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'
Tony Takitani is lonely. Since he was kid, bullied for his 'western' name and neglected by his jazz musician father, Tony has been apart from the res... Read more
A beautifully made, sensitive drama about a teacher (Hideko Takamine) beginning her long career. As the years pass we follow not only her progress, b... Read more
Aka "Ugetsu Monogatari". Quite simply one of the greatest of filmmakers, said Jean-Luc Godard of Kenji Mizoguchi. And "Ugetsu", a ghost story like n... Read more
The plot is goofy, yet endearing, as sweet young vampire Monami falls for Mizushima, "the only acceptable boy in school." Unfortunately, Mizushima is... Read more
Many believe that there are 666 gates to Hell hidden here on Earth. Legend says that somewhere in Japan's "Forest of Resurrection" lies the 444th gate... Read more
An enchanting, blissful look at the magic and terror of childhood. Identical twin brothers, now successful artists, recall the summer of 1948 when the... Read more
Sex, violence, and the dark world of the yakuza provide the basis of this Japanese thriller. 'Beat' Takeshi Kitano plays a rogue cop who employs his o... Read more
Giving a touch of Asian-flavoured 'magic realism' to a premise that almost sounds like adult cinema, Japanese filmmaker Shohei Imamura ('The Eel') tel... Read more
Translated into English, the title of this Japanese sci-fi endeavor is Unknown Satellite over Tokyo. The extraterrestrials on this occasion are weirdl... Read more
More loopy action as Keiko and her workmates are under threat from rival station TV Trendy, run by the evil Megumi, who is always one step ahead of th... Read more