Epic Chushingura

A nameless ronin, or samurai with no master, enters a small village in feudal Japan where two rival businessmen are struggling for control of the local gambling trade. Taking the name Sanjuro Kuwabatake, the ronin convinces both silk merchant Tazaemon and sake merchant Tokuemon to hire him as a personal bodyguard, then artfully sets in motion a full-scale gang war between the two ambitious and unscrupulous men.

Kiyoko (Takamine Hideko) and her husband want to open a coffee shop. She becomes increasingly close to the bank clerk (Mifune Toshiro) she's asked for a loan.

Toshiro Mifune swaggers and snarls to brilliant comic effect in Kurosawa's tightly paced, beautifully composed "Sanjuro." In this companion piece and sequel to "Yojimbo," jaded samurai Sanjuro helps an idealistic group of young warriors weed out their clan's evil influences, and in the process turns their image of a proper samurai on its ear.

A giant stone statue comes to life to protect the residents of a small town against the depradations of an evil warlord.

In late 19th century Tokyo, Kikunosuke Onoue, the adopted son of a legendary actor, himself an actor specializing in female roles, discovers that he is only praised for his acting due to his status as his father's heir. Devastated by this, he turns to Otoku, a servant of his family, for comfort, and they fall in love. Kikunosuke becomes determined to leave home and develop as an actor on his own merits, and Otoku faithfully follows him.

This is the story of "The Forty-Seven Ronin." Based on historical events in 1701-2, the movie tells the tale of the Asano clan's downfall and the revenge of its former samurai on the perpetrator of the catastrophe. Lord Asano was goaded, or tricked, into drawing his sword inside the Shogun's palace -- a crime which carried the death penalty. The newly installed Shogun was furious at Asano and ordered all his clan's assets seized, meaning some 20,000 samurai and commoners were unemployed and landless at a stroke. Forty-seven of these ronin (masterless samurai) banded together to take attempt revenge on Lord Kira, who had goaded Asano into drawing his sword.

An account of the life and work of legendary Japanese actor Toshirō Mifune (1920-97), the most prominent actor of the Golden Age of Japanese cinema.

This is an ensemble period drama adapted from Shotaro Ikenami's popular novel, featuring the famous Kabuki actor brothers Kinnosuke Manya and Katsuo Nakamura, who made the transition from the Kabuki world to the film industry, and a cast of gorgeous and diverse faces. The Edo period. Nagato Abe, a Hatamoto (a feudal lord), is annoyed by his son's bad behavior, and when it becomes a hindrance to his own career, he asks Otowaya Hanemon, a black marketeer, to assassinate his son. The target is then taken care of by the assassin, Umeyasu. In order to keep his mouth shut, Nagatomon no Mamoru also attempts to take Otowaya's life. Nagato's brother-in-law, Omiya Sahei, a corrupt merchant from the Kamigata region, also plans to replace Otowaya as the head of Edo's black market business, so Umebayashi and his fellow trapper Hikojiro set out to eliminate them.

Kon Ichikawa's retelling of the classic true story of Samurai honor. When a young clan lord is forced to commit seppuku (ritual suicide), his loyal followers (now Ronin, masterless Samurai) dedicate their lives to avenging his death.

When the 'Lowly Ronin' helps an orphaned teenage girl avoid being turned into a prostitute, she then claims he is her father and they start a farm as father and daughter until fate steps in and he must draw his sword.

Reprising his role from the popular TV series "Koya no Suronin" (The Lowly Ronin), Mifune Toshiro stars in this full-length, stand-alone made for TV movie. The wandering ronin is reminiscent of his most famous role as the samurai without a name in Kurosawa's "Yojimbo" and "Sanjuro". He travels about Japan, and while he may seek happiness, violence and tragedy always cross his path. This time it is a woman carrying a young infant who he encounters on the road that leads him into a tale of violence, intrigue and a village in uproar. A great story and cool action scenes, a movie not to be missed!

Feudal lord Takuminokami Asano has been led to kill himself due to a scheme by Kozukenosuke Kira. Having no time to mourn his death, samurai Kuranosuke Oishi decides to take revenge on Kira, planning an attack with the help of accountant Chosuke Yato… but they don't have enough in their budget.

While performing in a touring kabuki troupe, leading female impersonator Yukinojo comes across the three men who drove his parents to suicide twenty years earlier, and plans his revenge, firstly by seducing the daughter of one of them, secondly by ruining them.

In the continuing adventures of Nemuri Kyoshiro, noted film actor Tamura Masakazu stars again as the red-haired ronin with foreign blood in his veins. The son of a foreign missionary and a samurai's daughter. His mother died when he was a child, and he was forced to bury her himself, praying that her soul would rest in peace. He became an expert at swordsmanship, despite being in the shadow of isolation and nothingness, and walks the bloody path of destruction carrying his only friend, a razor sharp sword made by the Master, 'Peerless Masamune' to go with his unique Full Moon Sword style. After being accused of being a government spy, he falls ill and accepts the aid of a prostitute who nurses him back to health. As he prepares to leave the Chief Retainer of the Akita Clan asks him to help save the clan from an evil plot. Kyoshiro's deadly full moon cut will have to come into play against many who seek his life!

It's a rare occasion when a noted filmmaker like Yamauchi Tetsuya gets to re-visit a previous film, and in this re-make of NINJA GARI, he not only does that, but has created an even better piece. While the original from 1964 starred the great old-time actor Konoe Jushiro, this version is perfectly cast with his son Matsukata Hiroki in the lead as Wadakuro, one of four ronin hired to fight against the Shogunate's plot to abolish the Gamo Clan, who are struggling to reinstate their young heir Tanemaru as their Lord. Facing the threat of the Koga Ninja, Wadakuro shows his own cruelty while on a personal vendetta. This is a very brutal film, with lots of realistic ninja action, violent deaths, a dark story line and is completely without any light-hearted 'humor' elements that Toei used to incorperate back in the golden era. And with Matsukata Hiroki's outstanding martial skills, the swordplay is even better in this one. This is definitely one of the best ninja movies ever made!

Level Up was a live-action television series that is broadcast on Cartoon Network. A film with the same title, which served as a pilot for the series, premiered on November 23, 2011. The series premiered on Tuesday, January 24, 2012, at 8 p.m. ET/PT. The series later ended on February 19, 2013. It is one of the only Cartoon Network shows outside of Adult Swim to have the U.S. rating of TV-PG-V. Its rating in Canada for most episodes is "G", or else "PG".

Stella was a short-lived television series that originally ran from June 28, 2005 to August 30, 2005 on the American television channel Comedy Central, created by and starring Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter, and David Wain, the three members of the sketch comedy troupe of the same name and former cast members of MTV's The State. Stella, as a comedy troupe, has existed since 1997. It has a cult following and plays to sold out shows across the USA. The show aired on Tuesdays at 10:30 PM, EST. In September, after 10 episodes, Stella's timeslot was filled by Mind of Mencia. On March 8, 2006, the following message was posted on Stella's official website: "The STELLA series was on Comedy Central last summer. The network has officially decided not to renew it for a second season," thus effectively cancelling the series. The first season DVD was released on September 12, 2006. Episodes have also been available on iTunes and Hulu and some episodes on Joost. Stella premiered in Australia on The Comedy Channel on May 3, 2007.

Tokyo Friends is a Japanese television drama released on June 3, 2005. Unlike many other dramas, it was never aired on TV but released as a set of 3 DVDs. Volumes one and two contain the first 4 episodes while volume three contains the last episode. Each episode is approximately 70 minutes. The Tokyo Friends Premium Box was also released which includes all 5 episodes, a bonus DVD, and 12 postcards. Although this is a very typical Tokyo-story and was never aired on TV, it was quite successful probably because it was Ai Otsuka's debut as an actress.

Old Bear Stories was a BAFTA award winning stop frame animation television series for children based on the Old Bear and Friends books by Jane Hissey. Jane Hissey also created the television series, starting it on 24 September 1993, and creating 3 seasons, which ended on 24 December 1997 with a double-length Christmas special. In all, 41 episodes were made. The series was produced by Ealing Animation and was originally broadcast in the United Kingdom on ITV. Episodes have subsequently been repeated on Channel 5 in the UK, and are also broadcast in the United States and other countries worldwide. The show also aired for a short time on the CBC morning children's block in Canada. It also aired in the United States as part of Cartoon Network's Small World show. Episodes of the series were released on VHS by Carlton Video.

Redcap is a British television series produced by ABC Weekend Television and broadcast on the ITV network. It starred John Thaw as Sergeant John Mann, a member of the Special Investigation Branch of the Royal Military Police and ran for two series and 26 episodes between 1964 and 1966, being about 50 minutes in a 60 minute time slot. Surprisingly for a 1960s ABC Weekend Television programme, 23 of the 26 episodes still exist.

Queen Millennia is a manga series by Leiji Matsumoto which was serialized from 28 January 1980 through 11 May 1983 in both the Sankei Shimbun and Nishinippon Sports newspapers. The manga series was adapted into a 42-episode anime TV series by Toei Dōga and broadcast on the Fuji TV network from 16 April 1981 through 25 March 1982. An anime film was released on 13 March 1982 shortly before the TV series ended. The anime series was combined by Harmony Gold and Carl Macek with episodes from the 1978 Matsumoto series, Space Pirate Captain Harlock, and shown from 1985 to 1986 in the United States as the 65-episode Captain Harlock and the Queen of a Thousand Years. The series was broadcast in Germany on Tele 5 during 1992 and on Mangas in France in 2004.

Occult Academy is a Japanese anime television series produced by A-1 Pictures and Aniplex and directed by Tomohiko Itō. The 13-episode anime premiered in Japan on the TV Tokyo television network on July 6, 2010. Occult Academy is the third project of Anime no Chikara. It was shown by Crunchyroll an hour after the Japanese broadcast. A manga adaptation of the anime is currently serialized in Media Factory's Monthly Comic Alive. A series of DVD/Blu-ray releases are made over six volumes. Volumes one through five each contain two episodes from the series and comes with extras, such as bonus songs sung by various voice actors for the characters. The final volume covers the last three episodes There are also four spinoff episodes, the first of which is included with the second volume. The series has been picked up in North America by NIS America, who released the series on Blu-ray on May 8, 2012.

gdgd Fairies is a Japanese CG anime television series created and animated by Sōta Sugahara. The series aired on Tokyo MX between October 12, 2011 and December 28, 2011, and was also simulcast by Crunchyroll. A special episode aired in December 2012, and a second season began airing in January 2013.

Paul's Miraculous Adventure is an action-adventure anime television series created by Tatsunoko Productions. The series was broadcast across Japan on the Fuji TV network from October 3, 1976, to September 11, 1977, and lasted 50 half-hour episodes. The series director was Hiroshi Sasagawa, of Speed Racer and Tokimeki Tonight fame.

Continuing the tradition of the Yojimbo movies, Mifune Toshiro stars as Toge Kujuro, a wandering ronin searching for his own fame and happiness. With a sense of justice, he travels the countryside, with his motley collection of outcasts - a pistol-carrying ronin, a two-bit con artist and woman seeking revenge, following close behind, unwittingly righting wrongs and protecting the common man.

Izumo no Okuni was born about 1571. This time period in Japanese history was fraught with struggle. It was known as the Period of Warring States, that is, the land barrons (daimyo) fought against one another for power. Her father was a blacksmith for the Izumo Grand Shrine and, consequently, the family served as well. It was a custom to send priests and young women, such as Buddhist nuns, among others to solicit contributions. Izumo was sent to Kyoto to perform sacred dances and songs. Her Okuni Kabuki was known and applauded throughout the land. After 25 years she retired.

In the 1770's, the shrewdest man of the age, Tanuma Okitsugu, had abused his political power, and the corruption of government officials and moral decay of the public were prevalent. At that time, there was a box for complaints made by the general public. It was called "Meyasubako" and was placed at the front gate of the central government's Supreme Court. The appeals went directly to the shogun who assigned the “Otakagumi” (Falconers Unit) to investigate. Led by Uchiyama Kanbei (samurai superstar Mifune Toshiro) they fought injustice and helped the oppressed. Not only were they skilled swordsmen, but their trained falcons would swoop down on enemy troops, especially those using firearms. Superb fighting throughout with Mifune at the forefront in one of his finest roles. As the vile Tanuma Okitsugu continues to abuse his political power, more and more clashes with the Falcons of Edo, who stand for justice and morality are bound to occur, leading to a conclusion the likes of which has never been seen. Putting his life on the line, time and time again, Uchiyama Kanbei fights to prevent Tanuma from destroying the falconers’ group and take him to task for his vicious treatment of the Japanese people. Aided by his trusty Vice-Chief Ichiyanagi Kakuto, he wades bravely into battle in a land where “Take no prisoners” is the mantra. Brilliant fighting and a clever story line create a highly charged action series that brings out the best in samurai cinema. Can the Falcons of Edo prevail and save Japan from being crushed underfoot!

A wildly unusual story set in the earliest days of the Meiji era. The story centers around a gathering place called The Mermaid Saloon, where scantily clad pearl divers put on a show while two residents of the inn upstairs...

"Ako Roshi" is a group of 47 former retainers of Lord Asano. Lord Asano was forced to commit suicide after attempting to kill Lord Kira. Once the retainers hear about their Lord's death, they sacrifice their lives to regain the honor of their former master.

Monty Halls' Great Escape is a British television programme broadcast on BBC Two from 1 March 2009. Marine biologist Monty Halls escapes from the city to be a crofter in Applecross in the west of Scotland. In five episodes, Halls converts a down-trodden cattle shed - "beachcomber cottage" - into a small self-supporting farm, whilst documenting the local wildlife and society. A second series, Monty Halls' Great Hebridean Escape began airing on 21 April 2010. In Australia, it aired as Monty Halls' Island Escape starting on 28 December 2012. "Monty Halls' Great Irish Escape" was first aired on 11 August 2011.