Movies by Masao Oda

Rififi in Tokyo

Rififi in Tokyo

Van Hekken, an old gangster, arrives in Tokyo to direct a bank hold-up in order to get a very valuable diamond.

Roadside Stone

Roadside Stone

The Wayside Pebble is an effective drama about the hardships of a childhood spent with a brusque, cold-hearted father and a submissive mother. The year is 1910 and the place is a small Japanese village. Goichi is suffering because he wants to go to school, but his family is too poor to afford that luxury. Even when a kind friend agrees to help out, Goichi's father refuses to give in to his son's request for an education. Instead, he sends Goichi off to work as an indentured servant for a cold-hearted merchant and his family. As tragedy strik...

The Angry Sea

The Angry Sea

A semi-documentary story about the vicissitudes in the life of an elderly fisherman.

Kyu-chan, Draw Your Sword

Kyu-chan, Draw Your Sword

A laid-back man tries to become a member of the yakuza.

Run, Genta, Run!

Run, Genta, Run!

A touching story about a young boy, Genta, who bravely takes on life's challenges in hopes of finding a better life for himself and his sickly mother.

Whistling in the morning

Whistling in the morning

Minoru delivered newspapers to earn money for high school, but when his mother came down with illness he decided to use this money for her doctor's bill and gave up going to high school. His friends heard about this, and they donated money to his mother. So, Minoru goes to high school and yet he delivers newspapers cheerfully whistling every morning. A memorable film debut by Sayuri Yoshinaga, a representative of the Japanese film industry.The film adaptation of "Newspaper Delivery" by Minoru Yoshida, who won the Minister of Education Award...

The Master Spearman

The Master Spearman

This subversive period film features a hotheaded young samurai, Kurodo, who threatens to commit harakiri in response to the humiliation meted out to his family by the Shogun. The film critiques the inhumanity of feudal obligations, and Uchida’s direction slyly satirizes the contemporary cinematic audience, whose taste for onscreen bloodshed is mirrored in a crowd gathering to watch the protagonist’s planned suicide. The Master Spearman is imbued with Uchida’s characteristic blend of dark humor and stylized action, and Ryutaro Otomo gives an ...