World Language Resources

Based on true events that shocked Japan, this story of abandoned siblings is a "harrowing, tender film" (The New York Times) that "unfolds with leisurely beauty" (LA Weekly). Filmed over a year and featuring a performance by 12-year-old Yagira Yuya that won the Best Actor prize at the 2004 Cannes International Film Festival, this "haunting" (Newsday) tale is "heartbreakingly brilliant" (The Boston Globe). A childlike mother of four sneaks her children into their new apartment as if it were a game. One of the game’s rules is that only Akira, the oldest, can go outside. Their mother leaves, first for a month, then possibly forever. As the money runs out and the utilities are shut off, Akira struggles to take care of his brother and sisters, determined that they stay safe and together.

Here's the irresistible comedy treat that had critics and audiences cheering all across America...and inspired the new Hollywood hit starring Richard Gere (Chicago), Jennifer Lopez (Maid in Manhattan) and Susan Sarandon (Dead Man Walking)! A middle-aged workaholic's incredibly dull life takes a funny turn when he signs up for a ballroom dance class - just to meet the sexy dance teacher. But when he finally muscles up the nerve for lessons, he winds up with a different instructor and her colorfully eccentric class of beginners! And now he'll have to step lightly - and do some fancy footwork - if he expects to keep his new secret passion from his family and friends!

From one of the most celebrated filmmakers in the history of animated cinema comes the most acclaimed film of 2002. Hayao Miyazaki's latest triumph, filled with astonishing animation and epic adventure, is a dazzling masterpiece for the ages. It's a "wonderfully welcoming work of art that's as funny and entertaining as it is brilliant, beautiful, and deep" (Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal). SPIRITED AWAY is a wondrous fantasy about a young girl, Chihiro, trapped in a strange new world of spirits. When her parents undergo a mysterious transformation, she must call upon the courage she never knew she had to free herself and return her family to the outside world. An unforgettable story brimming with creativity, SPIRITED AWAY will take you on a journey beyond your imagination. "To enter the world of Hayao Miyazaki is to experience a kind of lighthearted enchantment that is unique to the world of animation" (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times). It's a fantastic tale the whole family will want to experience over and over again.

The murder of a man and the rape of his wife in a forest grove seem from four different perspectives. Toshiro Mifune explodes as the feral bandit who may or may not be guilty of these crimes in Akira Kurosawa's meditation on the nature of truth a classic, humane allegory that transformed narrative cinema as we know it and turned its director into an international sensation.

Hailed as the greatest film in the history of Japanese cinema, Seven Samurai is director Akira Kurosawa's undisputed masterpiece. Arguably the greatest of all jidai-gecki (or historical swordplay films), Kurosawa's classic 1954 action drama has never been surpassed in terms of sheer power of emotion, kinetic energy, and dynamic character development. The story is set during the civil unrest of 16th-century Japan, as the cowering residents of a small farming village are seeking protection against seasonal attacks by a band of marauding bandits. Offering mere handfuls of rice as payment, they hire seven unemployed "ronin" (masterless samurai), including a boastful swordsman (Toshiro Mifune) who is actually a peasant farmer's son, desperately seeking glory, acceptance, and revenge against those who destroyed his family. Led by the calmly strategic Kambei (Takashi Shimura, star of Kurosawa's previous classic, Ikiru), the samurai form mutual bonds of honor and respect, but remain distant from the villagers, knowing that their assignment may prove to be fatal.

Director's cut. Dialogue in English, Japanese, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. "Victorian London is attacked by an army of futuristic, mechanized war machines, and only Ray Steam - the brave, young inventor who knows the astonishing secret behind the invasion force's incredible power - stands between the city's survival and ultimate destruction." --Amazon.com

An assortment of Hiroshi Teshigahara's compelling masterworks is collected in a four-disc box set. First, in "Pitfall" (1962), a man looking for work with his son wanders through bleak landscapes while a mysterious stranger tracks his every move. Hisashi Igawa, Sumie Sasaki, Sen Yano star. Next, the allegorical "Woman in the Dunes" (1964) concerns an entomologist whose visit to a remote village becomes a nightmare when he spends a night in the home of a young widow. With Eiji Okada, Kyoko Kishida, Hiroko Ito. Then, in "The Face of Another" (1966), a man whose mug is scarred in an industrial accident gets a new one from a plastic surgeon and subsequently loses his wife, his identity and his sanity. Features Tatsuya Nakadai, Machiko Kyo. 6 hrs. total. Standard; Soundtrack: Japanese Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English; bonus shorts "Hokusai" (1953), "Ikebana" (1956), "Tokyo 1958" (1958), "Ako/White Morning" (1963); documentary. In Japanese with English subtitles

From acclaimed director Satoshi Kon (Perfect Blue, Millennium Actress) and Japan’s leading animation studio Mad House (X, Vampire Hunter D, Ninja Scroll) comes this visually and emotionally stunning tale of adventure, love, and redemption.
In Tokyo, three homeless people’s lives are changed forever when they discover a baby girl at a garbage dump on Christmas Eve. As the New Year fast approaches, these three forgotten members of society band together to solve the mystery of the abandoned child and the fate of her parents. Along the way, encounters with seemingly unrelated events and people force them to confront their own haunted pasts, as they learn to face the future together.

Deep within the mysterious Forest of Resurrection, a spectacular battle between good and evil has gone on since the dawn of time. When Prisoner KSC2-303 escapes from a maximum security facility, he enters the forest, believing it will lead him to safe haven. Instead, he finds himself a pawn in an endless struggle played out across multiple temporal planes of existence. His opponent: a mysterious man who seemingly cannot be killed. The battle to be waged: Good versus Evil in the pursuit of a beautiful woman who holds the key to eternal life. What Prisoner KSC2-303 cannot remember is whether or not he is the personification of good or the very essence of darkness

In the allegorical "Woman in the Dunes" (1964) concerns an entomologist whose visit to a remote village becomes a nightmare when he spends a night in the home of a young widow. With Eiji Okada, Kyoko Kishida, Hiroko Ito.