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'
Tezuka: The Experimental Films (2007)
6.2/10
Director: Osamu Tezuka
Often considered the father of anime, and the Japanese equivalent to Walt Disney, Osamu Tezuka created such iconic animated characters as Astro Boy an... Read more
The 47 Ronin ( aka Chushingura ) (1962)
7.6/10
Director: Hiroshi Inagaki
Starring: Yuzo Kayama, Koshiro Matsumoto, Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Mihashi, Yosuke Natsuki,...
One of the most retold stories in Japanese cinema is this historical samurai saga set at the turn of the 18th century, in which 47 loyal ronin seek ve... Read more
The Bad Sleep Well (1960)
8.1/10
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Starring: Toshiro Mifune, Takeshi Kato, Masayuki Mori
Reflecting his fondness for American crime films and motifs this stylish Akira Kurosawa thriller stars Toshiro Mifune and delves into corporate corrup... Read more
The Bird People In China (1998)
7.6/10
Director: Takashi Miike
Starring: Mako , Renji Ishibashi, Masahiro Motoki
Set in the beautiful Yunnan Province of China, a comically lyrical story of a Tokyo salaryman and a Yakuza debt collector on the trail of a lucrative... Read more
The Boy and the Beast (2016)
7.7/10
Director: Mamoru Hosoda
When Kyuta, a young orphan living on the streets of Shibuya, stumbles into a fantastic world of beasts, hes taken in by Kumatetsu, a gruff, rough-aro... Read more
The Bullet Train (1975)
Director: Junya Sato
Starring: Sonny Chiba, Eiji Go, Kinya Kitaoji, Takashi Shimura, Ken Takakura
Terrorists have planted a bomb on a Japanese bullet train, which will detonate if the speed of the train dips below 80 miles per hour, unless a 5 mill... Read more
The Burmese Harp (1956)
8.1/10
Director: Kon Ichikawa
Starring: Shoji Yasui, Rentaro Mikuni, Naito Taketoshi
A moving anti-war drama about a wounded Japanese soldier in British custody during the last days of World War II. Sent out into the Burmese jungle to... Read more
The Burmese Harp (Blu-ray) (1956)
8/10
Director: Kon Ichikawa
Starring: Shoji Yasui, Rentaro Mikuni, Naito Taketoshi
A moving anti-war drama about a wounded Japanese soldier in British custody during the last days of World War II. Sent out into the Burmese jungle to... Read more
The Crucified Lovers (1954)
8.2/10
Director: Kenji Mizoguchi
Starring: Kazuo Hasegawa, Kyoko Kagawa, Yoko Minamida
Kenji Mizoguchi adapts this story of forbidden love from the 17th century story by Chikamatsu Monzaemon, considered the 'Japanese Shakespeare'. Origin... Read more
The Eel (1997)
7.4/10
Director: Shohei Imamura
Starring: Koji Yakusho, Misa Shimizu, Mitsuko Baisho
Winner of the 1997 Cannes Palme d'Or and from the director of "The Ballad of Narayama", (also a Palme d'Or winner) comes this wonderful offering about... Read more