"Actor: Naoto Takenaka"

• Takashi Ishii: 4 Tales of Nami (Limited Edition) | Unknown | (25/08/2025) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Takashi Ishii: 4 Tales of NamiAlone in the Night (1994) - Nami, the wife of a narcotics cop murdered in the line of duty, is surprised to find that her husband has been accused of involvement in organized crime.Angel Guts: Red Flash (1994) - Nami, a magazine designer agrees to substitute the cameraman during the shooting of a porn film. The brutal rape scene unleashes distant, forgotten memories and strange things start happening to her.A Night in Nude (1993) - When the beautiful and mysterious Nami walks into the office of Jiro, a man who will do anything for anyone, he unknowingly gets dragged into her plot to murder her abusive yakuza lover.Original Sin (1992)- Nami, the wife of an estate agent, begins an affair with a 22 year old man that leads to a plot to kill her husband.Limited edition set (2000 copies). Includes a booklet by Jasper SharpDisc 1: Alone in the Night 夜がまた来る (1994). Special Features:Audio commentary by Samm DeighanArchival Interview with Takashi IshiiArchival Interview with Jinpachi NezuArchival Interview with producer Yu OkadaNew Interview with cinematographer Yasushi SasakibaraDisc 2: Angel Guts: Red Flash 天使のはらわた 赤い閃光 (1994). Special Features:Audio commentary by Jasper SharpArchival Takashi Ishii interviewMatthew Carter Video EssayDisc 3: A Night in Nudeヌードの夜 (1993). Special Features:Audio Commentary by Frankie BalboaArchival Interview with Takashi IshiiArchival Interview with Kippei ShiinaArchival Interview with Naoto TakenakaArchival Interview with producer Yu OkadaTheatrical TrailerDisc 4: Original Sin死んでもいい (1992). Special Features:Archival Interview with Takashi IshiiArchival Interview with Shinobu OtakeArchival Interview with producer Yu OkadaTheatrical TrailerTeaser

• V-Cinema Essentials: Bullets & Betrayal Limited Edition Blu-ray | Blu Ray | (28/04/2025) from £37.05   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  In 1989, legendary Japanese studio Toei launched their V-Cinema line of direct-to-video genre features. V-Cinema Essentials: Bullets & Betrayal presents nine explosive titles representing some of the best the Japanese crime film has to offer.Fast-paced and action-packed, Crime Hunter: Bullets of Rage sees detective Joe Kawamura out for revenge against the men who gunned down his partner. Along the way he teams up with Lily, a gun-toting nun looking to get back five million dollars that was stolen from her church. Next up, Neo Chinpira: Zoom Goes the Bullet sees wannabe yakuza Junko get more than he bargained for when tasked with avenging the murder of a fellow gang member, or face the consequences for betrayal. Meanwhile, in Shunichi Nagasaki's unbearably tense thriller Stranger, a late-night taxi driver is stalked by the unseen driver of an SUV, who just might have a connection to the taxi driver's criminal past. In Carlos, the eponymous Brazilian-Japanese petty criminal sees an opportunity to play rival yakuza gangs against each other, but bites off much more than he can chew. Burning Dog is a gripping heist film where a gang of thieves plot to rob a US military base in Okinawa, but rising tensions in the group threaten to put the plan in jeopardy.Filled with action, thrills and double-crosses, V-Cinema Essentials: Bullets & Betrayal is an electrifying compendium of gems from the Japanese video underworld.LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS¢ High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentations of all films ¢ Original lossless Japanese mono audio on Crime Hunter: Bullets of Rage and original lossless Japanese stereo audio for all other films ¢ Optional newly translated English subtitles for all films ¢ Nine postcard-sized artcards ¢ Limited edition packaging with reversible sleeves featuring newly commissioned artwork by Chris Malbon ¢ Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing by Earl Jackson, Daisuke Miyao, and Hayley ScanlonDISC 1 CRIME HUNTER: BULLETS OF RAGE / NEO CHINPIRA: ZOOM GOES THE BULLET¢ Newly filmed introductions to both films by Japanese film critic Masaki Tanioka ¢ Loose Cannon, a newly filmed interview with Crime Hunter: Bullets of Rage director Shundo Okawa ¢ Zooming Out, a newly filmed interview with Neo Chinpira: Zoom Goes the Bullet writer-director Banmei Takahashi ¢ Crime Hunter and the Dawn of V-Cinema, a brand new video essay on Crime Hunter: Bullets of Rage by Japanese cinema expert Tom Mes ¢ Original trailers for both filmsDISC 2 STRANGER / CARLOS¢ Newly filmed introductions to both films by Japanese film critic Masaki Tanioka ¢ Stranger than Fiction, a newly filmed interview with Stranger writer-director Shunichi Nagasaki ¢ From Manga to Movies, a newly filmed interview with Carlos writer-director Kazuhiro Kiuchi ¢ An Extra Round in the Chamber, a brand new video essay on Carlos by critic and Japanese cinema expert Jonathan ClementsDISC 3 BURNING DOG / FEMALE PRISONER SCORPION: DEATH THREAT¢ Newly filmed introductions to both films by Japanese film critic Masaki Tanioka ¢ Fire and Ice, a brand new video essay on Burning Dog by critic and Japanese cinema expert Mark Schilling ¢ Toshiharu Ikeda's Beautiful Monster of Vengeance, a brand new video essay on Female Prisoner Scorpion: Death Threat by film historian Samm Deighan ¢ Original trailers for both filmsDISC 4 THE HITMAN: BLOOD SMELLS LIKE ROSES / DANGER POINT: THE ROAD TO HELL¢ Newly filmed introductions to both films by Japanese film critic Masaki Tanioka ¢ The Versatility of Teruo Ishii, a brand new video essay on The Hitman: Blood Smells Like Roses and its director Teruo Ishii by Japanese cinema expert Frankie Balboa ¢ The Road to V-Cinema, a brand new video essay on Danger Point: The Road to Hell by critic and Japanese cinema expert James Balmont¢ Original trailer for The Hitman: Blood Smells Like RosesDISC 5 XX: BEAUTIFUL HUNTER¢ Newly filmed introduction by Japanese film critic Masaki Tanioka ¢ The Sacred and the Profane, a newly filmed interview with screenwriter Hiroshi Takahashi ¢ They Brought Back the Sleaze, a brand new video essay on XX: Beautiful Hunter by critic and Japanese cinema expert Patrick Macias ¢ Original trailer

• Black Society Trilogy | Blu Ray | (16/01/2017) from £21.01   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  After several years spent working almost exclusively in the direct-to-video world of V-cinema in Japan, Takashi Miike announced himself as a world-class filmmaking talent with this trio of thematically-connected, character-centric crime stories about violence, the underworld of Japanese society, families both real and surrogate, and the possibly hopeless task of finding one's place in the world. His first films made specifically for theatrical release, and his first for a major studio, the Black Society Trilogy was the beginning of Miike's mature career as a filmmaker and they remain among the prolific director's finest works. Set in the bustling Kabuki-cho nightlife neighborhood of Tokyo, Shinjuku Triad Society follows a mixed-race cop (Kippei Shiina, Outrage) struggling with private issues while hunting a psychotic criminal (Tomorowo Taguchi, Tetsuo the Iron Man) who traffics in children's organs. Rainy Dog, shot entirely in Taiwan, is about an exiled yakuza (Dead or Alive's Show Aikawa) who finds himself saddled with a son he never knew he had and a price on his head after the Chinese gang he works for decides to turn on him. Ley Lines moves from the countryside to the city and back, as three Japanese youths of Chinese descent (including The Raid 2's Kazuki Kitamura) seek their fortune in Tokyo, only to run afoul of a violent gang boss (Naoto Takenaka, The Happiness of the Katakuris). Three of the most dramatically moving films created by the director, the Black Society Trilogy offers clear proof that Miike's frequent pigeonholing as a specialist in bloody spectacle is only one aspect of his filmmaking career, and taken as a whole, the films are among the finest works ever to deal with the way violence and brutality can unexpectedly destroy even the most innocent of lives. SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS: High Definition digital transfers of all three films Original uncompressed stereo audio Optional English subtitles for all three films New interview with director Takashi Miike New interview with actor Show Aikawa (Rainy Dog, Ley Lines) New audio commentaries for all three films by Miike biographer Tom Mes Original theatrical trailers for all three films Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Chris Malbon FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector s booklet featuring new writing on the films

• Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence | DVD | (27/02/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £30.99

  A wave of homicides is striking the community of humans and cyborgs in this stylish animation.

• Ghost In The Shell 2: Innocence Blu-ray | Blu Ray | (01/10/2018) from £7.29   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  When machines learn to feel, who decides what is human? It is the year 2032 and Earth is a world where the few remaining humans coexist with artificial replicants, cyborgs and robots. Batou, a cyborg detective and his partner, Togusa are charged with investigating the bizarre case of a malfunctioning female sex droid that has murdered its owner. As they delve deeper into the investigation they are forced to confront violent Yakuza thugs, devious hackers, influential government bureaucrats and powerful corporate criminals. Painstakingly created by Production IG and director, Mamoru Oshii (G.I.T.S, Avalon, Patlabor) Innocence seamlessly combines groundbreaking 2-D and 3-D CG animation techniques to produce an action-packed, sci-fi fable of a solitary cyborg struggling to retain what's left of his humanity in a world where the human soul is gradually fading into obscurity.

• The Happiness Of The Katakuris | Blu Ray | (28/08/2017) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  From Takashi Miike, the prolific director of such shocking hits including Audition and Ichi the Killer comes The Sound of Music meets Dawn of the Dead ! The Katakuri family run a peaceful country inn at the foot of Mount Fuji. A little more peaceful than anticipated, their only visitors arrive in a series of suicides, murders, and inexplicale deaths. In order not to ruin their reputation, the Katakuris decide to bury the bodies, but will the coverups come back to haunt them... The Happiness of the Katakuris combines scenes of grotesque stop motion animation, surreal musical numbers, and zombies to make one the finest horror-comedies ever made.

• Happiness Of The Katakuris | DVD | (29/09/2003) from £7.79   |  Saving you £7.20 (92.43%)   |  RRP £14.99

  The Katakuri family has just opened their guesthouse in the mountains. Unfortunately their first guest commits suicide and in order to avoid trouble they decide to bury him in the backyard. Things get more complicated when their second guest a famous sumo ringer dies while having sex with his matress and the Katakuri's problems are just beginning... Filled with surreal musical numbers disturbed animated characters killer zombies and an array of gruesome deaths this delirious b

• Hiruko the Goblin | Blu Ray | (24/01/2022) from £19.39   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Following the success of his trailblazing independent cyberpunk debut, Tetsuo: The Iron Man, Shinya Tsukamoto directed this wonderfully bizarre adaptation of Daijiro Morohoshi's Yokai Hunter manga as his first studio project. Called to an idyllic countryside town, disgraced archaeologist Professor Hieda (pop idol Kenji Sawada) teams up with high schooler Masao (Masaki Kudou) when a series of disappearancesincluding those of Masao's father (Naoto Takenaka) and classmate crush Reiko (Megumi Ueno)take place. Together, the unlikely duo discover that the local high school sits atop an ancient burial mound that may very well be a subterranean gateway to hell. Offering a raucous mashup of genresranging from campy adventure to Lovecraftian body horrorHiruko the Goblin delivers pulse-pounding thrills with over-the-top visuals including stop-motion animation and practical effects that recall the early works of Sam Raimi and John Carpenter. New Restoration New Interview with Director Shinya Tsukamoto Audio Commentary by Tom Mes Original Japanese Trailer Special Creature Effects: Takashi Oda interview Creature Effects Vintage Interview with Director Shinya Tsukamoto Special slipcase edition w/illustrated artwork by Ian MacEwan (limited to 1000 copies)

• Hara-Kiri - Death Of A Samurai | DVD | (12/05/2014) from £9.43   |  Saving you £3.56 (37.75%)   |  RRP £12.99

  A tale of revenge honour and disgrace centring on a poverty-stricken samurai who discovers the fate of his Ronin son-in-law setting in motion a tense showdown of vengeance against the house of a feudal lord. Special Features: Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai Trailer

• Shall We Dance? | DVD | (28/02/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Here's the irresistible comedy treat that had critics and audiences cheering! A middle-aged workaholic's incredibly dull life takes a funny turn when he signs up for a ballroom dance class - just to meet the sexy dance teacher. But when he finally muscles up the nerve for lessons he winds up with a different instructor and her colourfully eccentric class of beginners! And now he'll have to step lightly - and do some fancy footwork - if he expects to keep his new passion a secret from

• Hara-Kiri - Death Of A Samurai | Blu Ray | (12/05/2014) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  A tale of revenge honour and disgrace centring on a poverty-stricken samurai who discovers the fate of his Ronin son-in-law setting in motion a tense showdown of vengeance against the house of a feudal lord. Special Features: Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai Trailer

• Ghost In The Shell 2 - Innocence | Blu Ray | (07/09/2009) from £4.66   |  Saving you £22.09 (761.72%)   |  RRP £24.99

  A wave of homicides is striking the community of humans and cyborgs in this stylish animation.

• Hara-Kiri : Death of a Samurai | DVD | (07/05/2012) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Seeking a noble end, poverty-stricken Samurai Hanshiro requests to commit ritual suicide at the House of a Feudal Lord. But after being told the story a fellow Samurai's agonizing suicide, Hanshiro sets out on a path of vengeance.

• Gonin | DVD | (27/12/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Takashi Ishii's visually sumptuous gangster movie Gonin ("The Five") is fascinating in its violence, its perversity and its quirkiness, even though its basic plot premise is fairly standard. Disco owner Bandai (Kouichi Sato) owes money to the yakuza boss Ogoshi and decides to rob him rather than pay him--the first part of the film shows him recruiting a crew of the damaged and despairing to help with the job, and disaster follows. Ogoshi hires the more or less unstoppable one-eyed hit man Kyoya ("Beat" Takeshi) and everyone ends up dead--robbers, gangsters and assassins--in an escalating sequence of reprisals. What is different about the film is the odd tangents the plot shoots off at--the sudden sexual attraction between Bandai and the con-man Mitsuya, the truth about the phone calls the desperate sacked salary man Ogiwara keeps making to his family--and its strong visual style. Crucial events take place in the background of shots, the sudden shift from neon-lit back al! leys to sunlight in the last sequence hits you like a blow in the face. Terrifying in its casual violence and impressive in its bleak nihilism, Gonin is one of the most interesting genre films of the 1990s.--Roz Kaveney

• Shinjuku Incident | DVD | (22/02/2010) from £15.85   |  Saving you £2.14 (13.50%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Coming to Blu-ray and to DVD as a two-disc Ultimate Edition featuring a host of extras, including behind the scenes featurettes, cast interviews and deleted scenes, this is a must-have for Jackie Chan fans and lovers of action cinema.

• Tokyo! | DVD | (25/05/2009) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Three stories depicting each director's non-native take on Tokyo.

• Hiruko The Goblin | DVD | (25/08/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Hordes of demons wait behind the Gates of Hell where a school has been built. Hiruko is sent to Earth to behead students and reassemble their heads on the demon's spider-like bodies.... The Hiruko goblin has escaped and no one is safe as the monster claws it's way into the depths of hell! Humanity's only hope is the archeologist Heida and his nephew Masao as they struggle to find a way to slam the door shut on the hideous beast before it can set free the countless other Hirukos bay

• The Happiness Of The Katakuris | DVD | (28/08/2017) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  From Takashi Miike, the prolific director of such shocking hits including Audition and Ichi the Killer comes The Sound of Music meets Dawn of the Dead ! The Katakuri family run a peaceful country inn at the foot of Mount Fuji. A little more peaceful than anticipated, their only visitors arrive in a series of suicides, murders, and inexplicale deaths. In order not to ruin their reputation, the Katakuris decide to bury the bodies, but will the coverups come back to haunt them... The Happiness of the Katakuris combines scenes of grotesque stop motion animation, surreal musical numbers, and zombies to make one the finest horror-comedies ever made.

• Tokyo Bullet Reloaded - Black Angel / Score / Gonin | DVD | (01/02/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The Black Angel: Ddirector Takashi Ishii continues to explore his distinct vision of Tokyo as a dark forbidding Technopolis a city of faceless chrome and marble structures cold lights and deep shadows. The Black Angel stars Riona Hazuki as Ikko the most powerful female action heroine ever to hit celluloid. At age 6 Ikko was safely put on a plane to Los Angeles by hitman Mayo but not before seeing her Yakuza boss father and mistress mother killed before her eyes. Flash forward 14 years. Ikko returns to Tokyo seeking revenge for the killings. She too calls herself the Black Angel styling herself after Mayo whom she remembers as a towering almost superhuman figure. When her target realises that she is after him and his gang he enlists the original Black Angel to wipe out Ikko and the stage is set for a violent reunion... (Dir. Takashi Ishii 1997) Gonin: Japanese Director Takashi Ishii's brutal hyperstylish hallucinogenic "" roller coaster"" of a movie takes a group of five desperate men through the robbery of a Yakuza gangster and the bloody revenge that follows. Ishii has assembled a cast of Japan's coolest actors including Naoto Takenaka (""Shall We Dance"") and the legendary 'Beat' Takeshi Kitano and his fluid sensual camera work creates sequences of unrivalled ballistic bloodshed. But what really raises this movie to a different level is the off-beat characters: 'Beat' Takeshi's sadistic portrayal of the one-eyed hitman gay hustlers and downtrodden ex-cops give 'Gonin' an eccentric film noir atmosphere that will blow you away. (Dir. Takashi Ishii 1995) Score: A gang of thieves come together for a jewellery heist one which they naturally carry out in their finest Reservoir Dogs outfits. All goes pretty much according to plan until a pair of psychotic highway robbers follow them to their hideout and attempt to part the gang from their loot... (Dir. Atsushi Muroga 1995)

• Gonza The Spearman | DVD | (30/08/2004) from £7.99   |  Saving you £12.00 (150.19%)   |  RRP £19.99

  A period drama adapted from the play by Monzaemon Chikamatsu (an 18th century playwright regarded as the Shakespeare of Japanese literature) telling of the tragic fate of handsome ladies man Gonza a master spearman in the Tokugawa Shogunate period. Forced to fight for his life when his repuation leads to false accusations of an affair with the daimyo's (local warlord) wife Gonza vows to clear his name. However in the process of proving his innocence love begins to take hold of th