"Actor: Isao"

• Stray Dog (Blu-ray) | Blu Ray | (27/01/2025) from £16.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  A masterful mix of film noir and police thriller set on the sweltering mean streets of occupied Tokyo.When rookie detective Murakami (Toshiro Mifune) has his pistol stolen from his pocket while on a bus, his frantic attempts to track down the thief lead him to an illegal weapons market in the Tokyo underworld. But the gun has already passed from the pickpocket to a young gangster, and Murakami's gun is identified as the weapon in the shooting of a woman. Murakami, overwhelmed with remorse, turns for help to his older and more experienced senior, Sato (a superb performance by Takashi Shimura). The race is on to find the shooter before he can strike again Extras¢ Presented in High Definition¢ Newly recorded interview with Japanese film expert Jasper Sharp¢ Newly recorded audio commentary by Kenta McGrath¢ Akira Kurosawa: It is Wonderful to Create Stray Dog (2002, 32 mins)¢ **FIRST PRESSING ONLY** Illustrated booklet with new writing on the film by Barry Forshaw, archive essay by Philip Kemp and original review

• Jakoman and Tetsu | Blu Ray | (21/04/2025) from £16.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Jakoman and Tetsu is an early action masterpiece from Kinji Fukasaku (Battles Without Honor and Humanity, Battle Royale), adapted from a script written by the legendary Akira Kurosawa. Set in 1947 in a small coastal village among the majestic snowy landscapes of Japan's northernmost island of Hokkaido, Ken Takakura (the Abashiri Prison series, Ridley Scott's Black Rain) is Tetsu, the prodigal son who returns from the war to help out his father Kyubei with the family herring fishing business. His arrival coincides with that of a one-eyed miscreant named Jakoman, played by Tetsuro Tamba (Harakiri, You Only Live Twice), who bears a long-standing grudge against Kyubei and is intent on causing as much mayhem among the hordes of seasonal fishermen as possible.

• Seven Samurai (Blu-ray Edition) | Blu Ray | (25/08/2014) from £18.75   |  Saving you £1.24 (6.61%)   |  RRP £19.99

  One of the greatest films ever made – Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai has influenced the work of directors from George Lucas to Steven Spielberg and spawned remakes such as John Sturges’ acclaimed The Magnificent Seven. With their village raided every year by vicious bandits a group of peasants hire seven warriors to protect them. Initially met with suspicion the warriors eventually gain the trust of the peasants and they join forces to face the bandits. This special edition includes alternative presentations of the film a new and exclusive interview with Asian cinema expert Tony Rayns and the film’s original Japanese trailer. Endlessly copied but never surpassed Seven Samurai is a truly timeless classic. Contents: Digitally re-mastered in High Definition Play with or without original intermission Original Japanese theatrical trailer The Art of Akira Kurosawa (2013 49 mins): Asian cinema expert Tony Rayns discusses Kurosawa’a career and influence Fully illustrated booklet with essays and credits

• Seven Samurai | DVD | (22/11/1999) from £17.29   |  Saving you £2.70 (15.62%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Unanimously hailed as one of the greatest masterpieces in the history of the motion picture, Seven Samurai has inspired countless films modelled after its basic premise. But Akira Kurosawa's classic 1954 action drama has never been surpassed in terms of sheer power of emotion, kinetic energy, and dynamic character development. The story is set in the 1600s, when the residents of a small Japanese village are seeking protection against repeated attacks by a band of marauding thieves. Offering mere handfuls of rice as payment, they hire seven unemployed "ronin" (masterless samurai), including a boastful swordsman (Toshiro Mifune) who is actually a farmer's son desperately seeking glory and acceptance. The samurai get acquainted with but remain distant from the villagers, knowing that their assignment may prove to be fatal. The climactic battle with the raiding thieves remains one of the most breathtaking sequences ever filmed. It's poetry in hyperactive motion and one of Kurosawa's crowning cinematic achievements. This is not a film that can be well served by any synopsis; it must be seen to be appreciated and belongs on the short list of any definitive home-video library. --Jeff Shannon

• Akira Kurosawa - The Samurai Collection | DVD | (07/06/2010) from £34.43   |  Saving you £5.56 (16.15%)   |  RRP £39.99

  Akira Kurosawa: The Samurai Collection (5 Discs)

• Branded to Kill | Blu Ray | (18/08/2014) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Seijun Suzuki's absolutely mad yakuza movie Branded to Kill bends the hit-man genre so out-of-shape it more resembles a Luis Bunuel take on Martin Scorsese. Number Three killer Goro Hanada (Jo Shishido) is a hired gun who loves his work, but when he misses a target after a mere butterfly sets his carefully balanced aim astray, he becomes the next target of the mob. Goro is no pushover and easily dispatches the first comers, leaving them splayed in death contortions that could qualify for an Olympic event, but the rat-a-tat violence gives way to a surreal, sadistic game of cat and mouse. The legendary Number One mercilessly taunts his target before moving in with him in a macho, testosterone-laden Odd Couple truce that ends up with them handcuffed together. Kinky? Not compared to earlier scenes. The smell of boiling rice sets Goro's libido for his mistress so aflame that Suzuki censors the gymnastic sex with animated black bars that come to life in an animated cha-cha. Because Suzuki pushed his yakuza parodies and cinematic surrealism too far, his studio, Nikkatsu, finally called in their own metaphoric hit and fired the director with such force that he was effectively blackballed from the industry for a decade. It took about that long for audiences to embrace his audacious genre bending--Suzuki's pop-art sensibilities were just a bit ahead of their time. --Sean Axmaker, Amazon.com

• Lone Wolf And Cub | DVD | (01/01/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £39.99

  A brilliant box set of the complete adventures of Lone Wolf and Cub! Sword of Vengeance (Dir. Kenji Misumi 1972): Framed for treason the executioner of the Shogun is stripped of office and declared an outlaw. Together with his infant son he sets out as a mercenary on a blood soaked journey of revenge against the secret society that murdered his wife and robbed him of his good name. With his life in ruins and literally believing that he is in hell he and his baby son have become Lone Wolf and Cub. Babycart At The River Styx (Dir. Kenji Misumi 1972): Ogami Itto is dead - 'Lone Wolf' lives on continuing his blood spattered journey through the land he calls Hell. As he remorselessly seeks the secretive shadowy Yagu clan they continue in their efforts to destroy him first sending their female warriors the vicious Akashi ninja. Beyond them barring his way the self proclaimed Gods of death sadistic warriors with a lust for blood. Lone Wolf must defeat them to justify the 500 pieces of gold that have bought his sword once more. Babycart to Hades (Dir. Kenji Misumi 1972): In a rare moment of compassion Lone Wolf rescues a girl who has killed a pimp in self defence. By his code he is forced to endure being tortured to within an inch of his life. Lone Wolf takes to the road again where his expertise is very much in demand so much so that a would-be employer has already placed a contract on him and the slayer with the babycart proceeds down the bloodstained path to Hades... Babycart In Peril (Dir. Kenji Misumi 1973): Lone Wolf (Ogami Itto) is separated from his Cub Daigoro in the course of a mission to find and kill the tattooed mistress of martial arts Oyuki. Daigoro is found at the mercy of a rival of his father Ogami Itto. Despite continuous harassment from Yagyu assassins Lone Wolf discovers Oyuki. Although he admires her he is contracted to destroy her and all this time the evil Lord Retsudo is coming closer to Lone Wolf bringing an army with him... Babycart In The Land Of Demons (Dir. Buichi Saito 1972): Hired to ensure that the succession of the clan passes to the legitimate heir the son of Lord Kuroda Lone Wolf becomes enmeshed in a web of intrigue that leads in turn to the Yagyu. Before he can break free he must turn against the very men who hired him the loyal retainers of the Kuroda clan... Babycart - White Heaven in Hell (Dir. Yoshiyuki Kuroda 1974): The climactic chapter in the Lone Wolf series! Ogami Itto the Lone Wolf and his Cub Diagoro face a new peril when the Yagyu clan leader Retsudo employs his blood thirsty daughter to destroy them once and for all. If she fails in her task Retsudo will unleash the supernatural might of the Yagyu army against which even the Lone Wolf cannot stand...

• VIOLENT STREETS | Blu Ray | (20/02/2023) from £13.29   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  One of the finest directors of Japanese chambara (sword fighting) films, Hideo Gosha (Sword of the Beast, Three Outlaw Samurai) also directed a number of films in the yakuza genre. The most outstanding of these was Violent Streets; a baroque crime thriller about a retired yakuza who gets pulled into a violent gang war by his former associates. A former yakuza member, Egawa (Noboru Andô) is now a brooding world-weary nightclub owner. Some of his former associates are released from prison and want to regain a foothold in the criminal underworld by igniting a gang war between the local yakuza, and an out-of-town clan led by veteran actor Tetsurō Tanba (Harakiri). A bold and colourful entry in the yakuza genre, Hideo Gosha's Violent Streets makes its worldwide debut on Blu-ray from a new restoration completed by Toei Company, Ltd. Product Features Limited Edition slipcase featuring new artwork by Tony Stella 1080p presentation on Blu-ray from a 2K restoration of the original film elements Optional English subtitles An introduction to Violent Streets and the works of director Hideo Gosha by film critic Tony Rayns Jasper Sharp on Violent Streets PLUS: A collector's booklet featuring a new essay by Japanese cinema expert Tom Mes *All extras subject to change

• SAMURAI WOLF I & II (Masters of Cinema) Special Edition Blu-ray | Blu Ray | (22/01/2024) from £19.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Lone Wolf and Cub | Blu Ray | (27/03/2017) from £47.59   |  Saving you £2.40 (5.04%)   |  RRP £49.99

  The Cult Classic, Six-Film Series Based on the Internationally Best-Selling Japanese Manga Comics. Includes: SWORD OF VENGEANCE, BABY CART AT THE RIVER STYX, BABY CART TO HADES, BABY CART IN PERIL, BABY CART IN THE LAND OF DEMONS, WHITE HEAVEN IN HELL. Based on the best-selling manga series, the six intensely kinetic Lone Wolf and Cub films elevated chanbara to bloody, new heights. The shogun's executioner, Itto Ogami (TOMISABURO WAKAYAMA), takes to wandering the countryside as an assassinalong with his infant son Daigoro (AKIHIRO TOMIKAWA) and an infinitely weaponized perambulatorhelping those he encounters while seeking vengeance for his murdered wife. Delivering stylish thrills and a body count that defies belief, Lone Wolf and Cub is beloved for its brilliantly choreographed and unbelievably violent action sequences as well as for its tender depiction of the bonds between parent and child. SPECIAL EDITION BOX SET FEATURES: New 2K digital restorations of all six films, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks High-definition presentation of Shogun Assassin, the 1980 English-dubbed re-edit of the first two Lone Wolf and Cub films New interview with Kazuo Koike, writer of the Lone Wolf and Cub manga series and screenwriter on five of the films Lame d'un père, l'âme d'un sabre, a 2005 documentary about the making of the series New interview in which Sensei Yoshimitsu Katsuse discusses and demonstrates the real Suio-ryu sword techniques that inspired those in the manga and films New interview with biographer Kazuma Nozawa about filmmaker Kenji Misumi, director of four of the six Lone Wolf and Cub films Silent documentary from 1937 about the making of samurai swords, with an optional new ambient score by Ryan Francis Trailers New English subtitle translations PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay and film synopses by Japanese pop culture writer Patrick Macias

• GATE OF HELL | Blu Ray | (03/12/2012) from £9.99   |  Saving you £10.00 (100.10%)   |  RRP £19.99

  One of the key works of the early 1950s wave of Japanese films to first reach foreign markets, director Kinugasa's sumptuous period drama astonished audiences with its dramatic force and spectacular colour cinematography.During feudal unrest in the 12th century, samurai warrior Morit (Kazuo Hasegawa) manages to thwart a palace rebellion and save the life of the empress, using loyal subject Lady Kesa (Machiko Ky ) as a decoy. When Morit is offered anything he should desire as reward, he requests Kesa's hand in marriage. Informed that she is already married to a fellow samurai (Isao Yamagata), he refuses to withdraw his request, setting in motion a tragic chain of events.Three decades after the director's iconic A Page of Madness, Kinugasa's striking tale of feudal intrigue, political machinations, and erotic obsession won the Grand Prix at Cannes, two Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film and Costume Design, and has since been named by Martin Scorsese as one of the ten greatest colour achievements in world cinema. Gate of Hell's blazing palette is proudly presented afresh by The Masters of Cinema Series in a magnificent new restoration.

• Infection | DVD | (24/07/2006) from £13.75   |  Saving you £1.24 (9.02%)   |  RRP £14.99

  In a dark isolated hospital one nurse's mistake has led to dire consequences for a patient. The night crew decides to cover up the incident hiding the evidence deep in the bowels of the institution. Soon the hospital is visited by another person dying of some exceedingly unnatural symptoms; that death triggers a bizarre infection that only seems to affect those involved in the initial crime. As the infection spreads so does the terror...

• Female Prisoner Scorpion: The Complete Collection | Blu Ray | (08/08/2016) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Starring the iconic and beautiful Meiko Kaji (Lady Snowblood, Stray Cat Rock) in a role that came to define her career, the four-film Female Prisoner Scorpion series charts the vengeance of Nami Matsushima, who assumes the mantle of Scorpion, becoming an avatar of vengeance and survival, and an unlikely symbol of female resistance in a male-dominated world. Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion introduces Nami, a gullible young woman unjustly imprisoned, who must find a way to escape in order to exact revenge upon the man who betrayed her. The visually avant-garde Female Prisoner Scorpion: Jailhouse 41 sees director Shunya Ito and star Meiko Kaji re-unite as Nami and six other female convicts escape prison once more. The Gothic horror-inspired Beast Stable finds Nami branded public enemy #1 and on the run. She soon finds refuge with a sympathetic prostitute, but runs afoul of a local gang. The final film in the series, #701²s Grudge Song (from director Yasuharu Hasebe, Retaliation, Massacre Gun), shows a gentler side of Nami as she falls in with Kudo, an ex-radical suffering from physical and psychological trauma caused by police torture. Spiritual kin to Ms. 45, Coffy and The Bride Wore Black, the Female Prisoner Scorpion is the pinnacle of early 1970s exploitation cinema from Japanese grindhouse studio Toei, and one of the greatest female revenge sagas ever told. LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS Limited Edition Blu-ray collection (3000 copies) Brand new 2K restorations of all four films in the series presented on High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD Original mono audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-rays) for all films Optional English subtitles for all films Double-sided fold out poster of two original artworks Reversible sleeves for all films featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Ian MacEwan Booklet featuring an extract from Unchained Melody: The Films of Meiko Kaji, an upcoming book on the starby critic and author Tom Mes, an archive interview with Meiko Kaji, and a brand new interview with Toru Shinohara, creator of the original Female Prisoner Scorpion manga FEMALE PRISONER #701: SCORPION Newly filmed appreciation by filmmaker Gareth Evans (The Raid) Archive interview with director Shunya Ito New interview with assistant director Yutaka Kohira Theatrical Trailers for all films in the series FEMALE PRISONER SCORPION: JAILHOUSE 41 Newly filmed appreciation by critic Kier-La Janisse Japanese cinema critic Jasper Sharp looks over the career of Shunya Ito New interview with production designer Tadayuki Kuwana Original Theatrical Trailer FEMALE PRISONER SCORPION: BEAST STABLE Newly filmed appreciation by critic Kat Ellinger Archive interview with director Shunya Ito New visual essay on the career of star and icon Meiko Kaji by critic Tom Mes Original Theatrical Trailer FEMALE PRISONER SCORPION: #701's GRUDGE SONG Newly filmed appreciation by filmmaker Kazuyoshi Kumakiri (Kichiku: Banquet of the Beasts) Archive interview with director Yasuharu Hasebe Japanese cinema critic Jasper Sharp looks over the career of Yasuharu Hasebe Visual essay on the Scorpion series by critic Tom Mes Original Theatrical Trailer

• The Land of Hope | Blu Ray | (26/08/2013) from £19.35   |  Saving you £0.64 (3.31%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Prolific Japanese director Sion Sono (Love Exposure, Himizu) departs from his usual style for this movingly restrained drama of a rural family's struggle to survive in the aftermath of the Tohoku earthquake and the resulting nuclear crisis.

• New Battles Without Honour & Humanity | Blu Ray | (21/08/2017) from £21.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  NEW BATTLES WITHOUT HOUNOUR AND HUMANITY: THE COMPLETE TRILOGY New Battles Without Honour and Humanity New Battles Without Honour and Humanity: The Boss's Head New Battles Without Honour and Humanity: Last Days of the Boss In the early 1970s Kinji Fukasaku's five-film Battles Without Honour and Humanity series was a massive hit in Japan and kicked off a boom in realistic modern yakuza films based on true stories. Although Fukasaku had intended to end the series Toei Studio convinced him to return to the director's chair for this unconnected follow-up trilogy of films each starring Battles leading man Bunta Sugawara and telling separate but fictional stories about the yakuza in different locations in Japan. In the first film Bunta Sugawara is Miyoshi a low-level assassin of the Yamamori gang who is sent to jail after a bungled hit. While in stir family member Aoki (Lone Wolf and Cub's Tomisaburo Wakayama) attempts to seize power from the boss and Miyoshi finds himself stuck between the two factions with no honourable way out. In the second entry The Boss's Head Sugawara is Kuroda an itinerant gambler who steps in when a hit by drug-addicted assassin Kusunoki (Tampopo's Tsutomu Yamazaki) goes wrong and takes the fall on behalf of the Owada family but when the gang fails to make good on financial promises to him Kuroda targets the family bosses with a ruthless vengeance. And in Last Days of the Boss Sugawara plays Nozaki a labourer who swears allegiance to a sympathetic crime boss only to find himself elected his successor after the boss is murdered. Restrained by a gang alliance that forbids retributions against high-level members Nozaki forms a plot to exact revenge on his rivals but a suspicious relationship with his own sister (Chieko Matsubara from Outlaw: Gangster VIP) taints his relationship with his fellow gang members. Making their English-language home video debut in this limited edition set the New Battles Without Honour and Humanity films are important links between the first half of Fukasaku's career and his later exploration of other genres. Each one is also a top-notch crime action thriller: hard-boiled entertaining and distinguished by Fukasaku's directorial genius funky musical scores by composer Toshiaki Tsushima and the onscreen power of Toei's greatest yakuza movie stars. LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS: High Definition digital transfers of all three films High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations Original uncompressed mono audio New optional English subtitle translation for all three films Beyond the Films: New Battles Without Honour and Humanity a new video appreciation by Fukasaku biographer Sadao Yamane New Stories New Battles and Closing Stories two new interviews with screenwriter Koji Takada about his work on the second and third films in the trilogy Original theatrical trailers for all three films Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Reinhard Kleist Illustrated collector's book featuring new writing on the films the yakuza genre and Fukasaku's career by Stephen Sarrazin Tom Mes Hayley Scanlon Chris D. and Marc Walkow

• High And Low | DVD | (28/03/2005) from £14.49   |  Saving you £5.50 (37.96%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Kurosawa drew on the thriller 'King's Ransom' by Ed McBain (aka Evan Hunter) for this contemporary study of the inequalities and hierarchical rigidity of modern Japan. In the first half of the film set in a single room an industrialist agonises on whether to pay the huge ransom demanded by kidnappers who have mistakenly snatched his chauffeur's son instead of his own. The second half of the film shot in a frenzied restless style on sleazy urban locations concentrates on the polic

• Dark Water | DVD | (24/11/2003) from £5.99   |  Saving you £9.00 (150.25%)   |  RRP £14.99

  From the director and producer of the original Japanese world-wide horror hit 'Ringu' ('The Ring') comes another spine-tingling scare.

• Shady | DVD | (24/03/2014) from £5.89   |  Saving you £9.10 (154.50%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Because of her last name Kumada (bear + rice paddy) and her appearance Misa's high school classmates call her Pooh disparagingly. She obviously has no friends and can only let down her guard around her pet parrot and the goldfish in the science room at school. But then she finds herself quickly becoming best friends with Izumi a cute and popular classmate. Although somewhat puzzled by Izumi's interest in her Misa is excited about having a friend for the first time ever. But Izumi's initial angelic demeanour gradually transforms into a demonic one. Special Features: Interview with the Director and both Leading Actresses 5.1 Surround Sound

• The Sun's Burial | DVD | (26/05/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Set in the post-war slums of Osaka The Sun's Burial follows the lives and fates of the denizens of this hellish ghetto. Pimps prostitutes drug addicts vagrants hustlers and gangsters struggle to survive amidst the poverty and decay of 1950's Japan. Unflinching in it's portrayal of life in these slums the film goes beyond a documentary-style realism to achieve a garish lurid Cinemascope aesthetic that is at once repulsive and yet mesmerising. It's a pitiless and dispassionate portrait of a living hell that lurks behind the facade of a prosperous new Japan a place where everything - food sex even blood - is simply a commodity to be stolen and sold.

• Assassination | DVD | (23/01/2006) from £27.37   |  Saving you £-7.38 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Assassination (or Ansatsu) marked Masahiro Shinoda's first attempt at a period film and is widely considered to be his finest achievement. Previously gaining fame and status alongside Nagisa Oshima and Kiju Yoshida challenging established Japanese cinema with tales of reckless youth The Dry Lake (1960) and the seminal yakuza drama Pale Flower (1964) Shinoda graduated from Shochiku where like Shohei Imamura his grounding wa