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'
The Machine Girl (2008)
5.9/10
Director: Noboru Iguchi
Starring: Minase Yashiro, Asami , Kentaro Shimazu, Honoka , Nobuhiro Nishihara
When gangsters murder her brother, and hack off her left arm, sweet Japanese schoolgirl Ami takes matters into her own...er, hand, and gets her stump... Read more
The Mysterians (1957)
6.3/10
Director: Ishiro Honda
Starring: Momoko Kochi, Kenji Sahara, Yumi Shirakawa, Akihiko Hirata, Takashi Shimura, Sus...
'They've come to take our women!' Centuries after the destruction of their planet, the titular aliens land on Earth, install an impregnable dome by a... Read more
The Only Son (1936)
7.8/10
Director: Yasujiro Ozu
A widow sends her only son away to receive a better education. Years later, she visits him, finding him a poor school teacher with a wife and son. Read more
The Place Promised In Our Early Days (2004)
7.1/10
Director: Makoto Shinkai
In an alternate timeline World War II has split Japan in two; in American-controlled Aomori three children become enthralled with a giant tower, far i... Read more
The Princess Blade (2001)
5.8/10
Director: Shinsuke Sato
Starring: Hideaki Ito, Yumiko Shaku, Shiro Sano, Yoichi Numata, Kyusaku Shimada, Yoko Maki
Aka "Shurayuki-Hime". In a post-apocalyptic Japan that blends technology and feudalism, a young woman named Yuki, whose family are assassins, is loyal... Read more
The Quiet Duel (1949)
7.5/10
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Starring: Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Kenjiro Uemura, Miki Sanjo, Chieko Nakakita
Toshiro Mifune's second film with director Akira Kurosawa casts him in the role of a young war-time doctor, who accidentally contracts syphillis while... Read more
The Red Turtle (2016)
7.5/10
Director: Michael Dudok de Wit
If one day Studio Ghibli decides to produce an animator from outside the studio, it will be him, was Miyazakis pronouncement after watching Dudok de... Read more
The Red Turtle (Blu-Ray) (2016)
7.5/10
Director: Michael Dudok de Wit
If one day Studio Ghibli decides to produce an animator from outside the studio, it will be him, was Miyazakis pronouncement after watching Dudok de... Read more
The Sea is Watching (2002)
7.1/10
Director: Kei Kumai
Starring: Misa Shimizu, Nagiko Tohno, Masatoshi Nagase, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Renji Ishibashi...
From legendary Japanese director Akira Kurosawa comes his final screenplay; a beautifully crafted tale set in 19th-century Edo that centers on O-Shin,... Read more
The Street Fighter (1974)
7.1/10
Director: Shigehiro Ozawa
Starring: Sonny Chiba
Sonny Chiba stars as Terry Tsugury, the toughest mercenary around. After rescuing a client, Junju, from prison, he finds the client's family doesn't h... Read more