Free Resources of Rare Movies
Japanese
The Cherry Orchard / Sakura no sono (櫻の園) (1990)
Feb 12th
The film offers a glimpse at a group of school girls who are very flexible in terms of gender roles, playing males both in the school play and in real life. A modern-day all girls high school traditionally celebrates its anniversary by staging Chekov’s play, but this year the faculty may cancel the play because Noriko, a senior, was seen smoking in a coffee shop with students from a rival school. Yuko has permed her hair and Kaori kisses her boyfriend on a couch.
Rhapsody in August / Hachi-gatsu no kyôshikyoku (八月の狂詩曲) (1991)
Feb 12th
An elderly woman living in Nagasaki Japan takes care of her four grandchildren for their summer vacation. They learn about the atomic bomb that fell in 1945, and how it killed their Grandfather. Richard Gere guest stars as an American nephew of the elderly woman.
Violent Cop / Sono otoko, kyôbô ni tsuk (その男、凶暴につき) (1989)
Feb 12th
Detective Azuma is a Dirty-Harry style rogue cop who often uses violence and unethical methods to get results. While investigating a series of drug-related homicides, Azuma discovers that his friend and colleague, Iwaki, is supplying drugs from within the police force. After Iwaki is murdered and Azuma’s sister is kidnapped, he breaks all the rules to dish out his particular form of justice.
Knockout / Doitsu naru nen (どいつなるねん) (1989)
Feb 12th
A Japanese boxer stages a dramatic and dangerous comeback after suffering brain damage in the ring.
Kiki’s Delivery Service (Majo no takkyubin) (魔女の宅急便) (1989)
Feb 12th
This is the story of a young witch, named Kiki who is now thirteen years old. But she is still a little green and plenty headstrong, but also resourceful, imaginative, and determined. With her trusty wisp of a talking cat named Jiji by her side she’s ready to take on the world, or at least the quaintly European seaside village she’s chosen as her new home.
My Neighbor Totoro (Tonari no Totoro) (となりのトトロ) (1988)
Feb 12th
Two young girls, Satsuke and her younger sister Mei, move into a house in the country with their father to be closer to their hospitalized mother. Satsuke and Mei discover that the nearby forest is inhabited by magical creatures called Totoros (pronounced toe-toe-ro). They soon befriend these Totoros, and have several magical adventures.
Grave of the Fireflies / Grave of the Fireflies (火垂るの墓) (1988)
Feb 12th
Setsuko and Seita are brother and sister living in wartime Japan. After their mother is killed in an air raid they find a temporary home with relatives. Having quarreled with their aunt they leave the city and make their home in an abandoned shelter. While their soldier father’s destiny is unknown, the two must depend on each other to somehow keep a roof over their heads and food in their stomachs. When everything is in short supply, they gradually succumb to hunger and their only entertainment is the light of the fireflies.
Evil Dead Trap / Shiryo no wana (死霊の罠) (1988)
Feb 12th
Nami hosts a late night home video program. She receives a tape which appears to be a real snuff film. She and her crew investigate the location where she meets a man looking for his brother who warns her to stay away. As she gets closer to the truth, she and her friends are subjected to a brutal nightmare.
Akira (1988)
Feb 12th
Kaneda is a bike gang leader whose close friend Tetsuo gets involved in a government secret project known as Akira. On his way to save Tetsuo, Kaneda runs into a group of anti-government activists, greedy politicians, irresponsible scientists and a powerful military leader. The confrontation sparks off Tetsuo’s supernatural power leading to bloody death, a coup attempt and the final battle in Tokyo Olympiad where Akira’s secrets were buried 30 years ago.
The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches on / Yuki Yukite shingun (ゆきゆきて、神軍) (1987)
Feb 12th
This documentary was five years in the making, and revolves around 62-year-old Okuzaki Kenzo, a survivor of the battlefields of New Guinea in World War II who gained notoriety by slingshooting steel pinballs at Emperor Showa to protest against what he considered to be the ruler’s war crimes. Setting out to conduct interviews with survivors and relatives, he finds the truth of the past to be elusive, achieving a breakthrough only when he confronts ex-Sergeant Yamada, who grudgingly admits the occurrence and instructional source of certain atrocities.
Hachi-ko / Hachikô monogatari (ハチ公物語) (1987)
Feb 12th
The true story about a dog’s loyalty to its master, even after his death
Wicked City / Yôjû tosh (妖獣都市) (1987)
Dec 31st
There has been peace between the worlds of the mortals and the supernatural for centuries, but the balance is now being threatened. The Radical elements from the Supernatural world are crossing over into the mortal universe for the purpose of destroying the peace forever!
Wings of Honneamise (Ôritsu uchûgun Oneamisu no tsubasa) (1987)
Dec 31st
On a far-off planet, a Kingdom tries to launch the planet’s first manned spacecraft. This ten year old project not only faces funding and technical problem, but also is subject to political conspiracy and the neighboring Republic’s aggression. It’s all up to Shilo, the first spaceman to be, his friends and their faith to make the space program a success.
A Taxing Woman / Marusa no onna (マルサの女) (1987)
Dec 31st
Ryoko Itakura is a government tax agent who has just landed a big promotion. Her first assignment is to catch wheeler-dealer Hideki Gondo. She has a tough job, since in Japan tax evasion is an art and Gondo is, in effect, Rembrandt. Her job is complicated by a growing sympathy for the rogue and by political pressure to lay off.
Purojekuto A-ko (プロジェクトA子3 シンデレララプソディ) (1986)
Dec 31st
Project A-ko is the typical love triangle of three school girls and their confrontations with aliens, giant robots, and women who look like burly men.
Fist of the North Star / Hokuto no Ken (北斗の拳) (1986)
Dec 31st
After a nuclear holocaust tears the world apart, mankind is forced to the harshness of not only the oppression of others who are much more powerful, but the dead earth which seems to be getting worse with every passing moment. But a savior has risen from the ashes, a man who will defeat those who would torment the weak and make the world a livable place once more. A man named Kenshiro…..
Koneko monogatari (子猫物語) (1986)
Dec 31st
The story of two animals and their adventures. Milo, the cat, and Otis, the dog, are two animals who grew up together on the same farm. One day, the two are separated and begin a journey to find each other. The adventurous, and often perilous quest finds the two animals traveling across mountains, plains, and snow-covered lands searching for one another.
Castle in the Sky / Tenkû no shiro Rapyuta (天空の城ラピュタ) (1986)
Dec 31st
A young boy stumbles into a mysterious girl who floats down from the sky. The girl, Sheeta, was chased by pirates, army and government secret agents. In saving her life, they begin a high flying adventure that goes through all sorts of flying machine, eventually searching for Sheeta’s identity in a floating castle of a lost civilization.
Lonely heart / Sabishinbō (さびんしんぼう) (1985)
Dec 30th
Lonely and love-struck, high-school student Hiroki pursues one girl but another one mysteriously appears in his life. Is she a figment of his lonely psyche, or real? An intricate triangle develops, and the viewer can’t quite be sure what is happening until the whole story is neatly resolved at the end.
