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'
Sanshiro Sugata II (1945)
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Starring: Susumu Fujita, Denjiro Okochi, Ryunosuke Tsukigata, Yukiko Todoroki, Masayuki Mo...
This sequel was suggested by the Japanese government, in the wake of a devastating loss in the second world war. Set in 1887, the Japanese culture is... Read more
Rikyu (1989)
7.3/10
Director: Hiroshi Teshigahara
Starring: Kyoko Kishida, Rentaro Mikuni, Tsutomu Yamakazi, Yoshiko Mita
Breaking a self-imposed silence in the cinema for seventeen years, Teshigahara Hiroshi made this brilliant comeback with this striking film. Late in t... Read more
Three Outlaw Samurai (Blu-ray) (1964)
7.7/10
Director: Hideo Gosha
When poor peasants kidnap a magistrate's daughter to coerce him into reducing taxes, a wandering ronin and two renegades from the magistrate's guard t... Read more
Golgo 13: Kowloon Assignment (1977)
7.5/10
Director: Yukio Noda
Starring: Sonny Chiba, Etsuko Shihomi, Emi Shindo, Callan Leung
Based on a best-selling Japanese comic, Sonny Chiba stars as 'Golgo 13', a master assassin whose calling card is a single shot between the eyes. Match... Read more
Resurrection of Golden Wolf (1979)
Director: Toru Murakawa
Starring: Jun Fubuki, Kei Sato, Yusaku Matsuda, Sonny Chiba
This thrill-packed Japanese noir follows the exploits of misleadingly mild-mannered Asakura (Yusaku Matsuda), an accountant by day and a ruthless kill... Read more
Zatoichi 24: In Desperation (1972)
Director: Shintaro Katsu
Starring: Shintaro Katsu, Kiwako Taichi, Kyoko Toshizawa, Yasuhiro Koume, Fujio Morita
Directed by the actor who plays Zatoichi, this is possibly the darkest and most sombre of the series; the yakuza are meaner and the body count is high... Read more
The Killing Machine (1975)
5.2/10
Director: Norifumi Suzuki
Starring: Sonny Chiba, Yutaka Nakajima, Kei Sato, Etsuko Shihomi
Following the end of World War II, former Japanese soldier and Shaolin martial arts master Doshin (Sonny Chiba) returns to Osaka after working as a sp... Read more
Samurai Commando: Mission 1549 (2005)
5.1/10
Director: Masaaki Tezuka
Starring: Yosuke Eguchi, Kyoka Suzuki, Takeshi Kaga
When a modern-day military unit is accidentally sent back to feudal Japan, history changes and the present begins to unravel in this re-telling of the... Read more
Why Don't You Play in Hell? (2013)
7.2/10
Director: Sion Sono
Starring: Jun Kunimura, Shinichi Tsutsumi, Fumi Nikaido
There's a war going on, but that won't stop the inexperienced but eager wannabe film crew The Fuck Bombers from following their dreams of making the u... Read more
Sword of the Stranger (2007)
7.8/10
Director: Masahiro Ando
Hair-raising anime action featuring Kotarou, a young Japanese boy on the run from China's Royal Army, who happens upon a wandering samurai. He's not i... Read more