The Yakuza (1974)
Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller
Harry Kilmer returns to Japan after several years in order to rescue his friend George's kidnapped daughter – and ends up on the wrong side of the Yakuza, the notorious Japanese mafia.
Starring: Robert Mitchum, Ken Takakura, Brian Keith, Herb Edelman, Richard Jordan, Keiko Kishi
Director: Sydney Pollack
The Bullet Train / Shinkansen daibakuha (1975)
Crime | Drama | Thriller
Criminals plant a bomb on a high-speed train. It will explode when the train slows down, unless a ransom is paid.
Starring: Ken Takakura, Shin'ichi Chiba, Kei Yamamoto, Eiji Gô, Akira Oda
Director: Jun'ya Satô
A Distant Cry from Spring / Haruka naru yama no yobigoe (1980)
Drama
In the vast expanse of an unforgiving land, Kazami Tamiko, a widow who lives only with her young son, struggles to make a living by running a small diary farm. Life is harsh, yet pleasurable when she finds a congenial companion, Tajima Kosaku. When Kosaku's mysterious past is finally revealed, Kazami resolves on a radical change…
Starring: Ken Takakura, Chieko Baishô, Hidetaka Yoshioka
Director: Yôji Yamada
The Railroader / Railroad Man / Poppoya (1999)
Drama
A solitary middle-aged station manager is haunted by troubling memories of his past when he learns the line his station is on will be decommissioned for lack of profitability. He is visited by a young woman, who mysteriously appears to cheer him up.
Starring: Ken Takakura, Shinobu Ôtake, Ryôko Hirosue, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Masanobu Andô, Ken Shimura, Tomoko Naraoka, Yoshiko Tanaka, Nenji Kobayashi
Director: Yasuo Furuhata
Black Rain (1989)
Action | Crime | Thriller
Director Ridley Scott's international crime thriller stars Michael Douglas as Mike Conklin, a New York detective under investigation for corruption. When yakuza hit man Sato (Yusaku Matsuda) kills two American mobsters in New York, he's extradited to Osaka to face trial, with Conklin and Charlie Vincent (Andy Garcia) as his escorts. Mistakenly turning over their prisoner to yakuza disguised as police, Conklin and Vincent realize, after running down some blind alleys, that they have no chance of finding Sato in the unfamiliar city and enlist the services of Japanese desk cop Masahiro "Mas" Masumoto (Ken Takakura). While relaxing with Mas at a karaoke bar, the cops also get information on the world of the yakuza from Joyce Kinglsey (Kate Capshaw), a high-class bargirl. As they continue the search for Sato, the scrupulous, methodical, and civilized style of Japanese police work rubs the improvisational, rule-breaking Americans the wrong way. But when Vincent is murdered, Mas and Conklin realize that success will come only through a blending of investigative and cultural styles. The almost impenetrably sooty, neon-saturated city of Osaka is superbly photographed by future director Jan de Bont.
Starring: Michael Douglas, Andy García, Ken Takakura, Kate Capshaw, Shigeru Kôyama, Yûsaku Matsuda
Director: Ridley Scott
Never Give Up / Yasei no shômei (1978)
Drama
Following a mass murder in rural Japan, ex-special forces soldier Ajisawa adopts the only remaining survivor of the massacre; an amnesiac young girl named Yoriko. Seeking to put the secrets of the past behind them, the pair instead finds themselves in conflict with the corrupt and powerful leaders of a small town. As Yoriko's memories begins to re-emerge, Ajisawa must call upon his killer instincts to survive against the odds.
Starring: Ken Takakura, Ryôko Nakano, Hiroko Yakushimaru, Rentarô Mikuni, Isao Natsuyagi, Takahiro Tamura
Director: Jun'ya Satô
The Yellow Handkerchief of Happiness / The Yellow Handkerchief / Shiawase no kiiroi hankachi (1977)
Comedy | Drama
Three complete strangers embark on a road-trip to Hokkaido.
Starring: Ken Takakura, Yusaku Shima, Mitsue Shima, Kinya Hanada, Akemi Ogawa, Hisao Dazai, Mari Okamoto, Kiyoshi Atsumi
Director: Yôji Yamada
Nankyoku monogatari / Antarctica (1983)
Adventure | Drama
Two Japanese scientists, Ushioda and Ochi, develop a bond with their sled dogs while on an expedition in Antarctica. Ushioda and Ochi eventually leave Antarctica, only to return to search for the dogs inadvertently marooned there.
Starring: Ken Takakura, Tsunehiko Watase, Eiji Okada, Masako Natsume, Keiko Oginome
Director: Koreyoshi Kurahara
Anata e / Dearest (2012)
Drama
A prison officer hands in his resignation after his wife's death, to drive to the port where she wants her ashes scattered at sea.
Starring: Ken Takakura, Yûko Tanaka, Kôichi Satô, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, Kimiko Yo, Haruka Ayase, Takahiro Miura
Director: Yasuo Furuhata
