Chikamatsu’s Love in Osaka / Their Own World / Naniwa no koi no monogatari (1959)

Chubei has been adopted into a family to learn the business and eventually marry the daughter. Dragged by a friend/customer to the pleasure quarter, he is trapped reluctantly into spending his first night with a woman, the popular and lovely courtesan Umegawa. They fall in love, and when a rich man tries to buy Umegawa, …

Three Outlaw Samurai / Sanbiki no samurai (1964)

If you have never seen a Japanese sword-play movie, Three Outlaw Samurai  is the one to start with. A fast-paced and entertaining mish-mash of Yojimbo, Seven Samurai, and the Zatoichi movies, it is all but irresistible. It provides enough action to satisfy even the most demanding fan of the genre within a story-line that requires …

Night Drum /Yoru no tsuzumi (1958)

A multi-layered study of both marital fidelity and samurai codes of honor, The Night Drum is another remarkable work from a remarkable pair of film makers. Adapted by Kaneto Shindo from one of the less famous Chikamatsu plays and directed by Tadashi Imai, it can stand with the finest movies of the fifties. Hikokuro is …