DVDpedia : Library : Genre : C

Theatrical: 1978

Studio:

Genre: Chambara

Duration: 163

Summary: A genre filmmaker excelled in samurai films, Gosha Hideo began his career in producing and directing action dramas and series in television in the sixties. BANDITS VS SAMURAI SQUADRON, made in the middle period of his career, is one of his most ambitious films. Spanning over ten years and with a complicated plot involving more than a dozen speaking parts, weaving a web of passionate love and spiteful vengeance, the film manages to be both highly entertaining and stylized. The story involves with a former samurai warrior who abandons his class to become the leader of a gang of bandits. He leads his outlaws in an attempt to rob the castle of his former clan to revenge for the destruction of his own family by the official whom they served.

Theatrical: 1955

Studio:

Genre: Chambara

Duration: 94

Summary: Uchida's comeback film is a key work of postwar Japanese cinema, and, like all of Uchida's work, is unavailable in North America. (As Craig Watts notes at the end of his important essay on the film, "Either a trip to Japan or saintly patience is in order" to see it; now we can at least reward the latter.) As decisively as Kurosawa before him, Uchida broke the conventions of the chambara (sword fight film) with his witty, loose-limbed A BLOODY SPEAR AT MT. FUJI, about a samurai delivering a tea cup to Edo. SPEAR marks Uchida's postwar return to Japanese cinema and to progressive principles, but its homecoming is strikingly ambivalent in its values. As Craig Watts has written, "Both progressive and nostalgic, humanistic and nationalistic, peaceful and violent, BLOOD SPEAR, MT. FUJI, like the Japanese experience in Manchuria, is an aggressive conglomeration of extremes." From its shambling "on the road" opening, scored with jaunty jazz and enlivened by a flagrantly artificial setting and proliferation of incident, to its SHANE-like ending, the film takes in a remarkable range of characters and classes, of tones and traditions. Full of subplots and spin-offs, scatology, sentimentality, and social satire, this simple tale becomes a sprawling epic whose culmination - a fight to the death amongst gushing sake barrels - shocked the Japanese audiences of its time with its sheer vehemence. This was Uchida's first work with the great period star, Chiezo Kataoka, who appeared here with his son and daughter, Motoharu Ueki and Chie. "A fine period drama with lyricism, humour, and violent emotion" (Tadao Sato).

Theatrical: 1973

Studio: Toei

Genre: Chambara

Duration: 81

Summary: In PORNO PERIOD DRAMA, Tetsuro Tanba plays a nihilistic ronin who faces down the "Clan of the Forgotten Eight", who got their name because they lost all their basic emotions like conscience, gratitude, loyalty, shame etc. With his sword Onibouchou (literally: Ogre's Kitchen Knife!) Tanba's character hacks into their ranks in ways that has limbs and severed heads fly everywhere and the blood flows in rivers! On his way, he only stops to take every woman he meets, forcefully if need be!

Theatrical: 1986

Studio:

Genre: Chambara

Duration: 115

Summary:

Theatrical: 1962

Studio:

Genre: Chambara

Duration: 71

Summary:

Theatrical: 1945

Studio: Shochiku Kinema Kenkyû-jo

Genre: Chambara

Duration: 65

Summary: Kiyone Sakurai, an apprentice swordmaker makes a sword for his guardian, Kozaemon Onoda. Onoda breaks the sword while defending his lord which eventually leads to his death at the hands of Naito, when Naito demands to marry his daughter Sasae. Sasae vows to avenge her father's death and pleads for Kiyone Sakurai to make a special sword for her. So Kiyone and his fellow swordmaker Kiyotsugu go to the master swordsmith Kiyohide Yamatomori to learn their craft and forge the sword.

Theatrical: 1972

Studio: ANIMEIGO

Genre: Chambara

Duration: 80

Summary: In this second film of the "Mikogami" Trilogy, Jokichi, thirsting for revenge, rashly attempts to assassinate the evil Chogoro but ends up being captured by Yakuza. His life is spared by Boss Juzaburo, in order that the harmony of an important commemoration not be further disturbed.
Though now even more of an outcast, Jokichi is asked by another Yakuza boss, Umezo, to guard Oyuki, the wayward daughter of Juzaburo. The tragic consequences of this assignment will lead him into a deadly trap and a final confrontation with Chogoro.
The Mikogami Trilogy will conclude with ""Slaughter in the Snow.""
DVD Features:
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Presented in Anamorphic Widescreen
English and Japanese with English Subtitles
Bonus Material Includes:
Image Galleries
Interactive Program Notes
Trailers
Run Time: 80 Minutes

Theatrical: 1968

Studio: Synapse Video

Genre: Chambara

Duration: 90

Summary: The stunning Junko Miyazono stars in the first entry of the LEGENDS OF THE POISONOUS SEDUCTRESS series as Ohyaku, an innocent actress wrongly sent to prison and pushed by her tormentors to the point of no return. With a demon tattoo across her back and a sword in her hand, she embarks on a crusade of vengeance against all those who have wronged her, laying waste to man and woman alike in her quest for bloody retribution. More than just a swordplay classic, FEMALE DEMON OHYAKUs relentless cruelty, scenes of graphic torture, and unique mix of sex and sadism mark it as the first true Pinky Violence film, and highly influential on later sexy action series from Toei Studios throughout the 70s, such as the Sukeban and Female Convict Scorpion movies. Co-starring the legendary Tomisaburo Wakayama (LONE WOLF AND CUB).

Be sure to collect the other two volumes in the LEGENDS OF THE POISONOUS SEDUCTRESS series QUICK-DRAW OKATSU and OKATSU THE FUGITIVE for more action-packed female swordplay excitement!

Theatrical: 1972

Studio:

Genre: Chambara

Duration: 94

Summary: Goyôkiba

Theatrical: 2004

Studio: Tartan Video

Genre: Chambara

Duration: 132

Summary:

Theatrical: 1958

Studio: Toei

Genre: Chambara

Duration: 139

Summary: The story follows two greedy peasants in feudal Japan, Tahei and Matashichi, who are returning home from a failed attempt to profit from a war between neighboring clans. En Route they encounter the remnants of the defeated tribe that consists, most notably, of a famous General and a Princess who are hiding out in a fortress in the mountains. General Rokurota Makabe and Princess Yuki need to escape into allied territory with their large supply of gold so that they can rebuild their shattered clan. To do this the Peasants are tricked into helping them, with the promise that they will receive a large share of the gold when the destination is reached. Along the way, the General's prowess is put to the test as he must guide the 4, and later 5 with the inclusion of a freed slave, through close encounters with the pursuing enemy, and out of difficult situations the bumbling peasants manage to get them into.

Theatrical: 1979

Studio: Phantom

Genre: Chambara

Duration: 137

Summary: A one-eyed hired assassin impresses Yakuza boss & is hired as his bodyguard, or Yojimbo, to protect him during an inter-clan conflict. He quickly rises in stature in the clan, but finds his boss's enemies almost overwhelming. 1979 film directed by Hideo Gosha (Oil-Hell Murder) & starring Tatsuya Nakadai (Ran, Seven Samurai) & Sonny Chiba (Kill Bill, Stormriders). Code 3/NTSC. Original Japanese dialogue. Optional English & Chinese subtitles.

Theatrical: 1990

Studio:

Genre: Chambara

Duration: 95

Summary:

Theatrical: 1974

Studio: ANIMEIGO

Genre: Chambara

Duration: 89

Summary: Lady Snowblood (Shurayuki-hime) is caught by the police and sentenced to death for her crimes (in Lady Snowblood I). As she is sent to the gallows she is rescued by the secret police who offer her a deal to assassinate some revolutionaries.

Shura-yuki-hime: Urami Renga

Theatrical: 1973

Studio: ANIMEIGO

Genre: Chambara

Duration: 186

Summary: A flamboyantly blood-spattered samurai revenge picture with a twist: the implacable seeker of retribution is a slender female (Meiko Kaji) with a flawless ivory complexion and a dead-center killer stare. Born in prison, Snowblood is raised by a martial priest and trained to fulfill a single purpose: tracking down, and dismembering (or bisecting), the four cackling fiends who killed her father and persecuted her mother to an early grave. Adapted from another "manga" comic book written by Kasuo Koike, whose most famous work became the legendary "Lone Wolf and Cub" film series, this 1973 programmer stays close to its pulp-paper roots: images from the comics are deployed in a couple of montage sequences, and the story is divided into four chapters drawn from the monthly "manga" installments. Stalwart leading man Toshio Kurasawa plays a crusading journalist who writes a series of Japanese dime novels based on Snowblood's exploits, and manages to flush out a couple of the evildoers in the process. "--David Chute"

Theatrical: 1974

Studio: Shochiku Kinema Kenkyû-jo

Genre: Chambara

Duration: 159

Summary:

Theatrical: 1984

Studio: Vci Video

Genre: Chambara

Duration: 130

Summary: A martial arts feature inspired by the 1814 epic Japanese novel, Nanso Satomi Hakkenden. The LEGEND OF EIGHT SAMURAI depicts the story of young princess Shizuhime (Yakushimaru) living in feudal Japan, facing the threats of the sinister forces of the Hikita Clan. The Hikita leader, Lady Tamazusa, wants the princess for a blood sacrifice that will sustain the evil witch's youthful appearance. When Shizuhime is kidnapped by the clan, only the Hakkenshi, eight samurai warriors endowed with the virtues of Confucianism, can save her from certain death. Bonus Features: Sonny Chiba Bio| Scene Selection. Specs: DVD5; Dolby Digital Mono; 130 minutes; Color; 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio; MPAA - NR; Year - 1983; SRP - $9.99.

Theatrical: 1973

Studio: ANIMEIGO

Genre: Chambara

Duration: 83

Summary: "Child and expertise for rent," reads the banner flying from the wooden cart of rogue samurai Itto Ogami (Tomisaburo Wakayama). With his infant son and a baby carriage stocked with a veritable arsenal in tow, Ogami rents his services for 500 pieces of gold while awaiting his revenge on the corrupt clan that murdered his wife. Director Kenji Misumi draws his distinctive graphic style from the legendary manga series written by Kazuo Koike (who adapted his own work for the screen) and adds an inspired cinematic device: when Ogami enters battle, the world falls silent, literally, until his sword strikes. The fights are savage--blades slash, limbs fly, and blood spurts like geysers--yet the film relaxes in moments of serenity and tenderness as the cooing baby boy marvels at the wonder of the world. An essential of Japanese action cinema, it launched a classic six-film series. "--Sean Axmaker"

Theatrical: 1972

Studio: ANIMEIGO

Genre: Chambara

Duration: 81

Summary:

Theatrical: 1973

Studio: ANIMEIGO

Genre: Chambara

Duration: 89

Summary:

Theatrical: 1972

Studio: ANIMEIGO

Genre: Chambara

Duration: 81

Summary: Kozure Ôkami: Oya no kokoro ko no kokoro

Theatrical: 1973

Studio: ANIMEIGO

Genre: Chambara

Duration: 89

Summary: Fifth film in the Lone Wolf & Cub Series. 5 warriors challenge Ogami to duels. Each has 1/5th of Ogami's assassin fee and 1/5 of the information he needs to complete his assassination. His mission is to kill a mad Daimyo before he destroys his clan!

Theatrical: 1974

Studio: ANIMEIGO

Genre: Chambara

Duration: 83

Summary: In the sixth and final film of the Lone Wolf and Cub series, the final conflict between Ogami Itto and the Yagyu clan is carried out.

Theatrical: 1969

Studio: Synapse Video

Genre: Chambara

Duration: 84

Summary: In the final episode of the LEGENDS OF THE POISONOUS SEDUCTRESS series, Junko Miyazono appears one final time as beautiful swordswoman Okatsu the Avenger, but this time seeking Judayu, a corrupt merchant responsible for the death of her parents. Betrayed by her fiancé, Okatsu finds herself aided in her quest by a handsome stranger (yakuza film star Tatsuo Umemiya) who happens to be as handy with a sword as she is! What is the reason for his kindness, and will Okatsu be able to prevail against Judayu, now a powerful businessman with scores of allies in high places? Whatever the end may be, the restless spirits of her murdered parents drive OKATSU THE FUGITIVE along her crimson-colored road of vengeance. Master filmmaker Nobuo Nakagawa (Jigoku, Snake Woman s Curse) brings audiences the stunning end of the trilogy that inspired countless imitators among Toei s Pinky Violence films of the 1970s.

Be sure to collect the other two volumes in the LEGENDS OF THE POISONOUS SEDUCTRESS series FEMALE DEMON OHYAKU and QUICK-DRAW OKATSU for more action-packed female swordplay excitement!

Theatrical: 1973

Studio:

Genre: Chambara

Duration: 81

Summary: In PORNO PERIOD DRAMA, Tetsuro Tanba plays a nihilistic ronin who faces down the "Clan of the Forgotten Eight", who got their name because they lost all their basic emotions like conscience, gratitude, loyalty, shame etc. With his sword Onibouchou (literally: Ogre's Kitchen Knife!) Tanba's character hacks into their ranks in ways that has limbs and severed heads fly everywhere and the blood flows in rivers! On his way, he only stops to take every woman he meets, forcefully if need be!

Theatrical: 1969

Studio: Synapse Video

Genre: Chambara

Duration: 89

Summary: Junko Miyazono returns as QUICK-DRAW OKATSU, the daughter of a swordmaster who takes on a power-hungry magistrate, in the second entry of the LEGENDS OF THE POISONOUS SEDUCTRESS series, directed by master filmmaker Nobuo Nakagawa (Jigoku, Snake Woman s Curse). Joined this time by Rui (Reiko Oshida), a wild young swordswoman, the two sexy avengers embark on a blood-soaked quest for revenge after Okatsu is raped and her father slaughtered by one of his assistants. Okatsu and Rui slash their way through dozens of evil men in order to settle the score with those who wronged them in this swordplay classic which features some of the best fight scenes of the series. Mixing a standard revenge plot with a healthy dose of modern-day sex and violence, the film proved to be a primary inspiration for some of the best female revenge sagas of the 1970s, including the Female Convict Scorpion and Lady Snowblood series. Co-starring the legendary Tomisaburo Wakayama (LONE WOLF AND CUB).

Be sure to collect the other two volumes in the LEGENDS OF THE POISONOUS SEDUCTRESS series FEMALE DEMON OHYAKU and OKATSU THE FUGITIVE for more action-packed female swordplay excitement!

Theatrical: 1965

Studio:

Genre: Chambara

Summary: When the Tokugawa Shogunate ruled the land, Tatsuno castle in Wakisaka Clan's home of Harima held an established custom: an inspection of the arms warehouse. During one of these inspections, government inspector Magodayu Okuno finds a slight bit of dirt on the tip of a spear, which sparks an argument with a low-ranking member of the Wakisaka Clan, Shinpachi Ezaki.

Feeling insulted, Magodayu challenges Shinpachi, and is killed. Since then, the Okuno family has continually seeked revenge on Shinpachi.

An extremely violent climax highlights REVENGE, a tragic and underrated samurai classic, from master filmmaker Tadashi Imai and starring Kinnosuke Nakamura.

Theatrical: 1973

Studio: Toei

Genre: Chambara

Duration: 81

Summary: In PORNO PERIOD DRAMA, Tetsuro Tanba plays a nihilistic ronin who faces down the "Clan of the Forgotten Eight", who got their name because they lost all their basic emotions like conscience, gratitude, loyalty, shame etc. With his sword Onibouchou (literally: Ogre's Kitchen Knife!) Tanba's character hacks into their ranks in ways that has limbs and severed heads fly everywhere and the blood flows in rivers! On his way, he only stops to take every woman he meets, forcefully if need be!

Theatrical: 2004

Studio:

Genre: Chambara

Duration: 72

Summary:

Theatrical: 1998

Studio: Tokyo Shock

Genre: Chambara

Duration: 111

Summary: Three centuries ago, a precious sword has been stolen by Kazamatsuri -- the sword, which historic and symbolic value is priceless for the clan (Shogun Tokugawa donated it to clan 80 years before that, at the same time that he established them as the local rulers). Lord's counselor's young son Heishiro goes to retrieve the sword himself to protect the clan from the shame or possible demise. He is accompanied with two friends, Shintaro and Tadasuke, and followed by the ninjas of the clan. After Kazamatsuri wounds Heishiro and kills one of his friends, the young aristocrat still wants revenge more than sword itself, but meanwhile have to recover from his wounds, in the small forest house of a lonely samurai and his daughter. At the same time, Kamazatsuri stays in nearby town in the entertainment center run by Okatsu and falls into her. The older samurai tries to dissuade Heishiro from fighting with Kamazatsuri, but is himself gradually drawn into the conflict.

Theatrical: 1966

Studio:

Genre: Chambara

Duration: 75

Summary:

Theatrical: 1967

Studio:

Genre: Chambara

Duration: 72

Summary:

Theatrical: 1962

Studio: Criterion

Genre: Chambara

Duration: 96

Summary: A group of idealistic young men, determined to clean up the corruption in their town, are aided by a scruffy, cynical samurai who does not at all fit their concept of a noble warrior.

Theatrical: 1954

Studio: Criterion

Genre: Chambara

Duration: 207

Summary: A veteran samurai, who has fallen on hard times, answers a village's request for protection from bandits. He gathers 6 other samurai to help him, and they teach the townspeople how to defend themselves, and they supply the samurai with three small meals a day. The film culminates in a giant battle when 40 bandits attack the village.

Theatrical: 1969

Studio:

Genre: Chambara

Duration: 122

Summary: Feudal Japan. Kamo Serizawa and Isami Kondo turn a collection of student fencers into a band of assassins known as the Shinsen Group, devoted to the Tokugawa shogunate and to an elegant code of action and behavior. Kondo leads the band against the forces of the Emperor in hopes of preventing his restoration to the throne.

Theatrical: 1960

Studio: Toei

Genre: Chambara

Summary: The stormy tale of the Shinsengumi is told from its birth by master film- maker Yasushi Sasaki, based on the original story by Kyoji Shirai.
The battles between the royalists and Shogunate supporters come to a fever pitch during the Gion Festival as the exclusionists plot to burn Kyoto and kidnap the Emperor. From its earliest beginnings as a group of ronin brought from Edo to protect the Shogun when he was in Kyoto to see the Imperial Highness, the group faces difficulties both from within and without. Commander Kamo Serizawa's past corrupt practices threaten the group's very existence as they seek redemption from the reputation he left them.

Theatrical: 1980

Studio: ANIMEIGO

Genre: Chambara

Duration: 85

Summary: In a time of evil and tyranny, a stone-faced ronin wanders the countryside with his young son (and a weapon-filled baby cart), hunted by the merciless minions of an evil Shogun.
Once a noble samurai, he is now the most feared assassin in Japan, known only as Lone Wolf.
Starring the legendary Tomisaburo Wakayama, Shogun Assassin is perhaps the most famous samurai film in the Western world. Created by editing together the first two Kozure Ookami (Lone Wolf & Cub) films, Shogun Assassin has sliced through pop culture much like the Lone Wolf slices through evildoers, influencing everything from GZA's 1995 Liquid Swords album to Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill Volume 2. A quarter-century after its initial release, it remains one of the most deliriously violent and action-packed films of all time!
Now available for the first time in North America, Academy Award-winnning director Robert Houston's legendary epic has been reconstructed for this official release from new digital transfers of the original Lone Wolf & Cub films.
DVD Features:
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Presented in Anamorphic Widescreen
Dubbed in English
Bonus Material Includes:
Original Theatrical Trailers
Daigoro's History Lesson
Restoration Gallery
Program Notes

Theatrical: 1980

Studio: Diamond Ent. Corp.

Genre: Chambara

Duration: 117

Summary: In the middle of the 16th century, Hideyoshi, a power hungry warlord sets out to destroy the Momochi clan. He sends his war commander in search of the clan's hidden gold only to find that two daggers are the key to the hiding place of the treasured gold. Spanning decades, the quest for the missing daggers takes Shiranui through war and ancient tradition.

Theatrical: 1978

Studio: Adness

Genre: Chambara

Duration: 130

Summary: Following the death of the second Tokugawa shogun, it is revealed that he was poisoned by retainers of his son Iemitsu in hopes of gaining him the shogunate despite the stammer and birthmark which undermine his respect. Iemitsu and his brother Tadanaga become bitter rivals for the shogunate, and the land is split into factions, eventually erupting into warfare. Iemitsu's mentor, his fencing instructor Yagyu, is fixated upon securing Iemitsu the shogunate and ends up betraying everyone, even his own family, in pursuit of the goal.

Theatrical: 1964

Studio:

Genre: Chambara

Duration: 83

Summary:

Theatrical: 1965

Studio:

Genre: Chambara

Duration: 75

Summary: