Isao Kimura – Cinema of the World

Kinji Fukasaku – Kuro tokage AKA Black Lizard (1968)

admin — Fri, 29 May 2026 05:53:52 +0000

Synopsis: Japanese sixties comedy featuring a cunning female jewel thief named Black Lizard who tries to kidnap Sanaye, a wealthy jeweler’s beautiful daughter as part of a plot to steal the jeweler’s expensive “Star of Egypt” diamond. To thwart the planned kidnapping, the jeweler hires Japan’s number one detective, the brilliant Akechi. This sets off a dual between Black Lizard and Akechi as each tries to outwit the other. In the process, the two adversaries develop a mutual respect and affection for each other. Despite Akechi’s efforts, Black Lizard and her crew are able to kidnap Sanaye and gain possession of the “Star of Egypt”. Black Lizard takes Sanaye to her secret lair on a remote island which is populated by an eerie collection of naked human dolls. There Black Lizard plans to preserve Sanaye’s beauty forever by turning her into one of her dolls. As Sanaye’s doom quickly approaches, it is up to Akechi to save the day.

Black.Lizard.1968.576p.BluRay.AAC1.0.x264-Slope.mkv

General
Container:  	Matroska
Runtime: 	1 h 26 min
Size: 	2.11 GiB
Video
Codec: 	x264
Resolution: 	1024x436 
Aspect ratio:  	2.35:1
Frame rate: 	23.976 fps
Bit rate: 	3 335 kb/s
BPP: 	0.312
Audio
#1:  	Japanese 1.0ch AAC LC @ 144 kb/s

https://nitro.download/view/0F91366EE425778/Black.Lizard.1968.576p.BluRay.AAC1.0.x264-Slope.mkv

Language(s):Japanese
Subtitles:English

The post Kinji Fukasaku – Kuro tokage AKA Black Lizard (1968) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

Kôzaburô Yoshimura – Cape Ashizuri (1954)

admin — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 00:03:00 +0000

Among Yoshimura’s complex and political works, this episodic film, set in the early 1930s, follows the life of a young left-wing student activist disenchanted by the increasingly hawkish state of Japanese society.

Ashizuri.misaki.1954.1080i.HDTV.AAC2.0.MP2-CatAiD.ts

General
Container:  	MPEG-TS
Runtime: 	2 h 0 min
Size: 	9.40 GiB
Video
Codec: 	MPEG-2
Resolution: 	1440x1080 ~> 1920x1080
Aspect ratio:  	16:9
Frame rate: 	29.970 fps
Bit rate: 	Variable
BPP: 	
Audio
#1:  	2.0ch AAC LC

https://nitro.download/view/CEA0EED0CD11EAB/Ashizuri.misaki.1954.1080i.HDTV.AAC2.0.MP2-CatAiD.ts

Language(s):Japanese
Subtitles:None

The post Kôzaburô Yoshimura – Cape Ashizuri (1954) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

Mikio Naruse – Anzukko AKA Little Peach (1958)

admin — Sun, 03 Aug 2025 23:02:00 +0000

Quote:
Director Mikio Naruse has admitted to going through a dark period as a younger man and his 1958 film Anzukko (the first he is credited with writing after 1950’s White Beast) seems, in part, his way of dealing with the tortures of his past.

Little.Peach.1958.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-ASO.mkv

General
Container:  	Matroska
Runtime: 	1 h 49 min
Size: 	7.55 GiB
Video
Codec: 	h264
Resolution: 	1440x1080 
Aspect ratio:  	4:3
Frame rate: 	29.970 fps
Bit rate: 	10 000 kb/s
BPP: 	0.215
Audio
#1:  	Japanese 2.0ch E-AC-3 @ 224 kb/s

https://nitro.download/view/42EDD122CC53AC0/Little.Peach.1958.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-ASO.mkv
https://nitro.download/view/37CF9BE56CFB9F5/Little.Peach.1958.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-ASO.srt

Language(s):Japanese
Subtitles:English

The post Mikio Naruse – Anzukko AKA Little Peach (1958) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

Satsuo Yamamoto – Shinkû chitai AKA Vacuum Zone (1952)

admin — Sat, 10 Dec 2022 06:29:31 +0000

During the winter of 1944, Kitani, a soldier, returns to his unit in Osaka after a two year absence. None of the men inducted with him are left, and his new comrades greet his sulky attitude with suspicion and resentment. The men have been told that Kitani was in hospital during his absence, whereas he was actually in prison: caught between two officers competing for a lucrative position, Kitani had been accused of stealing a wallet belonging to Hayashi, a First Lieutenant. The resulting inquiry had extended into Kitani’s personal life, with letters written to his lover construed as expressing anti-military sentiments.

Believing the army to be corrupt, chaotic and isolated from the real world, Kitani confides in one of his comrades, who describes the army as a ‘vacuum zone’. When word spreads that Kitani was really in prison, the men begin to taunt him by referring to him as the ‘ex-con’. Kitani finally breaks, and sets about mercilessly punishing both his comrades and Hayashi.

Yamamoto was a member of the Japanese Communist Party, and made this film after leaving the studio system during a period of left-wing labor strikes in Japan.

2.89GB | 2h 08m | 766×576 | mkv

https://nitro.download/view/0C8313C34B0AB6A/Vacuum.Zone.1952.WEBRIP.576p.x264.AC3.KJNU.mkv
or
https://fikper.com/nEQEa4V8lw/Vacuum.Zone.1952.WEBRIP.576p.x264.AC3.KJNU.mkv.html

Language:Japanese
Subtitles:None

The post Satsuo Yamamoto – Shinkû chitai AKA Vacuum Zone (1952) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

Yûzô Kawashima – Gan no tera AKA The Temple of Wild Geese (1962)

admin — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 15:20:00 +0000

Synopsis:
Satoko is a mistress by trade, or fate: when her master, the silkscreen artist of the Kohoan Temple in Kyoto, dies, she is given to the temple’s lascivious head priest Kikuchi. She is drawn to a melancholy young acolyte, Jinen, who has observed the profligacy of his cruel master and Satoko’s utter dependence on the man. Jinen is both fascinated and disturbed by Satoko’s interest in him; he is similarly caught between loathing of Kikuchi and of the dark circumstances of his birth and his own moral weakness. The story unfolds in a dreamlike manner, a flashback inspired by a now-infamous image on a silkscreen in the souvenir shop at the so-called Temple of the Wild Geese.

2.52GB | 1h 38m | 1024×436 | mkv

https://nitro.download/view/297F4D19AEB5761/The_Temple_of_Wild_Geese_(1962)_–_Yuzo_Kawashima.mkv

Language(s):Japanese
Subtitles:English, Japanese (muxed)

The post Yûzô Kawashima – Gan no tera AKA The Temple of Wild Geese (1962) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

Kon Ichikawa – Okuman choja aka A Billionaire (1954)

admin — Fri, 21 Dec 2018 07:29:02 +0000

A full description of the film can be found in James Quandt’s edited collection of writings on (and by) Ichikawa Kon from the Cinemateque Ontario (in Sato Tadao’s essay “Kon Ichikawa” on pages 109 – 111). A Billionaire was one of a handful of 50s comedies that Ichikawa directed that were extremely successful at the box office. These films were characterized by rapid-fire dialogue and biting social commentary (others like this include Pu-San and Mr Lucky). This is definitely a period of Ichikawa’s career that deserves more focus from the West.

678MB | 2h 45mn | 720×480 | avi

https://nitro.download/view/9D58F55293B6C42/Okuman_choja_aka_A_billionaire_by_Ichikawa_Kon.avi

Language:Japanese
Subtitles:None

The post Kon Ichikawa – Okuman choja aka A Billionaire (1954) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

Tomu Uchida – Yôtô monogatari: hana no Yoshiwara hyakunin-giri AKA Hero of the Red Light District AKA Killing in Yoshiwara (1960)

admin — Fri, 30 Nov 2018 14:42:19 +0000

Overview:
On the surface, this may seem to be an early example of the Japanese exploitation films that would become very popular about five years later. In fact, this film occasionally feels like Seijun Suzuki’s own interpretation, if only for the technicolor cinematography and the presence of some sleazy elements. However, past the surface, this is still very much a Tomu Uchida film. His compassion towards his character and the issues they face, is handled delicately and his semi-cynical humor is as apparent as ever. Still, I’d be lying if I said this was on the same level as Uchida’s own Bloody Spear on Mount Fuji.

Sano, a wealthy silk merchant, has it all financially, but a scar on his face has crippled his love life. On a trip to Yoshiwara, he meets Otsuru, the only prostitute willing to spend time with him. As an ex-convict, she is also looked down upon by her peers. Sano realizes that she may be the only woman who isn’t disgusted by him and he invests almost all his money into setting her free. The feeling is not mutual, Otsuru is using Sano’s money to begin a new life with her husband, a man whose existence is unknown to Sano.

Review:

When I want to explain to novices that jidai-geki means more than just samurai movies, Tomu Uchida’s Killing in Yoshiwara gives me a golden example to point to. Here is an emotionally gripping Japanese period drama that has nothing to do with samurai or yakuza or ninjas or wars. It’s about an ordinary man dealing with personal misfortunes that drive him to the brink of ruin, a nice guy who gets mad as hell until he’s not going to take it anymore.
Uchida’s frequent collaborator Chiezo Kataoka stars as Jiro Sano, a moderately wealthy silk merchant whose face is badly disfigured by a birthmark that looks like a patch of dried gray mud across his right cheek. Despite being abandoned as an infant for his horrific appearance, Jiro has become a successful businessman beloved by his employees and respected by the community. His one failure is reaching middle age without finding a wife and starting a family, since the many prospective brides Jiro has pursued have been repulsed by his face.
After yet another candidate spurns him, a client friend takes Jiro on a visit to Yoshiwara, famed for its licensed “pleasure districts.” At the Hyogoya Geisha House, none of the courtesans is willing to serve as a companion to the frightening Jiro. Anxious to avoid offending a client, the hosts round up a low-ranking servant girl named Otsuru to entertain Jiro. Otsuru was arrested for illegal prostitution and sentenced to serve as an underling at the Hyogoya house. The formally trained courtesans look down on Otsuru as a criminal and a common whore, and she feels determined to rise up to their social level or higher.
So Otsuru seizes the rare opportunity to pose as an official geisha, granted the more glamorous alias of “Lady Tamazuru,” and she escorts Jiro pleasantly without regard for his birthmark. Touched by this unfamiliar degree of kindness and attention from a beautiful woman, Jiro immediately falls in love with Otsuru and returns to Yoshiwara for repeated visits. Soon Otsuru tells Jiro she wants to marry him, but only after she has reached a level of social standing to be worthy of him. Jiro agrees to the expensive proposition of sponsoring her training to become a dayu, or head courtesan.
But complications arise when bad weather destroys the season’s silk harvests and Jiro’s business is sent into a tailspin. He is forced to choose between putting his savings into paying his subcontractors and protecting his employees or spending an ever-increasing fortune on his ambitious mistress. When Jiro goes to lenders to borrow extra funds, they object to reports that he’s been hanging out in Yoshiwara and spending profligate amounts on a courtesan, which is disrespectable behavior for a businessman – especially one asking for money.
As for Otsuru, beguilingly played by the ravishing Yoshie Mizutani, at first she comes across as a sympathetic and fairly sincere character. It seems that she and Jiro have lived parallel lives of struggling against persecution in search of elusive goals: Jiro seeking a wife and heirs despite his ugliness, and Otsuru seeking legitimate social rank after being a street prostitute. In a Hollywood romantic comedy, these two crazy kids would find a way to make things work and live happily ever after. But Uchida has a more realistic and heartbreaking outcome in store.
In a climax remarkably similar to Kataoka’s previous outburst that closed Bloody Spear on Mount Fuji, Jiro lashes out for justice against those who have cruelly exploited and betrayed him. It’s a brutal and unforgettable ending that distinguishes Killing in Yoshiwara from the gentle Kenji Mizoguchi-style jidai-geki of tragic romance, though the screenplay was in fact written by longtime Mizoguchi collaborator Yoshikata Yoda.

1.53GB | 1h 44mn | 1034×440 | mkv

https://nitro.download/view/14A9EB395073F18/Hero_of_the_Red_Light_District_(1960)_–_Tomu_Uchida.mkv
https://nitro.download/view/1AFE4E84426F018/Hero_of_the_Red_Light_District_(1960)_–_Tomu_Uchida.idx
https://nitro.download/view/D3DEC1B1E540AEC/Hero_of_the_Red_Light_District_(1960)_–_Tomu_Uchida.srt
https://nitro.download/view/85FEC5FA0948F4B/Hero_of_the_Red_Light_District_(1960)_–_Tomu_Uchida.sub

Language(s):Japanese
Subtitles:English, French, Russian (idx, sub), English ( srt)

The post Tomu Uchida – Yôtô monogatari: hana no Yoshiwara hyakunin-giri AKA Hero of the Red Light District AKA Killing in Yoshiwara (1960) first appeared on Cinema of the World.