Acting
Minoru Chiaki
Born April 28, 1917 · Hokkaido, Japan
Died November 1, 1999 · aged 82
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Minoru Chiaki (千秋 実 Chiaki Minoru) was a Japanese actor who appeared in such films as Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai and The Hidden Fortress. In Seven Samurai he was the good-natured samurai Heihachi. Later in his career he appeared as a secondary actor in many Toei films. In 1986 he was given the Best Actor prize at the Japan Academy Prize ceremony for his …
Known For
Seven Samurai · 1954Seven Samurai
★ 8.41954
MovieActionDrama
A samurai answers a village's request for protection after he falls on hard times. The town needs protection from bandits, so the samurai gathers six others to help him teach the people how to defend themselves, and the villagers provide the soldiers with food.
High and Low · 1963High and Low
★ 8.41963
MovieDramaCrime
A Yokohama shoe executive faces a wrenching choice when kidnappers mistakenly seize his chauffeur’s son but demand the ransom anyway.
Ikiru · 1952Ikiru
★ 8.31952
MovieDrama
Kanji Watanabe is a middle-aged man who has worked in the same monotonous bureaucratic position for decades. Learning he has cancer, he starts to look for the meaning of his life.
Rashomon · 1950Rashomon
★ 8.01950
MovieCrimeDrama
Four people recount different versions of the story of a man's murder and the rape of his wife.
Saijoke no kyoen · 1951Saijoke no kyoen
1951
MovieDrama
Throne of Blood · 1957Throne of Blood
★ 7.91957
MovieDramaHistory
Returning to their lord's castle, samurai warriors Washizu and Miki are waylaid by a spirit who predicts their futures. When the first part of the spirit's prophecy comes true, Washizu's scheming wife, Asaji, presses him to speed up the rest of the spirit's prophecy by murdering his lord and usurping his place. Director Akira Kurosawa's resetting of William Shakespeare's "Macbeth" in feudal Japan is one of his most acclaimed films.
The Hidden Fortress · 1958The Hidden Fortress
★ 8.01958
MovieDramaAction
In feudal Japan, during a bloody war between clans, two cowardly and greedy peasants, soldiers of a defeated army, stumble upon a mysterious man who guides them to a fortress hidden in the mountains.
The Face of Another · 1966The Face of Another
★ 7.81966
MovieDramaScience Fiction
A businessman with a disfigured face obtains a lifelike mask from his new doctor, but the mask starts altering his personality and causing him to question his identity.
Movies
Seven Samurai · 1954Seven Samurai
★ 8.41954
MovieActionDrama
A samurai answers a village's request for protection after he falls on hard times. The town needs protection from bandits, so the samurai gathers six others to help him teach the people how to defend themselves, and the villagers provide the soldiers with food.
High and Low · 1963High and Low
★ 8.41963
MovieDramaCrime
A Yokohama shoe executive faces a wrenching choice when kidnappers mistakenly seize his chauffeur’s son but demand the ransom anyway.
Ikiru · 1952Ikiru
★ 8.31952
MovieDrama
Kanji Watanabe is a middle-aged man who has worked in the same monotonous bureaucratic position for decades. Learning he has cancer, he starts to look for the meaning of his life.
Rashomon · 1950Rashomon
★ 8.01950
MovieCrimeDrama
Four people recount different versions of the story of a man's murder and the rape of his wife.
Saijoke no kyoen · 1951Saijoke no kyoen
1951
MovieDrama
Throne of Blood · 1957Throne of Blood
★ 7.91957
MovieDramaHistory
Returning to their lord's castle, samurai warriors Washizu and Miki are waylaid by a spirit who predicts their futures. When the first part of the spirit's prophecy comes true, Washizu's scheming wife, Asaji, presses him to speed up the rest of the spirit's prophecy by murdering his lord and usurping his place. Director Akira Kurosawa's resetting of William Shakespeare's "Macbeth" in feudal Japan is one of his most acclaimed films.
The Hidden Fortress · 1958The Hidden Fortress
★ 8.01958
MovieDramaAction
In feudal Japan, during a bloody war between clans, two cowardly and greedy peasants, soldiers of a defeated army, stumble upon a mysterious man who guides them to a fortress hidden in the mountains.
The Face of Another · 1966The Face of Another
★ 7.81966
MovieDramaScience Fiction
A businessman with a disfigured face obtains a lifelike mask from his new doctor, but the mask starts altering his personality and causing him to question his identity.
Godzilla Raids Again · 1955Godzilla Raids Again
★ 6.01955
MovieScience FictionHorror
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.
Stray Dog · 1949Stray Dog
★ 7.61949
MovieCrimeDrama
A bad day gets worse for young detective Murakami when a pickpocket steals his gun on a hot, crowded bus. Desperate to right the wrong, he goes undercover, scavenging Tokyo’s sweltering streets for the stray dog whose desperation has led him to a life of crime. With each step, cop and criminal’s lives become more intertwined and the investigation becomes an examination of Murakami’s own dark side.
Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island · 1956Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island
★ 7.21956
MovieActionAdventure
A humble and simple Takezo abandons his life as a knight errant. He's sought as a teacher and vassal by Shogun, Japan's most powerful clan leader. He's also challenged to fight by the supremely confident and skillful Sasaki Kojiro. Takezo agrees to fight Kojiro in a year's time but rejects Shogun's patronage, choosing instead to live on the edge of a village, raising vegetables. He's followed there by Otsu and later by Akemi, both in love with him. The year ends as Takezo assists the villagers against a band of brigands. He seeks Otsu's forgiveness and accepts her love, then sets off across the water to Ganryu Island for his final contest.
The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity · 1959The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity
★ 8.21959
MovieWarDrama
Kaji, sent to the Japanese army labeled Red, witnesses cruelties in the army and revolts against the abusive treatment against a fellow recruit. He also sees his friend Shinjô defecting to the Russian border, and he ends in the front to fight a lost battle against the Russian tanks division.
The Idiot · 1951The Idiot
★ 7.01951
MovieDramaRomance
A gentle, war-shattered ex-soldier, Kinji Kameda, arrives in wintry Hokkaidō and is pulled into a volatile tangle of love and pity between the disgraced Taeko Nasu, the proud Ayako, and his possessive friend Akama. Kameda’s saintly compassion exposes everyone’s wounds, steering the quartet toward jealousy, violence, and inexorable tragedy. Adapted from Dostoevsky’s novel.
The Lower Depths · 1957The Lower Depths
★ 7.11957
MovieDrama
Residents of a rundown boardinghouse in 19th-century Japan, including a mysterious old man and an aging actor, get drawn into a love triangle that turns violent. When amoral thief Sutekichi breaks off his affair with landlady Osugi to romance her younger sister, Okayo, Osugi extracts her revenge by revealing her infidelity to her jealous husband.
Scandal · 1950Scandal
★ 6.91950
MovieDrama
A celebrity photograph sparks a court case as a tabloid magazine spins a scandalous yarn over a painter and a famous singer.
Drunken Sword · 1962Drunken Sword
★ 6.01962
Movie
Tetsunosuke, an eccentric doctor and an owner of a fencing school, takes aim against corrupt authorities.
Lion Festival of Echigo · 1962Lion Festival of Echigo
1962
Movie
Official with a Tattoo · 1960Official with a Tattoo
★ 6.51960
MovieDrama
Kinnosuke of Toyama sets out on a private mission to clear his father’s name for a crime he did not commit.
The Princess and the Bearded Lord · 1962The Princess and the Bearded Lord
1962
Movie
Black Thief · 1964Black Thief
★ 7.51964
MovieAction
Organized thieves battle against the Shogun’s ruthless ruling in attempt to get back their land.
Tokyo's Business District · 1962Tokyo's Business District
1962
Movie
Scoundrel · 1956Scoundrel
1956
MovieDrama
Beauty and the Thief · 1952Beauty and the Thief
★ 9.01952
MovieAdventureDrama
The picture belongs to the jidai gekki (historic) genre. It is a powerful story of violence and eroticism, picturing a world at once sordid and poetic, with two central themes which intermingle to compound an admirable panel of a critical period in Japanese history: the great famine in the mid 19th Century.
I Live in Fear · 1955I Live in Fear
★ 7.31955
MovieDrama
An aging foundry patriarch, gripped by terror of nuclear annihilation, tries to uproot his family to Brazil. When they petition to have him declared incompetent, a family-court counselor witnesses his obsession slide into ruin—and asks whether ignoring the atomic threat is any saner.