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Akira. Dir: Katsuhiro Otomo. 1987. Japan
UNCA DVD PN1997.O86 A55 2001

A powerful psychic force known only as Akira resurfaces in Neo-Tokyo in the 21st century. Tetsuo, a young, inexperienced motorcycle biker driven beyond the boundaries of sanity by the power of Akira, is forced to conjure up demons laying dormant within his subconscious

Apu Trilogy. Dir: Satyajit Ray. 1955-1959. India
UNCA VIDEO CASS  PK1718.R3119 A68 1996 pts. 1-3

The saga of a Bengali man, from his birth to the birth of his son.
See also Song of the Little Road (part 1), UNCA DVD PN1997.R39 P38 2003.

Asoka. Dir: Santosh Sivan. 2001. India
UNCA DVD  PN1997.S59 A76 2001

Traces the life of Emperor Asoka, the grandson of Chandragupta Maurya who assended the throne of Magadha in the 3rd century B.C. To extend the borders of his kingdom, he wages one of the bloodiest wars in history with the neighboring kingdom of Kalinga, leaving it ravaged and devastated. Confronted by the aftermath of his conquest, Asoka is overcome with remorse and renounces the path of war to dedicate his life to spreading the teachings of Buddhism.

Autumn Moon.  Dir: Clara Law. 1992. Hong Kong
UNCA VIDEO CASS PN1997.L39 A88

Set in contemporary Hong Kong, where a young Japanese tourist is bargain-shopping and looking for food, sex, or preferably both. He meets a fifteen-year-old waif and the friendship that develops allows the young man's passion for food to be assuaged by the girl's grandmother, the wielder of a magic wok. But sex is a different matter than friendship -- which is what this film is really about.

Bandit Queen. Dir: Shekhar Kapur. 1995. India
UNCA DVD PN1997.K36 B36 2001

Based on the dictated prison diaries of Phoolan Devi, a woman born of low caste, who was sold into a brutal marriage when she was 11 years old. Her struggle against a class-based, male-dominated culture culminates in a spree of vengeful violence and finally a bloody coup.

Branded to kill. Dir. Seijun Suzuki. 1967. Japan
UNCA DVD PN1997.S85 B73 1999

The number-three ranked killer in the Tokyo underworld carries out three hits, but bungles a fourth. Then both the women in his life try to kill him. The next thing he knows, he is playing a cat-and-mouse game with the very dangerous No. 1 killer

The Bride With White Hair. Dir: Ronny Yu. 1993. China
UNCA DVD PN1997.Y8 B75 1996

Doomed lovers are caught in the crossfire of warring clans. In Cantonese and Mandarin, with English subtitles.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Dir: Ang Lee. 2000
UNCA DVD PN1997.L44 C768 2001

Set in 19th-century China, two master warriors are faced with their greatest challenge when the treasured Green Destiny sword is stolen. A young aristocratic woman prepares for an arranged marriage, but soon reveals her superior fighting talents and her romantic past. As each warrior battles for justice, they come face-to-face with their worst enemy, and the enduring power of love.

Cruel Story of Youth. Dir: Nagisa Oshima. 1960. Japan
UNCA VIDEO CASS PN1997.O75 C78 1992

A teenage girl and her criminal boyfriend perform sexual shakedowns on well-to-do middle-aged men.

Demon woman (Onibaba). Dir: by Kaneto Shindo. 1964. Japan
UNCA DVD PN1997.S45 O65 2004

An impoverished mother and her daughter-in-law eke out a lonely, desperate existence. In order to survive in feudal Japan, they are forced to murder lost samurai and sell their belongings for grain, then dump their corpses down a deep, dark hole

Double suicide. Dir. Shinoda Masahiro. 1969. Japan
UNCA DVD PN1997.S456 D68 2000

In this stylized dramatization of the puppet theater play, Jihei abandons business, family and self respect for a passionate love affair with a geisha whose freedom he cannot afford. As the world closes in upon him, he finds his only course of action to be death together with the lover he is unable to obtain in life

Dreams (Yume). Dir: Akira Kurosawa 1990. Japan
UNCA DVD PN1997.K87 D74 2003

Eight episodes exploring many aspects of humankind and man's need to harmonize with nature. Based on Akira Kurosawa's actual dreams.

Early Spring. Dir: Yasujiro Ozu. Japan
UNCA DVD

Early Summer. Dir: Yasujiro Ozu. 1951. Japan
UNCA DVD PN1997.O9 E37 2004

The Mamiya family is seeking a husband for their daughter, Noriko, but she has ideas of her own

Eat Drink Man Woman. Dir: Ang Lee. 1994. Taiwan
UNCA VIDEO CASS PN1997.L44 E38 1998

A retired master chef and widower is worried about the future of his three unmarried daughters who are skeptical about marriage. Yet he himself surprises them with his secret love affair with a young woman many years his junior.

The Emperor and the Assassin. Dir: Chen Kaige. 1998. China
UNCA VIDEO CASS PN1997.K35 E67 2000

Ying Zheng, the King of Qin, has one driving ambition: to unify China's seven kingdoms into one magnificent empire.

The Emperor’s Shadow (Qin Song). Dir: Zhou Xiaowen. 1996. China
UNCA DVD PN1997.X53 Q56 1999

Story of the rise of Ying Zhang, China's first emperor, and of his court musician, Gao Jianli

End of Summer. Dir: Yasujiro Ozu. Japan
UNCA DVD

Equinox Flower. Dir: Yasujiro Ozu. Japan
UNCA DVD

Fallen Angels. Dir: Wang Chia-wei. 1995. Hong Kong/China
UNCA DVD PN1997.K37 F35 1999

Set in the underworld of present day Hong Kong, this film intertwines two tales of love and isolation. First there's the unconsummated love affair between a contract killer and the ravishing female agent who books his assignments. When the killer decides that he must move on, he leaves her with only a coin for the jukebox and instructions to play a song, "Wang ji ta" ("Forget him"). In the second drama ex-convict Ho makes a living by re-opening shops that have closed for the night and intimidating customers into buying goods and services from him. After an awkward romance with a girl named Cherry, Ho finds himself all the more alone.

Farewell My Concubine. Dir: Chen Kaige. 1993. China
UNCA DVD PN1997.K35 F37 1999

Story that spans more than 50 years in the lives of two men at the Peking Opera, friends since childhood, and the woman who comes between them. Also an absorbing drama of the period in Chinese history from the warlord era through the Cultural Revolution.

Fighting elegy / Kenka erejii. Dir: Seijun Suzuki. 1966. Japan
UNCA DVD PN1997.S89 F54 2005

High schooler Nanbu Kiroku yearns for the prim, Catholic Michiko, but her only desire is to reform Kiroku's sinful tendencies. Hormones raging, Kiroku channels his unsatisfied lust into the only outlet available: savage, crazed violence

Fire. Dir: Deepa Mehta. India 
UNCA DVD PN1997.M44 F57 2000

Banned in India, this film was the first to confront lesbianism in that country.

Floating Weeds. Dir: Yasujiro Ozu. 1953. Japan
UNCA DVD PN1997.O98 F56 2004 2 discs

See Story of Floating Weeds (Ukigusa monogatari) below.

Forty-Seven Ronin, The. Dir: Kenji Mizoguchi. Japan
UNCA VIDEO CASS PN1997.M59 F67 1990 pts. 1-2

This fact-based account, created to inspire patriotic spirit during WWII, is a cinematic exploration of heroism and self-sacrifice which provides a rare glimpse at the price heroes sometimes paid to preserve their honor

Gate of Flesh. Dir: Suzuki Seijun. 1964. Japan
UNCA VIDEO CASS PN1997.S89 G38 1999

A group of prostitutes live together to protect each other in a desolate post-war Tokyo. Eventually they all come to love the same man which ruins their harmony and solidarity.

A Girl From Hunan. Dir: Hsieh Fei, Wu Lan. 1986. China
UNCA VIDEO CASS PN1997.F4 H75 1992

A child bride raises her illegitimate son as her husband's younger brother.

Good Morning (Ohayo). Dir: Yasujiro Ozu. 1959. Japan
UNCA DVD PN1997.O98 G66 2000

Satiric comedy in which two young brothers refuse to talk until their parents agree to buy them a television set. Set in a 1950s residential suburb of Tokyo.

Goodbye Dragon Inn. Dir: Ming-liang Tsai. 2003. Japan
UNCA DVD PN1997.T735 G66 2005 Taiwan (Mandarin dialogue)

A Japanese tourist takes refuge from a rainstorm inside a run-down movie theater and discovers that some of its patrons may actually be ghostly residents

Grave of the Fireflies. Dir: Isao Takahata. Japan
UNCA VIDEO CASS PN1997.T35 G73 1992

Two orphans in war-time Kobe, Japan, face fire bombs, hunger, homelessness, and despair as the war and their lives come to an end.

The Hidden Fortress. Dir: Akira Kurosawa. 1958. Japan
UNCA DVD PN1997.K87 H53 2001

A princess must escape across enemy lines with the royal treasure, guarded only by a loyal general and two greedy peasants.

High and low. Dir. Akira Kurosawa. 1963. Japan
UNCA DVD PN1997.A55 H54 1998

A complex crime thriller in which a wealthy shoe manufacturer's chauffeur's son is kidnapped in mistake for his own, and he faces a moral dilemma

Howl's moving castle. Dir. Hayao Miyazaki. Japan
UNCA DVD

Ikiru. Dir: Akira Kurosawa. 1952. Japan
UNCA DVD PN1997.K87 I5 2004 2 dvds

Discovering that he is in the terminal stages of cancer, a clerk spends his last months in search of the meaning to life. After his pursuit of pleasure has failed, he finds self-realization in bringing about the building of a children's playground in the slums and dies quietly fulfilled

In the mood for love. Dir. Kar-Wai Wong. 2000. Hong Kong
UNCA DVD PN1997.K37 I6 2002

The story of two lonely people who discover in each other the intimacy they have lost in their marriages

Ju Dou. Dir: Zhang Yimou. 1989. China/Japan
UNCA VIDEO CASS PN1997 .J8 1991

The abused wife of a sadistic Chinese mill owner and his overworked nephew fall in love. They come to believe that only murder can free the lovers from the mill owner's tyranny.

Kagemusha (The shadow warrior). Dir: Akira Kurosawa. 1980. Japan
UNCA DVD PN1997.K87 K34 2005

Reconstructing the splendor of feudal Japan and the pageantry or war, Kurosawa creates a soaring historical epic about a peasant impersonating a nobleman in battle. Kagemusha is presented in its original 180 min. uncut Japanese version, not the shortened "international version" presented by 20th Century Fox

Kids Return. Dir: Takeshi Kitano. 1996. Japan
UNCA DVD PN1997.K58 K53 2000

Masaru and Shinji are two high school juvenile delinquents who spend their time extorting classmates for small change. After a former victim beats up Masaru, the pair goes to a local gym to learn how to box. Shinji, however, proves to have much more innate talent than Masaru, who abandons the sport to join the local yakuza gang. After Masaru's departure, Shinji falls in with Hayashi, an older boxer whose influence pulls the youth down.

Kwaidan. Dir: Masaki Kobayashi. 1965. Japan
UNCA DVD PN1997.K63 K93 2000

Consists of four stories of the supernatural based on Japanese folk material. In The black hair, a poor young samurai leaves his first wife to marry a rich woman. When he is unhappy in his second marriage, he returns to his first wife, who at first appears unchanged from when he last saw her. In The woman of the snow, a woodcutter is spared by a mysterious ghost-like woman in the snow, but must promise never to tell anyone what he has seen. In Hoichi, the earless, a blind musician-monk named Hoichi is commanded by a gathering of ghosts to sing the saga of their ancient deeds. The head monk paints Hoichi's body with prayer verses to protect him, but unfortunately overlooks Hoichi's ears. In a cup of tea, a writer wonders what would happen to a person who drinks another's soul and finds out

Late Autumn. Dir: Yasujiro Ozu. Japan
UNCA DVD

Late Spring. Dir. Yasujiro Ozu. Japan
UNCA DVD PN1997.O98 L38 2006

A widowed father feels compelled to marry off his beloved only daughter

Not One Less. Dir: Zhang Yimou. 1999. China
UNCA DVD PN1997.Y56 N68 2000

A young woman is ordered to a remote Chinese village to be a substitute teacher. Barely older than her students, the shy girl is charged with keeping the class intact for one month or she won't be paid. When one of her students disappears into the city to find work, the stubborn teacher is determined to follow the boy and bring him back to school. Once in the city, her simple peasant pleas fall on deaf ears, and only when the local television station sympathizes does her search bear fruit.

Nausicaä of the valley of the wind. Dir: Hayao Miyazaki. 1984. Japan
UNCA DVD PN1997.M59 N38 2005

Nausicaä is the princess of a rural valley that lives at peace on the edge of a deadly fungal wasteland, until a ship carrying a weapon from a bygone industrial age crashes nearby. When warriors from a far country come to retrieve the artifact, their invasion draws Nausicaä and her people into a sprawling political conflict. Set 1,000 years after a global war that nearly destroyed all life on Earth

The pornographers. Dir: Shohei Imamura. 1966. Japan
UNCA DVD PN1997.I63 P67 2003

A small time porno filmmaker in Osaka, struggles to cope with the corrupt sexual mores in his family, the world outside, and in himself. He peddles his films to condescending executives and panders a little on the side, believing he provides a socially valuable service

Princess Mononoke. Dir: Hayao Miyazaki. 1997. Japan
UNCA DVD PN1997.M59 P75 2000

A young warrior searching for a cure for a deadly curse becomes entangled in a battle between a clan of humans and the forest's animal gods

Raise the Red Lantern. Dir: Zhang Yimou. 1991. China/Japan
UNCA VIDEO CASS PN1997 .R237 1992

Set in 1920's China, 19-year-old Songlian has become Fourth Wife to the wealthy Chen. Yet she must share her husband with three existing wives. Each must wait until dusk for the arrival of a red lantern, which signifies with whome the master will sleep tonight. When Songlian discovers that the other wives cheat to win the red lantern, she decides to join the fight for Chen's attention.

Ran. Dir: Akira Kurosawa. 1985. Japan
UNCA VIDEO CASS PN1997.K87 R36 1986

In 16th century Japan, an aging ruler attempts to divide his kingdom among his three sons, who turn against each other and betray their father, triggering events that ultimately shatter the kingdom, destroy the family, and drive their father insane. Based on Shakespeare's King Lear.

Rashomon. Dir: Akira Kurosawa. 1950. Japan
UNCA DVD PN1997.K87 R37 2001

Set in the Middle Ages, the nature of truth and subjective reality are probed in a series of flashbacks from four viewpoints to present the case history of a man's murder and the rape of his wife by a bandit

Red Beard. Dir: Akira Kurosawa. 1965. Japan
UNCA DVD PN1997.K87 R43 2002

A vain young doctor learns a valuable lesson from the dedicated director of a clinic for destitute patients

Red Sorghum. Dir: Zhang Yimou. China
UNCA VIDEO CASS PN1997.Y56 R43 1991

Beginning as a lusty romantic comedy about a nervous young bride's arrival and ensuing seduction at a remote and winery, and ending as a heroic drama of partisan resistance during the Japanese occupation.

Rouge. Dir: Stanley Kwan. 1988. Hong Kong
UNCA DVD PN1997.K93 R68 1993

A Hong Kong courtesan falls in love with the opium-smoking son of a rich family, leading to tragedy for them both

Samurai trilogy. Dir: Hiroshi Inagaki. 1954-56. Japan
UNCA DVD PN1997.I63 S368 2004 v.1-3

Samurai I - Musashi Miyamoto; Samurai II - Duel at Ichijoji Temple; Samurai III - Duel at Ganryu Island; A sweeping saga of the legendary seventeenth-century samurai, Musashi Miyamoto, set against the turmoil of a devastating civil war. Follows Musashi's odyssey from his unruly youth to his enlightened years as a warrior

Sanjuro. Dir: Akira Kurosawa. 1962. Japan
UNCA DVD PN1997.K87 S36 1999

A skilled but slovenly ronin comes to the aid of a group of naive young warriors fighting their corrupt clan leaders and manages to keep them out of trouble and alive in spite of their high ideals.

Scent of Green Papaya. Dir: Tran Ahn Hung. 1993. Vietnam
UNCA DVD PN1997.H86 S34 2001

Set in 1950s and 1960s Saigon, a young country girl joins a family as their servant and develops an enduring but secret attachment to a friend of the eldest son

The Seven Samurai. Dir: Akira Kurosawa. 1954. Japan
UNCA DVD PN1997.K87 S48 1998

This epic masterpiece is about a group of 16th century samurai who are hired to defend a small Japanese village that finds itself annually raided by an army of bandits who steal the meager crops harvested by the peasants. Tired of relinquishing their food supply but woefully inept in combat skills, the villagers decide to hire a band of samurai to protect them. In addition to the primary conflict between the villagers and the bandits, much of the tale revolves around young Katsushiro's coming-of-age, both sexually and emotionally. Kikuchiyo's search for acceptance forms the other major storyline. Indeed, everyone in Seven Samurai is searching: for adventure, for experience, for freedom from their oppressors.

Shadow Magic. Dir: Ann Hu. 1999. China
UNCA DVD PN1997.H8 S43 2001

Based on a true story about a Chinese photographer and an Englishman who arrives with "moving pictures." Liu unintentionally defies his families traditions to help bridge the gap between Chinese culture and the inventions and western technologies. In order to better his standing in society, so he can marry the woman he loves, Liu must decide if he wants to risk everything to help bring the motion picture industry to China.

Song of the Little Road (Apu Trilogy, part 1). Dir: Satyajit Ray. India
UNCA DVD PN1997.R39 P38 2003

Story of a rural family cursed with bad luck. Father Hari is a dreamer and poet, while his hard-working wife struggles to feed the family. But Durga, a free-spirited and petty thief, brings tragedy to the family in a moment's carelessness. The first film in the Apu Trilogy.

Spirited away. Dir: Hayao Miyazaki. 2001. Japan
UNCA DVD PN1997.M59 S75 2001

When a young girl gets trapped in a strange new world of spirits, she must call upon the courage she never knew she had to free herself and rescue her parents

Story of Floating Weeds, A (Ukigusa Monogatari). Dir: Yasujiro Ozu. 1934/1959. Japan UNCA DVD PN1997.O98 F56 2004 2 discs

This set includes the original 1934, black & white, silent classic A Story of Floating Weeds and the 1959 color remake Floating Weeds both directed by Yasujiro Ozu. In each film, Ozu captures the joy and sadness in everyday life.

Stray Dog. Dir: Akira Kurosawa. 1949. Japan 
UNCA DVD PN1997.K87 S83 2004

A bad day gets worse for rookie 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 thief, whose desperation has led him to a life of crime. With each step, the cop and the criminal's lives become more intertwined and the investigation becomes an examination of Murakami's own dark side.

The sword of doom. Dir: Kihachi Okamoto. 1965. Japan
UNCA DVD PN1997.O53 S96 2005

The thrilling tale of a man who chooses to devote his life to evil. A gifted swordsman plying his trade during the turbulent final days of Shogunate rule, Ryunosuke (Nakadai) kills without remorse, without mercy. It is a way of life that ultimately leads to madness

Tale of Genji, The. Dir: Gisaburo Sugii. 1987. Japan
UNCA VIDEO CASS PL788.4.G4 T34 1995

Animated film shows the life and loves of Hikaru Genji, a nobleman who was born the son of an emperor, but made a commoner. He was the most handsome man in the nation with abilities in poetry and music that were unparalleled.

Throne of Blood. Dir: Akira Kurosawa. 1957. Japan
UNCA VIDEO DISC PN1997 .T57 1991

Adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth, set in feudal Japan. Tells the story of a Samurai lord who kills his master and usurps his power in fulfillment of a witch's prophecy.

To Live. Dir: Zhang Yimou. 1994. China
UNCA VIDEO CASS PN1997.C43 T6 1994

In a smoky gambling den in 1940's China, a drunken young man runs through his family's fortune, losing their ancestral home and all their possessions. This staggering loss proves to be their salvation, and the first step in an odyssey of survival that will take them through war and revolution, love and loss, tragedy and triumph.

Tokyo Story. Dir: Yasujiro Ozu. 1953. Japan
UNCA DVD PN1997.O98 T65 2003

An elderly couple journey to Tokyo, where they are greeted less than enthusiastically by their adult children, until death quiets the conflicts.

Tokyo Drifter. Dir: Seijun Suzuki. 1966. Japan
UNCA DVD PN1997.S89 T65 1999

American director Quentin Tarantino borrowed much from this Japanese classic. Reformed killer Tetsu wanders around Japan, awaiting his own execution, until he is called back to Tokyo to help battle a rival gang. This edition of the film includes an interview with the director.

Tokyo Olympiad. Dir: Kon Ichikawa. 1965. Japan
UNCA DVD GV722 1964 .T65 2002

An epic study of athletes struggling to excel against their own bodies and against each other. Kon Ichikawa used 164 cameramen and over 100 cameras to show the humanity of the competitors-- the tears of the Japanese women volleyball champions, the bellow of the hammer throwers, the pain of the collapsed marathon runner and the solitude of the loser, finishing his lap, picking up his sweats and leaving the field

Tokyo twilight. Dir: Yasujiro Ozu. Japan
UNCA DVD

The twilight samurai. Dir: Yoji Yamada. 2002. Japan
UNCA DVD PN1997.Y36 T95 2002

Set during the Bakumatsu period (mid 19th century) a low-ranking samurai is forced to choose service over love

Ugetsu. Dir: Kenji Mizoguchi. 1953. Japan
UNCA DVD PN1997.M69 U44 2005

Set in 16th century Japan, a period of bloody civil war, the film is rooted in the postwar psyche of 1950s Japan. It focuses on an ambitious potter haunted by a beautiful ghost and a farmer who dreams of becoming a samurai

Wedding Banquet. Dir: Ang Lee. 1993.
UNCA VIDEO CASS PN1997.L44 W43 1994

Comedy about the age-old conflict between parents and their children. In New York, the Taiwanese half of a gay couple hopes to end his parents' matchmaking by announcing that he's engaged. What he doesn't count on is that they'll fly in to meet the bride and plan the nuptials.

What Time is it There? Dir: Tsai Ming-liang. 2001. Taiwan
UNCA DVD PN1997.M564 W43 2002

Hxiao Kang sells watches on the streets of Taipei for a living. Shortly after his father's death, he meets a young woman who leaves for Paris the next day. He sells her his own watch which has two dials so she can keep time with both Paris and Taipei. His brief encounter with the young woman makes him run around setting all the watches in Taipei to Paris time.

When a woman ascends the stairs. Dir: Mikio Naruse. Japan
UNCA DVD

Whisper of the Heart. Dir: Yoshifumi Kondo. Japan
UNCA DVD

Yellow Earth. Dir: Chen Kaige. 1984. China
UNCA VIDEO CASS PN1997.K35 Y45 1993

The year is 1939. The life of a young peasant girl in Northern Shaanxi province is changed forever by a Communist soldier sent out to collect folk songs for the use of revolutionary armies.

Yi Yi (A One and a Two). Dir: Edward Yang. 2000. Taiwan
UNCA DVD PN1997.Y36 Y5 2001

Follows the individual lives of the Jian family. Due to many circumstances, the entire family will have to re-evaluate who they are and what their lives have become.

Yojimbo (The Bodyguard). Dir: Akira Kurosawa. 1961. Japan
UNCA DVD PN1997.K87 Y65 1999

In the year 1860, a wandering samurai-for-hire turns the war between two clans fighting for control of a small town to his own advantage. A satire on greed, violence, paranoia and human weakness.

Youth of the beast / Yaju no seishun. Dir: Seijun Suzuki. 1963. Japan
UNCA DVD PN1997.S89 Y68 2005

When a mysterious stranger muscles into two rival yakuza gangs, Tokyo's underworld explodes with violence. This film was a breakthrough for director Seijun Suzuki, introducing the flamboyant colors and hallucinatory images that became his trademark.