90% (2)  The Bad Sleep Well  151 min,  Not Rated,  [Crime, Drama, Thriller]  [Akira Kurosawa]  [22 Jan 1963]
Ratings & Reviews:  IMDb Reviews: 81%,   Rotten Tomatoes: 100%,   External Reviews
Awards:  3 wins & 1 nomination.
Actors:  Kyôko Kagawa, Masayuki Mori, Tatsuya Mihashi, Toshirô Mifune
Writer:  Hideo Oguni, Eijirô Hisaita, Akira Kurosawa, Ryûzô Kikushima, Shinobu Hashimoto
External Links:  Rotten Tomatoes  IMDb     Language:  Japanese    Country:  Japan
Plot:  In Kurosawa's HAMLET-like story of corporate scandal in post-war Japan, a young man attempts to use his position at the heart of a corrupt company to expose the men responsible for his father's death.
Rotten Tomatoes:   Simultaneously castigating the lingering traces of feudalism in modern-day Japanese big business and government and paying tribute to the Warner Brothers crime dramas of the 1940s, distinguished Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa's Bad Sleep Wall tells the gritty, almost Shakespearean tale of murder, power and a young son's quest for revenge.
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89% (2)  High and Low  143 min,  Not Rated,  [Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller]  [Akira Kurosawa]  [26 Nov 1963]
Ratings & Reviews:  IMDb Reviews: 84%,   Rotten Tomatoes: 94%,   External Reviews
Awards:  Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 3 wins & 2 nominations.
Actors:  Kyôko Kagawa, Tatsuya Mihashi, Tatsuya Nakadai, Toshirô Mifune, Yutaka Sada
Writer:  Hideo Oguni (screenplay), Ryûzô Kikushima (screenplay), Eijirô Hisaita (screenplay), Akira Kurosawa (screenplay), Evan Hunter (novel)
External Links:  Wikipedia  Rotten Tomatoes  IMDb     Language:  Japanese    Country:  Japan
Plot:  An executive mortgages all he owns to stage a coup and gain control of the National Shoe Company, with the intent of keeping the company out of the hands of incompetent and greedy executives. He needs the same money, though, to pay the ransom that will possibly save a child's life. His resolution of that dilemma -- the certain loss of the company vs. the probable loss of the child -- makes for one distinct drama, and an ensuing elaborate police procedure makes for a second.
Rotten Tomatoes:   Toshirô Mifune is unforgettable as Kingo Gondo, a wealthy industrialist whose family becomes the target of a cold-blooded kidnapper in Akira Kurosawa's highly influential High and Low (Tengoku to jigoku).
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86% (2)  The Burmese Harp  116 min,  Not Rated,  [Drama, Music, War]  [Kon Ichikawa]  [28 Apr 1967]
Ratings & Reviews:  IMDb Reviews: 81%,   Rotten Tomatoes: 91%,   External Reviews
Awards:  Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 2 nominations.
Actors:  Jun Hamamura, Rentarô Mikuni, Shôji Yasui, Taketoshi Naitô, Tatsuya Mihashi
Writer:  Michio Takeyama (novel), Natto Wada
External Links:  Rotten Tomatoes  IMDb     Language:  Burmese, Japanese, English    Country:  Japan
Plot:  Mizushima is a soldier in the Japanese army in Burma in World War II. He's a good soldier and frequently plays his harp to entertain his fellow soldiers. When the war comes to an end, he is asked by the British to go into the mountains to try and convince a Japanese troop to surrender. Given only 30 minutes to convince them, Mizushima is unsuccessful - they would rather die with honor - and the British attack. Deeply affected by what has happened, he becomes a Buddhist monk, traveling the countryside burying the remains of Japanese soldiers. He is unable however to rejoin his brothers-in-arms.
Rotten Tomatoes:   Kon Ichikawa's Harp of Burma is an anti-war film about a Japanese soldier who decides to reject his superiors and bury the bodies of his slain comrades. The film is also known as Burmese Harp.
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66% (1)  The Human Vapor  81 min,  [Sci-Fi, Thriller]  [Ishirô Honda]  [20 May 1964]
Ratings & Reviews:  IMDb Reviews: 66%,   External Reviews
Actors:  Kaoru Yachigusa, Keiko Sata, Tatsuya Mihashi, Yoshio Tsuchiya
Writer:  Takeshi Kimura
External Links:  Rotten Tomatoes  IMDb     Language:  Japanese    Country:  Japan
Plot:  A librarian is subject to a scientific experiment which goes wrong and transforms him into 'The Human Vapour'. He uses his new ability to rob banks to fund the career of his girlfriend, a beautiful dancer. The Human Vapour is ruthless in his quest for money and kills anyone who stands in his way, especially police. He soon becomes Tokyo's most wanted criminal. Can he be stopped before he kills again?
Rotten Tomatoes:   Inoshiro Honda crafted this tale of an a scientist (Yoshio Tsuchiya) with the power to transform his body into vapor.
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65% (1)  None But the Brave  106 min,  Approved,  [Drama, War]  [Frank Sinatra]  [24 Feb 1965]
Ratings & Reviews:  IMDb Reviews: 65%,   External Reviews
Actors:  Clint Walker, Frank Sinatra, Homare Suguro, Kenji Sahara, Takeshi Katô, Tatsuya Mihashi
Writer:  John Twist (screenplay), Katsuya Susaki (screenplay), Kikumaru Okuda (story)
External Links:  Wikipedia  Rotten Tomatoes  IMDb     Language:  English, Japanese    Country:  Japan, USA
Plot:  American and Japanese soldiers, stranded on a tiny Pacific island during World War II, must make a temporary truce and cooperate to survive various tribulations. Told through the eyes of the American and Japanese unit commanders, who must deal with an atmosphere of growing distrust and tension between their men.
Rotten Tomatoes:   Frank Sinatra took over the directors' chair for the first (and only) time in this unusual WWII drama. Lt. Kuroki (Tatsuya Mihashi) is the leader of a Japanese platoon stranded on a remote Pacific island, where with an iron hand he oversees the construction of a rescue ship. An American plane crash-lands on the island, leading to a skirmish between the two rag-tag legions; eventually, both sides call a truce, and medical officer Maloney (Sinatra) treats a Japanese soldier who was seriously wounded in the fighting. American commander Capt. Bourke (Clint Walker) and Lt. Kuroki come to an agreement -- they will work together to bring needed help to the island, but once either side's forces reach them, the fighting will pick up where it left off. None But the Brave was an international co-production of Artanis Productions (Sinatra's production company -- "Artanis" is Sinatra backwards), Warner Brothers, Tokyo Eiga, and Toho.
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