Make the Devil Laugh

The Return

November 2019 •Japanese

Tatsuya Nakadai, the world’s greatest living actor, returns to the screen in a brilliant adaptation of a story by novelist Shuhei Fujisawa. A traveling gambler known as “Funeral Uno” he is now 86 years old and returning to his hometown for the first time in 30 years. Partly told in flashbacks, he is forced to face his lifelong nemesis, Boss Kyuzo, a vile yakuza portrayed by another superstar of samurai cinema, Atsuo Nakamura! Before the two old gamblers can settle a 30-year-old score they must put their lives on the line in a game of dice that can only lead to a bloody sword duel the likes of which has never before been seen! Superb performances all around in a film loaded with surprises and exciting swordplay!

Sweet Land

October 2005 •English

Set in 1920, Inge travels from Germany to rural Minnesota in order to meet the man destined to be her husband.

Pigs and Battleships

January 1961 •Japanese

In the city of Yokosuka, Kinta and his lover Haruko, both involved with yakuza, brave the post-occupation period with a goal to be together.

Adrenaline Drive

February 1999 •Japanese

A gas leak explosion at a yakuza hideout provides a shy nurse and a rental car clerk with the opportunity to take a briefcase full of money. A cross-country chase ensues.

The Human Condition I: No Greater Love

January 1959 •Japanese

After handing in a report on the treatment of Chinese colonial labor, Kaji is offered the post of labor chief at a large mining operation in Manchuria, which also grants him exemption from military service. He accepts, and moves to Manchuria with his newly-wed wife Michiko, but when he tries to put his ideas of more humane treatment into practice, he finds himself at odds with scheming officials, cruel foremen, and the military police.

Lost in Translation

September 2003 •English

Two lost souls visiting Tokyo -- the young, neglected wife of a photographer and a washed-up movie star shooting a TV commercial -- find an odd solace and pensive freedom to be real in each other's company, away from their lives in America.

High Fidelity

March 2000 •English

After his long-time girlfriend dumps him, a thirty-year-old record store owner seeks to understand why he is unlucky in love while recounting his "top five breakups of all time".

Zatoichi

September 2003 •Japanese

Blind traveler Zatoichi is a master swordsman and a masseur with a fondness for gambling on dice games. When he arrives in a village torn apart by warring gangs, he sets out to protect the townspeople.

Seven Samurai

April 1954 •Japanese

A samurai answers a village's request for protection after he falls on hard times. The town needs protection from bandits, so the samurai gathers six others to help him teach the people how to defend themselves, and the villagers provide the soldiers with food.

The Last Samurai

December 2003 •English

Nathan Algren is an American hired to instruct the Japanese army in the ways of modern warfare, which finds him learning to respect the samurai and the honorable principles that rule them. Pressed to destroy the samurai's way of life in the name of modernization and open trade, Algren decides to become an ultimate warrior himself and to fight for their right to exist.

Rashomon

August 1950 •Japanese

Brimming with action while incisively examining the nature of truth, "Rashomon" is perhaps the finest film ever to investigate the philosophy of justice. Through an ingenious use of camera and flashbacks, Kurosawa reveals the complexities of human nature as four people recount different versions of the story of a man's murder and the rape of his wife.

The Weight

April 2022 •English

A college student waits at a bus stop, anxious for a night out. When a young woman breaks up with her boyfriend in front of him, the two wait together.

He's Just Not That Into You

February 2009 •English

Have you ever sat by the phone wondering why he said he would call, but didn't, or you can't figure out why she doesn't want to sleep with you anymore, or why your relationship just isn't going to the next level... they're just not that into you. Gigi just wants a man who says he'll call—and does—while Alex advises her to stop waiting by the phone. Beth wants a proposal after years of a committed relationship with her boyfriend, Neil, who sees nothing wrong with the status quo. Janine's not sure if she can trust her husband, Ben, who can't quite trust himself around Anna. Anna can't decide between the sexy married guy, or her straightforward, no-sparks standby, Conor, who can't get over the fact that he can't have her. And Mary, who's found an entire network of loving, supportive men, just needs to find one who's straight.

Love Never to End

January 2007 •Japanese

He is Kikuji Murao (Etsushi Toyokawa), a former best-selling novelist who has had a decade-long dry spell that has reduced him to university teaching and magazine hackery. After divorcing his wife (Reiko Takashima) and leaving behind his teenage daughter (Shihori Kanjiya), he meets Fuyuka Irie (Shinobu Terajima), a housewife and mother of three who is a longtime fan.

Vanished: Age 7

August 2011 •Japanese

Mayu the teen girl hasn’t opened her heart to anyone since ten years ago when some terrible case happened. Instead of going to high school, she goes to the church every day and looks for redemption. One day, she disappears in the woods, silently and suddenly. On the other side, Mana lives with her husband and her seven-year-old daughter in happiness. However, an unexpected occurrence happens and tears their happiness apart. Her little girl Sakura plays in the woods and goes missing. Mana loses her mind because of sadness. What is there inside the woods?

Cape of the North

April 1976 •Japanese

A Swiss nun falls in love with a Japanese engineer.

Pulsar

October 2005 •English

Half Past Ten

December 2008 •English

An alcoholic married man discovers he has fallen out of love with his moody wife.

Blues

January 2009 •German

That's Hentaitainment! Ijo Sex Daizenshu

April 1991 •Japanese

Three sketches each from a different director: (1) a dancer who is attracted to lesbians; (2) a call girl who is accosted by a cruel man; (3) a male transvestite - the hentai of the title - exposed at a sunny place.