(Mostly) Forgettable Asian Movies of the 1960s
Since I have already created lists concerning the lesser enjoyable movie output from the west, I decided to do something similar concerning movies from Asia.
I do not mean to say that the pictures on this list are an absolute waste of time. Some of them make great B-pictures or are just ridiculously entertaining - at least if you like to think of yourself as someone with an ancquired taste. Others, well, others don't have any redeeming quality whatsoever and are simply bad.
On a side note, I am very much aware that movies from Asia (especially Eastern Asia) can often be quirky, strange or just downright different. I took that into account upon giving my verdict, but more than often I stumbled across a movie which, at least for me, just didn't cut it.
So, have fun browsing through what I, at least in some cases, consider to be the bad, boring, superfluous and/or way over the top kind of movies and don't hesitate to let me know if you agree or disagree with my choices.
PS: The movies are sorted by year and not necessarily by my preference. This list is by no means complete as I will add new worthwhile films as I stumble across them.
I do not mean to say that the pictures on this list are an absolute waste of time. Some of them make great B-pictures or are just ridiculously entertaining - at least if you like to think of yourself as someone with an ancquired taste. Others, well, others don't have any redeeming quality whatsoever and are simply bad.
On a side note, I am very much aware that movies from Asia (especially Eastern Asia) can often be quirky, strange or just downright different. I took that into account upon giving my verdict, but more than often I stumbled across a movie which, at least for me, just didn't cut it.
So, have fun browsing through what I, at least in some cases, consider to be the bad, boring, superfluous and/or way over the top kind of movies and don't hesitate to let me know if you agree or disagree with my choices.
PS: The movies are sorted by year and not necessarily by my preference. This list is by no means complete as I will add new worthwhile films as I stumble across them.
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- DirectorIshirô HondaStarsTatsuya MihashiKaoru YachigusaYoshio TsuchiyaA librarian is subject to a scientific experiment which goes wrong and transforms him into 'The Human Vapour'. He uses his new ability to rob banks to fund the career of his girlfriend, a beautiful dancer. The Human Vapour is ruthless in his quest for money and kills anyone who stands in his way, especially police. He soon becomes Tokyo's most wanted criminal. Can he be stopped before he kills again?"The Human Vapor"
- DirectorKenji MisumiStarsRaizô IchikawaKôjirô HongôTamao NakamuraThe story follows the life of Ryunosuke Tsukue, an amoral samurai and a master swordsman with an unorthodox style."Satan's Sword - Great Buddha Pass"
- DirectorKenji MisumiStarsRaizô IchikawaKôjirô HongôTamao NakamuraRyunosuke awakens in the forest having no more idea what happened that previous night, as he'd been drunk & hallucinatory. He is surrounded by corpses & can surmise it's his own handiwork."Satan's Sword 2: The Dragon God"
- DirectorKim Ki-youngStarsKim Jin-kyuJeung-nyeo JuEun-shim LeeA composer and his wife are thrown into turmoil when a housemaid becomes more than they bargained for."The Housemaid"
- DirectorJun FukudaStarsKôji TsurutaYumi ShirakawaSeizaburô KawazuMen are being murdered by a psycho called "The Telegian," who uses a matter-transmitting device to locate his victims."The Secret of the Telegian"
- DirectorNagisa ÔshimaStarsMiyuki KuwanoFumio WatanabeMasahiko TsugawaLong takes and a highly theatrical visual approach combine to form a tense and confrontational look at the decline of a socialist student activists' movement in Japan."Night and Fog in Japan"
- DirectorShigeaki HidakaWilliam RossStarsTatsuo UmemiyaYoshiko MitaYayoi FurusatoUSA and the communist countries start a war, later Japan becomes a tragic victim. A plot similar to "the Last War" by Toho."World War III: 48 Hours of Fear"
- DirectorShûe MatsubayashiStarsFurankî SakaiAkira TakaradaYuriko HoshiThis Japanese film speculates on the events which lead the U.S. and the Soviet Union into a nuclear Armageddon."The Last War"
- DirectorKôji OhtaStarsShin'ichi ChibaRyûko MinakamiMitsue KomiyaClumsy invaders from Neptune are thwarted by hero Space Chief and a nondescript group of microshort-wearing Japanese kids."Invasion of the Neptune Men"
- DirectorTai KatôStarsAyuko FujishiroSentarô FushimiJûshirô KonoeTamiya, an egomaniacal samurai, determines to reunite with his wife Oiwa, who's left him after a murder scandal. When her sister Osode is tricked into prostitution by a masseuse, Tamiya is joined by his friend Naosuke in turning the situation into a plot to win back Oiwa, which complicates as a new girl enters the picture. Tamiya's scheming injustices backfire in the form of an onryo, a vengeance-seeking ghost, and yet the movie's horror is entirely of human contrivance. Based on the famous Japanese Kabuki play Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan, written by Tsuruya Nanboku IV in 1825."The Ghost Story of Oiwa's Spirit"
- DirectorMasahiro ShinodaStarsYûsuke KawazuShima IwashitaKayoko HonooA young journalist turns to an assassin for help when a team of hired killers comes gunning for her."Killers on Parade"
- DirectorSeijun SuzukiStarsKôji WadaMayumi ShimizuShôichi OzawaA college student takes over the family business in the field of organised crime.Tokyo Nights"
- DirectorSeijun SuzukiStarsHideaki NitaniIzumi AshikawaYûji OdakaRyoji, a wanderer, arrives in a remote mountain town, carrying a shotgun and claiming to be a hunter. He quickly becomes embroiled in a web of trouble surrounding the town's mill."The Man With the Shotgun"
- DirectorKihachi OkamotoStarsYûzô KayamaMakoto SatôTatsuya MihashiWhile testing the advance prototype of a revolutionary gas engine, the vehicle is involved in a mysterious accident killing its driver. The police report states that it was an accident, caused by the driver. But driver's younger brother senses foul play."Blueprint of Murder"
- DirectorKazuo MoriStarsRaizô IchikawaTamao NakamuraKatsuhiko KobayashiDisguised as a beggar monk, Ryunosuke's harrassed along the road by the rowdy members of a country dojo or fencing school malingering outside their fencing hall."Satan's Sword 3: The Final Chapter"
- DirectorKenji MisumiStarsKôjirô HongôCharito SolisShintarô KatsuAn Indian prince leaves his world of comfort and riches behind to wander and meditate for six years in search of spiritual enlightenment. Siddartha turns his back on the old religion when people are starving needlessly."Buddha"
- DirectorIshirô HondaStarsRyô IkebeYumi ShirakawaAkira KuboA Tokyo scientist and his colleagues shift Earth to avoid a red-hot planet on a collision course."Gorath, the Mysterious Star"
- DirectorIshirô HondaTom MontgomeryStarsTadao TakashimaKenji SaharaYû FujikiA UN reporter covers the appearance of a prehistoric monster that emerges from hibernation, while a pharmaceutical company seeks publicity with a monster of their own."King Kong vs. Godzilla"
- DirectorHiroshi TeshigaharaStarsHisashi IgawaSumie SasakiSen YanoA man wanders into a seemingly deserted town with his young son in search of work. But after a bit of bad luck, he joins the town's population of lost souls."Pitfall"
- DirectorSeijun SuzukiStarsTamio KawajiNoriko MatsumotoKeiko SugiyamaA high school vigilante protects his community from the extortions of mobsters from a neighboring city."Teenage Yakuza"
- DirectorFeng YuehStarsDai LinLei ZhaoMargaret Tu ChuanHuangmeixi tragic opera in which Bai Suzhen, and her younger sister, Qingqing are centuries old snake spirits who have trained to take on human form for a thousand years. Suzhen takes the form of a young doctor and falls for Mr. Xu, a poor pharmacist who rescued her beaten snake form in a previous incarnation, and Qinqing her handmaiden and matchmaker. Although the medicine Suzhen makes has saved countless people, many monks insist that they are snakes and inherently evil, and try to make Xian escape them and become a monk himself. When he learns the truth with the posions from the Dragon Boat festival, he is literally scared to death. Suzhen, though pregnant, must then fly to the celestial mountains and battle for the flower that can restore him to life."Madame White Snake"
- DirectorToshirô MifuneStarsToshirô MifuneTatsuya MihashiTsutomu YamazakiDuring the Second World War, Takeichi Matsuo had participated in hiding a huge cache of gold in the Phillippine mountains. Years after the war, he is kidnapped by Mitsura and Keigo Gunji, brothers who want Matsuo to lead them to the still-buried gold. Matsuo, who is tormented by the memories of the half-million Japanese who died in the Phillippines during the war, wants to make off with the gold and return it to the Japanese people. But of course the Gunji brothers have other ideas."The Legacy of the 500,000"
- DirectorSeijun SuzukiStarsJô ShishidoTamio KawajiReiko SasamoriPolice detective Tajima, tasked with tracking down stolen firearms, turns an underworld grudge into a blood-bath. Suzuki transforms a colorful pot-boiler into an on-target send-up of cultural colonialism and post-war greed."Detective Bureau 2-3: Go to Hell Bastards!"
- DirectorIshirô HondaShûe MatsubayashiStarsTadao TakashimaYôko FujiyamaYû FujikiWhen an ancient underground civilization and their snake-like guardian plots to reclaim the surface world, those of the surface fights back."Atragon"
- DirectorShôhei ImamuraStarsSeizaburô KawazuKazuo KitamuraTanie KitabayashiLife story of a woman born in poverty trying to succeed. Through her many schemes, she faces her ups and downs in a cyclical nature, fueled mostly by self-interest."The Insect Woman"