Bungo Japanese Literature Cinema

Four renowned Japanese directors each adapt a supernatural short story by Japanese literary masters for the KAIDAN HORROR CLASSICS omnibus series. In his adaptation of Yasunari Kawabata's THE ARM, Masayuki Ochiai reveals the inner world of fetishists in an eerily unsettling tale of a man who convinces a woman to let him borrow her arm for a night. Meanwhile, Shinya Tsukamoto explores death and unrequited love in Osamu Dazai's THE WHISTLER, about a woman who spies on her dying sister's secret love life after her own romance is dashed by her father. After VILLAIN, Lee Sang-Il looks at social outcasts once again in Ryunosuke Akutagawa's THE NOSE. The story follows a priest with a hideous nose who kills a young local boy in a moment of blinding anger. Meanwhile, Hirokazu Kore-eda creates a gentler ghost tale with Saisei Muro's THE DAYS AFTER, about a married couple who thinks the young boy who visits their house daily may be the ghost of their dead infant son.

After Japan's defeat in WWII, "Pandora no hako" follows a young man named Risuke who has contracted tuberculosis. He travels to the countryside to a unique nursing facility to receive treatment for his disease. At the sanatorium all the patients and nurses go by nicknames and Risuke decides to reinvent himself as Hibari. During his stay, Hibari develops realationships with other patients and nurses. After Hibari's friend Tsuikushi gets discharged from the nursing facility, Hibari writes to him about his relationships with Dakesang the chief nurse and Mabo another nurse that is bright and seems to like him.

Four short films based on ghost stories written by award winning modern Japanese writers.

Shu Tajimage happens to meet Fumiyo Bessho, a former high school senior, by chance. He is a popular guy with many girlfriends. But he has to end these relationships out of necessity. After hearing his story, Fumiyo unintentionally mutters that this situation is exactly like Osamu Dazai's unfinished novel 'Goodbye'. Shu is moved by the queer coincidence.

This enticing period melodrama depicts a long-suffering woman's relationship with her brilliant but self-destructive writer husband in postwar Tokyo. Based on a semi-autobiographical 1947 novel by Osamu Dazai, the story centers less on the womanizing, heavy-drinking, suicidal hero than on the wife who loves him. Written by Palm Springs International Film Festival

The story of a young man who has felt since childhood utterly alien from others around him. Since that time he has learned to put on a face to hide his alienation. He feels incapable of belonging to the human society, especially so by society's refusal to take him seriously. He then follows a descent into alcohol, drugs, & suicide ...

A theatrical compilation film based on four episodes of Madhouse's Aoi Bungaku Series anime.

The movie tells the story of Melos, a Greek country man that gets arrested and accused of conspiracy against the king. He gets three days to travel to his sister's wedding while Selinentius (Selinae), a genius sculptor that Melos just met stays as a hostage.

Osami, a soldier-of-fortune from Japan, joins with priest Ensai in a quest for the ashes of the great Buddha. Their journey takes them to a kingdom in the Middle East, where they find intrigue and romance in the court of an evil king.

Hashire Melos! is the title of two Japanese animated films. The first was directed by Tomoharu Katsumata and released on Japanese television on February 7, 1981. It was either 68 or 87 minutes long, and its official title did not include the exclamation mark on the end. The second, with the exclamation mark, was a 107-minute remake of the first and was released on July 25, 1992. It featured direction and screenplay by Masaaki Osumi, music by Kazumasa Oda, art by Hiroyuki Okiura and Satoshi Kon, and background art by Hiroshi Ohno. Both were produced by Toei Company Ltd. Visual 80, and both were based on the original short story written by Osamu Dazai in 1940.

In the year 2036 mankind has revolutionized the medical field. Scientist have conquered death via the use of internal nanomachines and the “Shell System,” however, only the richest can afford to partake. Yozo Oba has been troubled by strange dreams and one day joins his friend’s biker gang. They embark to the “The Inside,” where society’s elite live, however, this begins a terrifying journey of discovery that will change Yozo’s life forever.

Based on the novel by Osamu Dazai and distributed by ATG. The story of a young man who is caught between the breakup of the traditions of a northern Japanese aristocratic family and the impact of Western ideas. In consequence, he feels himself "disqualified from being human" (a literal translation of the Japanese title) and goes down the stairs to self-destruction step by step.

Eri, the daughter of a wealthy family, defied her parents' wishes and married Rokusuuke, an aspiring painter. She was prepared for poverty, and didn't care when Rokusuuke had an affair with a young model, Reiko. Eventually, Eri even offered her body to other men to make ends meet. However, as Rokusuuke's solo exhibitions began to gain success, a change occurred…

Ren Yoshimura directed this Daiei melodrama that was based on the novel entitled "Pandora's Box" by Dazai Osamu.