Japanese Cinema
Japanese cinema flourished early on and silent films were being made right through the 1930s. Most were accompanied by a 'benshi' or live narrator telling the story as well as live music. Very little survives from this era however; the 1923 earthquake, the bombings of WW2 and the country's high humidity destroyed many of these historical works. Of those that survive, the early works of Kenji Mizoguchi are highly regarded and he went on to make the classic 'The Life of Oharu' in 1952. Of course no discussion on Japanese cinema is possible without mention of their best known son, Akira Kurosawa. With a career spanning 60 years Kurosawa's ground-breaking films (e.g. 'Seven Samurai', 'Kagemusha', 'Ran') influenced film makers around the world. Most recently Japanese cinema hero 'Beat' Takeshi Kitano revitalised the Yakuza genre; and young mavericks like Takashi Miike ('Audition', 'Ichi the Killer) and Hideo Nakata ('Ring', 'Dark Water') have breathed new life into the horror flick, their films often (and promptly!) remade by US production houses.
For Japanime, use the animation link to the left.
Pictured: Kurosawa teamed once more with the incomparable Toshiro Mifune for 'Seven Samurai'
Shikoku (1999)
5.6/10
Director: Shunichi Nagasaki
Starring: Chiaki Kuriyama, Yui Natsukawa, Michitaka Tsutsui, Toshie Negishi, Ren Osugi
One of Japan's most rural island provinces, Shikoku translates as 'Four Countries', though an alternate spelling can be read 'The Land of the Dead'.... Read more
Shin Godzilla (2016)
6.7/10
Director: Hideaki Anno, Shinji Higuchi
From Hideaki Anno, the mind behind EVANGELION. The King of Monsters receives a terrifying resurgence. It's a peaceful day in Japan when a strange f... Read more
Shin Ultraman (2022)
6.4/10
Director: Shinji Higuchi
Starring: Takumi Saito, Hidetoshi Nishijima, Masami Nagasawa, Daiki Arioka, Akari Hayami
After the accidental death of a human during battle, Ultraman takes on the man's appearance and place at the S-Class Species Suppression Protocol to p... Read more
Shinobi (2005)
7/10
Director: Ten Shimoyama
Starring: Yukie Nakama, Minoru Terada, Renji Ishibashi, Tak Sakaguchi
Based on the novel by Futaro Namada set in the 1600s, a powerful shogunate stirs up the feud between two ninja clans in the hopes of consolidating his... Read more
Shogun Assassin (1981)
7.4/10
Director: Kenji Misumi, Robert Houston
Starring: Tomisaburo Wakayama, Masahiro Tomikawa
A stunning visual ballet of violence and bloodletting that tells the tale of a samurai warrior who travels across the countryside pushing his young so... Read more
Shoplifters (2018)
8.1/10
Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda
Starring: Lily Franky, Sakura Ando, Sosuke Ikematsu
On the margins of Tokyo, a dysfunctional band of outsiders is united by fierce loyalty and a penchant for petty theft. When the young son is arrested,... Read more
Sidonie in Japan (2023)
Director: Élise Girard
Starring: Isabelle Huppert, Tsuyoshi Ihara, August Diehl
Sidonie Perceval, an established French writer, is mourning her deceased husband. Invited to Japan for the reedition of her first book, she is welcome... Read more
Sinking of Japan (2006)
Director: Shinji Higuchi
Starring: Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, Kou Shibasaki, Etsushi Toyokawa, Mao Daichi, Mitsuhiro Oikawa...
In the wake of a massive earthquake it is feared Japan will sink beneath the sea; estimates are it could happen within 40 years, but one scientist bel... Read more
Sister Street Fighter (1974)
6.3/10
Director: Kazuhiko Yamaguchi
Starring: Etsuko Shihomi, Sonny Chiba
Lee Long is a martial-arts champion who the police use as an undercover agent to infiltrate a drug ring responsible for importing heroin from Japan to... Read more
Sleepless Town (1998)
Director: Lee Chi Ngai
Starring: Takeshi Kaneshiro, Mirai Yamamoto, Kathy Chau, Long Sihung
A contraband dealer living in Kabukicho discovers there is danger lurking behind every corner when his untrusting exterior is slowly eroded by love, i... Read more