Tatsuya Nakadai Trailers
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Tatsuya Nakadai (仲代 達矢, Nakadai Tatsuya; born Motohisa Nakadai; December 13, 1932 – November 8, 2025) was a Japanese actor. Widely regarded as one of the greatest actors in the history of Japanese cinema, he collaborated extensively with many of Japan's best-known and acclaimed directors. In his over seven decade career, he appeared in more than 160 films, and received numerous accolades. He was honored with a Medal with Purple Ribbon in 1996 and Japan's Order of Culture in 2015.
Nakadai rose to prominence starring in Masaki Kobayashi's films, with his breakthrough being the protagonist of the epic anti-war trilogy The Human Condition (1959–1961). He won the Blue Ribbon Award for Best Actor for his performance as the vengeful ronin in Harakiri (1962), a role he considered his finest. Nakadai collaborated on eleven films with Kobayashi—including Kwaidan (1964) and Samurai Rebellion (1967)—and five with Akira Kurosawa, most notably as the tragic warlord in Ran (1985), a performance that earned global acclaim. His other notable credits included Seven Samurai (1954), Yojimbo (1961), The Sword of Doom (1966), The Face of Another (1966), Goyokin (1969), Kagemusha (1980), and The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013).
A lifelong stage actor, he founded the Gendai Nohgaku-kai troupe in 1975 and continued performing on stage into his nineties.
Most Popular Tatsuya Nakadai Trailers
Total trailers found: 192
26 April 1954
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.
17 December 1957
Ushinosuke returns to his hometown to become a farmer.
Part three (of four) of the film adaptation of Bunroku Shishi’s novel, Oban.
01 June 1985
Shakespeare's King Lear is reimagined as a singular historical epic set in sixteenth-century Japan where an aging warlord divides his kingdom between his three sons.
15 September 1962
Down-on-his-luck veteran Tsugumo Hanshirō enters the courtyard of the prosperous House of Iyi. Unemployed, and with no family, he hopes to find a place to commit seppuku—and a worthy second to deliver the coup de grâce in his suicide ritual.
01 March 1963
A Yokohama shoe executive faces a wrenching choice when kidnappers mistakenly seize his chauffeur’s son but demand the ransom anyway.
23 November 2013
Found inside a shining stalk of bamboo by an old bamboo cutter and his wife, a tiny girl grows rapidly into an exquisite young lady.
26 August 2005
Japanese TV film
25 April 1961
A nameless ronin, or samurai with no master, enters a small village in feudal Japan where two rival businessmen are struggling for control of the local gambling trade.
09 January 1958
Emiko, a shy girl, feels anxious as her classmates celebrate their upcoming weddings, realizing she’s the only one still single.
16 September 1961
A young woman is forced by circumstance into a loveless marriage while still in love with another. This episodic tale follows their story through three decades of bitter conflict which engulfs their children and those around them.
29 April 1964
The sixth film of the desperado outpost series directed by Takashi Tsuboshima
19 August 1958
At a coastal hot spring inn, a group of women navigate work, personal struggles, and unexpected scandals.
22 May 1971
Set in Kawasaki in 1925, Challenge at Dawn is based on the Tsurumi Riot Incident, which actually ocurred in Yokohama that year and was sparked by corruption and yakuza involvement in the construction industry.
26 April 1980
Akira Kurosawa's lauded feudal epic presents the tale of a petty thief who is recruited to impersonate Shingen, an aging warlord, in order to avoid attacks by competing clans.
01 January 1962
In this companion piece and sequel to "Yojimbo," jaded samurai Sanjuro helps an idealistic group of young warriors weed out their clan's evil influences, and in the process turns their image of a proper samurai on its ear.
03 June 2017
Chokichi Kuwahata was once a leading actor, but he is ravaged by dementia and old age now. His daughter and the men in her life go against his wishes and place him in a retirement home.
06 January 1965
Taking its title from an archaic Japanese word meaning "ghost story," this anthology adapts four folk tales.
03 August 1967
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.
30 June 1973
An evil feudal lord rapes a village girl on her wedding night and proceeds to ruin her and her husband's lives.
25 February 1966
Ryunosuke, a gifted swordsman plying his trade during the turbulent final days of Shogunate rule, has no moral code and kills without remorse.
19 October 2013
A professional scammer is hired by a wealthy young businessman to find a hidden treasure looted from the Bank of Japan and supposedly stashed away by a group of men after WWII in various locations around the globe.
21 May 1960
Sanae is left a widow after her prestigious husband dies, but holds the proceeds of a million yen insurance policy.
06 September 1986
A married long-distance truck driver falls for a significantly younger waitress at a roadside diner. Their affair brings tragedy to themselves and those around them.
01 September 1984
Set in the icy wilderness of Hokkaido during the early days of the Meiji era, where the brutal warden of Kabato Prison terrorizes convicts sentenced to forced labor to build the roads needed to open up the territory.
28 March 1968
A man, released after a jail term for a crime he did not commit, raises a gang to go after the man who framed him.
22 May 1965
A tale of three Yakuza gamblers who traveled Japan during the samurai era living by their wits and sword skills.
15 July 1966
A businessman with a disfigured face obtains a lifelike mask from his new doctor, but the mask starts altering his personality and causing him to question his identity.
15 January 1959
After handing in a report on the treatment of Chinese colonial labor, Kaji is offered the post of labour chief at a large mining operation in Manchuria, which also grants him exemption from military service.
01 October 1966
Four sisters are all named after flowers. While the two youngest are married, the eldest two remain single, much to the annoyance of their long-suffering mother.
25 November 2022
Acclaimed filmmaker Akira Kurosawa has been misunderstood. Despite his public perception an a perfectionist who would clash with anyone in his way, the real Kurosawa was actually a very gentle and soft-spoken director.
01 May 1969
A guilt-haunted samurai warrior attempts to stop a massacre taking place.
28 January 1961
After the Japanese defeat to the Russians, Kaji leads the last remaining men through Manchuria. Intent on returning to his old life, he faces great odds in a variety of different harrowing circumstances as he and his men sneak behind enemy lines.
22 February 2014
In the aftermath of the most devastating conflict mankind had ever experienced, the tiny island of Shikotan became part of the Sakhalin Oblast.
14 August 1971
The Americans are swiftly closing on Okinawa, an island just south of the Japanese mainland. The Imperial command sends top generals and several army divisions to defend it at all costs.
07 June 1986
Chief Detective KIMURA Denbei, fondly referred to as Smoky Denbei, is a legendary figure at the Metropolitan Police Department.
01 August 1969
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.
16 December 2006
Inugami Sahei, who built up the wealth of the Inugami Clan, passes away, leaving a will with Furudate, his legal adviser, for his daughters Matsuko, Takeko and Umeko, all of whom have different mothers, and for their sons, as well as for Nonomiya Tamayo, the granddaughter of a person to whom Sahei feels heavily indebted.
28 February 2014
A brilliant doctor on a quest for revenge buys a young woman and trains her to be the ultimate assassin, implanting gun parts in her body that she must later assemble and use to kill her target before she bleeds to death.
14 August 1968
As Japan joins in a political pact with Nazi Germany and fascist Italy, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto is appointed supreme commander of the Japanese fleet.
05 June 1982
Onimasa is the egocentric boss of a small yakuza clan on Shikoku Island, whose criminal duties conflict with his self-image as a chivalrous samurai.
22 June 1968
A pair of down-on-their-luck swordsmen arrive in a dusty, windblown town, where they become involved in a local clan dispute.
22 January 2000
A group of travelers is stranded in a small country inn when the river floods during heavy rains. As the bad weather continues, tensions rise amongst the trapped travelers.
15 February 1975
Mainly the story of Shinsuke and his stepmother, ranging from Shinsuke's infanthood to his mid-teens.
16 February 2002
In a world where vendettas are officially sanctioned, the people sometimes needed help in carrying out their vengeance.
01 August 1987
The tragic, true story about Hachikō, an Akita dog who was loyal to his master, Professor Ueno, even after Ueno's death.
30 October 1971
After going to prison for killing the boss of the Kanno gang, Seji Iwahashi gets released early -- only to find that his former gang has merged with the Kannos.
29 October 1977
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.
18 April 1963
During World War II, Japan sends gold to the Phillipines. After the war, the gold is lost in the bay of Manille.
20 November 1992
A peace treaty between the Earth and the Black World, a parallel universe of demons, is coming to an end.
17 December 2005
Directed by Junya Sato and based on a book by Jun Henmi, "Yamato" has a framing story set in the present day and uses flashbacks to tell the story of the crew of the World War II Japanese battleship Yamato.
28 March 1990
Gathering a band of 13, Inspector General Shmada Shinzaemon sets out on a death-defying journey to cut down the shogun’s half-brother, Matsudaira Naritsugu.
23 November 1978
UFOs appear on Earth, and people who actually see them suddenly find that their blood has turned blue.
25 October 2002
Documentary made by Toho for the Masterworks reissue of all of its Kurosawa films. This one focuses on "High and Low" (1963).
27 May 1967
The mother of a feudal lord's only heir is kidnapped by the lord. Her husband and his samurai father must decide whether to accept the unjust decision, or risk death to rescue her.
19 June 1976
Dramatic story of one man trying to make a difference.
26 May 1958
Ultra-perky model likes single freedom but feels ryosai kenbo ("good wife, wise mother") pressure, exemplified by her bored-to-tears sister.
07 April 1989
A group of war prisoners has spilt blood, sweat and tears to construct a bridge over the river Kwai in Thailand.
17 June 1979
Yataro Tanigawa, a one-eyed hired assassin, impresses yakuza boss Gomyo Kiyoemon with his skill. Gomyo hires Tanigawa as his bodyguard, or yojimbo, to protect him during an inter-clan conflict.
25 October 2002
Documentary made by Toho for the Masterworks reissue of all of its Kurosawa films. This one focuses on "Sanjuro" (1962).