Best movies of Akira Kobayashi

Actors : Tsunehiko Watase, Bunta Sugawara, Shingo Yamashiro, Akira Kobayashi,
Directors : Kinji Fukasaku,

Yakuza boss Shozo Hirono must choose his alliances carefully as the local gangster family affiliations prove themselves to be wildly unstable, causing gang conflicts to slowly escalate.

Actors : Bunta Sugawara, Toshio Kurosawa, Tatsuo Umemiya, Akira Kobayashi,
Directors : Kinji Fukasaku,

Conflicts between Hirono's family and Yamamori's family (and their allies) are made more tense by the ambitious underlings and the police's efforts to impose a crackdown on the gangs.

Actors : Daisaburô Hirata, Hiroko Itô, Chieko Matsubara, Akira Kobayashi,
Directors : Seijun Suzuki,

Three schoolgirls are infatuated with a yakuza, Katsuta, of the Izu Clan. They meet another yakuza, `Diamond` Fuyu, of the rival Yoshida clan. As he gets a tattoo, two of the girls become ...

Actors : Naoko Kubo, Tamio Kawaji, Chieko Matsubara, Akira Kobayashi,
Directors : Seijun Suzuki,

Another subversion of audience expectations has Kobayashi acting somewhat cowardly in the snow-bound final showdown, an unheard-of trait in a ninkyô yakuza hero. Also with Tamio Kawaji as a sword-wielding assassin in Zero-cape-and -hat(!)

Actors : Mieko Nishio, Chieko Matsubara, Akemi Kita, Akira Kobayashi,
Directors : Yasuharu Hasebe,

A military photographer takes a cute stewardess out to dinner where she is promptly kidnapped. Deciding that he has fallen in love with the girl, our "hero" decides to investigate her kidnapping himself.

Actors : Hideaki Nitani, Tamio Kawaji, Akira Kobayashi, Jô Shishido,
Directors : Yasuharu Hasebe,

Jiro, an ex-convict, comes back to the street after eight years. The gang to which he belonged is nearly disbanded; only the aging boss in his sick bed remains. Still loyal to the ex-boss, ...

Actors : Bunta Sugawara, Isao Natsuyagi, Noboru Andô, Akira Kobayashi,
Directors : Hideo Gosha,

A retired yakuza is caught in the middle of a growing conflict between two rival clans.

Actors : Arihiro Fujimura, Sanae Nakahara, Ruriko Asaoka, Akira Kobayashi,
Directors : Buichi Saitô,

After mastering the art of French cuisine, young Jiro (Akira Kobayashi) returns to Japan and opens a restaurant in the busy streets of Ginza. His dashing looks, iconoclastic culinary skills...

Actors : Misako Watanabe, Ruriko Asaoka, Jô Shishido, Akira Kobayashi,
Directors : Buichi Saitô,

Rambler Shinji arrives in town armed with nothing but a guitar. With assistance from an old gun-for-hire friend, he sets about to stop the mob from turning an honest ranch into a gambling resort.

Actors : Ryôhei Uchida, Noriko Matsumoto, Naomi Hoshi, Akira Kobayashi,
Directors : Akinori Matsuo,

A action-noir whodunit.

Actors : Isao Yamagata, Reiko Sassamori, Asao Koike, Akira Kobayashi,
Directors : Yôichi Ushihara,

Yakuka bakuto - type of gambler.

Actors : Manami Fuji, Michino Yokoyama, Asao Koike, Akira Kobayashi,
Directors : Kô Nakahira,

Koji Himuro is a make-out artist with unparalleled gambling skills. Shortly after his return to Tokyo, he is invited to attend a reception that is actually an undercover gambling operation run by an international gambling syndicate.

Actors : Hideki Takahashi, Michiko Saga, Kotohide Hatsui, Akira Kobayashi,
Directors : Buichi Saitô,

While the first two pictures are serious action dramas, this film is basically a ninkyô action/comedy.

Actors : Ryôji Hayama, Katsue Takaishi, Kazuo Kitamura, Akira Kobayashi,
Directors : Motomu Ida,

A lightning-paced 60's crime film from Japan's Nikkatsu Studios, 3 SECONDS TO EXPLOSION packs enough subterfuge and action into its 84 volatile minutes to fill out a dozen pictures made anywhere else.

Actors : Kayo Matsuo, Sanae Kitabayashi, Hideki Takahashi, Akira Kobayashi,
Directors : Toshio Masuda,

One of a duo of ninkyô films dealing with violent yakuza clan conflict, both starring Takahashi and Kobatashi. The other is called FIGHT aka FRIENDLY ENEMIES.

Actors : Sanae Kitabayashi, Hideki Takahashi, Ichirô Nakatani, Akira Kobayashi,
Directors : Toshio Masuda,

A companion piece to DUEL aka ENDLESS DUEL, also directed by Masuda, with a nearly identical cast. Refreshingly well-written, with some notable, welcome variations on the standard ninkyô yakuza formula.

Actors : Yûjirô Ishihara, Hideki Takahashi, Ruriko Asaoka, Akira Kobayashi,
Directors : Akinori Matsuo,

Despite the potent writing team of Hoshikawa and director Matsuo, this is no more than just decent, not particularly memorable ninkyô yakuza programmer.

Actors : Ryôji Hayama, Hiroshi Nawa, Tadao Nakamaru, Akira Kobayashi,
Directors : Yasuharu Hasebe,

A once-powerful yakuza clan disbands as a result of a police crackdown but one small group refuses to bow to police pressure, and launches a campaign to take over Tokyo's drug, prostitution, and gambling rackets.

Actors : Hiroko Ôgi, Tôru Abe, Tatsuya Fuji, Akira Kobayashi,
Directors : Teruo Ishii,

One of popular singing star Hiroko Ôgi two sword-wielding yakuza series for Nikkatsu.

Actors : Tsunehiko Watase, Hiroki Matsukata, Tatsuo Umemiya, Akira Kobayashi,
Directors : Sadao Nakajima,

There is almost non-stop action and violent brutality guys get cooked to death in oil drums, fires erupt and car explode.