To End All Wars (
2001) | IMDb:
7
Based on a real-life story, this drama focuses on a small group of Allied soldiers in Burma who are held captive by the Japanese. Capt. Ernest Gordon, Lt. Jim Reardon and Maj. Ian Campbell are among the military officers kept imprisoned and routinely beaten and deprived of food. While Campbell wants to rebel and attempt an escape, Gordon tries to take a more stoic approach, an attitude that proves to be surprisingly resonant.
Starring:
Ciarán McMenamin
,
Robert Carlyle
,
Kiefer Sutherland
,
Mark Strong
,
Yugo Saso
,
Sakae Kimura
Directed by:
David L. Cunningham
Madadayo (
1993) | IMDb:
7.3
Based on the life of Hyakken Uchida, a Japanese author and academic. The film opens with Uchida resigning his job as a German professor at the onset of WWII. The story is told mostly in vignettes as he is cared for by former students in his old age.
Starring:
Tatsuo Matsumura
,
Kyōko Kagawa
,
Hisashi Igawa
,
George Tokoro
,
Masayuki Yui
,
Akira Terao
Directed by:
Akira Kurosawa
Dreams (
1990) | IMDb:
7.7
A collection of magical tales based upon the actual dreams of director Akira Kurosawa.
Starring:
Akira Terao
,
Mitsuko Baisho
,
Toshie Negishi
,
Mieko Harada
,
Mitsunori Isaki
,
Toshihiko Nakano
Ran (
1985) | IMDb:
8.2
Shakespeare's King Lear is reimagined as a singular historical epic set in sixteenth-century Japan where an ageing warlord divides his kingdom between his three sons.
Starring:
Tatsuya Nakadai
,
Akira Terao
,
Jinpachi Nezu
,
Daisuke Ryū
,
Mieko Harada
,
Yoshiko Miyazaki
Kagemusha (
1980) | IMDb:
7.9
Akira Kurosawa's lauded feudal epic presents the tale of a petty thief who is recruited to impersonate Shingen, an aging warlord, in order to avoid attacks by competing clans. When Shingen dies, his generals reluctantly agree to have the impostor take over as the powerful ruler. He soon begins to appreciate life as Shingen, but his commitment to the role is tested when he must lead his troops into battle against the forces of a rival warlord.
Starring:
Tatsuya Nakadai
,
Tsutomu Yamazaki
,
Kenichi Hagiwara
,
Jinpachi Nezu
,
Hideji Ōtaki
,
Daisuke Ryū
Directed by:
Akira Kurosawa