Yuriko Hoshi Movies

A pair of luckless would-be warriors find themselves caught in the middle of a skirmish between rival gangsters in this darkly comic samurai film. Tabata (Etsushi Takahashi) and Genta (Tatsuya Nakadai) are two hungry ronin who meet in a windswept town which has fallen so deeply upon hard times that the proprietor of the only restaurant has committed suicide in her own dining room. Tabata is a former farmer who dreams of living the exciting life of a samurai, while Genta tried to give up the violent and nomadic life of a swordsman but hasn't had much luck finding other work. The village is dominated by a clan of yakuza who are caught up in a power struggle, and as the two factions split off and declare war on one another, the two new friends find themselves hired by differing sides -- Tabata as a samurai, Genta as a messenger. However, one of Tabata's first assignments is to assassinate Genta, even as his new pal offers him helpful hints on his newly adopted trade. Kiru (aka Kill!) was written and directed by Kihachi Okamoto, one of Toho's leading action directors during the 1960s, who earned a reputation for his strong but cynical perspective on the violence of men. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Also known as Sasaki Kojiro, this sprawling Samurai epic stars Kikunosuke Onoe as a humble peasant youth. The Japanese feudal system being what it is (or was during the time in which this film is set), Onoe evidently hasn't much of a chance of becoming a samurai warrior. But he does, and along the way enjoys all the creature comforts attending his rank and reputation. Such is Onoe's prowess with his weaponry and physical equipment that he seems invulnerable. But a climactic battle with fabled Samurai Miyamoto (Tatsuya Nakadai) proves that Onoe is as capable of bleeding and dying as any ordinary mortal. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this Japanese epic, set in the Muromachi era, the leader of a group of Kaga, refuses to help their master, a samurai, fight a battle. In order to convince the Kaga leader, the samurai Lord orders his own daughter to seduce the other's little brother. It doesn't work, and the enraged Lord kills the lad, causing all the Kaga to stand against him. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this Japanese romance, made in Western style and set in Europe, a college skier travels to the Swiss Alps with his professor. En route, he falls for a flight attendant. Unfortunately the romance is nipped in the bud by a visit from the skier's French girlfriend. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this Japanese drama, an impoverished farmer's son sells himself to a rich merchant. His owner assigns him to care for his granddaughter's parrot. When the man invites his household on a cruise, the passengers are marooned on a tiny island. There the true natures of the men are revealed. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi

Ishiro Honda directed this fourth Godzilla film (the second for Mothra), which is bogged down at the start by an uninteresting set-up involving corporate intrigue and a pair of boring reporters. Godzilla's first appearance is not very impressive, as he rises from a sandy beach looking distinctly the worse for wear since his last outing in Kingukongu Tai Gojira (1963). The miniscule Peanut Sisters (Emi Ito, Yumi Ito) are around again, looking for one of the giant eggs which their moth goddess is always losing, and the usual heavy-handed moralizing about mankind's destructive nature is very much in evidence. Other than the peculiar set decoration on an irradiated island which looks as if it fell out of a 1930s adventure movie, the first 50 minutes or so are quite weak. After that, however, the toy tanks start firing, the natives start fleeing, the beasts start battling, and the film starts to be entertaining. The fight scenes are well-staged, given the clumsiness of the participants, and stand as some of the best such sequences of the 1960s. The eventual capture and electrocution of Godzilla in a giant net is nicely handled as well. This installment was followed by the much more interesting San Daikaiju: Chikyu Saidai No Kessen (1965), the first of the space-oriented entries in the series. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

In this romance, a Japanese goes to Honolulu to visit his younger brother, a student at the University of Hawaii. On the evening of his arrival, they attend a party to honor a the winner of a beauty contest. She won after the young man sent her picture to the judges. Her prizes is a two-week vacation to Tokyo and Hong Kong. The older brother joins her on the leg to Tokyo. They wind up falling in love; this causes problems as the younger brother also loves her. Fortunately, the beauty has an estranged sister for him. The brothers marry the sisters, the viewer gets to see many beautiful sights in Asia, and happiness and prosperity ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Nobuko (Hideko Takamine) is a gentle Japanese woman who endures several ordeals during her adult life in this somber, sentimental drama. She gives birth to a baby boy after she marries the man she loves, but the philandering husband is killed during the war. Nobuko raises her son as a single mother and is heartbroken when he grows up and marries a saloon girl against her wishes. When her son dies in an auto wreck, Nobuko finally accepts her daughter-in-law after learning she will soon have a baby. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

This Japanese drama chronicles the trials and joys of five young women struggling to live and love in a modern Tokyo suburb. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this drama, a youthful bard is beaten by a bunch of brutes. He does not fight back. He is later moves into a ghetto flat with a helpful poet. They soon find themselves victimized by gangsters who want to raze the slums and put in more lucrative businesses. In desperation, the slum residents look to the minstrel, but he, a former prizefighter who killed his best friend in the ring, still refuses until he finds that the gangsters have murdered the poet. Then he joins the fight. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Mohei (Toshiro Mifune) is the samurai warrior who battles against the Portuguese arsenal of guns and cannons. With these newly introduced weapons, two families battle for control of a valuable land parcel in 17th-century Japan. This feature was made in 1961 but obviously introduced in America to follow up the success of Hell In The Pacific which stars Mifune, one of Japan's most world-renown thespians. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

This Japanese film speculates on the events which lead the U.S. and the Soviet Union into a nuclear Armageddon. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi