Kagebôshi: The Shadow Avenger

Kagebôshi: The Shadow Avenger

1959 · 85 min · ★ 10.0 · Action, History

For the poor, Edo is Hell on Earth, starving under the rule of Tanuma Okitsugi, corrupt councilor to the shogun. But the courageous vagabond called “Kageboshi” (Shadow Avenger), will fight for the common folk, robbing the rich so the people will have rice. Tanuma’s henchmen will hire an evil swordsman to pose as Kageboshi, starting a wave of murder, kidnapping and robbery, searching for two antique sword-guards that will reveal the hiding place of a fortune in buried gold. But who will claim the gold? The poor of Edo, or the conniving Tanuma? Only Kageboshi’s flashing sword, tearing through Tanuma’s bloodthirsty minions, can forestall his wicked schemes.

Directed by Nobuo Nakagawa · Written by Jiro Fujishima

Your Rating

Where to Watch

Rent or Buy

Cast

Make it a double feature

2h 56m together

Kagebôshi: The Shadow Avenger

Showdown at Lightning Pass

Both from Nobuo Nakagawa.

More from Nobuo NakagawaSee all →

Showdown at Lightning Pass

Showdown at Lightning Pass · 1962

Showdown at Lightning Pass

A story about a spear master’s spiritual and martial discipline.

Today is Payday

Today is Payday · 1952

Today is Payday

Office worker comedy by Nobuo Nakagawa

Ghost in the Regiment

Ghost in the Regiment · 1958

Ghost in the Regiment

MovieHorrorCrime

Desiring another officer’s new wife, a military police lieutenant fabricates evidence of treason that consigns the innocent man to torture and a firing squad. The lieutenant rapes the wife, but is haunted by bad dreams which after he is assigned to a battalion with the victim’s brother.

Ultraman Leo

Ultraman Leo · 1974

SeriesAction & AdventureSci-Fi & Fantasy

After being brutally maimed by evil aliens, Dan Moroboshi (Ultra Seven) takes under his wing a fierce young Ultra-like being from L-77, and christens him "Ultraman Leo," to continue his mission to defend the Earth.

A Wicked Woman

A Wicked Woman · 1958

MovieDramaCrime

In 1870's Tokyo, Den steals to support the daughter of her first marriage and her consumptive second husband. She falls in love with a young policeman, but is coerced into becoming the mistress of and procurer for a vice boss.

Ghost Story of Yotsuya

Ghost Story of Yotsuya · 1959

Ghost Story of Yotsuya

This horror tale adapts the Japanese legend about a man who faces the consequences of betraying his wife in order to acquire wealth and power.

Black Cat Mansion

Black Cat Mansion · 1958

Black Cat Mansion

MovieDramaHorror

The descendant of the servant of a cruel and vicious samurai returns to the town where she was born, only to find that a cat who is possessed by the spirits of those murdered by the samurai is trying to kill her.

Okatsu the Fugitive

Okatsu the Fugitive · 1969

Okatsu the Fugitive

MovieCrimeAction

Okatsu the Fugitive is the third film in the "Ohyaku/Okatsu" series. Okatsu; a "tomboy" who is good with a sword. Her father has found her a man to marry and actually she doesn't seem too upset about the situation. At the same time, a bunch of farmers are being slaughtered by a corrupt group running a tobacco smuggling ring. They're being investigated by a man who is documenting their crimes and when they find out about it, they torture him for information but get none. It's not long before he and Okatsu's mother wind up dead and she sets out for revenge.

Jigoku

MovieHorrorDrama

A group of sinners involved in interconnected tales of murder, revenge, deceit and adultery all meet at the Gates of Hell.

Quick-draw Okatsu

Quick-draw Okatsu · 1969

Quick-draw Okatsu

MovieCrimeAction

This film focuses on Okatsu; the adopted daughter of a master swordsman. She is a master with a sword herself and her talents far overshadow that of her brother, and real child of the man who adopted her. Her brother unfortunately has a gambling habit, and it plunges the family into trouble when he loses a lot of money in a crooked dice game. After releasing he is unable to pay the debt he owes; the blame is shouldered by the father, who is killed, leading Okatsu on a path of revenge.

The Ceiling at Utsunomiya

The Ceiling at Utsunomiya · 1956

The Ceiling at Utsunomiya

MovieActionHorror

Ryutaro is a spy employed by the shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu, who is the target of assassination attempts that aim to hand power over to his younger brother Tadanaga.

Snake Woman's Curse

Snake Woman's Curse · 1968

Snake Woman's Curse

An old man dies of heartbreak when a cruel landlord is about to repossess his land. The old man haunts the landlord from the grave. Since the man died in debt, his wife and daughter are indentured servants and are forced to work in the landlord's factory.

The Phantom Goblin

The Phantom Goblin · 1962

The Phantom Goblin

MovieCrimeDrama

An injured Edo official is rescued by a vassal whose appearance is exactly like himself, and swears to sweep out the criminals from the town on his behalf.

The Lady Vampire

The Lady Vampire · 1959

The Lady Vampire

Tamio takes Itsuko to an art gallery and the two find one painting is a nude portrait of Itsuko's mother, who disappeared twenty years ago when she was just a baby. No one knows the first thing about the artist who painted it, but he goes by the name Shiro Sofue, and he's always wearing shades in the daytime...

Vampire Moth

Vampire Moth · 1956

MovieHorrorMystery

After a successful fashion designer receives a disturbing package, a series of bizarre murders begins to claim the models around her. As rumours of a grotesque, fanged killer spread, detective Kōsuke Kindaichi investigates the secrets connecting the victims, their employer and a mysterious figure from the past.

Sunset Over Mount Fuji

Sunset Over Mount Fuji · 1952

Sunset Over Mount Fuji

Jidai-geki starring Kanjuro Arashi

More Like This

Ben-Hur

Ben-Hur · 1959

MovieHistoryDrama

In ancient Judea, a Jewish aristocrat opposing Roman occupation of his homeland reunites with his childhood friend, now a Roman commander — setting in motion a saga of betrayal, adventure, tragedy, revenge, and faith.

The Last Samurai

The Last Samurai · 2003

The Last Samurai

MovieDramaAction

Nathan Algren is an American hired to instruct the Japanese army in the ways of modern warfare, which finds him learning to respect the samurai and the honorable principles that rule them. Pressed to destroy the samurai's way of life in the name of modernization and open trade, Algren decides to become an ultimate warrior himself and to fight for their right to exist.

Sissi: The Fateful Years of an Empress

Sissi: The Fateful Years of an Empress · 1957

Sissi: The Fateful Years of an Empress

MovieRomanceDrama

After a wonderful time in Hungary Sissi falls extremely ill and must retreat to a Mediterranean climate to rest. The young empress’ mother takes her from Austria to recover in Madeira.

The Birth of a Nation

The Birth of a Nation · 1915

The Birth of a Nation

MovieDramaHistory

Two families, abolitionist Northerners the Stonemans and Southern landowners the Camerons, intertwine. When Confederate colonel Ben Cameron is captured in battle, nurse Elsie Stoneman petitions for his pardon. In Reconstruction-era South Carolina, Cameron founds the Ku Klux Klan, battling Elsie's congressman father and his African-American protégé, Silas Lynch.

Schindler's List

Schindler's List · 1993

Schindler's List

MovieDramaHistory

The true story of how businessman Oskar Schindler saved over a thousand Jewish lives from the Nazis while they worked as slaves in his factory during World War II.

Outlaw King

Outlaw King · 2018

MovieActionHistory

Forced into exile by the English after being crowned King of Scotland, legendary warrior Robert the Bruce fights to reclaim the throne.

Plunkett & Macleane

Plunkett & Macleane · 1999

Plunkett & Macleane

MovieActionComedy

Will Plunkett and Captain James Macleane, two men from different ends of the social spectrum in 18th-century England, enter a gentlemen's agreement: They decide to rid the aristocrats of their belongings. With Plunkett's criminal know-how and Macleane's social connections, they team up to be soon known as "The Gentlemen Highwaymen". But when one day these gentlemen hold up Lord Chief Justice Gibson's coach, Macleane instantly falls in love with his beautiful and cunning niece, Lady Rebecca Gibson. Unfortunately, Thief Taker General Chance, who also is quite fond of Rebecca, is getting closer and closer to getting both.

Maria

MovieHistoryDrama

Maria Callas, the world's greatest opera singer, lives the last days of her life in 1970s Paris, as she confronts her identity and life.

Batman: Strange Days

Batman: Strange Days · 2014

Batman: Strange Days

MovieActionAnimation

A lost tale from Batman's past, the Dark Knight tracks a strange giant to the mysterious lair of Hugo Strange.

Marie Antoinette

Marie Antoinette · 2006

Marie Antoinette

MovieDramaHistory

A retelling of the story of France’s iconic but ill-fated queen, Marie Antoinette - from her betrothal and marriage to Louis XVI at fifteen to her reign as queen at nineteen and ultimately the fall of Versailles.

The Elephant Man

The Elephant Man · 1980

The Elephant Man

MovieDramaHistory

A Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man being mistreated by his "owner" as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of great intelligence and sensitivity.

Memoirs of a Geisha

Memoirs of a Geisha · 2005

Memoirs of a Geisha

MovieDramaRomance

In the years before World War II, a penniless Japanese child is torn from her family to work as a maid in a geisha house.

A Night to Remember

A Night to Remember · 1958

A Night to Remember

MovieDramaAction

The sinking of the Titanic is presented in a highly realistic fashion in this tense British drama. The disaster is portrayed largely from the perspective of the ocean liner's second officer, Charles Lightoller. Despite numerous warnings about ice, the ship sails on, with Capt. Edward John Smith keeping it going at a steady clip. When the doomed vessel finally hits an iceberg, the crew and passengers discover that they lack enough lifeboats, and tragedy follows.

Kaala

MovieActionCrime

Karikaalan consistently fights to keep the people of Dharavi, a slum in Mumbai, safe from the clutches of mighty politicians and the land mafia don, Hari Dhadha.

Ran

MovieActionDrama

Shakespeare's King Lear is reimagined as a singular historical epic set in sixteenth-century Japan where an aging warlord divides his kingdom between his three sons.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter