The best Kō Nishimura’s action movies

Kō Nishimura

Kō Nishimura

25/01/1923- 29/04/1997
If you love cinema, you will share this ranking of the best Kō Nishimura’s movies, although you may have ordered them differently. In any case, we hope you love it and with a little luck discovering a movie that you still don’t know about Kō Nishimura.
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Lady Snowblood

Lady Snowblood
7.6/10
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.

The Sword of Doom

The Sword of Doom
7.9/10
  • Genre: ActionDrama
  • Release: 25/02/1966
  • Character: Shichibei, Omatsu's 'uncle'
Ryunosuke, a gifted swordsman plying his trade during the turbulent final days of Shogunate rule, has no moral code and kills without remorse. It’s a way of life that leads to madness.

Goyokin

Goyokin
7.6/10
A guilt-haunted samurai warrior attempts to stop a massacre taking place.

Hanzo the Razor: Sword of Justice

Hanzo the Razor: Sword of Justice
6.6/10
  • Genre: ActionDrama
  • Release: 30/12/1972
  • Character: Magobei 'Snake' Onishi
Fearless Edo-period police inspector Hanzo Itami, nicknamed The Razor, has developed his own unique way of extracting information for his inquiries. His first adventure sees him investigating his superior officer's mistress, whom he suspects of having ties with a reputed criminal on the loose.

Bushido: The Cruel Code of the Samurai

Bushido: The Cruel Code of the Samurai
7.4/10
After a salary-man's fiancée attempts suicide, he recounts his gruesome family history which saw generations of his ancestors suffer and sacrifice themselves for the sake of their cruel lords.

Hanzo the Razor: The Snare

Hanzo the Razor: The Snare
7/10
Against the backdrop of the Edo treasury devaluing currency and driving many into poverty, Hanzo Itami enforces the law without regard to status. He shows inadequate respect to the treasurer, who wants him dead.

Hanzo the Razor: Who's Got the Gold?

Hanzo the Razor: Who's Got the Gold?
6.5/10
  • Genre: ActionDrama
  • Release: 09/02/1974
  • Character: Magohei 'Snake' Ohnishi
Hanzo extracts a confession from a ghost using his assaulting methods, foils thieves, connects with Heisuke Takei a friend from his youth, offers protection to a forward-thinking physician Genan Sugino who has defamed his ruler, discovers a pleasure ring of young wives and a blind music teacher, and cuckolds a corrupt official under his very nose.

Gorath

Gorath
5.7/10
In 1980, a giant planetoid named Gorath is discovered to be on a collision course with Earth. Even though it is smaller than Earth, its mass is huge enough to crush the Earth and destroy it. A mission sent to observe Gorath is destroyed after all the orbiting ships are drawn into the planetoid. A later mission is sent to observe and the crew barely leaves before suffering the same fate. However Astronaut Tatsuo Kanai is left in a catatonic state due to his near death experience. The Earth's scientists then come up with a desperate plan to build giant rockets at the South Pole to move Earth out of Gorath's path before it is too late.

Ninja, a Band of Assassins

Ninja, a Band of Assassins
7/10
  • Genre: Action
  • Release: 01/12/1962
  • Character: Kizaru
Warlord Oda Nobunaga seeks to unite a fractured Japan. A young man trained in the arts of ninjitsu is manipulated by a ninja master into attempting to assassinate the warlord before he completes his task.

Zatoichi the Outlaw

Zatoichi the Outlaw
7/10
When a local gambling house kidnaps some peasants because they failed to pay their debts, a rival gambling house pays their debts and sets them free.

Eleven Samurai

Eleven Samurai
7.3/10
The lord of the Oshi fief is killed by his trespassing neighbour, the cruel and despotic Nariatsu, son of the former Shogun. After an investigation, the Oshi clan is blamed for what happened and sentenced to be disbanded. Eleven of the best samurai of the clan refuse the sentence and are willing to give their life for justice.

The Thirteen Assassins

The Thirteen Assassins
7.4/10
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.

Hokuriku Proxy War

Hokuriku Proxy War
7/10
In the setting of the Hokuriku region, where the snow and cold winds rage, for the first time in true-life yakuza film history, director Kinji Fukasaku shows battles among yakuza who value land over tradition. Hiroki Matsukata stars as Noboru Kawada, a Hokuriku yakuza who will use any measure for survival, disregarding parents, brothers, and tradition.

Killers on Parade

Killers on Parade
6.5/10
Mod-sixties visuals and black humor mark this wild New Wave masterpiece about a vengeful contractor who hires a series of young killers to target a woman muckraker. Trouble brews when an amateur marksman shows up his eclectic competition.

Tale of Ninja Duty

Tale of Ninja Duty
  • Genre: Action
  • Release: 25/02/1965
  • Character: Chisaka Hyobu
Mumyo Tsunataro killed his betrayed fiance Orie and He flees to Utsunomiya. On his way he happens to saves Chisaka Hyobu's daughter Oyu (She is exactly like Orie) be attacked by ninja. Thus he stays Chisaka's residence in Yonezawa. Chisaka was just trying to stop Forty-seven ronin's revenge against Kira Kozukenosuke by female ninja's sexual entrapment. Chisaka asks Tsunataro to lead female ninja. Tsunataro accepts the request on condition of marriage to Oyu.

Manhunt

Manhunt
6.8/10
A tough prosecutor is falsely accused of theft and goes on the run to clear his name. He is assisted by the beautiful daughter of a rich man.

Samaritan Zatoichi

Samaritan Zatoichi
7.2/10
Zatoichi is forced to kill a young man who owes a debt to a yakuza boss. Moments later, his sister Osode arrives with the money she earned (prostituting herself) to pay his debts. The bosses true motives are revealed and he attempts to steal Osode even though the debt is paid. Zatoichi realizes his grievous error and protects the girl from the gang. Osode and Zatoichi are caught in a dilemma as she must rely on her brother's killer for protection and Zatoichi wrestles with the injustice he has caused.

The Sleeping Beast Within

The Sleeping Beast Within
6.7/10
When a middle aged salaryman is unknowingly used by drug traffickers he is dishonored and fires back at the Yakuza bosses, with destructive consequences.

The Rapacious Jailbreaker

The Rapacious Jailbreaker
7.3/10
Convicted of murder, Masayuki Ueda is sent to Hiroshima Prison along with his accomplice. But for a man like him, breaking out of prison is easy.

Zatoichi Goes to the Fire Festival

Zatoichi Goes to the Fire Festival
7.3/10
Zatoichi is mentored by the blind leader of a secret organization as he contends with both the Yakuza and a jealous husband.

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