The following titles are available for viewing at the Instructional
Media Library located in room 46 of the Powell
Building. They can be contacted at (310) 825-0755. Titles
with an asterisk (*) are kept at the Center office.
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
Sacred
Land, The
(Faces of Japan - Program 7)
|
Intervoice |
1986 |
VHS
color |
28 |
Credits:
Dick Briglia
and Masanori Nakasone.
Hosted by Dick Cavett. |
Summary:
A look at
the tradition of family farming in Japan through the story of
one family - Rihei Murai, a farmer, and his son, Kiyoto, who works
in the city and is uncertain whether to follow in his father's
footsteps. Transcript available. |
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
Sam
|
University
of California Extension Media Center |
1973 |
16mm
b&w |
20 |
Credits:
Margaret Lesser
Bach |
Summary:
Explores the
themes of culture and class through the portrayal of a Japanese-American
whose public persona, as the stereotypical Japanese gardener,
contrasts with his private life. He tells of his past, including
his internment during World War II, and his wife describes being
a victim of the atomic attack on Hiroshima. |
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
Samurai,
The
|
Landmark
Films |
1988 |
VHS
color |
30 |
Credits:
Christopher
McCullough |
Summary:
Shows the
making of one of the countless popular movies which re-create
the Samurai and their era in Japan, and examines how the Samurai
tradition lives on today in the business and industrial life of
the nation. |
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
*Sanjaku
Sagohei
(Sagohei the Three-Footer)
|
Kinema
Kurabu |
1943 |
VHS
b&w |
74 |
Credits:
Hideko Takamine,
Tamizo Ishida |
Summary:
In
Japanese, no subtitles. |
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
Sanshiro
Sugata
(Sugata Sanshiro)
|
Sony
Video |
1943 |
VHS
b&w |
82 |
Credits:
Director:
Akira Kurosawa; Screenplay: Akira Kurosawa; Producer: Keiji Matsuzaki;
Cinematography: Akira Mimura; Music: Seiichi Suzuki. Cast Includes:
Ryunosuke Tsukigata, Akitake Kôno, Shôji Kiyokawa, Kunio Mita,
Akira Nakamura, Sugisaku Aoyama, Kokuten Kodo, Ichirô Sugai, Susumu
Fujita, Ranko Hanai, Yoshio Kosugi, Denjiro Okochi, Takashi Shimura,
Yukiko Todoroki. |
Summary:
A handsome
but innocent young man sets out to learn judo in a quest for philosophical
knowledge, but events force him into a showdown with a great jujitsu
master. Director Akira Kurosawa's first film. In Japanese, with
English subtitles. Reviews.
|
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
Sansho the
Bailiff
(Sansho Dayu)
|
Sony
Video |
1954 |
VHS
b&w |
132 |
Credits:
Director:
Kenji Mizoguchi; Screenplay: Yahiro Fuji, Yoshikata Yoda; Producer:
Masaichi Nagata; Music: Fumio Hayasaka, Tamekichi Mochizuki, Kanahichi
Odera; Cinematography: Kazuo Miyagawa. Cast Includes: Kinuyo Tanaka,
Yoshiaki Hanayagi, Kyôko Kagawa, Eitarô Shindô, Akitake Kôno,
Masao Shimizu, Ken Mitsuda, Kazukimi Okuni, Yôko Kosono, Noriko
Tachibana, Ichirô Sugai, Teruko Omi, Masahiko Kato, Keiko Enami,
Bontarô Akemi, Chieko Naniwa, Kikue Mori, Ryosuke Kagawa, Kanji
Koshiba, Shinobu Araki, Reiko Kondo, Shozu Nambu, Ryonusuke Azuma,
Saburo Date, Sumao Ishihara, Ichirô Amano, Yukio Horikita, Hachiro
Okuni, Jun Fujikawa, Akiyoshi Kikuno, Soji Shibata, Akira Shimizu,
Goro Nakanishi. |
Summary:
When
a provincial governor is exiled, his children are sentenced to
a nightmarish existence in a slave camp run by a cruel bailiff.
A portrait of the stuggle between the best and worst of the human
soul. In Japanese, with English subtitles. Reviews.
|
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
* Search
for Opportunity, The
(Program 14 of Japan: the Changing Tradition)
|
GPN |
1978 |
VHS
color |
28 |
Credits:
Please see
entry for Japan: the Changing Tradition. |
Summary:
Describes
the importance of education in the success of the Japanese. Begins
with a discussion of kyoiku mama, or "education mom,"
with an introduction to the educational system and rounds of examinations
one must pass in order to attend a university or obtain managerial
or bureaucratic positions. Presents the employment situation for
women and older persons in Japan. Includes discrimination in the
work force in respect to minorities in Japan including Chinese,
Koreans, and burakumin. |
| Title |
Distributor |
Year |
Format |
Time
(in minutes) |
|
Secrets of the Samurai
|
|
2003 |
VHS, color |
25 |
Credits:
A Discovery Channel production. |
Summary:
The martial achievements of the samurai, Japan's medieval warriors, were a blend of military innovation and personal commitment to self-mastery. This program reveals much of thescience behind the samurai arts of war. Sadatoshi Gassan, a traditional swordsmith whose family has made weapons for 800 years, demonstrates the revolutionary metallurgical method that still yields the strongest, sharpest blades possible. Masami Ozawa of the Tokyo National Museum shows the ingenious composite armor devised to thwart the katana, or samurai sword. Architectural historian William Coaldrake provides a tour of engineering features in Japan's most formidable castle of the feudal era. |
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
*Seiki no
Gassho
(Aikoku koshin kyoku)
|
Kinema
Kurabu |
1938 |
VHS
b&w |
78 |
Credits:
Osamu Fushimizu |
Summary:
In Japanese, no subtitles.
|
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
Senso Daughters
|
First
Run / Icarus Films |
1989 |
VHS
color |
54 |
Credits:
Director:
Noriko Sekiguchi |
Summary:
During
WWII, as many as 140,000 Japanese troops died in Papua New Guinea.
Only 11,000 returned. Considered the "Forgotten War," neither
the war nor its veterans received public recognition. Senso Daughters
investigates another unacknowledged tragedy of that campaign:
the army's mistreatment of New Guinean women and "comfort girls."
Since women had no official military status except as nurses,
90,000 comfort girls were shipped to battlesites as "military
commodities," without names or identities, without records to
be traced by. |
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
Seven Samurai
(Shichinin no samurai)
|
Public
Media Home Vision |
1954 |
VHS
b&w |
208 |
Credits:
Director:
Akira Kurosawa; Screenplay: Shinobu Hashimoto, Akira Kurosawa,
Hideo Oguni; Producers: Sojiro Motoki; Music: Fumio Hayasaka;
Cinematography: Asakazu Nakai. Cast Includes: Takashi Shimura,
Toshirô Mifune, Yoshio Inaba, Seiji Miyaguchi, Minoru Chiaki,
Daisuke Katô, Isao Kimura, Kamatari Fujiwara, Kokuten Kodo, Bokuzen
Hidari, Yoshio Kosugi, Yoshio Tsuchiya, Keiji Sakakida, Jiro Kumagai,
Haruko Toyama, Tsuneo Katagiri, Yasuhisa Tsutsumi, Keiko Tsushima,
Toranosuke Ogawa, Yu Akitsu, Noriko Sengoku, Gen Shimizu, Jun
Tatara, Atsushi Watanabe, Sojin, Kichijiro Ueda, Shinpei Takagi,
Akira Tani, Haruo Nakajima, Takashi Narita, Senkichi Omura, Shuno
Takahara, Masanobu Ôkubo, Shoichi Hirose, Tatsuya Nakadai, Junpei
Natsuki, Sachio Sakai, Yukiko Shimazaki, Jun Tazaki, Eijirô Tono,
Isao Yamagata. |
Summary:
Action-adventure
epic about a 16th century farm community led by a band of samurai
warriors defending itself from a maurading army. Influenced a
generation of motion picture directors, from Sam Peckinpah to
Sergio Leone, and inspired an American remake, The Magnificent
Seven. In Japanese, with English subtitles. Reissue, produced
by Isaac Mizrahi, includes supplementary material, including an
audio essay by Michael Jeck discussing the making of the film,
its importance in Japanese film history, and the collaboration
between Toshiro Mifune and Akira Kurosawa. In Japanese with English
subtitles. Reviews.
|
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
Shadow Warrior
(Kagemusha)
|
Fox
Video |
1980 |
VHS
color |
160 |
Credits:
Director:
Akira Kurosawa; Screenplay: Masato Ide, Akira Kurosawa. Producers:
Francis Ford Coppola, Akira Kurosawa, George Lucas, Tomoyuki Tanaka;
Music: Shinichirô Ikebe; Cinematography: Kazuo Miyagawa, Asakazu
Nakai, Takao Saitô, Masaharu Ueda, Shoji Ueda. Cast Includes:
Tatsuya Nakadai, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Kenichi Hagiwara, Kota Yui,
Shuji Otaki, Hideo Murota, Takayuki Shiho, Shuhei Sugimori, Noburo
Shimizu, Koji Shimizu, Sen Yamamoto, Daisuke Ryu, Masayuki Yui,
Yasuhito Yamanaka, Takashi Shimura. |
Summary:
An
epic drama of feudal conflict in 16th century Japan. Shingen,
a powerful warlord, is mortally wounded in battle and orders his
followers to find a double to replace him, in order to keep his
death a secret and thus avert an enemy attack. The "shadow warrior"
chosen is a petty criminal who must transform himself into a great
leader in order to command the allegience of 25,000 samurai warriors.
In Japanese, with English subtitles.
Reviews.
|
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
*Shall We
Dance?
(Shall We Dansu?)
|
Miramax
Home Entertainment |
1996 |
VHS
color |
119 |
Credits:
Director:
Masayuki Suo; Screenplay: Masayuki Suo. Cast Includes: Koji Yakusho,
Tamiyo Kusakari, Naoto Takenaka, Eriko Watanabe, Yu Tokui, Hiromasa
Taguchi, Reiko Kusamura, Hideko Hara, Shûichirô Moriyama, Masahiro
Motoki, Misa Shimizu, Akira Emoto. |
Summary:
Here's
the irresistible comedy treat that has critics and audiences cheering
all across America! 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 colorfully eccentric class of beginners! And
now he'll have to step lightly - and do some fancy footwork -
if he expects to keep his new secret passion from his family and
friends! You'll love every minute of this crowd-pleasing motion
picture!
In Japanese, with English subtitles.
Reviews.
|
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
Shimon
(Fingerprint)
|
Visual
Communications |
1990 |
VHS
color |
27 |
Credits:
Director:
Kaz Takeuchi |
Summary:
An
in-depth study of racism in Japan, where a long history of civil
and social oppression of the minority population prevents native-born
Japanese of Korean ancestry and other minorities from obtaining
citizenship and other fundamental rights. The Alien Registration
Law, commonly called the fingerprint law, has become the unifying
issue for Koreans and Japanese who seek reform of Japan's discriminatory
policies.
|
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
Shinjuku
Boys
|
Women
Make Films |
1995 |
16mm/Video |
53 |
Credits:
Director:
Kim Longinotto & Jano Williams |
Summary:
From
the makers of Dream Girls, Shinjuku Boys introduces three onnabes
who work as hosts at the New Marilyn Club in Tokyo. Onnabes are
women who live as men and have girlfriends, although they don't
usually identify as lesbians. As the film follows them at home
and on the job, all three talk frankly to the camera about their
gender-bending lives, revealing their views about women, sex,
transvestitism and lesbianism. Alternating with these illuminating
interviews are fabulous sequences shot inside the Club, patronized
almost exclusively by heterosexual women who have become disappointed
with real men. This is a remarkable documentary about the complexity
of female sexuality in Japan today. Winner of the Chicago Film
Festival's Silver Hugo and the Houston Film Festival's Gold Award.
|
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
Shinto :
Festival Music
|
University
of Oklahoma Center for Music Television |
1994 |
VHS
color |
30 |
Credits:
Eugene Enrico; David
Smeal |
Summary:
Explains
the variety of musical tradition of the Shinto festival. Introduces
the rituals and the use of instruments of Shinto and discusses
the rich tradition of Japanese mythology. Filmed in Tokyo at the
1993 Sanja Matsuri in the Asakusa district and at the Sumiyoshi,
Hachiman, and the Meiji shrines. The elaborate mime and dance
is accompanied by the Hayashi Ensemble led by Taneo Wakayama.
|
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
*Shinto:
Nature, Gods, and Man in Japan
|
Japan
Society in New York |
1977 |
VHS
color |
50 |
Credits:
Peter
Grilli, David Westphal |
Summary:
Shinto:
Nature, Gods, and Man in Japan, a film of extraordinary beauty,
introduces the fundamental philosophical, ethical, and aesthetic
beliefs of the Shinto tradition. It takes the viewer on a journey
to the heart of Shinto, to Japan's most ancient ritual sites and
most sacred shrines, to prehistoric ceremonies still performed
today, to local festivals and seasonal celebrations. |
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
Silk Road
(12 Volume Series)
|
Central
Park Media |
1990 |
VHS
color |
55
each |
Credits:
NHK Series |
Summary:
Journey
thousands of miles from China to Rome, exploring the art, culture
and history of Asia, on the fabled Silk Road linking Europe and
China, traveled by Marco Polo. Twelve 55 minute video cassettes.
1) Silk Road 1: Glories of Ancient Chang-An 2) Silk Road 2: A
Thousand Kilometers Beyond the Yellow River 3) Silk Road 3: The
Art Gallery in the Desert 4) Silk Road 4: The Dark Castle 5) Silk
Road 5: In Search of the Kingdom of Lou-Lan 6) Silk Road 6: Across
the Taklamakan Desert 7) Silk Road 7: Khotan-Oasis of Silk and
Jade 8) Silk Road 8: A Heat Wave Called Turfan 9) Silk Road 9:
Through Tian Shan Mountains by Rail 10) Silk Road 10: Journey
Into Music: South Through the Tian Shan Mountains 11) Silk Road
11: Where Horses Fly Like the Wind 12) Silk Road 12: Two Roads
to the Pamirs. |
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
Silk Road
1: Glories of Ancient Chang-An
|
Central
Park Media |
1990 |
VHS
color |
55
|
Credits:
NHK Series |
Summary:
|
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
Silk Road
2: A Thousand Kilometers Beyond the Yellow River
|
Central
Park Media |
1990 |
VHS
color |
55
|
Credits:
NHK Series |
| Summary:
|
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
Silk Road
3: The Art Gallery in the Desert
|
Central
Park Media |
1990 |
VHS
color |
55
|
Credits:
NHK Series |
Summary:
|
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
Silk Road
4: The Dark Castle
|
Central
Park Media |
1990 |
VHS
color |
55
|
Credits:
NHK Series |
Summary:
|
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
Silk Road
5: In Search of the Kingdom of Lou-Lan
|
Central
Park Media |
1990 |
VHS
color |
55
|
Credits:
NHK Series |
Summary:
|
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
Silk Road
6: Across the Taklamakan Desert
|
Central
Park Media |
1990 |
VHS
color |
55
|
Credits:
NHK Series |
Summary:
|
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
Silk Road
7: Khotan-Oasis of Silk and Jade
|
Central
Park Media |
1990 |
VHS
color |
55
|
Credits:
NHK Series |
| Summary:
|
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
Silk Road
8: A Heat Wave Called Turfan
|
Central
Park Media |
1990 |
VHS
color |
55
|
Credits:
NHK Series |
Summary:
|
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
Silk Road
9: Through Tian Shan Mountains by Rail
|
Central
Park Media |
1990 |
VHS
color |
55
|
Credits:
NHK Series |
Summary:
|
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
Silk Road 10: Journey Into Music: South Through the Tian Shan Mountains
|
Central
Park Media |
1990 |
VHS
color |
55
|
Credits:
NHK Series |
Summary:
|
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
Silk Road
11: Where Horses Fly Like the Wind
|
Central
Park Media |
1990 |
VHS
color |
55
|
Credits:
NHK Series |
Summary:
|
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
Silk Road
12: Two Roads to the Pamirs
|
Central
Park Media |
1990 |
VHS
color |
55
|
Credits:
NHK Series |
Summary:
|
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
Simple Good
Time, A
(Journey into Japan)
|
Landmark
Films |
1988 |
VHS
color |
30 |
Credits:
Christopher
McCullough |
Summary:
Follows
a group of Japanese factory workers on a weekend tour of the island
of Kyushu. |
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
Small Business,
A
(Faces of Japan - Program 10)
|
Intervoice
|
1986 |
VHS
color |
28 |
Credits:
Dick Briglia and Masanori
Nakasone. Hosted by Dick Cavett. |
Summary:
A look
at small business enterprises in Japan, the antithesis of the
super-efficient giant corporations known around the world. At
the mercy of even small fluctuations in the economy, these businesses
struggle to survive in a highly competitive world. Transcript
available. |
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
Snow Country
(Yukiguni)
|
Japan
Society |
1957 |
VHS
b&w |
134 |
Credits:
Director: Shirô Toyoda;
Screenplay: Toshio Yasumi. Cast Includes: Ryo Ikebe, Keiko Kishi,
Akira Kubo, Hisaya Morishige, Chieko Naniwa, Maruo Tanaka, Kaoru
Yachigusa. |
Summary:
Adapted
from Yasunari Kawabata's novel, the story of a love triangle between
a Tokyo writer, a beautiful geisha, and her stepsister, set in
a hot spring resort high in the snowy mountains. Study guide available.
In Japanese, with English subtitles.
|
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
* Society
and the Individual
(Program 13 of Japan: the Changing Tradition)
|
GPN |
1978 |
VHS
color |
28 |
Credits:
Please see
entry for Japan: the Changing Tradition. |
Summary:
Contrasts
the traditional family unit with the modern family unit. Suggests
that many modern Japanese find their chief group identity at their
places of work with the modern business unit the chief successor
to the traditional village and feudal domain as the focus of the
group spirit. |
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
Spirits of the State: Japan's Yasukuni Shrine
|
Films for the Humanities and Sciences/td>
| 2005 |
DVD
|
28 |
Credits:
Produced by John Nelson of USF. |
Summary:
Tokyo’s Yasukuni shrine honors and venerates the spirits of Japanese soldiers and officers—including convicted and executed war criminals. This program explores the history of the Shinto shrine, the complexity of its functions, and the controversies generated when political leaders appear there. Interviews with visitors, an inside look at the shrine’s adjacent museum of war memorabilia, and a discussion of what has become known as “state Shinto” create a context in which reverence for the enshrined may be understood. A rare view of Japanese nationalism and the political use of religious traditions, Spirits of the State offers valuable insight into the continuing and contested legacies of World War II. Available in the U.S., Canada, Asia, Australia |
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
Story of
Noriko, The
(Faces of Japan - Program 1)
|
Intervoice |
1986 |
VHS
color |
28 |
Credits:
Dick Briglia and Masanori Nakasone. Hosted
by Dick Cavett. |
Summary:
A look at
the conflicts and struggles faced by Noriko Ohtsuka, a young Japanese
woman who is attempting to forge a career for herself despite
the forces of traditions unchanged for centuries. Transcript available.
|
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
*Story of
a Prostitute
(Shunpu den)
|
Home
Vision Cinema |
1965 |
VHS
b&w |
96 |
Credits:
Director: Seijun Suzuki; Screenplay: Hajime Takaiwa;
Music: Naozumi Yamamoto; Cinematography: Kazue Nagatsuka. Cast
Includes: Sokoto Kasai, Tamio Kawachi, Yumiko Nogawa, Shoichi
Ozawa, Isao Tamagawa. |
Summary:
Harumi, a
heart-broken woman, volunteers to become a prostitute serving
soldiers on the Manchurian front in World War II. One of seven
‘comfort women' expected to meet the needs of a garrison of 1,000
men, Harumi is commandeered as the sole property of brutal commander
Narita (Isao Tamagawa) but falls in love with the sensitive Mikami
(Tamio Kawachi), Narita's direct subordinate. When Mikami deserts
his post one night to go to Harumi and Chinese soldiers capture
the base, both pay a terrible price for their passion. In Japanese
with English subtitles. Reviews.
|
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
Stray Dog
(Nora inu)
|
Facets
Video |
1949 |
VHS
b&w |
122 |
Credits:
Director: Akira Kurosawa; Screenplay: Ryuzo Kikushima,
Akira Kurosawa. Cast Includes: Keiko Awaji, Minoru Chiaki, Ishirô
Honda, Isao Kimura, Toshirô Mifune, Haruo Nakajima, Noriko Sengoku,
Takashi Shimura, Hajime Taniguchi, Reisaburo Yamamoto. |
Summary:
A murder mystery
set in Tokyo in the late 40's. A rookie Detective, Murakami, loses
his gun only to discover that it has fallen into the hands of
a killer. In Japanese with English subtitles. |
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
Struggle
& Success: The African American in Japan
|
Struggle
& Success Film Library |
1993 |
VHS
color |
87 |
Credits:
Regge Life |
Summary:
A look at
African Americans living and working in Japan. Contrary to the
negative perceptions of most Americans, many African Americans
profess to find Japanese culture overall more tolerant that American
culture, and offer an enthusiastic and passionate endorsement
of their adopted home. |
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
Sun's Burial,
The
(Taiyo no hakaba)
|
New
Yorker Video |
1960 |
VHS
color |
87 |
Credits:
Director: Nagisa Oshima; Screenplay: Toshirô Ishido,
Nagisa Oshima. Cast Includes: Junzaburo Ban, Kamatari Fujiwara,
Jun Hamamura, Bokuzen Hidari, Kayoko Honoo, Kyu Ito, Yusuke Kawazu,
Tanie Kitabayashi, Asao Koike, Hosei Komatsu, Ichirô Nagai, Koji
Nakahara, Eitarô Ozawa, Isao Sasaki, Kei Sato, Gen Shimizu, Kunie
Tanaka, Kunie Tominaga, Matsuhiro Toura, Masahiko Tsugawa, Fumio
Watanabe. |
Summary:
Probes the
underworld of Osaka's biggest slum, a hellhole where teenage gangs,
prostitutes, and an exquisitely cruel femme-fatale vie for control
of the area's most profitable business - an illegal blood-selling
operation that preys on impoverished dock workers all to eager
to trade blood for booze money. In Japanese, with English subtitles. |
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
Sword and
the Chrysanthemum, The
(Japan, Part 2)
|
MPI
Video |
1987 |
VHS
color |
60 |
Credits:
WTTW-TV, Chicago and Central Independent Television.
Hosted by Jane Seymour. |
Summary:
Examines
what the West sees as an essential paradox in Japanese society
- the Samurai warrior, who combines an appreciation of beauty
and high culture with fighting aggression. Shows how the warrior
tradition permeates everday Japanese life today, from rock gardens
to the violence of comic books and television programs. |
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
Sword of
Doom
(Dai-bosatsu toge)
|
Janus
Films |
1967 |
VHS
b&w |
120 |
Credits:
Director:Kihachi Okamoto; Screenplay: Shinobu
Hashimoto; Producer: Sanezumi Fujimoto, Masayuki Sato; Music:
Masaru Satô; Cinematography: Hiroshi Murai. Cast Includes: Michiyo
Aratama, Yuzo Kayama, Toshirô Mifune, Yôko Naito, Tatsuya Nakadai,
Tadao Nakamaru, Ko Nishimura, Kei Sato, Eisei Amamoto. |
Summary:
A bloodthirsty
samurai slices and chops his way from town to town, unfettered
by any sense of honor. When the samurai comes to the town of a
virtuous fencing teacher, the clash between the power of good
against the forces of evil is waged to an ultraviolent climax.
In Japanese with English subtitles. Reviews. |
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
*Tale
of Genji, The
|
Films
for the Humanities and Sciences |
1993 |
VHS
color |
60 |
Credits:
Films
for the Humanities and Sciences
|
Summary:
The
Tale of Genji is one of world literature's earliest novels. Its
author, Murasaki Shikibu, is surely the world's first woman novelist.
This extraordinary beautiful program traces the plot through the
panels of a series of illustrated handscrolls dating from the
early 12th century. The program explains both Genji's
adventures and the visual effects created by the paintings, decorated
paper, and calligraphy of the scrolls, making accessible to Western
audiences a formative work of Japanese culture and one of the
milestones of world literature. |
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
Tampopo
(Dandelion)
|
Republic
Pictures Home Video |
1986 |
VHS
color |
114 |
Credits:
Director:
Juzo Itami; Screenplay: Juzo Itami; Producer: Seigo Hosogoe, Juzo
Itami, Yasushi Tamaoki; Music: Kunihiko Murai; Cinematography:
Masaki Tamura. Cast Includes: Tsutomu Yamazaki, Nobuko Miyamoto,
Koji Yakusho, Mario Abe, Yoriko Douguchi, Isao Hashizume, Mampei
Ikeuchi, Toshimune Kato, Yoshi Kato, Fukumi Kuroda, Tsuguho Narita,
Motoo Noguchi, Shuji Otaki, Yoshihei Saga, Kinzoh Sakura, Kuizo
Sakura, Saburo Satoki, Setsuko Shino, Hitoshi Takagi, Choei Takahashi,
Akio Tanaka, Masahiko Tsugawa, Ken Watanabe, Rikiya Yasuoka. |
Summary:
A satire
about food, sex, American westerns and Japanese samurai films.
Follows the life of a young widow who runs a small noodle restaurant
in Tokyo, and yearns to make the perfect bowl of noodles. In Japanese,
with English subtitles. Reviews.
|
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
Taxing Woman,
A
(Marusa no onna)
|
Fox/Lorber
Home Video |
1987 |
VHS
color |
127 |
Credits:
Director:
Juzo Itami; Screenplay: Juzo Itami. Cast Includes: Masahiko Tsugawa,
Shinsuke Ashida, Nobuko Miyamoto, Hideo Murota, Shuji Otaki, Tsutomu
Yamazaki. |
Summary:
Ryoko,
Tokyo's hardest working female tax inspector, meets her match
in tax cheat extraordinaire Gondo, and the two embark on a madcap
game of cat and mouse when she attempts to audit his highly lucrative
chain of "love hotels." In Japanese, with English subtitles. Reviews.
|
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
Taxing Woman
Returns, A
(Marusa no onna II)
|
New
Yorker Video |
1988 |
VHS
color |
127 |
Credits:
Director:
Juzo Itami; Screenplay: Juzo Itami. Cast Includes: Nobuko Miyamoto,
Rentaro Mikuni, Masahiko Tsugawa, Tetsuro Tamba, Toru Masuoka,
Kôichi Ueda, Mansaku Fuwa, Takeya Nakamura, Kitaro. |
Summary:
Ryoko,
Tokyo's hardest working female tax inspector, investigates a corrupt
fundamentalist religious order led by the formidable Onizawa,
who employs outrageious strongarm techniques to evict the tenants
who stand in the way of a lucrative landgrab scheme. In Japanese,
with English subtitles. Reviews.
|
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
*Textured Lives: Stories from the Plantatations of Hawai'i
|
Japanese American National Museum |
2010 |
DVD color |
50 |
Credits: DVD Producer Akira Boch, Executive Producer John Esaki |
Summary:
A collection of stories that gives voice to the unknown tales and innumerable hardships of the early Japanese immigrants to Hawai'i.
|
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
* Three
Families
(Program 16 of Japan: the Changing Tradition)
|
GPN |
1978 |
VHS
color |
28 |
Credits:
Please see
entry for Japan: the Changing Tradition. |
|
Summary:
Looks at
contemporary Japanese life by following the daily routines of
three different types of family--those of a farmer, a small
independent businessman, and a middle-management worker in a
small company.
|
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
Throne of
Blood
(Kumonosu-ju)
|
Media
Home Entertainment |
1957 |
VHS
b&w |
110 |
Credits:
Director:
Akira Kurosawa; Screenplay: Shinobu Hashimoto, Ryuzo Kikushima,
Akira Kurosawa, Hideo Oguni; Producer: Akira Kurosawa, Sojiro
Motoki; Music: Masaru Satô; Cinematography: Asakazu Nakai. Cast
Includes: Toshirô Mifune, Isuzu Yamada, Minoru Chiaki, Takashi
Shimura, Akira Kubo, Hiroshi Tachikawa, Chieko Naniwa, Takamaru
Sasaki, Yoshio Tsuchiya, Isao Kimura. |
|
Summary:
Akira Kurosawa's
acclaimed version of Shakespeare's "Macbeth," set in 16th century
Japan. Interweaves the complexity and force of the original
into the Japanese culture of the period, offering new insights
within the timeless themes of greed and ambition. In Japanese,
with English subtitles. Reviews.
|
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
To Die, to
Live : The Survivors of Hiroshima
|
Films
Incorporated |
1975 |
16mm
color |
60 |
Credits:
British Broadcasting
Corp. |
|
Summary:
Presents
the thoughts and feelings of survivors of the 1945 atomic bombing
of Hiroshima. Examines their guilt at being alive while their
friends and families are dead, and the continuing effects of
radiation exposure.
|
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
Tokyo Drifter
(Tokyo nagaremono)
|
The Criterion Collection |
1966 |
laser
disk, color |
83 |
Credits:
Director:
Seijun Suzuki; Screenplay: Yasunori Kawauchi. Cast Includes: Tsuyoshi
Yoshida, Ryuji Kita, Hideaki Esumi, Eiji Go, Tamio Kawaji, Chieko
Matsubara, Hideaki Nitani, Tetsuya Watari. |
|
Summary:
In this
"free-jazz" ganster film, reformed killer "Phonex" Tetsu drifts
around Japan, awaiting his own execution until he's called back
to Tokyo to help battle a rival gang. In Japanese, with English
subtitles. Reviews.
|
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
Tokyo Olympiad:
A Classic Documentary of the 1964 Olympics: Volume 1
|
Public
Media Home Vision |
1965 |
VHS
color |
85
|
Credits:
Director:
Kon Ichikawa; Writer: Natto Wada; Music: Toshiro Mayuzumi. |
|
Summary:
The
Tokyo Olympiad's colorful pageantry and emotional intensity
are captured by one of the world's finest directors. A celebration
of Japan's post-war recovery and an artistic statement about
athletic competition. Volume
1 features the opening ceremony, track and field, and gymnastics.In
Japanese, with English subtitles.
|
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
Tokyo Olympiad:
A Classic Documentary of the 1964 Olympics: Volume 2
|
Public
Media Home Vision |
1965 |
VHS
color |
85
|
Credits:
Director:
Kon Ichikawa; Writer: Natto Wada; Music: Toshiro Mayuzumi. |
|
Summary:
The
Tokyo Olympiad's colorful pageantry and emotional intensity
are captured by one of the world's finest directors. A celebration
of Japan's post-war recovery and an artistic statement about
athletic competition. Volume 2 features swimming, soccer, the
marathon, and closing ceremony. In Japanese, with English subtitles.
|
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
*Tokyo Rhapsody
|
Kinema
Kurabu |
1936 |
VHS
b&w |
69 |
Credits:
Director:
Osamu Fushimizu |
|
Summary:
In
Japanese, no subtitles.
|
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
Tokyo Story
(Tokyo Monogatari)
|
New
Yorker Video |
1953 |
VHS
b&w |
139 |
Credits:
Director:
Yasujiro Ozu; Screenplay: Kôgo Noda, Yasujiro Ozu. Cast Includes:
Chishu Ryu, Chieko Higashiyama, Toru Abu, Junko Anan, Setsuko
Hara, Kyôko Kagawa, Sachiko Mitani, Kuniko Miyake, Kyôko Mizuki,
Mitsuhiro Mori, Zen Murase, Teruko Nagaoka, Nobuo Nakamura, Shirô
Osaka, Mutsuko Sakura, Haruko Sugimura, Toyoko Takahashi, Hisao
Toake, Yoshiko Togawa, Eijirô Tono, Sô Yamamura. |
|
Summary:
A
deceptively simple tale of an elderly couple who journey to
Tokyo, where they are received less than enthusiastically by
their grown-up children, until generational conflicts are momentarily
stilled by death. In Japanese, with English subtitles. Reviews.
|
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
Tokyo Trial,
The : International Military Tribunal for the Far East
(3 Volumes)
|
Films
for the Humanities and Sciences |
1988 |
VHS
b&w |
279 |
Credits:
Director:
Masaki Kobayashi; Writers: Shun Inagaki, Kiyoshi Ogasawara, Ryu
Yasutake. |
|
Summary:
An exhaustive history of Japan from the 1894
Sino-Japanese War through the International Military Tribunal
for the Far East, which followed World War II. Extensive archival
footage offers a detailed look at 20th century Japan, placing
its affairs into the contest of other world events.
|
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
Tora-san
Goes to Vienna
(Otoko wa tsurai yo: Torajiro kokoro no tabiji)
|
Kino
International Films |
1990 |
VHS
color |
109 |
Credits:
Director:
Yoji Yamada; Screenplay: Yoshitaka Asama, Yoji Yamada. Cast Includes:
Kiyoshi Atsumi, Chieko Baisho, Keiko Takeshita, Keiko Awaji, Akira
Emoto, Gin Maeda, Masami Shimojoe, Chieko Misaki, Hidetaka Yoshioka,
Hisao Dazai, Chishu Ryu. |
|
Summary:
The fifty-first chapter in the world's longest
running film series finds the beloved tramp, Tora-san, accompanying
a suicidal businessman on a vacation to Vienna.
|
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
*Traffic
Jam
(Jutai)
|
Water
Bearer Films |
1991 |
VHS
color |
108 |
Credits:
Director:
Mitsuo Kurotsuchi; Screenplay: Mitsuo Kurotsuchi, Mineyo Sato.
Cast Includes: Kenichi Hagiwara, Hitomi Kuroki, Junko Takarada,
Shingo Yuzawa, Emiko Azuma, Katsuo Nakamura, Eiji Okada. |
|
Summary:
On the New Year's holiday, a classic modern
"salaried man" decides to take his family to visit his parents
on an island about 300 miles away from Tokyo. To save on expenses,
they travel by car. The normally eight hour trip goes awry when
they become trapped in Japan's famous gridlock. The return to
the island home becomes a modern day "Odyssey," Japanese style.
Through a series of misadventures, they finally arrive but with
only hours to spare before having to head home and face the
"Traffic Jam" once again! In Japanese with English subtitles.
|
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
*Tsuchi
|
Kinema
Kurabu |
1935 |
VHS
b&w |
88 |
Credits:
|
|
Summary:
In Japanese,
no subtitles.
|
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
Ugetsu
(Ugetsu monogatari)
|
Embassy
Home Video |
1953 |
VHS
b&w |
96 |
Credits:
Director:
Kenji Mizoguchi; Screenplay: Matsutarô Kawaguchi, Yoshikata Yoda;
Producer; Masaichi Nagata; Music: Fumio Hayasaka, Tamekichi Mochizuki,
Ichirô Saitô; Cinematography: Kazuo Miyagawa. Cast Includes: Masayuki
Mori, Machiko Kyô, Kinuyo Tanaka, Eitarô Ozawa, Ikio Sawamura,
Mitsuko Mito, Kikue Mori, Ryosuke Kagawa, Eigore Onoe, Saburo
Date, Sugisaku Aoyama, Reiko Kondo, Shozo Nanbu, Kozabuno Ramon,
Ichirô Amano, Kichijiro Ueda, Teruko Omi, Keiko Koyanagi, Mitsusaburô
Ramon, Kichijiro Tsuchida, Sugisaka Koyama. |
|
Summary:
Complex
fable of the dangers of vanity and ambition, set during the
civil wars of 16th century Japan. Two peasants abandon their
families to seek their fortunes in the spoils of war. In attaining
his goal, each man destroys his own life. In Japanese, with
English subtitles. Reviews.
|
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
Uncertain
Harvest, An
(Faces of Japan - Program 21)
|
Intervoice |
1986 |
VHS
color |
28 |
Credits:
Dick Briglia
and Masanori Nakasone.
Hosted by Dick Cavett. |
|
Summary:
Looks
at the uncertain future faced by rice farmers such as Masatoshi
Sato of northern Japan's Akita prefecture. Despite generations
of family farming, falling rice prices and rising expenses are
forcing the traditional farmer to consider other options, notably
to work away from home for the months that he is not absolutely
needed on the farm. Transcript available.
|
|
Title
|
Distributor
|
Year
|
Format
|
Time
(in minutes)
|
|
*Utau Yaji
Kita
|
Kinema
Kurabu |
1937 |
VHS
b&w |
58 |
Credits:
Takashi Okada, Osamu
Fushimizu |
|
Summary:
In
Japanese, no subtitles.
|
