Tatsuya Mihashi Movies

A genetic discovery that could prove mankind's saving grace is instead used to create the very beings who threaten their existence in director Kazuaki Kirya's visionary sci-fi epic. The time is the late 21st Century; fifty years of war between Europa and the Eastern Federation have left the planet devastated and the human race completely dispirited. In the aftermath of the Eastern Federation "victory," a new federation known as Eurasia is born. But the planet has been ravaged beyond the point of repair by nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons, and a half-century of warfare has taken a devastating toll on all mankind. At first, it appears that salvation is imminent when a highly respected geneticist named Azuma announces the discovery of a so-called "neo cell" that can rejuvenate the human body without risk of rejection. Mankind's last hope threatens to become its ultimate downfall, however, when nature and science combine to create a menace that could very well extinguish the human race forever. Now, as the human race prepares to make its last stand against the ultimate enemy, a powerful warrior will emerge to fight for mankind and provide hope for future generations. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

This 25-million dollar epic collaboration accurately recreates the events that led to the Japanese attack on the American naval base during World War II. With Germany's invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, the wheels are set in motion by Japan to plan the attack. After internal differences in the government, the Japanese quickly mobilize plans for the assault. Key American personnel ignored warnings of the possibility of Japanese aggression. The first part of the film divides scenes from both countries. Part two contains spectacular battle scenes of the bombing that destroyed the American naval base of operations in Hawaii. Governmental errors on both sides add to the confusion, but the Japanese ultimately carry out the deadly mission. The film did well in Japan, did not do well in the he United States, and took years to make back the production costs. It remains an insightful and well crafted World War II action drama that was the result of years of negotiations between the two countries. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

In this dark Japanese drama, a young married man accidentally kills his lover during a passionate moment. Compounding matters is the fact that the woman was his best friend's wife. Eventually his conscience forces him to confess, but before he can, his own wife, worried about saving face in their community, poisons him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

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, All Movie Guide

Five Japanese soldiers wait for the immanent attack from Soviet forces on the Manchurian border in 1945 in this war drama. The soldiers are asked to surrender, but they choose to fight to the death, and the five all suffer gruesome deaths, illustrating the horrors of war. One victim becomes a crispy critter by virtue of an enemy flame-thrower. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

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. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this Japanese adventure, a man is kidnapped by the wealthy president of a wartime trading company. He is taken because he is the only one who knows the location of 10,000 gold coins that the Japanese army left in the Philippines during WW II. His captors take him to a boat helmed by the financier's brother. He is then forced to join a small group disguised as Chinese merchants and U.S. Army troops and enter the Philippines where they make an arduous journey through the thick jungles and rugged mountains of North Luzon. Along the way, they find headhunters, but never the gold. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this Japanese war drama, a regiment stationed in New Guinea begins to get depressed. To boost their flagging morale, a writer and actor is assigned to put on a play and oversee the building of a theater. During the last act of the play, a metaphorical snow begins to fall. Simultaneously, the Allies prepare their invasion. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Based on King's Ransom, an "87th Precinct" novel by Ed McBain (aka Evan Hunter), High and Low stars Toshiro Mifune as Gondo, a wealthy industrialist. Gondo is contacted by a gang of kidnappers, who inform him that they've kidnapped his son. The crooks demand a huge ransom for the boy's return -- an amount so huge that it will utterly bankrupt Gondo. As the harried businessman prepares to pay the ransom, he discovers that his son is safe at home: the kidnappers have accidentally snatched the son of his chauffeur. Does Gondo drop his payoff plans, or does he do the honorable thing and rescue his employee's son? This dilemma is but one aspect of the multilayered character study from the unbeatable team of star Toshiro Mifune and filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, who directs this superb film with his usual depth and impeccable eye for detail and character. As a man forced to make impossible decisions, Mifune gives a nuanced, perceptive and psychologically convincing performance. While not one of Kurosawa's master works, High and Low, with its grim reality and moral ambiguity stands as a superb example of film noir at its best. High and Low was originally released in Japan as Tengoku To-Jigoku. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This sweeping historical epic has sometimes been labelled the Gone with the Wind of Japan; at any rate, it's almost the same length as Gone (the film was originally released in two parts). Chusha Ichikawa plays a powerful and ruthless feudal lord who battles virtuous young noble Yuzo Kayama. Ichikawa is temporarily victorious when he tricks Kayama into committing Hara Kiri. Vengeance is meted out by Kayama's forty-seven samurai retainers. Based on a venerable Japanese legend, the story of Chushingura has been filmed several times, but only the 1941 version (47 Ronin) matched the grandeur of director Hiroshi Inagaki's 1962 version. In some English-speaking countries, Chushingura has been released in a shorter version titled The Loyal 47 Ronin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This lively Japanese adventure is set in a construction camp where laborers are paid a pittance and nearly worked to death by cruel guards. The story centers on one fellow who falls in love with a woman working in the mess hall. The woman is also wooed by another worker. In the end, the two rivals settle their differences with flying axes. The hero wins, but then learns that the girl is married. He ends up confiding his escape plan to her and offers to take her and her husband with him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide