Isao Takanami

Death : 2018-12-30

Movies

Labyrinth Romanesque
Sekiguchi
Based on Edogawa Ranpo Award winner "Hanazono no Meikyu" by Yoko Yamazaki. A serial killing occurs at a port town brothel.
The Imperial Navy
A lavish retelling of the true story of the final voyage and ultimate destruction and sinking of the battleship Yamato, Japan's greatest flagship during the Second World War.
Gate of Youth
The story of Shinsuke, a young man who lives through a stormy life as a poverty-stricken coal miner. Ranging from Shinsuke's infanthood to his mid-teens. Coal workers and the mines dominate nearly every aspect of his life. Shinsuke's father a group leader at the mine, dies while bravely using dynamite to rescue a group of trapped Korean miners. Several older men attempt to help he and his mother cope, including a friendly Harley-riding yakuza boss. This movie has it all, drama, romance, sex, yakuza and violence! It is based on a story by Hiroyuki Itsuki that was originally serialized in the magazine Shukan Gendai in 1969-70.
The Man Who Stole the Sun
A high school science teacher is the butt of all his students' jokes, until their bus is hijacked on a school trip. But something more sinister lurks beneath the surface: he's building an atomic bomb in his apartment.
Dog of Fortune
From Hokkaido to Tokyo, hunting dog Goro embarks on a long and grueling journey to reach home. With the loss of his master who held a secret to a weapons smuggling case and the corruptions of those who are involved, Goro's adventure unfolds.
Proof of the Man
When an American is murdered in a Japanese inn, Tokyo police detective Munesue follows the trail of the killer to New York. There he is joined by a New York City detective named Shuftan and together they sort out the crime.
Hokuriku Proxy War
In the setting of the Hokuriku region, where the snow and cold winds rage, for the first time in true-life yakuza film history, director Kinji Fukasaku shows battles among yakuza who value land over tradition. Hiroki Matsukata stars as Noboru Kawada, a Hokuriku yakuza who will use any measure for survival, disregarding parents, brothers, and tradition.
Japan's Don
A yakuza leader must balance his violent tactics necessary for the rough streets of 1960s Tokyo with the domestic needs of his daughters.
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.
The Viper Brothers and the Young General
The Street Fighter's Last Revenge
Moriyama
Terry Sugury is hired to recover one of two tapes containing a formula for making heroin for a price of 200 dollars a pound. But he gets double crossed. So he wants the tape back.
The Tattooed Hitman
The most dangerous hired gun in Tokyo's underworld has managed to trigger a vicious gang war, and now, there's a contract on his life. Though nobody is more skilled in the arts of dealing death, can the tattooed hitman fend off the entire Japanese mafia as he searches for the man who wants him dead?
Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Police Tactics
As Japan gears up for the 1964 Olympic games, the cops start to crack down on the gangs, under pressure from the public and the press, adding a new dimension in the war for power among the yakuza families of Hiroshima.
Girl Boss Revenge: Sukeban
Ozaki
The Kanto Gypsies, a tough girl gang, hide out from the law in the middle of a disputed gang territory, where they end up getting kidnapped by sinister underworld thugs. After breaking free, the girls set their sights on one thing: revenge. Miki Sugimoto stars as girl boss Komasa, the ruthless and sadistic leader of the Kanto Gypsies who possesses more than enough brains to match her killer looks.
Hikage-Mono
A Yakuza film directed by Kôsaku Yamashita
The Brawling Angel
Ninkyo with Hideki Takahashi.
The Pledge
When Omuro Yahachi of the Omuro family is selected as Mutsumikai Soke's successor, the conflict between the Kitakyushu and Wakamatsu begins.
Trials of an Okinawa Village
A boss from a trucking company has run-ins with evil yakuza during the American occupation of Okinawa. Her hometown is threatened by usurers, gangsters and indirectly by American GI influences. She must battle a yakuza organization with her employees to help settle things.
The Fort of Death
The second Bounty Hunter film, when master killer Shikoro Ichibei takes up the cause of a group of farmers being driven to despair by the vile Lord Ozeki. The villainous lord has driven them to mounting their last stand at a deserted fort against an army of attackers. Wakayama Tomisaburo is superb as an expert in killing and military tactics, who leaves his medical practice at a clinic for the poor in order to counter the vicious tactics of that vile lord.
Japan's Violent Gangs: The Boss and the Killers
An honorable yakuza syndicate deeply rooted in Kyoto fights for survival when a new breed of gangsters threaten their very existence.
Memoir of Japanese Assassinations
This anthology film consists of nine incidents in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when assassins changed the course of Japanese history.
Red Peony Gambler: Biographies of a Gambling Room
Junko Fuji returns as Oryu the Red Peony, a wandering female yakuza on a soul-searching journey after the death of her father. After collecting her sickly follower from jail, she is taken in by a fishing village. Feeling indebed to their generosity, she stays to work for the village and promises to leave her yakuza ways behind. When a dispute breaks out for the gambling rights to a local festival, the villagers are harrassed by a gang of thugs. When the harrassment turns violent, Oryu must decide wither to keep her promise or protect the villagers.
The Biggest Gamble
When Honjo is selected as Kansai district's chairman, Iwasa of the rival gang asks Itsuki to do everything possible to have Honjo step down, which puts Itsuki between a rock and a hard place.
Showdown of Men 4: Tetsu, the White Tiger
Tetsu, is a honourable and noble yakuza caught in a conflict between rival clans, and obligations each has toward their yakuza boss and brothers. A railroad line brings changing times to a community. Because Tetsu can't stand by and allow a bunch of yakuza men to molest women, it forces him to battle it out with a knife wielding rival, the unfortunate incident leads to his boss losing face and him having to leave the family to protect it. But the rival family won't stop until they destroy Tetsu who will risk life and love for his brothers.
Big Time Gambling Boss
Tokyo, 1934. The boss of the clan that controls gambling agonizes and some of his followers propose to Nakai to take his place, but he refuses the offer and suggests they choose Matsuda, who is in prison. Other clan members oppose and Ishido is elected. When Matsuda is freed, he doesn't accept this decision.
Showdown of Men 3
After being bailed out of trouble by a member of the Kaijima Clan, Ryuhei dedicates himself to saving the Kajima’s lucrative lumber business.
Gambler: Victory Without Death
Tsunetaro Asakura AKA "Dynamite Tsune" is a talented gambler, but not infallable. After losing his Boss's money in a dice game he repays his debt by serving as a pit boss for a struggling coal mine in Kyuushu. Quickly there's trouble with the local mining competition, who doesn't always play a fair game. True to his hot-headed nickname, Tsune only gets into deeper trouble.
Tears of Banishment
Ninkyo with Kôji Tsuruta. An elderly yakuza brother tries to clear an underling’s name.
Gamblers: The Dragon Tattoo
The second part of the Gamblers series.
Showdown of Men 2
Part two.
Code Between Brothers 2
The services of a wandering gambler, Seiji, are called upon to protect the turf of his loyal friend Risaburo.
The Kingdom of Jirocho 4
The continuing adventures of the Jirocho gang.
River Washes Away the Moon
Tragedy of the Coolie Samurai
Gonza was a handsome young laborer, a footman and spear-carrier, working hard for his meager wage. All Gonza wanted was to marry his young sweetheart, but despite their mutual poverty, her status as the daughter of a samurai blocked their path to happiness. A chance opportunity to achieve samurai status would come one day, but Gonza will regret trusting the so-called honorable samurai who extended this fateful offer, and the terrible price he'd pay, fighting for his life in one of the most blood-spattered samurai battles ever filmed.