Why Not?
Jan 08, 1981 | IMDB 6.1
151 min Watch NowDrama
The film depicts carnivalesque atmosphere summed up by the cry "Ei ja nai ka" ("Why not?") in Japan in 1867 and 1868 in the days leading to the Meiji Restoration. It examines the effects of the political and social upheaval of the time, and culminates in a revelrous march on the Tokyo Imperial Palace, which turns into a massacre. Characteristically, Imamura focuses not on the leaders of the country, but on characters in the lower classes and on the fringes of society.
MOVIE COMMENTS
SIMILAR MOVIES
Rurouni Kenshin: The Final
Harakiri
When the Last Sword Is Drawn
Lady Snowblood
Yojimbo
Kagemusha
The Twilight Samurai
Bloody Battle at Dawn
11 Rebels
After the Rain
Ninomiya Kinjirou
Tenchu!
Sekigahara
Yamazakura, The Cherry Tree in the Hills
Zatoichi and the Chest of Gold
Where did Sharaku go?
13 Assassins
The Samurai I Loved
広重ぶるう
Kinbakuka: Biniku no Mori
SIMILAR MOVIES
Rurouni Kenshin: The Final
IMDB 7.7 | Apr , 2021
In 1879, Kenshin and his allies face their strongest enemy yet: his former brother-in-law Enishi Yukishiro and his minions, who've vowed their revenge.Harakiri
IMDB 8.4 | Sep , 1962
Down-on-his-luck veteran Tsugumo Hanshirō enters the courtyard of the prosperous House of Iyi. Unemployed, and with no family, he hopes to find a place to commit seppuku—and a worthy second to deliver the coup de grâce in his suicide ritual. The senior counselor for the Iyi clan questions the ronin’s resolve and integrity, suspecting Hanshirō of seeking charity rather than an honorable end. What follows is a pair of interlocking stories which lay bare the difference between honor and respect, and promises to examine the legendary foundations of the Samurai code.When the Last Sword Is Drawn
IMDB 7.5 | Jan , 2003
Kanichiro Yoshimura is a Samurai and Family man who can no longer support his wife and children on the the low pay he receives from his small town clan, he is forced by the love for his family to leave for the city in search of higher pay to support them.Lady Snowblood
IMDB 7.5 | Dec , 1973
Yuki's family is nearly wiped out before she is born due to the machinations of a band of criminals. These criminals kidnap and brutalize her mother but leave her alive. Later her mother ends up in prison with only revenge to keep her alive. She creates an instrument for this revenge by purposefully getting pregnant. Yuki never knows the love of a family but only killing and revenge.Yojimbo
IMDB 8.1 | Apr , 1961
A nameless ronin, or samurai with no master, enters a small village in feudal Japan where two rival businessmen are struggling for control of the local gambling trade. Taking the name Sanjuro Kuwabatake, the ronin convinces both silk merchant Tazaemon and sake merchant Tokuemon to hire him as a personal bodyguard, then artfully sets in motion a full-scale gang war between the two ambitious and unscrupulous men.Kagemusha
IMDB 7.8 | Apr , 1980
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.The Twilight Samurai
IMDB 7.8 | Nov , 2002
Seibei Iguchi leads a difficult life as a low ranking samurai at the turn of the nineteenth century. A widower with a meager income, Seibei struggles to take care of his two daughters and senile mother. New prospects seem to open up when the beautiful Tomoe, a childhood friend, comes back into he and his daughters' life, but as the Japanese feudal system unravels, Seibei is still bound by the code of honor of the samurai and by his own sense of social precedence. How can he find a way to do what is best for those he loves?Bloody Battle at Dawn
IMDB 5 | Oct , 1959
A story of revenge between two samurai families on the Igagoe Road. Araki Mataemon born in the province of Iga. He studied the art of the sword under the Yagyu family. He helped the younger brother of his wife Watanabe Kazuma take revenge on his enemy Kawai Matagoro. Ichikawa Utaemon plays Araki Matemon and his son Kinya Kataoji plays Kazuma.11 Rebels
IMDB 7.2 | Nov , 2024
When the brutal Boshin War breaks out in Japan, a group of inmates on death row unite to defend a fortress against the Imperial army.After the Rain
IMDB 7.3 | Jan , 2000
A group of travelers is stranded in a small country inn when the river floods during heavy rains. As the bad weather continues, tensions rise amongst the trapped travelers.Ninomiya Kinjirou
IMDB 0 | Jun , 2019
Ninomiya Kinjirou is a biopic follows the life of the eponymous character, an 18th century peasant boy who worked to rescue over 600 poor villages and hamlets from financial ruin by developing new economic policies.Tenchu!
IMDB 6.9 | Aug , 1969
A ronin desperately seeks a way out of financial straits; he allies with the Tosa clan under the ruthless leader Takechi, who quickly takes advantage.Sekigahara
IMDB 7 | Aug , 2017
The background to and depiction of a watershed battle in Japanese history, at Sekigahara in 1600, when Tokugawa Ieyasu's Army of the East defeated the Army of the West of Ishida Mitsunari. The story includes the intrigues and shifting loyalties of the various retainers, family members, and samurai.Yamazakura, The Cherry Tree in the Hills
IMDB 7.5 | May , 2008
Based on a short story written by Shuhei Fujisawa (who also wrote Twilight Samurai, The Hidden Blade, Love and Honor), the film depicts the uneasy life of Noe Isomura (Rena Tanaka) with the difficult family she has married into after her former husband passed away. One day as she tries to brake off a branch of a cherry tree, she is aided by a samurai who she does not recognize but who recognizes her. He turns out to be a former suitor that she never met named Yaichiro Tezuka (Noriyuki Higashiyama) and who teaches swordsmanship to the local samurai. Meanwhile, the powerful new chief retainer of the village enacts land policies that threaten the survival of the local farmers.Zatoichi and the Chest of Gold
IMDB 6.9 | Mar , 1964
Ichi travels to the village of Itakura to pay his respects at the grave of Kichizo, a man he killed two years ago. When some tax money is stolen while in transit to the governor he is accused and sets out to find the money and clear his name.Where did Sharaku go?
IMDB 8 | Aug , 1968
Writer Jippensha Ikku hears Tsutaya Juzaburo, a wholesaler of picture books, mutter on his deathbed, "Where has Sharaku gone?" He begins to figure out the true identity of Sharaku, who disappeared after about 150 portraits of actors he created came out.13 Assassins
IMDB 7.4 | Dec , 1963
A sadistic Daimyo (feudal lord) rapes a woman and murders both her and her husband, but even when one of his own vassals commits suicide to bring attention to the crime, the matter is quickly hushed up. Not only will there be no punishment, but because the Daimyo is the Shogun's younger brother, he will soon be appointed to a high political position from which he could wreak even more havoc. Convinced that the fate of the Shogunate hangs in the balance, a plot is hatched to assassinate the Daimyo. The two most brilliant strategic minds of their generation find themselves pitted against each other; one is tasked to defend a man he despises, and has a small army at his disposal. The other is given a suicide mission, and has 12 brave men. They are the 13 Assassins.The Samurai I Loved
IMDB 7.6 | Oct , 2005
A young samurai stuck at the bottom of the hierarchical order attempts to rescue his childhood sweetheart from an evil clan lord after learning of a plot to kill her and her infant child. Bunshiro Maki is a skilled swordfighter who's lethal with a blade, yet still can't rise through the ranks of the system. After his father is accused of plotting against his clan and forced to commit ritual suicide, his longtime love Fuku is sent to Edo to become the clan lord's concubine. A few years later, Fuku has bore the clan lord a son. When Maki learns that the clan has hatched a plan to kill Fuku and her son to secure succession to the throne, he recruits two childhood friends to help thwart the diabolical plot.広重ぶるう
IMDB 8.8 | Mar , 2024
Kinbakuka: Biniku no Mori
IMDB 2 | Sep , 1985
At the beginning of the Meiji era, Sayoko, the daughter of a large banker in Tokyo, comes to Sotobo's villa for the first time in eight years, guided by her student, Yasu. In fact, Yasu is the son of Keizo Naya, the keeper of this villa. His father and older sister, Kyoko, live quietly in this place, where people rarely visit, like recluses. Sayoko, who grew up sickly and full of selfishness, treats Yasu, who has feelings for her, like a slave, blindfolds him, makes him help her change clothes, and makes him imitate Sansuke in the bathroom.