiro, is still alive and living with his master in a hunting village in the mountains and way past his prime, displays signs of illness. Hisao, quick to diagnose that the dog must be operated on in order to survive, transports him to a far off town for the operation. But his master cannot come and Shiro escapes soon after they arrive at the hospital. Will the dog find his way home? After 20 days, no one believes that Shiro could have survived -- except for his master. 999:2641 Animated Classics: Yaneura no Sanposha (A Walker in the Attic). (1986) Goda, who is fascinated with crime, crawls around the attic of his boarding house spying on the other residents through holes in their ceilings. He is particularly jealous of Endo, a student who's constant womanizing and carefree ways grate on Goda's nerves. Goda begins to plot the perfect crime: Since he has devised a means to commit the crime without any obvious point of entry, who would ever suspect him? Based on the story by by Edogawa Rampo. 999:2642 Animated Classics: Shinri Shiken (A Psychological Test). (1986) Seiichiro has spent a whole year planning the perfect crime. He set up his friend to be the "fall guy" and at the same time, managed to put himself in a position to receive a sum of the victim's money. The scam would have worked had it not been for private investigator Kogoro who devises a psychological test to flush out the real killer. Based on the story by by Edogawa Rampo. 999:2642 Animated Classics: Akai heya (A Red Room). (1986) Seven rich men, all hopelessly bored with life, are meeting one evening when a guest succeeds in shocking them with his story of how he dealt with his own boredom -- by indirectly murdering strangers. Now it appears that the guest wants to commit suicide with someone else unwittingly assisting him! But the plan becomes even more complex! Based on the story by by Edogawa Rampo. 999:2642 Animated Classics: Botchan. (1986) Botchan sets out for his first teaching assignment and finds he must contend with students who spy on him and pull nasty stunts. While on a fishing trip to boost his spirits, Botchan suspects Hotta, his only friend in the village, as the cause of his misery. Back at the school during a meeting to discuss the students' disrespectful behavior, Botchan's suspected adversary defends him! Then when evidence of the dean's activities surface, Botchan and Hotta must team up to corner the dean in his own scandalous game. Based on the story by by Natsume Soseki. 999:2643 Animated Classics: Robo no Ishi (A Roadside Stone) (1986) Goichi, a poor boy who lives in the country is driven by ambition to better himself. He suggests to his mother that he use his own savings for his schooling, but she is secretly broken-hearted as Goichi's father has used the money to pay a debt. Goichi is forced to abandon his plans and enters into a degrading apprenticeship for a local merchant. When his mother dies and the truth about his father's debts are revealed, he realizes that he is now working as an indentured servant. Goichi has every intention of repaying his debt, but he will do it in his own way from now on. Based on the story by Yamamoto Yuzo. 999:2644 Animated Classics: Shunkin sho (The Tale of Shunkin) (1986) Shunkin, after losing her sight at the age of nine, learns to play the koto and the shamisen. Sasuke, who has faithfully taken care of her for many years, secretly saves his money and buys a shamisen. When Shunkin discovers that Sasuke has a shamisen, she takes him on as her student and a stronger bond develops between the two. But their relationship is soon put to the ultimate test. Based on the story by Tanizaki Junichiro. 999:2645 Animated Classics: Yujo (Friendship) (1986) Nojima, a young author confesses his love for Sugiko to his friend Omiya, who agrees to help get him a proper introduction. Time passes, but Nojima and Sugiko can't seem to get past impersonal exchanges. Still, Omiya encourages him to pursue Sugiko. It isn't until Omiya writes to him from abroad that Nojima finds out the shocking truth about Sugiko. Based on the story by Mushanokoji Saneatsu. 999:2645 Animated Classics: Homutaun no Jikenbo (The Incident in the Bedroom Suburb) (1986) The Mabushi family learns that life in the suburbs can be harrowing if you're not accepted by your neighbors. Their troubles start when their daughter gets into an "accident." Then when Mr. Mabuchi is asked by his employer to soothe his neighbor's angry feelings concerning a nearby construction project, the family faces its greatest challenge yet. Based on the story by Akagawa Jiro. 999:2646 Animated Classics: Ten kara no Koe (Voice from Heaven) (1986) Mr. Kasai faces his first challenge after being appointed officer of his housing development. A new family has moved into a unit directly over the one occupied by an intolerant old man, Mr. Nakakita. After many nasty run-ins with Nakakita eventually drive the family out, Kasai comes up with a solution to the problem which some might consider extreme. Based on the story by Akagawa Jiro. 999:2646 Animated Classics: Hokyonin no Shi (The Martyr) (1986) Ine, the daughter of an umbrella maker takes a liking to Lorenzo, and rumors begin to spread. When she becomes pregnant and places the blame on Lorenzo, he is excommunicated by the church and shunned by the entire village. A year passes, and Lorenzo is ridiculed for not taking responsibility for the child. But when tragedy strikes, the townspeople are finally confronted with the truth. Based on the story by Akutagawa Ryunosuke. 999:2647 Animated Classics: Koyahijiri (The Priest of Mt. Kouya) (1986) A priest, his journey interrupted by flood waters, contemplates following an alternate route taken by a peddler. When a passing peasant warns him of the danger facing the peddler, the priest hurries to catch up with him. Barely surviving the perils of the journey, the priest finally stumbles upon a lone house, but he is so intrigued by the voluptuous owner of the house, he is unaware of the danger that he faces. Based on the story by Izumi Kyoka. 999:2647
- For Japanese Anime see: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/Animationfilm.html#anime
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Korean Cinema
- Art Museum by the Zoo (Misulgwan yop tongmurwon) (1998)
- For Japanese Anime see: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/Animationfilm.html#anime
- Directed by Jeong-hyang Lee. Chol-su decided to spend his vacation with his girlfriend at her home, but instead found Chun-hui living there. They fell in love as they spent time together despite their different attitudes about love. 109 min. DVD 1503
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- Attack the Gas Station (Chuyuso supkyok sakon) (1999)
- Director Sang-Jin Kim. A quartet of disaffected Korean youths have robbed a Seoul gas station. Suddenly, while hanging out in a Chinese noodle shop, they decide to take the gas station over. Wacky antics ensue as they kidnap customers that complain about the service and stage fist-fights between street gang members and gas station employees, all of which reflect their own gripes against society. 110 min. DVD 1482
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- Barking Dogs Never Bite (Puhran dah suh uigeh) (2000)
- Directed by Joon-ho Bong. A college professor is being led to the end of his tether by the constant barking of a dog somewhere in his apartment complex. In a fit of rage, he kills the dog in a nearby flat only to discover another dog is still barking. Soon, one dog after another is disappearing and the manager of the apartment building keeps getting more and more complaints about pets who've gone missing, and becomes increasingly determined to find the culprit. 106 min. DVD 1501
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Bichunmoo (2000)
- Directed by Young-jun Kim. Set in 14th century China when the country is under Mongolian rule, the star-crossed lovers, Jinha and Sullie who is the illegitimate daughter of a Mongolian commander, are caught in the middle. Jinha learns his family secret martial arts and then sets out to be with the one he loves. 96 min. DVD 1507
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Bungee Jumping of Their Own (Bonji jompu rul hada) (2001)
- Directed by Dai-Seung Kim. Two university students fall in love in 1983 but on the night the man must leave for the military, the woman disappears and they never see each other again. Seventeen years later the man is now a high school teacher, and one of his male students bears an uncanny resemblance to his old girlfriend. 101 min. DVD 1496
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Chunhyang (2000)
- Directed by Sang-hyun Im. Set in 18th century Korea. Mongryong, the son of a governor, falls in love with Chunhyang, the daughter of a proud former courtesan, and they secretly marry out of fear of reprisal. Trouble results when Mongryong is ordered to Seoul to finish his education, and a new, vindictive governor pursues Chunhyang and then imprisons her when she refuses his advances. 120 min. DVD 1506
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- Cinema on the Road
- Focuses chiefly on the little known recently emerging South Korean film industry.. 1997. 52 min. Video/C MM440
- Die Bad (Chukona hogun nappugona) (2000)
- Directed by Seung-wan Ryoo. A four-part film that examines the same characters from mutiple angles. The "Rumble," sees two kids coming to blows with a thug in a pool hall. "Nightmare," examines the hellish life of an ex-con who is tortured by memories of a man he accidentally killed. "Modern man," cross-cuts between a fight involving a gangster and a cop and the two men's thoughts regarding life and social behavior. Finally, "Die bad," brings all of the shorts' characters together to meet their respective fates. 95 min. DVD 1491
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- Failan (Pailan) (2001)
- Directed by Hae-sung Song. Failan emigrates to Korea seeking her relatives, but finds they have moved to Canada. Desperate to remain in Korea, she accepts an arranged marriage through a match-making agency. Her husband, whom she has never met, is an old gangster who has no respect from his peers. Things take a turn when he is asked by his boss to take the fall for a murder in exchange for some money. The only hope in his worthless life is the wife he has never met. 115 min. DVD 1504
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- Flower Island (Kkotsom) (2001)
- Directed by Ilgon Song. Opens with 17-year-old Hye-Na giving birth in a public restroom and abandoning the child. She then sets out on a journey and along the way meets Ok-Nam, a misguided mother who prostituted herself and was kicked out of the house. Later, the two women save another woman Yoo-jin from suicide. Each suffering from her own pain, the trio decides to find the mythical flower island, which reportedly heals all wounds. 115 min. DVD 1495
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- The Ginko Bed (Ge shi qin yuan) (1996)
- Directed by Je-gyu Kang. A college art lecturer re-experiences the mysterious love of his prior life when he comes across an antique gingko bed. He is the reincarnated soul of a court musician to a princess, but their love ended in tragedy as a jealous general killed him and the princess committed suicide. For a thousand years their love has been destined to suffer... 88 min. DVD 1492
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- Green Fish (Chorok mulgogi) (1997)
- Directed by Chang-dong Lee. In this South Korean crime drama, Makdong is discharged from the army to find changes in his rural hometown village. Aboard a train, he meets nightclub singer Miae, girlfriend of a Seoul gang leader. Makdong joins the gang, but his increasing interest in Miae puts him in conflict with the boss. 114 min. DVD 1500
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- Happy End (Haepi endu) (1999)
- Directed by Ji Woo Chung. One of the most controversial Korean films ever made, this film centers around an ordinary man who was dealt a hard blow with the loss of his job. As a result, his career-minded wife finds happiness with the man who used to be her first love. When the husband plots to end her affair it leads to an unexpected, shocking end. 100 min. DVD 1505
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- Hayan chonjaeng (White Badge) (1994)
- Directed by Ji-Yeong Jeong. Pulp fiction writer Han Kiju has never recovered from his youthful experience as a volunteer infantryman who fought alongside American troops in Vietnam. The burden of guilt and alienation have a deep effect on his career and marriage. Then a meeting with a soldier from his past forces Han to confront his demons and the most painful events of his life. 122 min. DVD 1513
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- Interview (2000)
- Directed by Daniel H. Byun. Eun-Sook, a struggling young filmmaker, is interviewing actors for an upcoming project when he is struck by the beauty of Yeong-heui, a hairdresser who tagged along with a friend auditioning for a role. Before Eun-Sook, gets his project off the ground he discovers that the woman used an assumed name for the impromptu audition and now she has disappeared. Twelve months later he discovers her in France, where he learns the truth about her past. 123 min. DVD 1481
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- JSA: Joint Security Area (Gongdong gyeongbi guyeok JSA) (2000)
- Directed by Chan-wook Park. Two soldiers, one North Korean and one South Korean, are shot along the 38th Parallel. As tensions rise between North and South, a Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission is called in to investigate the shootings. 110 min. DVD 4490
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
- Kangwon-do ui him (The Power of Kang-won Province) (1998)
- Directed by Sang-soo Hong. Sangwon, a married professor, had an affair with Chisuk, his student. Sangwon and Chisok decide to end their relationship in order to preserve Sangwon's family life. Then both leave to Kangwon-do province without knowing about each other's arrival. 108 min. DVD 1516
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- Lady Vengeance (Chinjeolhan geumjassi) (2005)
- Directed by Chan-wook Park. Cast: Lee Young-ae, Choi Min-shik, Oh Gwang-rok, Oh Dal-soo.
After being wrongfully convicted of a crime, a young woman is imprisoned for 13 years and forced to give up her daughter. Upon her release, she sets in motion an elaborate plan of retribution. 112 min. DVD 7591
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- Memento Mori (Yogo koedam: tubontchae iyagi) (1999)
- Directed by Tae-Yong Kim and Kyu-Dong Min. A high school student, Min-ah, finds a diary belonging to two of her fellow students that can cause hallucinations. After one of them commits suicide, Min-ah feels as if she is possessed by the dead girl. 99 min. DVD 1499
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- My Sassy Girl (Yopkijogin kunyo) (2001)
- Directed by Jae-young Kwak. This highest-grossing romantic comedy in the history of Korean film begins when a ne'er-do-well college student meets a very drunk girl on the subway. When he takes her to a hotel room to sleep it off, a series of mishaps brings the police while he is in the shower, and thus begins a wild roller coaster relationship as she puts him through a battery of often humiliating tests to prove his love. 137 min. DVD 1490
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- Natural City (South Korea, 2003)
- Directed by Byung-chun Min. Cast: Ji Tae Yoo, Rin Seo, Jae Eun Lee, Chan Yoon.
In the year 2080 in Seoul, agent R is a policeofficer who falls in love with a cyborg whose lifetime is almost up and begins to search for a way to give her a human life. 113 min. DVD 7516
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- No. 3 (Nombo sam) (1997)
- Directed by Neung-han Song. The No. 3 man in an urban gang aspires to become No. 1 top man in his group of third-rate hooligans. An action comedy of power struggles among society's losers and wannabes, including No. 3's wife, a would-be famous poet and his foul-mouthed rival. 106 min. DVD 1502
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- Norang mori 2: tal i toego sipotso (Yellow Hair 2: I Wanted to be a Moon) (2001)
- Directed by Yu-min Kim. This film is a semi-biographical account of model Ha Ri-su's life. She is Korea's first high profile transgender. Here she plays Jae, a transgendered woman in search of true love but facing overwhelming obstacles. The other woman, Wy, is more concerned with money than love. 109 min. DVD 1511
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- Nowhere to Hide (Injong sajong polgot opta ) (1999)
- Directed by Myung-se Lee. A chase film interlaced with a grand loopy humor about Korean police engaged in a deadly pursuit, trying to catch a master of disguise. 112 min. DVD 1484
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- Nunmul (Tears) (2001)
- Directed by Sang-soo Im. When Han and his friends sneak into a bar one night, Han ends up helping a girl named Sa-ri sneak out when things get out of hand. Sa-ri is more hard-edged and independent than Han; while he lives at home with his mother, she has been abandoned by her family and works at a "hostess club." Despite their differences, a tentative romance begins to blossom. 105 min. DVD 1510
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- Oasis (Korea, 2002)
- Directed by Lee Chang-dong. A mentally handicapped young man is haunted by a crime that landed him in prison, a hit-and-run accident that resulted in the death of an old man. After his release from prison he goes to visit the victim's family, and meets Gong-ju, the man's daughter, who has cerebral palsy. The two begin an unlikely love affair that exposes the callousness and uncomfortable secrets of both of their families. 133 min. DVD 2123
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- Oldboy (Oldeuboi) (2003)
- Director, Chanwook Park. Cast: Minsik Choi, Ji Tae Yu, Hyejung Gang. After being kidnapped and imprisoned in a strange "private prison" for 15 years, Daesu, once an ordinary Seoul businessman, is released and sets out to find his abductors. Seeking vengeance on all those involved, he soon finds that his enemy's tortures are just beginning. 120 min. DVD 4348
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- One Fine Spring Day (Bomnareun Ganda: Chun shi) (2001)
- Directed by Jin-ho Hur. Sound engineer Sang Woo meets local DJ Eun Soo on a recording trip in quest of nature's voice. They succeed in capturing various sensual sounds as well as a tenderness for each other. Their love flourishes as spring comes along, but Sang Woo's ever intensifying passion often reminds Eun Soo of her tragic past. She knows only too well how love can vanish like a sound. 115 min. DVD 1508
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- Palwol ui Christmas (Christmas in August) (1998)
- Directed by Jin-ho Hur. Jung-won, a photographer who runs a small studio in Seoul, meets a young woman when she enters his establishment with a request for photos. They make an unlikely twosome, but even so they go on a date to an amusement park. Over time, a friendship develops, but Jung-won has an unspecified terminal illness, a fact which is known only to his immediate family. 97 min. DVD 1515
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- Panchik Wang (The Foul King) (2000)
- Director, Ji Woon Kim. In this Korean comedy office grunt Im Dae-ho, nagged by his father and secretly in love with a female colleague, finds solace in wrestling and the so-called "foul kings," or championship wrestlers who will do anything to win a match. He decides to try his luck with the sport, and after becoming the accidental victor of his first fight, he prepares for a tag match against reigning champion Yubiho who wants an easy win to further his career in Japan. 112 min. DVD 1480
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- Peppermint Candy (Pakha satang) (2000)
- Directed by Chang-dong Lee. Presented in flashbacks, tells the story of Yeong-ho who was ruined by bad stock deals, terrorized by loan sharks and dumped by his adulterous wife. He is a typical victim of the Asian financial meltdown. Yeong-ho pays his dying ex-girlfriend a visit at the hospital and, though she is unconscious, leaves her the same peppermint candy that she used to send him. 127 min. DVD 1488
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- Reptilian (1999)
- Directed by Hyunh-rae Shim. When a never-before-discovered dinosaur is unearthed, strange things begin to occur. Buried for millions of years, its resurrection is unleashed upon the Earth and General Murdock must stop the destructive beast before the president attacks it with nuclear weapons. 100 min. DVD 1517
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- Ring (The Ring Virus) (1999)
- Directed by Dong-Bin Kim. A news reporter, Hong Seon-joo is shocked at her nephew's death and even more so when it is discovered that his other three friends who traveled with him all died of heart attacks at the same time. She discovers a strange video that kills the viewer exactly one week after viewing. She is warned not to watch it, but can't resist .... 110 min. DVD 1489
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- Saenghwal ui palgyon (The Turning Gate) (2002)
- Directed by Sang-soo Hong. This low key, insightful drama quietly observes a callow young man in his search for love. Utterly ill-equipped for the challenge, he bounces from one encounter to another, hoping that he'll find the connection that's been missing in his life, but instead, he causes pain wherever he goes in his self-absorbed quest. 116 min. DVD 1514
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- Secret Tears (Pimil) (2000)
- Directed by Ki-Hyung Pak. A man becomes involved in some extra-sensory experiences after hitting a woman while driving drunk and bringing her home. She has amnesia and cannot speak, but that doesn't prevent her from communicating with him in other ways. 106 min. DVD 1486
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- Seven Swords (Qi jian; Chat gim) (South Korea / Hong Kong / China, 2005)
- Directed by Hark Tsui. Cast: Li Ming, Zhen Zidan, Yang Caini, Sun Honglei, Lu Yi, Jin Suyan.
In northwest China, seven men with magic swords help the local martial artist group Tian Ti Hui prevent the slaughter of innocent villagers by an evil Manchurian warlord. 153 min. DVD 7487
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- Shiri (1999)
- Directed by Kang Jegyu. A phantom sniper is methodically assassinating key figures in a South Korean intelligence investigation. Special agent Ryu and his partner Lee suspect North Korea's most lethal female operative, Hee, as being responsible. When a security breach prompts the theft of a high-tech liquid explosive, CTX, from the South Korean authorities, Ryu and Lee are certain there's a mole within their ranks. 125 min. DVD 1338; DVD 1493 (more special features)
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- Silche sanghwang (Real Fiction) (2000)
- Directed by Ki-duk Kim. A portrait artist, frustrated with his life and having a terrible day, finally snaps. Flying into a murderous rage, he begins running loose through the city, leaving dead bodies in his wake. Director Kim Ki-dok shot this film in "real time," during less than four hours in one afternoon, using an armada of 20 cameras set up in different locations. 95 min. DVD 1512
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- A Single Spark (Arumdaun chongnyon Chon Tae-il) (1995)
- Directed by Kwang-su Park. Biography of Chon Tae-il who was actively involved in the labor movement and set himself on fire in despair at the indifference of employers and the government. 96 min. 999:3471
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- Som (The Isle) (2000)
- Directed by Ki-duk Kim. An isolated girl lives by selling food to the fishermen during the daytime and her body at night. One day, she rescues ex-cop Hee-jin who wants to commit suicide. Soon, an intense relationship builds between the two in which the jealous Hee-jin starts to brutally dispatch any competition for her affections. 100 min. DVD 1509
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- Sopyonje (1993)
- Directed by Kwon-taek Im. The specifically Korean tradition that is reclaimed in Sopyonje is the type of folk-song known as p?ansori, described as a musical sublimation of southwest Korea's collective grief and suffering - in other words, a kind of blues. The film's three central characters are itinerant p?ansori singers in the 1950s, a time when many aspects of Korean culture came under siege from Japanese and western influences. A man named Dong-ho is roaming the rural hinterlands, ostensibly to find rare herbal medicines for his sick son back in Seoul, but actually in search of Song-hwa, the woman he grew up with. Orphans, they were both apprenticed to the p?ansori master Yu-bong who pressured them to sacrifice everything for the art. Dong-ho rebelled and ran away, but Song-hwa stayed, lost her sight, and outlived Yu-bong. Rumor has it that she is still travelling and still singing p?ansori... 113 min. DVD 6516
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- The Soul Guardians (Tui mo lu) (1998)
- Directed by Kwang-chun Park. Seung-heui is a beautiful female auto mechanic who was born in the midst of a mass suicide by a cult of Satanists -- which might explain why she often has bad dreams. Further enlightenment about her sleep difficulty is provided by Father Park and Jun-hu whose research into spiritual and paranormal matters has led them to believe Satan himself wants Seung-heui to be the mother of his child. A fast-paced supernatural thriller, loaded with special effects. 97 min. DVD 1494
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- Spring in my Hometown (Arumdaun sijol) (1998)
- Directed by Kwangmo Lee. A heart-warming story examining the turbulent period of the Korean War through the eyes of a little boy who lives in a backwater village. Set in the early 1950s when the US military presence was predominant in Korea, the film depicts the life of an older generation from a child's perspective. Two children peep through the hole in the fence of an abandoned mill and chance upon the scene of one child's mother having sex with an American soldier and now their world can never be the same. 120 min. DVD 1487
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- Take Care of My Cat (Goyangileul butaghae) (2001)
- Directed by Jae-eun Jeong. Cast: Doo-na Bae, Yo-won Lee, Ji-young Ok, Eun-shil Lee, Eun-joo Lee, Tae-kyung Oh. This film tenderly and unsentimentally charts the paths of four modern South Korean women as they navigate the hazards of young adulthood. 112 min. DVD 4411
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- Tell Me Something (Telmi ssomding) (1999)
- Directed by Yoon-Hyun Chang. In consecutive murders occuring in Seoul, the dismembered bodies of the victims are found with arms and heads separated. When detective Cho starts investigating he is confronted with horrible and shocking scenes. 116 min. DVD 1485
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- Three Extremes (Hong Kong / Japan / South Korea, 2004)
- Cast: Box: Kyoko Hasegawa, Atsuro Watabe. Dumplings: Miriam Yeung, Bai Ling, Tony Ka-Fai Leung. Cut: Lee Byung-Hun, Lim Won-Hee, Gang Hye-Jung, Yum Jung-Ah. Presents a cross-cultural trilogy of odd and horrific film shorts by Asian directors. In Box, beautiful successful novelist Kyoko lives a solitary life. In Dumplings a woman experiments with anti-ageing dumplings containing a sinister secret ingredient. In Cut, a happy and successful film director encounters a stranger in his living room. Contents: Box: Kyoko Hasegawa, Atsuro Watabe. Dumplings: Miriam Yeung, Bai Ling, Tony Ka-Fai Leung. Cut: Lee Byung-Hun, Lim Won-Hee, Gang Hye-Jung, Yum Jung-Ah. 126 min. DVD X792
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- 301/302 (1995)
- Directed by Chul-Soo Park. Featuring Eun-jin Bang and Sin-Hye Hwang. "Two women are neighbors in an apartment building: one is an obsessive professional cook (in room 301), the other an anorexic writer (room 302). A young policeman is investigating the disappearance of the woman from room 302. Through flashbacks, we learn the nature of the two women's relationship: the cook tries to cure her neighbor by preparing fabulous meals for her every night - only to have them left untouched." (from Screen Cuisine) 100 min. DVD X400; vhs 999:3462
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- Virgin Stripped Bare by her Bachelors (O! sujong) (2000)
- Directed by Sang-soo Hong. Tells the story of a relationship filled with pitfalls between a pleasant female video producer and a gallery owner as they become embroiled in their self-spun web of illusions. A bitter-sweet serenade to modern courtship. 126 min. DVD 1483
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- Whispering Corridors (Yeogo goedam) (1998)
- Director, Ki-hyeong Park. Cast: Lee Mi-Yeon, Kim Kyu-Ree, Choi Se-Yeon.
When a former alumni of an all girls school returns as a teacher but is soon found dead, ghosts of past murders at the school haunt the student body. 105 min. DVD 8758
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- Why Has Bodhi-Dharma Left for the East? (Dharmaga tongjoguro kan kkadalgun) (1989)
- Director, Young-kyun Bae. In a remote monastery high up in the mountains, an old master, a young monk, and an orphaned boy devote themselves to their Buddhist teachings. As the master faces death, he must lead his disciples away from their past ties to the outside world and its rapidly changing values, and point them toward their quest for enlightenment. 135 min. 999:1438
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