01 Jun 1985
Ran
Shakespeare's King Lear is reimagined as a singular historical epic set in sixteenth-century Japan where an aging warlord divides his kingdom between his three sons.
Oda Nobunaga
The show follows the early years of Japanese warlord hero Oda Nobunaga in the 16th century. As a young man Oda was not seen as the right heir to the Oda clan, but through a masterful political marriage arranged by his father, Oda Nobunaga not only gained influence, he also became the Daimyo who joined the three imperial counties to unite Japan.
Top Billed Cast
木村拓哉 Oda Nobunaga
西田敏行 Saitō Dōsan
中谷美紀 Nōhime
筒井道隆 
麻生祐未 
永島敏行 
渡辺いっけい 
岡本麗 
津嘉山正種 
田口浩正 
伊崎充則 Kazuma Takezawa 
岩崎ひろし 
小林稔侍 Hirate Masahide
夏八木勲 Oda Nobuhide
いしだあゆみ Dota Gozen
Rio Taura
Similar movies
Ran Ran Monsters 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation 
Monsters 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation 21 Jan 2024
Monsters 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation
A samurai's path leads him to a young waitress whose hometown was destroyed by a dragon. He doesn't want any trouble — but it finds them anyway.
Bull's Eye of Love 
Bull's Eye of Love 15 Jan 1958
Bull's Eye of Love
Young Lord Genjiro, who abandoned his castle to live as a commoner in Edo, returns home to restore peace amidst disruption over an inheritance dispute. Warned by a fortune-teller that he would die by the sword, the young lord must courageously battle 30 or 40 men who attack without warning. Meanwhile, his love affair with Kocho, a singer who is also a skilled archer.
Samurai Detective Onihei: One Last Wish 
Samurai Detective Onihei: One Last Wish 08 Feb 2025
Samurai Detective Onihei: One Last Wish
Master thief Kinosuke arrives in Edo to pull off one final heist for a tea-server who resembles his long-lost love, while Hasegawa Heizo’s spy Kumehachi tries to stop him, only to be exposed and trapped alongside the thief by Kinosuke's own crew.
The Ghostly Detective: Honjo · The Cherry Mansion 
The Ghostly Detective: Honjo · The Cherry Mansion 08 Jan 2024
The Ghostly Detective: Honjo · The Cherry Mansion
A tale of friendship, betrayal, and forbidden love—set against the backdrop of Edo’s criminal underworld. While patrolling the Honjo district, the legendary samurai detective Heizo Hasegawa crosses paths with his old dojo friend, Samanosuke Kishii, and a local ruffian, Hikoju of Sagami. When they discover that Ofusa, the woman they both once loved, has been forced into marriage with a corrupt lord, their reunion takes a dark turn. As secrets from their past resurface, a deeper conspiracy tied to their former mentor begins to unravel—one that will test Heizo’s loyalty, honor, and sense of justice.
A Color Print of Edo 
A Color Print of Edo 10 May 1939
A Color Print of Edo
The Color Print of Edo is a 1939 black and white Japanese silent film with benshi accompaniment directed by Kazuo Mori. It is a cheerful period drama, sprinkled with comical scenes and tells the story of a loyal and handsome Edo period servant who fights to help his older brother marry the woman he loves. The star of this film, Utaemon Ichikawa, gained enormous popularity for his portrayal of a cheerful and chivalrous man.
Kagemusha 
Kagemusha 26 Apr 1980
Kagemusha
Akira Kurosawa's lauded feudal epic presents the tale of a petty thief who is recruited to impersonate Shingen, an aging warlord, in order to avoid attacks by competing clans. When Shingen dies, his generals reluctantly agree to have the impostor take over as the powerful ruler. He soon begins to appreciate life as Shingen, but his commitment to the role is tested when he must lead his troops into battle against the forces of a rival warlord.
Onihei Crime Files: Sutegoro Takahagi 
Onihei Crime Files: Sutegoro Takahagi 18 Jun 2010
Onihei Crime Files: Sutegoro Takahagi
Takahagi Sutegoro is highly skilled at casing locations for thieves so that he can sell detailed floor plans to them. He suffers an injury to his leg while trying to help a parent and a child being threatened by samurai. Heizo jumps in and chases the samurai away. Feeling indebted to Heizo, Sutegoro decides to become his spy. Now, together they will try to stop scheming Myogi Danemon’s gang of merciless thieves...
Kenpu Renpeikan 
Kenpu Renpeikan 03 Jan 1944
Kenpu Renpeikan
Near the end of the shogunate in Japan, Katsura Shogoro and his fellow samurai from the southwestern domain of Choshu enter the dojo of Saito Yakuro, the famed Shindo Munen Ryu swordsmen of Renpeikan in Edo. Katsura is initially not welcomed by the other, senior dojo followers. Undeterred, he focuses on improving his skill not only in swordsmanship but also learning how to repel the foreign British and American ships that threaten their domain.
While Traveling 
While Traveling 27 Oct 1962
While Traveling
In this film, Hibari plays a dual role as brother and sister. The story involves a journey to Hanagasa for an incognito Lord (Kotaro Satomi) to overthrow an attempted usurpation of his domain, while being harassed by vassals of the usurper (Kensaku Hara). There's also a mysterious ronin played by Jushiro Konoe. The songs are seamlessly woven into the narrative and don't overwhelm the action. While the plot is derivative it is good example of its type and quite enjoyable. Note that there are some flashback sequences in black and white.
Castle of Wind and Clouds 
Castle of Wind and Clouds 10 Feb 1928
Castle of Wind and Clouds
A samurai returns to his homeland after a three year absence and finds his fiance is now one of the prince's concubines.
Yojimbo 
Yojimbo 25 Apr 1961
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.
Sanjuro 
Sanjuro 01 Jan 1962
Sanjuro
Toshiro Mifune swaggers and snarls to brilliant comic effect in Kurosawa's tightly paced, beautifully composed "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.
Okehazama: Oda Nobunaga Birth of the Overlord 
Okehazama: Oda Nobunaga Birth of the Overlord 26 Mar 2021
Okehazama: Oda Nobunaga Birth of the Overlord
Drama set in the historical Warring States Era of Japan. Tokaido name Imagawa Yoshimoto personally led his army to invade Owari Province territory, now in Aichi Prefecture Nagoya City area, was the leader Nobunaga of this surprising burst of death. After the war, the Imagawa clan who originally dominated the Tokaido region fell away, and the victorious Oda Nobunaga quickly expanded his power in Central Japan and the Kinki region, laying the foundation for his future control of the central government of Japan.
Stray Nightingale 
Stray Nightingale 15 Apr 2017
Stray Nightingale
Japan, 1785. Jūzaburō, a famous thief who refuses to kill innocent people, is betrayed, ambushed, and left for dead.
Uzumasa Limelight 
Uzumasa Limelight 14 Jun 2014
Uzumasa Limelight
Fewer samurai films are being made, and the Uzumasa studio has fallen on hard times. One day, veteran "kirareyaku" (whose job it is to be felled with a sword by a film's star) actor Kamiyama is tasked with teaching sword action techniques to fledgling actress Satsuki. A few years later, the now-retired Kamiyama is visited by Satsuki, who has become a popular star.
Shinobi: Heart Under Blade 
Shinobi: Heart Under Blade 17 Sep 2005
Shinobi: Heart Under Blade
Even though Gennosuke and Oboro are from rival ninja villages, they are secretly in love. At an annual conference with the Lord, it is dictated that a competition--a fight to the death--will take place between the five best shinobi from each village. Gennosuke and Oboro's love is made even more impossible when they each got picked as the leader of the five to represent their respective villages.
Samurai Fiction 
Samurai Fiction 27 Oct 1998
Samurai Fiction
A warrior-in-training and his bumbling friends go in pursuit of a stolen sword.
Throne of Blood 
Throne of Blood 15 Jan 1957
Throne of Blood
Returning to their lord's castle, samurai warriors Washizu and Miki are waylaid by a spirit who predicts their futures. When the first part of the spirit's prophecy comes true, Washizu's scheming wife, Asaji, presses him to speed up the rest of the spirit's prophecy by murdering his lord and usurping his place. Director Akira Kurosawa's resetting of William Shakespeare's "Macbeth" in feudal Japan is one of his most acclaimed films.
Red Beard 
Red Beard 03 Apr 1965
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 ways, but Red Beard proves a wise and patient teacher. He gradually introduces his student to the unglamorous side of the profession, ultimately assigning him to care for a prostitute rescued from a local brothel.