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'
Hula Girls (2006)
7.2/10
Director: Sang-il Lee
Starring: Yasuko Matsuyuki, Etsushi Toyokawa, Yu Aoi, Shizuyo Yamazaki, Shoko Ikezu, Eri T...
Winner of five Japanese Oscars including Best Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay, this is the true story of a small mining town in Japan whose fo... Read more
I Live In Fear (1955)
7.4/10
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Starring: Toshiro Mifune, Eiko Miyoshi, Minoru Chiaki
When a wealthy foundry owner and patriarch decides to move his entire family from Tokyo to Brazil to escape the nuclear holocaust which he believes is... Read more
I Was Born, But... (1932)
7.2/10
Director: Yasujiro Ozu
Two young brothers throw a tantrum when they discover that their father isn't the most important man in his workplace. Read more
I Wish (2011)
7.4/10
Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda
Starring: Maeda Koki, Maeda Ohshiro, Hayashi Ryoga
Twelve-year-old Koichi lives with his mother and retired grandparents in the southern region of Japan. His younger brother Ryunosuke lives with their... Read more
Ichi the Killer (2001)
7.1/10
Director: Takashi Miike
Starring: Tadanobu Asano, Nao Omori, Shinya Tsukamoto
Welcome to a world where violence is a virtue and depravity is a way of life. This is the underside of Shinjuku, and the home of Kakihara, a sadistic... Read more
Ikiru (1952)
8.3/10
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Starring: Takashi Shimura, Nobuo Kaneko, Kyoko Seki
A brilliant study of a man who finds he is dying of cancer and determines to spend his final months giving meaning to his life by constructing a child... Read more
In The Realm Of The Senses (1976)
6.6/10
Director: Nagisa Oshima
Starring: Aio Nakajima, Eiko Matsuda, Tatsuya Fuji
Tells of the bizarre true-to-life love affair between a gangster and a prostitute in 1930s Japan. Highlighted by lush visuals and graphic sex, as well... Read more
Infection (2004)
6.1/10
Director: Masayuki Ochiai
Starring: Kaho Minami, Masanobu Takashima, Shiro Sano, Koichi Sato, Takashige Ichise
A burns victim taken to an under-staffed, over-worked hospital is accidentally given a lethal injection, but the doctor in charge tells everyone to fo... Read more
Inugami (2001)
6.1/10
Director: Masato Harada
Starring: Atsuro Watabe, Yuki Amami, Eugene Harada
After moving to a small village, Tokyo schoolteacher Akira falls in love with Miki, a papermaker from a family believed to carry an ancient curse. Whe... Read more
Isola (2000)
5.5/10
Director: Toshiyuki Mizutani
Starring: Yoshino Kimura, Yu Kurosawa, Makiko Watanabe, Ken Ishiguro
In the aftermath of the 1995 earthquake in Kobe, psychic Yukari takes a break from her studies to help with the rescue effort. She meets up with Chih... Read more