RELEASE DATE: February 26, 2012 Criterion presents the Blu-ray for Kenji Mizoguchi’s Sansho the Bailiff. When an idealistic governor disobeys the reigning feudal lord, he is cast into exile, his wife and children left to fend for themselves and eventually separated by vicious slave traders. This classic Japanese story became one of cinema’s greatest masterpieces, a monumental, empathetic expression of human resilience in the face of evil. Watch the trailer.

RELEASE DATE: February 5th, 2013 Criterion presents the Blu-ray & DVD for Keisuke Kinoshita’s The Ballad of Narayama. This haunting, kabuki-inflected version of a Japanese folk legend is set in a remote mountain village, where food is scarce and tradition dictates that citizens who have reached their seventieth year must be carried to the summit of Mount Narayama and left there to die. Watch the trailer.

RELEASE DATE: February 26, 2013 Vanguard Cinema presents the DVD for Ryotaro Muramatsu’s Hey Japanese! (aka Hey Japanese! Do You Believe Peace, Love and Understanding? 2008 or Heyjapa!). According to Nippon Cinema, this movie is a black comedy interweaving 6 concurrent stories occuring in a suburban area on the outskirts of Tokyo. Check out the trailer.

RELEASE DATE: February 19, 2013 Asian Media Rights presents the DVD for Atsushi Yamamura’s Bullet Explosion. Get ready for some hard-hitting Yakuza action – at the mercy of their violent lifestyles, two brothers are determined to make a name for themselves in the Japanese gangster society. Starring Hitoshi Ozawa and Kazuyoshi Ozawa.

RELEASE DATE: January 15, 2013 Zeitgeist Films presents the DVD for China Heavyweight. Award-winning filmmaker Yung Chang (Up the Yangtze) returns to China for another riveting documentary. In China Heavyweight, Chang follows the charismatic Qi Moxiang, a former boxing star and state coach who recruits young fighting talent from the impoverished farms and villages across Sichuan province. Watch the trailer.