Movies by Ken Takakura
Black Rain
Two New York cops get involved in a gang war between members of the Yakuza, the Japanese Mafia. They arrest one of their killers and are ordered to escort him back to Japan. However, in Japan he manages to escape, and as they try to track him down, they get deeper and deeper into the Japanese Mafia scene and they have to learn that they can only win by playing the game—the Japanese way.
The Yellow Handkerchief
The story is about a convict released from prison for an old murder who is thinking about returning to his ex-wife and his former life. If she puts a yellow handkerchief on the window, it would mean that she wants him back at home.
Wolves, Pigs & Men
Sabu and his pals hold a pauper's funeral for Sabu's mother. His brother Jiro arrives home, fresh out of jail, and Sabu pointedly states that Jiro is not invited. Jiro meanwhile is planning a big job - steal 40 million in cash and drugs, and he invites Sabu and gang to act as decoys, for 50,000 each. The sting is a success, but the double-crossing starts almost immediately. Sabu discovers how little of the take they were promised and hides the stash. Jiro and his slimy partner pressure the kids to fess up. Meanwhile, their respectable elder ...
Contemporary Tales of Chivalry 2
Hidejiro is a wandering yakuza with a ‘karashi botan’ (Chinese lion and peony) tattoo. Owing a favor to the Soda Family, he kills the boss of the rival Sakaki Family. When the Soda attacks the Sakaki and double-crosses him, with sword in hand, Hidejiro seeks brutal retribution.
Abashiri Prison
Abashiri Prison is located in the coldest place in Japan. Two men, handcuffed together have escaped from the prison, one a yakuza, the other a petty criminal, and although they hate each other they must work together if they are to evade capture in this harshest of climates.
Contemporary Tales of Chivalry: The Lone Wolf
The karashi Botan returns in the third chapter of the incredible Showa Zankoden series. This time legendary actor Ken Takakura plays Takei Shigejiro of the Shimazu family. When the boss of the Shimazu is killed, Shigejiro takes revenge and is sent to jail. Upon his release, he meets the dying widow of one of hid followers and takes her to her father, Boss Shiomasa, who take him into his family. But when Shiomasa is killed by an old enemy, Shigejiro is obligated to take revenge...
Red Peony Gambler: Flower Cards Game
The third chapter of the ‘Red Peony Gambler’ saga depicts the happiness and sadness of Red Peony Oryu’s life as she seals her femininity with a red peony tattoo and lives in world of chivalry and honor of the yakuza. This story takes place in the middle of the Meiji era in Nagoya. Oryu is wandering the country, training herself to reinstate her family name. With a written recommendation from Kumatora, she appears at the door of the Nishinomaru family. At the same time, the family is preparing for the gambling competition at the Netsuda Shrin...
Brutal Tales of Chivalry
After World War II, their town was a pile of rubble. Gennosuke, the second generation boss of the Kamizu Group was upholding yakuza chivalry by keeping black-market and illegal items out of their open-air market. Taking advantage of the mess, Iwasa and his gang take hold of goods from the US military, black-market and controlled items in order to become the most powerful group in Enko area.
Lightning Karate Blow
Ken Takakura's screen debut, following his admission into Toei ranks via the studio's annual New Faces program, came surprisingly enough in this pair of Okinawa karate films. The two-parter was released on Jan. 29, 1956 as two thirds of a triple feature. Both halves run just under one hour. The fighting is actually pretty good for the time, and it's fun to see Takakura as an impatient, bearded karate rascal.
Jet Air Base 101
The first batch of flight control officer candidates, full of yearning for the sky, are assembled at the 101st Air Regiment base. Nakata, Sato, and the other cadets undergo intensive training under Captain Kotani, a famous pilot, but gradually begin to resent his strict leadership. A youthful story that vividly portrays the young pilots of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force who place their hopes in the sky. Japan's first full-length film about jet aviation, it was shot on location at the Hamamatsu Air Self-Defense Force Base over an extended p...
Glorious Fights
A young leader of the Yamazaki family of Nagasaki, Takida (Ken Takakura) is an A-bomb survivor. He fiercely battles violent elements in southern Japan like there is no tomorrow.
Brutal Tales of Chivalry 5: Man With The Karajishi Tattoo
Hidejuro is sent to prison after killing the boss of a rival family. After being released, he discovers that his family has scattered and he is taken in by a company of quarry workers, whose boss has a strict code of non-violence. When the rival family tries to take over the company and kills their boss, Hidejuro must choose between his promise of non-violence and his yakuza code of revenge...
Contemporary Tales of Chivalry 4
Fierce war breaks out when Shujiro’s rival clan attempts to sabotage his lucrative construction business.
Flower, Storm and Gangster
A gang of bank robbers plan a big robbery, but they all plot to betray each other after the heist for different reasons.
Winter's Flower
Kanno is a Yakuza. He had to kill Matsuoka who betrayed their boss. Kanno knew Matsuoka had a 3-year-old daughter named Youko. Before he gave himself to the police, he asked his trusted man to take care of her. While in prison, Kanno kept sending letters to Youko, disguising as an uncle in Brazil. 15 years later, Kanno is released. He is determined to live legitimately, however the Yakuza has not forgotten his wicked deed!
Contemporary Tales of Chivalry: The Traitor Shall Die
The ninth and final film in the Contemporary Tales of Chivalry series.
Brutal Tales of Chivalry 6
This is the sixth film in the Brutal Tales of Chivalry series
The Boss
Teruo Ishii portrays the bitter conflict over the right to develop land in a gripping and humorous way. Nakagami, the head of the Kanto Joseikai, is ordered to acquire the rights to work to level the reclaimed land and prevent the Doshikai from expanding from Kansai into Tokyo, but the interference of the Koda-gumi, associated with the Kansai Doshikai, intensifies. Nakagami's younger brother Hayami, unhappy that the situation is moving slowly, tries to blackmail the mayor into moving forward, but... A true Toei gangster film with an all-sta...
Tokyo Gang Vs. Hong Kong Gang
The Longest Tunnel
After a passenger ship sinks in 1954, Go Akutsu devises a life-saving project in the form of a tunnel under the Tsugaru Strait. While working on this project Akutsu becomes involved with Tae Makimura leading to his estrangement from his wife.