Toshirô Mifune
Date of Birth: Apr 1, 1920
Country: Japan
Biography: Toshirō Mifune (三船 敏郎 Mifune Toshirō [miɸɯne toɕiɽoː]; April 1, 1920 - December 24, 1997) was a Japanese actor who appeared in almost 170 feature films. He is best known for his 16-film collaboration with filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, from 1948 to 1965, in works such as Rashomon, Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, and Yojimbo. He is also popular for portraying Musashi Miyamoto in Hiroshi Inagaki's Samurai Trilogy. (Wikipedia)
Total Credits at Criticker: 101 (Actor), 1 (Director)
Biography submitted by hellboy76
Find more information about Toshirô Mifune at The Internet Movie Database
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Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create (2002) - Short Film
Documentary about Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa
Three Japanese tourists - a soldier, a divorced woman, and a salaryman - make a pilgrimage to the Ganges River in India, each in hopes of finding some spiritual release or meaning in life. (imdb)
The story of 16-year-old Riyo who journeys to Hawaii in 1918 to marry a man she has never met, except through photographs and letters they have exchanged (imdb)
Lou Diamond Phillips and Jennifer Tilly star in this atmospheric drama set in the wintry Canadian wilderness. Cast out of his Inuit tribe after clashing with his autocratic father (Toshirô Mifune) and killing a fur trader, young firebrand Agaguk (Phillips) flees with his bride (Tilly) to a frozen wasteland. As they struggle to survive against the elements, polar bears and wolves, a dogged lawman (Donald Sutherland) begins probing the murder.
In the 17th century Japan is divided between two forces. The eastern army lead by the Warlord Tokugawa Ieyasu and the western army which fights for Toyotomi's clan. Despite wining a recent battle, things look grim for the eastern army. Toyotomi's army has a supply of modern firearms, a weapon which might turn the tides of war. Tokugawa Ieyasu send his trusted samurai Mayeda and his son Yourimune to Spain. There they are to purchase 5000 muskets... (imdb)
Hisa Ishii and his brother Akira emigrate from Japan to the United States. They settle in rural California and start a strawberry farm, slowly integrating themselves into the life of the community, which includes Japanese-Americans of both lengthy and brief residence.
Heaven and Earth: Dawn Episode (1990) - TV Movie
Some of the greatest battles during the Age of Civil Wars were fought between the Uesugi and Takeda clans. Leading up to them was the incredible life of Uesugi Kenshin, who rose from a son out of favor with his...
Years after the death of legendary tea master Rikyu, his disciple Honkakubo attempts to resolve the mystery of the master's death... (imdb)
Tora-san, the näive and romantic peddler, returns once more to his home in Hokkaido where, as usual, he falls in love with a lovely young lady. The girl this time is Rinko Ueno, who has come home in an attempt to repair her relationship with her gruff veterinarian father, Junkichi 'Jun' Ueno. Tora-san gets caught up in the entanglements not only between Rinko and her father but between Dr. Ueno and Etsuko, a restauranteur with amorous plans for the ornery veterinarian. (imdb)
Based on a centuries-old traditional Japanese fairy tale, a country couple finds a baby girl in some bamboo and raises her as their own daughter. Not the same as the original tale, though, in which the girl was a fairy from the moon and was finally taken home. Instead, the film ends with the girl taken home by a spaceship. (imdb)
The story of Japan's victory in the battle of Tsushima Strait. (imdb)
A down-and-out American boxer becomes involved in a feud between two Japanese brothers. (imdb)
A steel samurai blade that was to be given to the American ambassador by the Emperor of Japan is stolen. American sailors and Japanese samurai are sent to find it. (imdb)
A depiction of the 1950 invasion of Inchon during the Korean War, which was masterminded by General Douglas MacArthur.
The Crescent-Shaped Wilderness (1981) - TV Movie
Set in 1945, near the end of WW II, Kenichiro Nogami is reported to have died in a Swiss hospital. In fact, Kenichiro Nogami is working behind the scenes to save Japan from destruction. For this cause, Kenichiro Nogami has left behind his wife and nation to work in hiding.
Lowly Ronin (1981) - TV Movie
Reprising his role from the popular TV series "Koya no Suronin" (The Lowly Ronin), Mifune Toshiro stars in this full-length, stand-alone made for TV movie. He travels about Japan, and while he may seek happiness, violence and tragedy always cross his path. This time, he reluctantly agrees when a girl hires him to kill a local official who has unfairly taxed her villagers. But he soon discovers that not all is as it appears when he finds a direct link to his past.
Shogun (1980) - TV Mini-Series
John Blackthorne, an English ship pilot, whose vessel wrecked upon the Japanese coast in the early 17th century is forced to deal with the two most powerful men in Japan in these days. He is thrown in the midst of a war between Toranaga and Ishido, who struggle for the title of Shogun which will give ultimate power to the one who possesses it. (imdb)
Shogun (1980) - TV Movie
In the 16th Century, a Dutch ship sails the Pacific from the Americas in order to escape the Spanish. Blackthorn is the pilot of the ship and the first to realize the possibilities of Japan. Japan is a feudal society which has a strong presence of the Portugese. A struggle is in the final stages for who will be the Shogun, the leader who, under the emperor, governs the land.
The lives and battles of soldiers leading up to the 1904 siege of Port Arthur during the Russo-Japanese War. (imdb)
Hysterical Californians prepare for a Japanese invasion in the days after Pearl Harbor. (imdb)
19 years after President Timothy Keegan was assassinated, his brother Nick discovers a dying man claiming to have been the gunman. While trying to avoid his wealthy and domineering father's attempts to control his actions, Nick follows the clues that have been handed to him. (imdb)
Kosuke Kindaichi is a popular detective found in Seishi Yokomizo's novels, and this is one of several movies that have been made based on his character. Yokomizo's plots have more twists and turns than Japanese calligraphy and loudly invite parody. This film is not an RSVP to that invitation. Director Nobuhiko Obayashi has not parodied Yokomizo's style so much as imitated it. (nytimes.com)
Oishi is an honorable warrior who serves obediently under Lord Asano. After an angry exchange with the villainous Lord Kira, Asano impulsively draws his sword, an act that draws the wrath of the emperor. The emperor gives Asano strict instructions to commit suicide as punishment for his actions; Oishi is devastated by Asano's passing, and he organizes a band of fellow swordsmen to seek revenge against Kira and restore Asano's good name. (allmovie.com)
Sen Rikyu is a ceremonial tea master who advises warlord Hideyoshi in sixteenth-century feudal Japan... (imdb)
One of Japan’s most popular historical characters, former Vice-Shogun Tokugawa Mitsukuni, whose travels around the nation are legendary has made it to the silver screen in a dynamic and exciting tale featuring megastar Toshiro Mifune as an expert swordsman drawn into the action to fight injustice. The Elder Lord travels about disguised as a retired merchant with his two trusty bodyguards Sukesaburo and Kakunoshin by his side and secret agent Yashichi close by.
In this crime thriller produced by Toshiro Mifune (who has a supporting role), hard-boiled Shiro Akitsu goes on a relentless search for his abducted 7-year-old daughter, with the aid of an Ainu dog summoned by a whistle she gave him.
When an American is murdered in a Japanese inn, Tokyo police detective Munesue follows the trail of the killer to New York. There he is joined by a New York City detective named Shuftan and together they sort out the crime. (imdb)
A dramatization of the battle that turned out to be the turning point of the Pacific Theatre of World War II. (imdb)
A somewhat prim and proper Englishman is hired as the tutor to the son of the Japanese ambassador. His life changes when he and the boy are kidnapped by terrorists for political purposes. (imdb)
The Japanese ambassador is travelling through the Wild West by train, when gangsters hold up the train, to rob a gold shipment. They also carry an ancient Japanese sword the embassador was carrying as a present for the US president. The embassador's bodyguard (Toshiro Mifune) will go after them, with the aid of one of the gang's leaders betrayed by his pals... (imdb)
In the Edo period, a nameless ronin accepts an assignment to go to a mountain pass and wait. Near the pass he stops at an inn where a collection of characters gather, including a gang set on stealing shogunate gold that's soon to come over the pass (imdb)
With a price on his head, Ichi seeks tranquillity in a favorite village. Since his last visit, it has fallen prey to Boss Masagoro... (imdb)
Reporter Goro Arai covers the war for a Japanese newspaper. He follows the activities of Japan's top military leader, Hideki Tojo, and comes to view Tojo as a dangerous military tyrant. But anyone standing in Tojo's way is in danger, and so it proves for Arai. (imdb)
Impersonating an Imperial Army officer by wearing a "red lion's mane", a poor servant returns to his... (imdb)
Feudal Japan. Kamo Serizawa and Isami Kondo turn a collection of student fencers into a band of assassins known as the Shinsen Group, devoted to the Tokugawa shogunate and to an elegant code of action and behavior. Kondo leads the band against the forces of the Emperor in hopes of preventing his restoration to the throne. (imdb)
Kansuke Yamamoto (Toshirō Mifune) is a general of warlord Shingen Takeda (Kinnosuke Nakamura). Yamamoto has a ruthless but effective approach to battle and politics, and advises Takeda on almost everything he does, including the assassination of the lord of neighboring Suwa. Of Lord Suwa's household, Princess Yu (Yoshiko Sakuma) refuses to commit suicide, and the film comes to center on a love triangle between the lord, his general, and the princess. (Wikipedia)
Rival racers race at tracks across the world, culminating in a showdown during the East African Rally.
Japan and Russia clash in what comes to be known as the Russo-Japanese War. An attempt by the Japanese fleet and army to take Port Arthur fails, and a Russian fleet bears down on the Sea of Japan. Admiral Heihachiro Togo sends his fleet to confront the Russians, with results which stun both nations. Meanwhile, Major Genjiro Akashi makes secret negotiations with the Bolshevik revolutionaries in Russia, negotiations that have repercussions far beyond the conflict at hand.
A shot-down American pilot finds his way to a small, unpopulated island where he hopes to find provisions... (imdb)
Kitagawa is an engineer charged with construction of a gigantic tunnel through the Japan Alps for the transportation of equipment in the building of the massive Kurobe Dam... (imdb)
Shinkichi, a peasant employed as a cloth-dyer, has a dream: in the midst of the civil war which ravages Japan, he hopes to revive the long-banned custom of the Kyoto Gion Festival, and by doing so, bring together the warring clans and rampaging brigands in peaceful celebration. (imdb)
As Japan joins in a political pact with Nazi Germany and fascist Italy, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto is appointed supreme commander of the Japanese fleet. With Japan headed inexorably toward war, Yamamoto, despite his misgivings, believes the only possible victory lies in destroying the American fleet by surprise at Pearl Harbor. The attack succeeds, but fails to sink the American carrier fleet.
During peace in 1725, aging swordsman Isaburo is living a henpecked life when his clan lord requests that Isaburo's son marry the lord's mistress... (imdb)
Following the detonation of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Japanese military and the government clash over the demand from the Allies for unconditional surrender. Minister of the Army Anami leads the military officers who propose to fight on, even to the death of every Japanese citizen. Emperor Hirohito, however, joins with his ministers in asking the unthinkable, the peaceful surrender of Japan. (imdb)
Ryunosuke is a sociopathic samurai without compassion or scruples. When he is scheduled for an exhibition match at his fencingschool, the wife of his opponent begs Ryunosuke to throw the match, offering her own virtue in trade (imdb)
American Grand Prix driver Pete Aron is fired by his Jordan-BRM racing team after a crash at Monaco that injures his British teammate, Scott Stoddard. While Stoddard struggles to recover, Aron begins to drive for the Japanese Yamura team, and becomes romantically involved with Stoddard's estranged wife. (imdb)
Farmer Abare Goemon is confronted by brigand-like samurai. He raises an army of farmers to fight them and does so brilliantly. When Lord Asakura sees the success Goemon has achieved, he attempts to recruit him to fight in a conflict between Asakura and another clan. Goemon refuses, and Lord Asakura sets out to destroy him. (imdb)
In a charity hospital, a hard-bitten but honorable older doctor, Dr. Niide, takes a young intern under his guidance through the course of a number of difficult cases. (imdb)
February 17 to March 3, 1860, inside Edo castle. A group of assassins wait by Sakurada Gate to kill the lord of the House of Ii... (imdb)
Charged with insubordination for punching a superior, Sergeant Kosugi is shipped to China in the last desperate days of the Second World War. His commander, Captain Sakuma, is vicious and dictatorial. Sakuma places Kosugi in charge of training for combat what once was the military band. Kosugi must somehow prepare his inept soldiers for the rigors of combat. (imdb)
The story of Sanshiro Sugata, a young man who wants to learn the new art of judo. A wise teacher reveals to Sanshiro that judo is not merely a means of combat nor a demonstration of physical skill, but an art which reveals the artist to himself. (imdb)
In 1943, the Aleutian island of Kiska was fortified by a small contingent of Japanese soldiers. When word arrived of an impending attack by an overwhelming force of Americans, the Japanese Navy attempted one of the most daring and unlikely evacuations in military history. This is that story. (letterboxd)
After defeat at the Siege of Osaka several survivors attempt to deliver a young prince to safety. (imdb)
An executive mortgages all he owns to stage a coup and gain control of the National Shoe Company, with the intent of keeping the company out of the hands of incompetent and greedy executives. (imdb)
Sukezaemon, a pirate, is shipwrecked in a strange corner of the world. With his companion, a wizard named Sennin, Sukezaemon becomes entangled in a plot by the evil premier to succeed the dying King Raksha. (imdb)
Lt. Col. Senda resists the idea of sending Japanese fighter pilots on suicide missions. He believes that what is really necessary for Japan to regain momentum in the war is for the air force to gather its most brilliant pilots into an elite squadron and use the unit to pinpoint attacks on the Americans. Disrespected by the kamikaze pilots who think the "non-suicidal" pilots are afraid, the unit redeems itself by stunning victories. (imdb)
During 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. (imdb)
A crafty samurai helps a young man and his fellow clansmen save his uncle, who has been framed and imprisoned by a corrupt superintendent. (imdb)
A young lord attempts to combat the official corruption endemic to the Shogunate, only to be placed in an impossible conflict of duties... (imdb)
Animas Trujano is a colorful but irresponsible Indian in a small Mexican village. He hopes above all things someday to be chosen mayordomio of his village, a place of great honor usually conferred upon the wealthiest and most respected citizens. Animas has a loyal wife, but cheats on her and gambles away every cent they raise. Chances arise for Animas to turn over a new leaf and even hope realistically for the honor of mayordomio. (imdb)
A crafty ronin comes to a town divided by two criminal gangs and decides to play them against each other to free the town. (imdb)
During the raging war between the Toyotomi and Tokugawa clans, the swordsman Mohei (whose family has been completely decimated) is recruited by Toyotomi to overcome the seat of power, Osaka Castle. Mohei's daredevil skills will be put to severe tests. (The Movie Database)
In Kurosawa's HAMLET-like story of corporate scandal in post-war Japan, a young man attempts to use his position at the heart of a corrupt company to expose the men responsible for his father's death. (imdb)
Lt. Koji Kitami is a navigator-bombardier in Japan's Naval Air Force. He participates in the Japanese raid on the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor in 1941 and is welcomed with pride in his hometown on his return. As Japan racks up victory after victory in the Pacific War, Kitami is caught up in the emotion of the time and fights courageously for the standard of Japanese honor. (The Movie Database)
Kikumori runs a cabaret on the docks, while his friend Kaji operates transport boats. When a gang of drug dealers tries to force the pair to cooperate in a smuggling scheme, conflict arises between the two friends. Falsely blamed for murder, Kikumori is blackmailed into an attempt to sabotage Kaji's boats and kill him. But the friendship between the two men proves an obstacle to the gangleader's plans. (The Movie Database)
Japanese police detective Saburo Fujioka is suspected of corruption, demoted, and sent to the city of Kojin. Kojin is the scene of fierce fighting between rival gangs. (imdb)
Edmund Rostand's play Cyrano de Bergerac, transplanted to Japan. A poet-warrior with an oversized nose (matched only by his great heart) loves a lady. But she sees him only as a friend, so he helps another man to woo her by giving him the poetry of his own heart. (imdb)
The legend of the birth of Shintoism. In Fourth Century Japan, the Emperor Keikoh's son Ouso expects to succeed his father on the throne, but Otomo, the Emperor's vassal, prefers Ouso's stepbrother Waka, and conspires to have Ouso die on a dangerous mission he has contrived. (imdb)
Lord Taro must deliver a money chest but is robbed by brigands led by Jibu. One of Jibu's men, Rokuro, steals the money from Jibu, but after meeting and befriending Taro, Rokuro decides to return the money to Taro. But Taro's unscrupulous brother Jiro falsely accuse Taro of the theft, and Taro reactively joins the outlaw band and encourages them to steal from the nobles and give to the poor. (imdb)
Lured by gold, two greedy peasants escort a man and woman across enemy lines. However, they do not realize that their companions are actually a princess and her general. (imdb)
A poor rickshaw driver finds himself taking care of a young woman and her son after the woman's husband dies suddenly. (imdb)
n the Tokugawa Era, the clan of Lord Yagyu has hidden away three scrolls containing clan secrets which, if revealed, would cause revolution and disaster for the clan. The information is divided among the three scrolls, all of which must be possessed for the secrets to be understood. When Princess Yuhime steals the scrolls, Tasaburo, a samurai with magical powers, and his brother Senshiro are sent to retrieve them. In Part II, the search for the scrolls continues. (imdb)
May Kawaguchi is a famous Japanese fashion designer. Returning to Tokyo from her home in New York, she travels incognito with a tour group, in hopes of having a quiet vacation without being noticed. But she is spotted and the press has a field-day with the returning celebrity. Her hopes of rest shattered, she agrees to put on a large-scale fashion show.
A ruthlessly ambitious lord, egged on by his wife, works to fulfill a prophesy that he would become Emperor. (imdb)
In a slum flophouse, a collection of beggars and thieves bewail their lot in life, and Osugi, the landlady, fights with her sister, Okayo, over the man they both desire, the thief Sutekichi (imdb)
In the Tokugawa Era, the clan of Lord Yagyu has hidden away three scrolls containing clan secrets which, if revealed, would cause revolution and disaster for the clan. The information is divided among the three scrolls, all of which must be possessed for the secrets to be understood. When Princess Yuhime steals the scrolls, Tasaburo, a samurai with magical powers, and his brother Senshiro are sent to retrieve them. (imdb)
A humble and simple Takezo abandons his life as a knight errant. He's sought as a teacher and vassal by Shogun... (imdb)
Kiyoko, along with her husband Shinji (Keiju Kobayashi), wants to open a coffee shop and so goes to Kenkichi to ask for a loan. (Slant)
After years on the road establishing his reputation as Japan's greatest fencer, Takezo returns to Kyoto... (imdb)
Kiichi Nakajima, an elderly foundry owner, is so frightened and obsessed with the idea of nuclear extermination that his family decides to have him ruled incompetent. Nakajima's fervent wish is for his family to join him in escaping from Japan to the relative safety of South America. Harada, a civil volunteer in the case, sympathizes with Nakajima's conviction, but the old man's irrational behaviour prevents the court from taking his fears seriously. (imdb)
Coach Shimamura of the hapless Sparrows baseball team is pleased to obtain a hot new pitcher named Onishi. But when Onishi begins a romantic relationship with the coach's daughter Michiko, Shimamura becomes angry with the young man, lashing out at him when he disobeys instructions during a game. In turn, Michiko becomes angry with her father, who becomes increasingly depressed. (The Movie Database)
A poor village under attack by bandits recruits seven unemployed samurai to help them defend themselves.
With his closest friend, Matahachi, Takezo (the town's wild, orphan kid) leaves his village to join an army on its way to battle... (imdb)
Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, a brilliant tactician, is a loyal subject of the emperor, despite his grave misgivings about leading Japan's navy into war with the United States. He opposes the attack on Pearl Harbor, but overruled, leads his forces to the best of his ability... (letterboxd)
Yukiko Nogami is rescued during a mountain blizzard by handsome forester Shinkichi, and the two subsequently fall in love. But when Shinkichi dies in an avalanche, Yukiko leaves the mountains in despair and takes a job in a bar where she becomes deeply involved in the personal lives of several of the patrons. One day she thinks she sees Shinkichi alive, but it turns out to be a gangster named Hayakawa, a man on the run who bears an astonishing resemblance to Yukiko's lost love. (The Movie Database)
The tale of a 17th century samurai's daughter. (imdb)
Soldiers Hayate and Yaheiji secretly escape from their besieged castle. Hayate has left behind his lover, Kano. On his way, Hayate is wounded and cared for by O'Ryo, who falls in love with him. But when Hayate accidentally kills her caretaker, he flees, with O'Ryo in pursuit. Subsequently, Hayate's comrade Yaheiji falls in love with Oryo. Kano, the lover left behind by Hayate, believes him dead, and becomes involved with another soldier, Jurota...
The facts surrounding the vendetta have been warped through the telling, and the villain Jinza was actually a noble man and the close friend of Mataemon Araki. And Mataemon only killed two men in the incident, not 36. The narrator tells us the actual events were far more interesting than the glamorized legend: "If one compares cutting down 36 straw figures to killing two full-fledged men, it will be obvious to see which is more difficult." And with that, we are launched into the true story. (lardbiscuit.com)
A Japanese woman, the mistress of an American, falls in love with her servant. (imdb)
Kameda, who has been in an asylum on Okinawa, travels to Hokkaido. There he becomes involved with two women, Taeko and Ayako. Taeko comes to love Kameda, but is loved in turn by Akama. When Akama realizes that he will never have Taeko, his thoughts turn to murder, and great tragedy ensues. (imdb)
A young man, convicted of a crime and imprisoned in the penitentiary, comes to believe that his wife is being unfaithful to him. He contrives his escape from the prison in order to seek her out and learn the truth, but the police give chase and he must flee into the mountains. (imdb)
This early gem starring the great Mifune Toshiro tells the tale of Katakana Yonetaro aka "The Shark," a rough-and-tumble horse trader in Japan's rugged northernmost territory of Hokkaddo... (imdb)
A heinous crime and its aftermath are recalled from differing points of view. (imdb)
Ichiro Aoye, a young painter, encounters a famous singer, Miyako Saijo, while on holiday in the mountains. He gives her a ride and coincidentally stays at the same inn. A tabloid magazine specializing in scandals blows this encounter up into a huge falsehood designed to humiliate Miyako, who has been uncooperative with the press. (imdb)
Based on an original story by Ishizaka Yojiro, the film has a reflexive element by which it comments on its own process of taking the materials of everyday life and transforming them into narrative. This realist conceit is enhanced by the rural setting, which is photographed with some care, including the mountainous landscapes and the farmhouse interiors. (Catherine Russell)
A jewelry store president begins to fall for the doctor treating her husband's illness (via Hulu).
Murakami, a young homicide detective, has his pocket picked on a bus and loses his pistol. Frantic and ashamed... (imdb)
Kyoji Fujisaki, a young doctor, contracts syphilis from a patient during wartime surgery. After the war, he returns to his fiancée and rejects her without explanation. His nurse Rui learns the truth, however. When Fujisaki encounters the man who had infected him in the war, the doctor forces the man to take responsibility for himself and for the man's wife, who expects a child. (imdb)
In a village subsisting on it herring fishery, a one-eyed criminal named Jakoman terrorizes the inhabitants. One of them, the son of the head of one of the fish companies by the name of Tetsu, decides to overthrow Jakoman and his cohorts. (imdb)
After a battle with rival criminals, a small-time gangster is treated by an alcoholic doctor in post-war Japan. The doctor diagnoses the young gangster's tuberculosis, and convinces him to begin treatment for it. The two enjoy an uneasy friendship until the gangster's former boss is released from prison and seeks to take over his gang once again. The ailing young man loses his status as gang boss and becomes ostracised, and eventually confronts his former boss in a battle to the death. (imdb)
Three bank robbers, Eijima, Nojiri, and Takasugi, flee the police and escape into the mountains. At an inn high in the Japanese Alps, Eijima and Nojiri encounter a young woman and her father, as well as Honda, a mountaineer. The inn folk do not realize their guests are wanted criminals and the visitors are treated with great kindness. Honda volunteers to lead them over the mountains, but Eijima's paranoia endangers all of them as they make the perilous trip. (imdb)