Eiji Funakoshi Movies

When nasty children-eating aliens invade Earth, it is up to Gamera to save the day. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi

In this Japanese drama, a housewife falls in love with a female model and embarks upon a lesbian relationship. When she must share her new lover with a male lover, the housewife becomes confused. She must also deal with her husband. Eventually all four enter into a suicide pact, but of them, she is the only one to survive. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Director Satsuo Yamamoto wields his sarcastic scalpel in this message movie that takes jabs at the practices of the medical profession. The film begins with a surgeon cutting a patient from his sternum to his navel before revealing the stomach and bowels. A noted surgeon is more interested in publicity photos and press releases than his oath to heal. Another jealous doctor sabotages the career of a gifted young physician to advance his own career. The theme of the film was used once again in the 1970 black comedy The Hospital. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

One of the most fearsome of the Japanese monsters to hit the screen in the early 60's makes his debut in sci-fi thriller. As tensions between America and the Soviet Union rise to a fever pitch, U.S. troops shoot down a Russian bomber which is flying low in an Arctoc region. The bomber crashes, and its payload of hydrogen bombs explode upon impact. The blast releases and awakens Gamera, a gigantic fire-breathing turtle which had been frozen under the ice since prehistoric times. The newly revived monster makes his way to Tokyo, Japan, where he begins to lay waste to the city. As emminent scientist Dr. Hidaka (Eiji Funakoshi) searches for a way to defeat the monster, a young boy named Yoshiro (Yoshiro Unchida) develops an unlikely friendship with Gamera. For the film's American release, additional scenes were added featuring U.S. actors Brian Donlevy and Albert Dekker. The spelling of the monster's name was also changed; he's Gammera with two M's in this movie, but just Gamera in the sequels which followed. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In this renowned and classic Japanese film directed by Kon Ichikawa, the great Kabuki onnagata Kasuo Hasegawa celebrates his 300th film appearance in a role designed especially for him. One of the classic theater styles of Japan, Kabuki does not use women in female roles. Highly trained male actors, called "onnagata," perform in them, and are often more convincing as women than many women might be. In the story, set in 1836, Yukinojo (Kasuo Hasegawa) is an onnagata, travelling to Edo in feminine disguise. On his journey, he recognizes three ruthless merchants who ruined his father's business, driving him to suicide. Pledged to revenge his father's death, he follows them, and with the help of a mysterious bandit martial artist named Yamitaro (also Hasegawa), fulfills his pledge, even though this means the destruction of one of the merchant's innocent daughters, who has fallen in love with him. Actor Hasegawa performed these same roles in a 1935 film version of this same story, directed by Teinosuke Kinugasa, who consulted on this film. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Yasuzo Masumura's satire of the Japanese auto industry, Black Test Car follows the corporate espionage that transpires after the most powerful car companies in Japan unveil their current products. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Yasuzo Masumura's yakuza yarn begins with an assassination attempt on Takeo (played by novelist Yukio Mishima), a gangster about to be released from prison. The assassin kills the wrong guy, however, and Takeo is released. On the run from a rival gang boss (Eiji Funakoshi) whom he wounded before going to prison, and too cowardly to go after him himself, he kidnaps his son instead. Meanwhile, he's also become involved with a new girlfriend, who is trying to get him to go straight. ~ Tom Vick, Rovi

Kon Ichikawa's adaptation of Shohei Ooka's novel Nobi takes place in the Philippines at the end of World War II. The Japanese army is in hasty retreat from the incoming American forces. The soldiers have also been warned that the Americans will take no live prisoners, and so their flight is all the more desperate. One group of men harbors a soldier named Tamura (Eiji Funakoshi) suffering from the last stages of tuberculosis. Knowing he is facing imminent death anyway, Tamura is able to resist submitting to the chaos and demoralization that overtake his fellow soldiers (who fall so far as to commit murder, cannibalism, and go insane). Eventually Tamura becomes involved with a couple that has returned in order to pick up a cache of salt. He shoots the wife and chases off the husband, bringing him one step closer to losing his humanity. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi