Mothra (Japan, 1961)

Shipwreck survivors are found on Beiru Island, which was previously used for atomic tests. The interior is amazingly free of radiation effects, and they believe that they were protected by a special juice that was given to them by the island's residents. A joint expedition of Rolisican and Japanese scientists explores Beiru and discovers many curious things, including two women only one foot high. Unscrupulous expedition leader Clark Nelson abducts the women and puts them in a vaudeville show. But their sweet singing contains a telepathic cry for help to Mothra, a gigantic moth that is worshiped as a deity by the island people.

Mothra is the first film to feature the sort of good kaiju that also appeared in the Godzilla-universe. Directed by Ishiro Honda, the co-creator of Godzilla and lifelong friend of Akira Kurosawa, Mothra featured the most detailed miniature work of any Toho film to that point. One of the biggest joys is seeing the city get destroyed by an angry moth, with charmingly obvious toy tanks and humans getting blown away by Mothra's gusts of wind. The destruction is far more enjoyable to watch than any of the latest billion-dollar remakes from the US, which is kind of a sad thought that CGI-films are the way to go nowadays.

 

Genre: Fantasy/Sci-Fi

High and Low (Japan, 1963)

A wealthy businessman is told his son has been kidnapped and he will have to pay a very large sum for him to be returned safely. It is then discovered that his son is safe at home: the kidnapper took his chauffeur's son by accident. The kidnapper says this makes no difference: pay up or the child dies. This leaves him with a moral dilemma, as he really needs the money to conclude a very important business deal.

Akira Kurosawa thought his big thriller High and Low was gonna reduce the number of kidnappings in Japan and act like some sort of deterrence, instead, to his big surprise, he was criticized for their increase. High and Low is a suspenseful detective story where everything that easily could have been a slog to watch are exciting and really invites you to follow the bread crumbs. The cast is once again a Kurosawa's Greatest Hits with Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai and Takashi Shimura in the lead roles, all contributing in making this noir something truly special.

Genre: Crime/Drama/Mystery

Sanjuro (Japan, 1962)

Nine young samurai are worried about corruption in the leadership of their clan. They believe that the lord chamberlain, Mutsuta, is corrupt after tearing up a petition against organised crime. As they meet secretly at a temple and discuss their problem, a ronin emerges from another room where he had been resting. The ronin had overheard their plans, and suggests that the superintendent is in fact the real corrupt official. So now, a group of idealistic young men, determined to clean up the corruption in their town, are aided by a scruffy, cynical samurai who does not at all fit their concept of a noble warrior.

Sanjuro is a companion piece to Yojimbo (1961) and continues the story of the wandering ronin Sanjuro, once again played by Toshiro Mifune. It's a stand-alone film, but Toshiro plays the same care-free but skilled and good-natured samurai who this time has to help a group of warriors save their master. You can tell director Akira Kurosawa had a lot of fun with Mifune's character, making him a man who can do as he pleases as the other samurai and their enemies fights all around him, almost making him seem like a father overseeing a playground.

Genre: Action/Crime/Comedy