The Lucky General (1962)

The Pornographers

Subu makes pornographic films. He sees nothing wrong with it. They are an aid to a repressed society, and he uses the money to support his landlady, Haru, and her family. From time to time, Haru shares her bed with Subu, though she believes her dead husband, reincarnated as a carp, disapproves. Director Shohei Imamura has always delighted in the kinky exploits of lowlifes, and in this 1966 classic, he finds subversive humor in the bizarre dynamics of Haru, her Oedipal son, and her daughter, the true object of her pornographer-boyfriend’s obsession. Imamura’s comic treatment of such taboos as voyeurism and incest sparked controversy when the film was released, but The Pornographers has outlasted its critics, and now seems frankly ahead of its time.

We Make Antiques! Osaka Dreams

A treasure appears in front of antique dealer Norio Koike (Kiichi Nakai) and potter Sasuke (Kuranosuke Sasaki). The treasure is Hideyoshi Toyotomi’s chawan (procelain tea bowl) called Houou, that has been missing.

King of Sha-kin

In late 90s Osaka, three people from various walks of life meet by chance. They team up to orchestrate a complex financial con targeting crooked businessmen in an attempt to solve their respective financial woes.

Sun Expo

A family drama is born that depicts the youth of the heroine, who dreamed of working at an expo with the desire to connect with people all over the world, and her family, with a heartwarming touch.

If Tomorrow Comes

Daisuke is in the 2nd grade of high school and he plays on his school's baseball team. Daisuke then takes part in a gourmet contest with 3 of his friends and 2 girls, including Miki, from a nearby girls' high school. The gourmet contest is held to revive the village.

The Fable

The Fable is a legendary yakuza hitman equal to none—but his boss orders him and his sultry associate to lay low and learn how to live a "normal life" in Osaka.

Tora-san's Love in Osaka

When his travels bring him to Osaka, Tora-san falls in love with a local geisha. He helps her to track down her estranged brother, and informs his family that he plans to marry her. His plans are foiled when the geisha informs Tora-san that she is engaged.

Come and Go

Tourists, foreigners and outcasts converge on the streets of Osaka in this sprawling ensemble drama by Japan-based, Malaysia-born filmmaker Lim Kah Wai. His eighth feature explores the lesser-known aspects of the Asian melting pot city through the eyes and experiences of a dozen characters who struggle to find their place in society: among them a Nepali refugee with dreams of opening a restaurant, a Burmese student struggling to make ends meet while working two jobs, and a Taiwanese sex tourist who travels to meet his favorite adult video actress.

Gacha Gacha

A not-so-heartwarming tale about capsule toys, the nightmare of obsession, jealous rage, and a slimy, stop-frame animated tiny monster.

Black Rain

Two New York cops get involved in a gang war between members of the Yakuza, the Japanese Mafia. They arrest one of their killers and are ordered to escort him back to Japan. However, in Japan he manages to escape, and as they try to track him down, they get deeper and deeper into the Japanese Mafia scene and they have to learn that they can only win by playing the game—the Japanese way.

Godzilla vs. Biollante

After the previous Godzilla attack, a miniature arms race ensues to collect his cells. Concerned over Godzilla's possible return, the Japanese government uses the cells to create a new bio-weapon, ANEB (Anti-Nuclear Energy Bacteria). They seeks the aid of geneticist Genshiro Shiragami, who's experiments result in a new mutation.

Godzilla Raids Again

Two fishing scout pilots make a horrifying discovery when they encounter a second Godzilla alongside a new monster named Anguirus. Without the weapon that killed the original, authorities attempt to lure Godzilla away from the mainland. But Anguirus soon arrives and the two monsters make their way towards Osaka as Japan braces for tragedy.

Love and Action in Osaka

Despite his efforts of living a normal life as a banker, the life of Toru, the only son of the Yubari Family, becomes disrupted by trouble brought on by his father. When his father’s battle against his rival group the Miike Family ignites, Toru becomes more involved in the turf war than he wished for.

The King of Minami: Ginjiro Manda

First in the long-running series starring Riki Takeuchi as Ginjirō Manda, a loan shark in Osaka's Minami district, who shows off his brilliant debt collector skills against numerous enemies.

The Drug King

Busan, South Korea, 1970s. Lee Doo-sam is a small-time smuggler. After helping a drug gang to smuggle meth, he falls into the dark crime world. Quick-witted and full of ambition, he eventually takes over the drug underworld and starts to lead a double life: a good community leader during the day but an infamous drug lord during the night.

Missing

Depressed and in debt, Santoshi tells his young daughter that he is going to find an infamous serial killer and collect a reward. However, when Santoshi disappears without a trace, she starts to fear the worst and begins searching for him.

The King of Minami: Planned Bankruptcy

#2 in the King of Minami series. The relentless Osaka loan shark Ginjiro Manda and his apprentice, Ryuichi, attempt to collect from a failed AV producer, setting into motion a complex series of events involving the yakuza, planned bankruptcy schemes and a wily stockbroker named Yasuda.

Yakuza Princess

In Brazil, Akemi finds out that she's the heiress to the Yakuza empire. Just after that, her destiny enters a spiral of violence and mystery, where a gaijin (foreigner) who's been protecting her all this time, Shirô, may have been actually sent to kill her.

The Makioka Sisters

This sensuously beautiful film chronicles the activities of four sisters who gather in Kyoto every year to view the cherry blossoms. It paints a vivid portrait of the pre-war lifestyle of the wealthy Makioka family from Osaka, and draws a parallel between their activities and the seasonal variations in Japan.

Osaka Girl

One day, Chiho is asked to collect the rent from her grandmother, who has a bad leg. Chiho easily agrees and regrets it. The inhabitants of the flat are yakuza, host, robber, alcoholic, etc. They are all scum and they don’t pay the rent.

This Greedy Old Skin

A kind of modern dress "Donzoko" "The Lower Depths", about slum life in Osaka, where a greedy widow (Mimasu) takes advantage of her poor roomers, including her own son, who makes a meagre living stripping taxicabs.

The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum

In late 19th century Tokyo, Kikunosuke Onoue, the adopted son of a legendary actor, himself an actor specializing in female roles, discovers that he is only praised for his acting due to his status as his father's heir. Devastated by this, he turns to Otoku, a servant of his family, for comfort, and they fall in love. Kikunosuke becomes determined to leave home and develop as an actor on his own merits, and Otoku faithfully follows him.

Women of the Night

In early post-war Osaka, three women, war widow Fusako, her sister Natsuko, an expatriate from Korea, and Kumiko, Fusako's sister-in-law, descend into prostitution, all for their individual reasons.

Princess Toyotomi

National Audit Bureau member Hajime Matsudaira (Shinichi Tsutsumi), Tadako Torii (Haruka Ayase) & Asahi Gainsbourg (Masaki Okada) travel from their homebase of Tokyo to the city of Osaka. Their mission is to discover any financial irregularities & to ensure the correct use of federal money in the Osaka city government. Their initial audits go smoothly, but things turn more interesting once they enter the Karahori shopping district - the area with a long history reaching back to the Meiji era.

Noisy Requiem

In the slums of Osaka, various marginalized misfits have their own interpretations of love. Completely alienated from the outside world, they commit sexual perversions, violence and cannibalism.

Secret Chronicle: She Beast Market

A strong-willed young prostitute, her developmentally challenged brother, and her aging prostitute mother attempt to survive in 1970s Osaka.

A Yakuza in Love

When an innocent young country girl falls for a low level yakuza, she enters a completely different world in which the line between good and evil are quickly blurred. Through great ups and downs their love will be tested, but the ultimate test lies in whether or not they will survive the downward pull of the lifestyle they have chosen.

Billiken

The main hero of this film is the spirit of the once very popular wooden statuette called Billiken. It's a small god with a pointed head, a fat belly and a characteristic smile. When the casket in which the statuette was found is broken, the spirit of Billiken is free. After that he tries to fulfill the wishes of all those who had prayed to him, but it doesn't always works.

Manhunt

Accused of a murder he didn't commit, a prosecutor sets out on a mission to clear his name.

Muddy River

Two boys, whose parents ply their trade by the mouth of a muddy river in Osaka, become close friends.

Operation Plazma in Osaka

Amidst Japan's postwar economic boom, yakuza factions in Osaka fight for survival when Japan's largest crime syndicate plans a hostile takeover.

Another Lonely Hitman

After serving ten years due to a drug-induced assassination of a rival gang boss, Tachibana enters a world that's nothing like it was when he went in. Once a respected and feared Yakuza mastermind, he now must try and adapt within the confines of the new generations vision of honor. As he still garners a somewhat decent amount of respect he just tries to get by. Hooking up with a prostitute he's been in passing by with he begins to feel some sense of comfort. Upon stumbling across her being beaten down by her pimp, Tachibana can't just sit by and do nothing. So he commences in putting down an old school Yakuza ass whipping, thus beginning a showdown with the 'now' boss, Sato.

The Kamagasaki Cauldron War

Kamagasaki is an "invisible" slum of Osaka that attracts day laborers and prostitutes since WW2. When the local gang has its treasured cauldron stolen, a war to find it begins involving the thugs, a 12 years old kid, a prostitute and a pickpocket, including the giant cauldron used to feed the destitute: The symbol of Kamagasaki.

Bad Lands

A grifter and her loose-cannon brother get their hands on a massive amount of money, but their ill-gotten gains puts a huge target on their back.

Doterai Man

Business is a game! A theatrical version of the TV drama that became a social phenomenon starring Teruhiko Saigo. Set in a wholesaler town in Osaka, it depicts the activities of the main character Takezo Yamashita who repels adversity with a man's stubbornness and guts.