"Actor: Kinnosuke Nakamura"

• Tokijiro: Lone Yakuza | Unknown | (15/09/2025) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Weary of the rigid codes of the underworld, gambler Tokijiro (Kinnosuke Nakamura, Goyokin) wanders Japan in search of freedom. But escape proves to be impossible when an obligation to a gang boss leaves him with no choice but to kill a man. To atone for his crime, he vows to take care of his victim's widow and young son. But the gang won't rest until they've killed the entire family - including the man who stands in their way. With this breathtakingly stylised film, Tai Kato broke all the conventions of the yakuza genre, fusing blood-spurting action with melodrama worthy of Japanese cinema's greatest masters.BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURESHigh-Definition digital transferUncompressed mono PCM audioInterview with film critic Koushi Ueno about the film's place in genre cinema history (2024)A visual essay on star Kinnosuke Nakamura by Japanese cinema expert Robin Gatto (2024)New and improved English subtitle translationSleeve featuring newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow

• REVENGE | Blu Ray | (19/06/2023) from £13.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  A cruel jidaigeki masterwork from director Tadashi Imai (Cruel Tale of Bushido) and screenwriter Shinobu Hashimoto, the writer of Masaki Kobayashi's great masterpiece Harakiri, Revenge is a lacerating attack on the absurdity and hypocrisy of feudal Japan.An innocuous comment during a weapon inspection wounds the pride of low-ranking samurai Shinpachi (Kinnosuke Nakamura), leading to an argument with his superior. The situation snowballs out of control, leading to a deadly duel and political fallout which threatens the entire clan.Available for the first time in the UK, the Masters of Cinema series is proud to present Tadashi Imai's Revenge in its worldwide debut on Blu-ray from a new 2K restoration.Special FeaturesLimited Edition Slipcase (First print run of 2000 copies only) featuring artwork by Tony Stella1080p presentation on Blu-ray from a 2K restoration of the original film elementsUncompressed original Japanese mono audioNewly translated English subtitles (optional)Brand new interview with Tony RaynsBrand new video piece by Jasper SharpPLUS: A collectors booklet featuring new writing on the film

• Tokijiro: Lone Yakuza (Limited Edition) | Blu Ray | (26/08/2024) from £14.66   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Weary of the rigid codes of the underworld, gambler Tokijiro (Kinnosuke Nakamura, Goyokin) wanders Japan in search of freedom. But escape proves to be impossible when an obligation to a gang boss leaves him with no choice but to kill a man. To atone for his crime, he vows to take care of his victim's widow and young son. But the gang won't rest until they've killed the entire family - including the man who stands in their way. With this breathtakingly stylised film, Tai Kato broke all the conventions of the yakuza genre, fusing blood-spurting action with melodrama worthy of Japanese cinema's greatest masters.

• Ambush At Blood Pass | DVD | (30/04/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Yojimbo a ronin (Mifune) is secretly commissioned to travel to Sanshu Pass. This once crucial thoroughfare in the time of the warlords is now just a backroad used by outcasts. There he is to wait until an undisclosed event occurs. On his journey he rescues a woman from her violent husband and takes her away with him. They arrive at an inn run by an old man and his granddaughter. This place has become home to a bunch of misfits including a one-time physician (Katsu) a wandering gambler and an officer of the law together with his prisoner. A dramatic chain of events unfolds forcing the once hostile and untrusting characters to unite in a common cause: their own survival. Ambush At Blood Pass examines the complex nature of the human condition under pressure.

• The Samurai Collection | DVD | (29/03/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Three features: 'Red Lion' 'Ambush At Blood Pass' and 'Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo'. Red Lion: With the winds of change sweeping through Japan overthrowing three centuries of Shogunate rule Gonzo (Toshiro Mifune) a peasant enlists in the Imperial Restoration Force which promises to reform the oppression of the past. Gonzo persuades his commander to lend him his Red Lion Mane a symbol of authority and rides into his old home town where he receives a hero's welcome. This tale both touching and hilarious traces the difficulties of a simple boastful humane man caught in the web of political intrigue. Casting a cold eye on politicians of all hues at its climax it achieves true tragic intensity. Ambush At Blood Pass: Yojimbo a ronin (Mifune) is secretly commissioned to travel to Sanshu Pass. This once crucial thoroughfare in the time of the warlords is now just a backroad used by outcasts. There he is to wait until an undisclosed event occurs. On his journey he rescues a woman from her violent husband and takes her away with him. They arrive at an inn run by an old man and his granddaughter. This place has become home to a bunch of misfits including a one-time physician (Katsu) a wandering gambler and an officer of the law together with his prisoner. A dramatic chain of events unfolds forcing the once hostile and untrusting characters to unite in a common cause: their own survival. Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo: The gentle breeze the murmur of a babbling brook the scent of plums. These memories call Zatoichi the blind swordsman back to a once-loved village. But memories are deceptive and he arrives to find things much changed. The former boss Hyoroku has been reduced to a carver of statues of Jizo the Buddha of Healing and his daughter Umeno has become a hostess and as she describes herself one of the bad ones. Control of the village is split between a former travelling merchant Eboshiya and his son Masagoro. Eboshiya befriends Zatoichi and seeks his aid against Masagoro's minder the drunken samurai Yojimbo the crooked crook. When a masseur is killed amidst rumours that a large amount of gold has been secreted in the village the two factions begin to size each other up. It is at this point that Masagoro's younger son suddenly decides his father needs more protection and calls on the services of the contract killer Kuzuryu.

• Portrait Of Hell | DVD | (13/05/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Created by premier Japanese novelist Ryunosuke Akutagawa (creator of Rashomon) 'Portrait of Hell' is a mesmerising look into humans creating hell on earth in thier own unique ways. Must be seen to be believed.

• Shogun's Samurai | DVD | (21/10/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  With Shogun Samurai, veteran Japanese director Fukasaku Kinji demonstrated that he could do more than the gritty social realist cop-and-gangster films for which he remains most famous. A deliberately stately historical drama, with a slightly ponderous narrator introducing some of its most powerful scenes, Shogun Samurai shows the succession crisis that followed the death of the second Tokugawa Shogun in the early 17th-century. The Imperial court fans the flames in an attempt to restore the Emperor's power; a young dancer tries to preserve the young prince she loves; a warrior clan take steps to return to their homeland; and the fencing master Yagyu will expend honour and lives, including those of his own children, to ensure that his school is patronised by the new Shogun. The film alternates powerful scenes of intrigue and stagy monomaniac rants by Yagyu with finely choreographed scenes of battle and duel; it has a powerful and tragic sense of the fragile sadness of things and the futility of all ambitions; Sonny Chiba is unusually impressive as Yagyu's most honourable son, the one-eyed Jubel. On the DVD: Shogun Samurai on disc has minimal additional features: a short prose profile of Fukasaku Kinji and some promotional clips. Picture is anamorphic 16:9. --Roz Kaveney

• Japanese Classics Of Horror And Fantasy | DVD | (30/08/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  A box set containing some of the best horror and fantasy films ever produced in Japan! Portrait Of Hell Created by premier Japanese novelist Ryunosuke Akutagawa (creator of Roshomon) 'Portrait of Hell' is a mesmerising look into humans creating hell on earth in their own unique ways. Must be seen to be believed! Illusion Of Blood From Shiro Toyoda director of the nightmarish 'Portrait Of Hell' comes a chilling story of love betrayal and vengeance. Tatsuya Nakadai stars as the selfish samurai Iyemon who after the loss of his lord has been left impoverished. He become outraged that his father-in-law intends to sell his two daughter's into prostitution. It is not love but respectability that Iyemon desires... Tokyo The Last Megalopolis When Masakado was executed for crimes against humanity over a thousand years ago his malevolent spirit refused to die with him merely becoming dormant and waiting for the chance to rise again. To disturb it is to awaken a terrible vengeance on the city of Tokyo. The demonic psychic Kato attempts to revive the slumbering evil and use its energy to plunge the city into a hell on Earth. It is up to a lone spiritual warrior Keiko a descendant of Masakado to stop the maniacal Kato before the spirit is released and the ancient curse is unleashed upon the world. Princess From The Moon Toshiro Mifune stars in this enchanting film based on the traditional Japanese fairytale 'Kaguya' as the male half of a country couple who find a baby girl in the bamboo and raise her as their own until the truth is revealed when she is taken back...