FROM FUMIHIKO SORI THE DIRECTOR OF VEXILLE & PING PONG
Ichi honors the classic tale of the blind samurai while casting the legend in breathtaking new light. In a role traditionally played by men, award-winning actress Haruka Ayase is both tender and brutal.
Beautiful Ichi wanders blindly from village to village, searching for the sightless swordsman who long ago taught her to kill. Her technique is exquisite and explosive, her defenses as impenetrable as the darkness in which she moves. Many along her solitary path are touched – some by the sound of her delicate music, others by the edge of her lethal blade.
Also starring Shidou Nakamura (Letters from Iwo Jima), with original music by Lisa Gerrard (Gladiator, Dead Can Dance).
After the second impact, all that remains of Japan is Tokyo-3, a city that's being attacked by giant creatures that seek to eradicate the human kind, called Angels. After not seeing his father for more than eight years, Shinji Ikari receives a phone call, in which he is told to urgently come to the NERV Headquarters, an organization that deals with the destruction of the Angels through the use of giant mechs called Evas.Shinji's objective is to pilot the Eva Unit 01,while teaming up with the Eva Unit 00 pilot, Ayanami Rei.
The dramatic thriller received Animation of the Year and Best Director Award at Tokyo International Fair in 2007.
Licensed by FUNimation® Productions, Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
An award winning masterpiece, of sacrifice and devotion, Love and Honor weaves a timeless tale set in the waning days of feudal Japan. Directed by Academy Award® nominee Yoji Yamada (The Twilight Samurai) and starring Takuya Kimura (2046), Love and Honor depicts the emotional intensity of an age when respect was more valuable than riches and love cut more truly than any sword.
Shinnojo Mimura is a samurai sharing a hand to mouth existence with his beautiful wife, Kayo. Frustrated by his lowly status within the castle ranks, Shinnojo dreams of better days instructing children in the way of the sword. But destiny, it would seem, has other plans…
A freak accident takes the warrior’s sight, leaving Shinnojo cursed. Losing his status and pride, his hopes and dreams, and even himself to this life of eternal darkness, only one path lies open for Shinnojo: That of the true and noble samurai. Love and Honor – Tale of the fallen samurai.
What happens when those charged with taking life begin to cherish it? From award-winning filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-Eda, Hana deconstructs the legend of the samurai with a delicate mix of laughter and emotion.
The year is 1702. Peace has settled over the squalor of Edo and the swords of the once mighty samurai have been sheathed across Japan. In an era when dogs are more esteemed than the colorful peasants that inhabit the slums, Soza, a young warrior better with books than blades, is on a quest to avenge his murdered father and restore honor to his family name.
As the blood debt looms, sensitive Soza must decide - To kill or not to kill? Amidst growing love, shattered honor and the simple beauty of the cherry blossom… Hana celebrates the joys of even the most difficult of lives.
After 27 years of planning, Genghis Khan: To the Ends of the Earth and the Sea finally captures the mystery and majesty of one of history’s greatest rulers – Genghis Khan. This landmark achievement of Japanese cinema represents an epic undertaking not soon to be rivaled.
Genghis Khan, The name a legend. The man… Near myth. A soul obscured by his own achievements; son, husband, father, conqueror. Genghis Khan: To the Ends of the Earth and the Sea weaves the saga of one exalted man’s march toward immortality and the battle to unite the tribes of Mongol under one rule.
Directed by Fumihiko Sori (PING PONG, Producer - APPLESEED)
2067 : Isolation - Japan seals herself off from the eyes of the world in the face of unilateral international policy setting strict limits on the use of robotic technology. The island nation exists only behind a veil of seclusion. No soul shall enter. No soul shall leave.
2077 : Revelation - The veil is breached. Japan is infiltrated by agents of the organization S.W.O.R.D., a fighting force operating outside of the protection of the United States and her allies. Their mission: Determine if the Japanese are developing banned robotic bio-technology, forbidden due to its threat to humankind.
In the battle between machine and man, humanity stands to suffer most.
