trailers.fm
trailers.fm / Guide / 1960s + Japanese
Japanese films from the 1960s
The best 100 of 330
- 1
Harakiri
Down-on-his-luck veteran Tsugumo Hanshirō enters the courtyard of the prosperous House of Iyi. Unemployed, and with no family, he hopes to find a place to commit seppuku—and a worthy second to deliver the coup de grâce in his suicide ritual
- 2
High and Low
A Yokohama shoe executive faces a wrenching choice when kidnappers mistakenly seize his chauffeur’s son but demand the ransom anyway.
- 3
Yojimbo
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.
- 4
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.
- 5
Woman in the Dunes
A vacationing entomologist suffers extreme physical and psychological trauma after being taken captive by the residents of a poor seaside village and made to live with a woman whose life task is shoveling sand for them.
- 6
Red Beard
Aspiring to an easy job as personal physician to a wealthy family, Noboru Yasumoto is disappointed when his first post after medical school takes him to a small country clinic under the gruff doctor Red Beard. Yasumoto rebels in numerous wa
- 7
Onibaba
While her son, Kichi, is away at war, a woman and her daughter-in-law survive by killing samurai who stray into their swamp, then selling whatever valuables they find. Both are devastated when they learn that Kichi has died, but his wife so
- 8
Samurai Rebellion
The mother of a feudal lord's only heir is kidnapped by the lord. Her husband and his samurai father must decide whether to accept the unjust decision, or risk death to rescue her.
- 9
Kwaidan
Taking its title from an archaic Japanese word meaning "ghost story," this anthology adapts four folk tales. A penniless samurai marries for money with tragic results. A man stranded in a blizzard is saved by Yuki the Snow Maiden, but his r
- 10
The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer
After the Japanese defeat to the Russians, Kaji leads the last remaining men through Manchuria. Intent on returning to his old life, he faces great odds in a variety of different harrowing circumstances as he and his men sneak behind enemy
- 11
The Bad Sleep Well
In this loose adaptation of "Hamlet," illegitimate son Kôichi Nishi climbs to a high position within a Japanese corporation and marries the crippled daughter of company vice president Iwabuchi. At the reception, the wedding cake is a replic
- 12
The Face of Another
A businessman with a disfigured face obtains a lifelike mask from his new doctor, but the mask starts altering his personality and causing him to question his identity.
- 13
The Sword of Doom
Ryunosuke, a gifted swordsman plying his trade during the turbulent final days of Shogunate rule, has no moral code and kills without remorse. It’s a way of life that leads to madness.
- 14
Funeral Parade of Roses
In 1960s Tokyo, Gonda owns a bar in which the gay, cross-dresser, and trans scenes meet. Gonda is in a relationship with the madam of the bar, Leda. As the younger Eddie starts a passionate affair with Gonda, she ignites the jealousy of Leda, unaware of another kind of history between them.
- 15
The Naked Island
A family of four are the sole inhabitants of a small island, where they struggle each day to irrigate their crops.
- 16
Late Autumn
A woman and her daughter are each forced to contend with an increasing pressure to marry, particularly from three men who knew her late husband.
- 17
Kuroneko
In the Sengoku period, a woman and her daughter are raped and murdered by soldiers during a time of civil war. Afterwards, a series of samurai returning from the war through that area are found mysteriously dead with their throats torn out. The governor calls in a wild and fierce young hero to quell what is evidently an Onryō ghost.
- 18
When a Woman Ascends the Stairs
Keiko, whom everyone calls Mama, narrates her story: she's a hostess on the Ginza, 30, a widow. She describes life's vicious cycle: acting cheerful around drunks, dressing and living well to convey confidence, needing money for these expens
- 19
Branded to Kill
After botching his latest assignment, a third-ranked Japanese hit man becomes the target of another assassin.
- 20
Mothra vs. Godzilla
Journalists Ichiro Sakai and Junko cover the wreckage of a typhoon when an enormous egg is found and claimed by greedy entrepreneurs. Mothra's fairies arrive and are aided by the journalists in a plea for its return. As their requests are d
- 21
King Kong vs. Godzilla
The advertising director of Pacific Pharmaceuticals, frustrated with the low ratings of their sponsored TV program, seeks a more sensationalist approach. He orders his staff to Faro Island to capture King Kong for exploitation. As Godzilla
- 22
Mothra
Shipwreck survivors found on the presumably uninhabited Infant Island leads to a scientific expedition that discovers a surviving native population along with the Shobijin, tiny twin fairy priestesses of the island's mythical deity called M
- 23
The Tale of Zatoichi
The adventures of a blind, gambling masseur and master swordsman. Zatoichi targets a yakuza-controlled village, because war with a neighbouring town's smaller gang is brewing.
- 24
Tokyo Drifter
After yakuza boss Kurata dissolves his own criminal empire, a rival kingpin offers a position to Kurata's top operative, Tetsuya "Phoenix Tetsu" Hondo. When the fiercely loyal Tetsu declines, Otsuka taps unstoppable Tatsuzo the "Viper", a r
- 25
Death by Hanging
A Korean man is sentenced to death in Japan but somehow survives his execution, sending the authorities into a panic about what to do next.
- 26
Three Outlaw Samurai
Shiba, a wandering ronin, encounters a band of peasants who have kidnapped the daughter of their dictatorial magistrate, in hopes of coercing from him a reduction in taxes. Shiba takes up their fight, joined by two renegades from the magist
- 27
Destroy All Monsters
At the turn of the century, all of the Earth's monsters have been rounded up and kept safely on Monsterland. Chaos erupts when a race of she-aliens known as the Kilaaks unleash the monsters across the world.
- 28
Pale Flower
A gangster gets released from prison and has to cope with the recent shifts of power between the gangs, while taking care of a thrill-seeking young woman, who got in bad company while gambling.
- 29
Invasion of Astro-Monster
Astronauts Glenn and Fuji investigate Planet X and encounter mysterious aliens known as the Xiliens, who ask Earth's people to help save their world from "Monster Zero". In exchange for borrowing Godzilla and Rodan, the Xiliens offer a cur
- 30
Red Angel
In 1939, Sakura Nishi is a young army nurse who is sent to the field hospitals in China during the Sino-Japanese war. She has to assist the surgeon Dr. Okabe with an incredible number of amputations. In the crowded wards, she gives sympathy
- 31
- 32
Profound Desires of the Gods
Tokyo engineer Kariya arrives on a primitive tropical island, where he interacts with the Futori clan, to drill a well to power a sugar mill.
- 33
Samurai Assassin
Japan, 1860. The men of the Mito clan, victims of the Ansei purge, anxiously prowl around the Sakurada Gate of Edo Castle with the intention of assassinating Naosuke Ii of Hikone, tairō of the Tokugawa shogunate and responsible for their mi
- 34
The Pornographers
A former Buddhist monk turned erotic filmmaker, Subuyan lives with hairdresser Haru and her two teenage children. Shooting two skin flicks per day, he somehow manages to stay out of the clutches of the yakuza, but real trouble starts when H
- 35
13 Assassins
A sadistic Daimyo (feudal lord) rapes a woman and murders both her and her husband, but even when one of his own vassals commits suicide to bring attention to the crime, the matter is quickly hushed up. Not only will there be no punishment,
- 36
Youth of the Beast
When a mysterious stranger muscles into two rival yakuza gangs, Tokyo's underworld explodes with violence.
- 37
A Fugitive from the Past
Three robbers escape with loot from a heist before one of them kills the others. Their corpses wash up near the aftermath of a maritime calamity, provoking a policeman's interest.
- 38
Boy
A family of four lives off of scams in which they pretend to be injured by automobiles.
- 39
Eros + Massacre
Two interwoven stories. The first is a biography of anarchist Sakae Osugi which follows his relationship with three women in the 1920s. The second centers around two 1960s students researching Osugi's theories.
- 40
Eleven Samurai
The lord of the Oshi fief is killed by his trespassing neighbour, the cruel and despotic Nariatsu, son of the former Shogun. After an investigation, the Oshi clan is blamed for what happened and sentenced to be disbanded. Eleven of the best
- 41
Intentions of Murder
The neglected common-law wife of a Japanese librarian is repeatedly harassed by a young man with a heart condition who seduces her with the prospect of a better life.
- 42
Japan's Longest Day
Following the detonation of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Japanese military and the government clash over the demand from the Allies for unconditional surrender. Minister of the Army Anami leads the military officers who p
- 43
Frankenstein Conquers the World
During WWII, Germans obtain the immortal heart of Frankenstein's monster and transport it to Japan to prevent it being seized by the Allies. Kept in a Hiroshima laboratory, it is seeming lost when the United States destroys the city with th
- 44
Matango
Five vacationers and two crewmen become stranded on a tropical island near the equator. The island has little edible food for them to use as they try to live in a fungus covered hulk while repairing Kessei's yacht. Eventually they struggle
- 45
Irezumi
Otsuya, the daughter of a rich merchant, elopes with her lover Shinsuke, an employee of her father's. During their flight, Otsuya's beauty attracts the gaze of Seikichi, a mysterious master tattooist who sees her pristine white skin as the
- 46
Revenge
An innocuous comment during a weapon inspection wounds the pride of low-ranking samurai Shinpachi, leading to an argument with his superior. The situation snowballs out of control, leading to a deadly duel and political fallout which threat
- 47
Tenchu!
A ronin desperately seeks a way out of financial straits; he allies with the Tosa clan under the ruthless leader Takechi, who quickly takes advantage.
- 48
Fighting Elegy
Kiroku boards with a Roman Catholic family and falls for the daughter Michiko. He ignores his feelings, joins a gang, gets in fights and, eventually, becomes involved with the radical Kita Ikki group.
- 49
I, the Executioner
Police detectives investigate the link between a serial killer's machinations and a teenage boy who committed suicide.
- 50
The Great Killing
A cynical samurai is left as the sole survivor to fulfill a plot to assassinate the puppet of a villain intent on usurping the shogunate in the 17th century. A Shogunate Elder connives to rule Japan by making his puppet, the Shogun's broth
- 51
Samurai Wolf
This is the story of a vagrant samurai – the solitary, savage and scrupulous Kiba – who arrives at a village to defend a beautiful, blind woman against a sinister plot. Her assailants then send against him another samurai, named Sana, who i
- 52
The Wonderful World of Puss 'n Boots
His goal is to help the weak and defenseless, but his saving a mouse makes him the most wanted in all the land. On the run from incessant, dim-witted mice, Perro befriends a young miller's boy, Pierre; together, they decide to seek fame and
- 53
Elegant Beast
A greedy, materialistic family attempts to cover-up the embezzlement committed by the son while keeping their other schemes active. They discover there are other, equally conniving players involved.
- 54
Go, Go Second Time Virgin
Go, Go, Second Time Virgin is the story of two damned and abused teenagers who meet and fall in mutant love on a Tokyo rooftop. Their only hope is to cement their love with an escape into oblivion.
- 55
The Snow Woman
Two sculptors spend the night in a mountain lodge after being caught in a snowstorm. A female spirit appears and takes the life of one of the men. She spares the other man's life on the condition that he never tell anyone what happened that
- 56
Nanami: The Inferno of First Love
A teenage goldsmith with a dark past tragically falls in love with a young nude model.
- 57
The Human Vapor
A failed science experiment gives a librarian the ability to turn into a gaseous substance. He goes on to rob banks to fund his dancer girlfriend's career, killing those who interfere. Now Tokyo's most wanted criminal, can authorities stop
- 58
Ken
Kokubu, captain of his university's kendo team, is a mystery to those who know him: An ascetic dedicated to a point of obsession with the simplicity and beauty of the sword arts. Kagawa, a promising but arrogant kendo student, is attracted
- 59
Black Test Car
Two car manufacturers spy on each other to try to find out details and prices of a new sports car each is about to launch.
- 60
The Mad Fox
A court fortune-teller loses his mind after a conspiracy leads to the death of his lover. Hope appears to be on the horizon after he becomes romantically involved with his dead lover's twin sister, but more complications arise thanks to a c
- 61
Tattooed Life
After his own gang sets him up to kill a rival mobster, a hit man is forced to flee with his younger brother.
- 62
Dogora
A floating amorphous life-form descends from the atmosphere to consume carbon in the form of diamonds.
- 63
Red Peony Gambler
Ryuko was raised by her father, a gambler named Senzo Yano in Kumamoto, Kyushu, after her mother died when she was little. When she turned 18 years old, her father was attacked and killed by a stranger in alley. Ryuko then dissolves her yak
- 64
Cash Calls Hell
Before leaving prison, Oida uncomfortably enters into an agreement with his cell mate: in exchange for a half-share of 30,000,000 yen, he is to assassinate three strangers given to him on a list. However, upon meeting his first potential victim, Oida has second thoughts. Yet, even as he tries to back out, the body count starts climbing. Oida must now try to alert the people on his list of their impending danger, and find out why they are being targeted in the first place.
- 65
A Thousand and One Nights
Aldin, a vagabond water vendor, embarks of a series of fantastical and tragic misadventures through the Middle East in search of love, fortune, and power.
- 66
Wolves, Pigs & Men
Sabu and his pals hold a pauper's funeral for Sabu's mother. His brother Jiro arrives home, fresh out of jail, and Sabu pointedly states that Jiro is not invited. Jiro meanwhile is planning a big job - steal 40 million in cash and drugs, and he invites Sabu and gang to act as decoys, for 50,000 each. The sting is a success, but the double-crossing starts almost immediately. Sabu discovers how little of the take they were promised and hides the stash. Jiro and his slimy partner pressure the kids to fess up. Meanwhile, their respectable elder brother Ichiro is being leaned on by the town's big boss, whose money it was.
- 67
An Actor's Revenge
In Edo Japan, a kabuki actor seeks revenge against the three men who drove his parents to their deaths years ago.
- 68
Gate of Flesh
In the shady black markets and bombed-out hovels of post–World War II Tokyo, a tough band of prostitutes eke out a dog-eat-dog existence, maintaining tenuous friendships and a semblance of order in a world of chaos. But when a renegade ex-s
- 69
Samurai Wolf II
Kiba Okaminosuke finds himself entangled with a group of prisoners being transported to their executions, one of whom oddly looks exactly like his dead father. There are crooked gold miners, a beautiful girl who is unfortunately a complete
- 70
Cruel Story of Youth
A harsh young man seduces a freeloading young woman and eventually takes advantage of her knack for hitchhiking to rob middle-class men.
- 71
A Geisha's Diary
A young girl is rigorously trained in the feminine arts so that she can become a geisha. As she struggles through life, she learns to live not just as a woman but as a complete person.
- 72
The Stranger Within a Woman
Tashiro coincidentally meets his best friend Sugimoto in a bar very close to the apartment in which Sugimoto’s wayward wife is found dead. Although Tashiro is not a suspect in the police investigation, he is racked with guilt and confesses
- 73
Foundry Town
Set in Kawaguchi in the early 60s, this simple story chronicles the lives of foundry families and one girl's dreams of higher education.
- 74
Miyamoto Musashi: Showdown at Hannyazaka Heights
The remake of Yoshikawa's novel continues with the second installment in which Takezo, soon to be Miyamoto Musashi, emerges from the Himeji Castle after three years of intense contemplation and philosophical study and starting on his epic q
- 75
Japan Organized Crime Boss
Coming out of jail and hoping for a quiet life, Yokohama yakuza has to take the lead of his gang after the death of his boss. His small group is is taken in a crossfire between a big yakuza group from Osaka at war with the Tokyo alliance fo
- 76
The Tale of Oiwa's Ghost
A samurai plots to reclaim his estranged wife after she leaves him over a murder scandal. When her sister falls victim to a scheme, he and his friend manipulate events, but their plans lead to supernatural vengeance.
- 77
Her Brother
Set in 1926 when Japanese tradition was much stronger, this drama looks at the inner workings of a small family, especially the relationship between a sister and brother.
- 78
Atragon
The legendary empire of the lost continent of Mu reappears to threaten the world with domination. While countries unite to resist, an isolated World War II Captain has created the greatest warship ever seen, and possibly the surface world's
- 79
The Bride from Hades
On the night of the summer Obon festival, Hagiwara Shinzaburo meets a beautiful courtesan named Otsuyu. Not knowing she's a ghost, he becomes infatuated by her.
- 80
Love Under the Crucifix
A tea master and his daughter Ogin are both Christians in feudal Japan. Ogin falls in love with a married feudal prince who shares her faith. When the Shogun bans Christianity, the situation worsens.
- 81
Massacre Gun
Kuroda is a mob hitman who turns on his employers after being forced to execute his lover. Joining forces with his similarly wronged brothers, hot-headed Eiji and aspiring boxer Saburo, the trio escalate their mob retaliation to all-out tur
- 82
Blind Beast
A blind sculptor kidnaps an artists' model and imprisons her in his warehouse studio – a shadowland of perverse monuments to the female form. Here a deranged passion play of sensual and sexual obsession is acted out in world where sight is
- 83
Miyamoto Musashi
In this first episode, we are introduced to Takezo, what Musashi used to be before he became the man of legend. His beginning are not exactly auspicious. He sides with the Toyotomi at Sekigahara, and as a result finds himself on the losing
- 84
Miyamoto Musashi V: Musashi vs Kojiro
The fifth and final installment with the build up of the epic battle between Sasaki Kojiro and Miyamoto Musashi. With all the familiar characters making appearances: Otsu (Musashi's great love), Akemi, Matahachi (his former fellow soldier),
- 85
A Man Vanishes
A Man Vanishes examines the concept of Johatsu, tackling the phenomenon of people missing in Japan over the years. It picks one such person from the list, someone who had seemed to disappear from the face of the earth due to embezzlement fr
- 86
Thirst for Love
A young wealthy widow becomes sexually involved with her father-in-law, while harboring a destructive obsession with the family gardener.
- 87
A Woman's Life
A woman remembers her own marriage when dealing with the love life of her son.
- 88
A Wanderer's Notebook
Based on the life and career of novelist Fumiko Hayashi, she bitterly struggles for literary recognition in the first half of the 20th-century – her affairs with feckless men, the jobs she took to survive (peddler, waitress, bar maid), and
- 89
Bushido: The Cruel Code of the Samurai
After a salary-man's fiancée attempts suicide, he recounts his gruesome family history which saw generations of his ancestors suffer and sacrifice themselves for the sake of their cruel lords.
- 90
A Legend or Was It?
A Tokyo family escaping the war relocates to a Hokkaido village; their daughter is set to marry the local leader's son, but her siblings disapprove.
- 91
Daughters, Wives and a Mother
Sanae is left a widow after her prestigious husband dies, but holds the proceeds of a million yen insurance policy. Being childless, her former in-laws have no objection to her return to her own family.
- 92
The Killing Bottle
In Hong Kong an International Secret Police (ISP) Agent is murdered while investigating ZZZ, a group bent on assassinating the Prime Minister of Buddhabal. ISP Agents Carter and Kitami are assigned to the case. When the Prime Minister arriv
- 93
Eighteen Years in Prison
A former soldier is caught working the black market and sent to prison while his partner escapes and goes on to become a gangster, but their paths cross again as they both fall in love with the same woman.
- 94
Story of a Prostitute
Volunteering as a "comfort woman" on the Manchurian front, where she is expected to service hundreds of soldiers, Harumi is commandeered by the brutal Lieutenant Narita but falls for the sensitive Mikami, Narita's direct subordinate. Seijun
- 95
Shinobi no Mono 2: Vengeance
[Period covered: 1582-1594]. As the film opens, the warlod Nobunaga Oda rides to Iga Ayanokuni shrine. He is asked if he thinks he has destroyed all the ninja who opposed him and answers that he suspects that there may be more. A servant br
- 96
Bad Girl
Wakae is a 15 year old girl who lived under the same roof with her alcoholic father and stepmom. Her mother had died years ago. She spends her nights at a rundown bar, sharing drinks and cigarettes with the lowlife drunks. She has nowhere t
- 97
Red Peony Gambler: Flower Cards Game
The third chapter of the ‘Red Peony Gambler’ saga depicts the happiness and sadness of Red Peony Oryu’s life as she seals her femininity with a red peony tattoo and lives in world of chivalry and honor of the yakuza. This story takes place
- 98
The Threat
Two escaped criminals who kidnapped a baby break into the house of Misawa, a man who works in an advertising agency and lives quietly with his family. They will force him to collect the child's ransom for them.
- 99
Black Tight Killers
Daisuke Honda, a war photographer in Vietnam, meets Yuriko Sawanouchi, a stewardess on his plane back to Japan. After drinking with her at a Tokyo bar, he becomes involved in saving Yuriko from assassination by stylish, female ninjas. When trying to rescue Yuriko from kidnappers, Daisuke discovers a group of foreigners are hunting for a WWII-era treasure hidden on an island by Yuriko's father.
- 100
Red Peony Gambler: Gambler's Obligation
A local yakuza boss of a silk farming town shows kindness to the wandering gambler Oryu by letting her stay at his residence. When a rival yakuza gang, who wants to take over the town’s businesses, murders him, Oryu is obliged to protect hi