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'
Casshern (2004)
6.2/10
Director: Kazuaki Kiriya
Starring: Yusuke Iseya, Kumiko Aso, Akira Terao, Kanako Higuchi, Fumiyo Kohinata, Hiroyuki...
A great war leaves an alternate earth diseased and polluted. Geneticist Dr. Azuma claims he can regenerate humankind but is refused government funding... Read more
The Idiot (1951)
7.4/10
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Starring: Masayuki Mori, Toshiro Mifune, Setsuko Hara, Yoshiko Kuga, Takashi Shimura
Based on Dostoyevsky's classic novel of love and murder, adapted by Kurosawa himself, the story tells of Kameda, a former soldier whose wartime experi... Read more
Avalon (2001)
6.5/10
Director: Mamoru Oshii
Starring: Malgorzata Foremniak, Wladyslaw Kowalski
Anime master Mamoru Oshii's ("Ghost in the Shell") live-action feature directorial debut is a mesmerizing sci-fi tale set in a future world where peop... Read more
Memories (1995)
7.6/10
Director: Katsuhiro Otomo, Koji Morimoto, Tensai Okamura
"Akira" creator Katsuhiro Otomo joins with some of the top talents in anime for an eye-opening trilogy of animated tales, each with their own distinct... Read more
Eko Eko Azarak: Wizard of Darkness (1995)
6/10
Director: Shimako Sato
Starring: Kimika Yoshino, Miho Kanno, Naozumi Takahashi, Mio Takaki
Misa has just transferred to a new school, unfortunately for her it's in the process of being taken over by evil supernatural forces. Fortunately for... Read more
Akira Kurosawa's Dreams (1990)
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Starring: Akira Terao, Mieko Harada, Mitsuko Baisho
Eight mesmerising tableaus explore the subconscious at various stages of an elderly mans life in this visually stunning work from the master Japanese... Read more
Akira ( Blu-ray ) (1988)
8.1/10
Director: Katsuhiro Otomo
Groundbreaking Japanese animated epic set in the post-WWIII metropolis of Neo-Tokyo. The labyrinthine plot revolves around a battle between oppressive... Read more
Sonatine (1993)
7.6/10
Director: Takeshi Kitano
Starring: Aya Kokumai, Takeshi Kitano, Tetsu Watanabe
'Beat' Takeshi Kitano stars in this very original tale of the last days of a Tokyo gangster. Hard action combines brilliantly with haunting stillness. Read more
Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)
6.5/10
Director: Ryuhei Kitamura
Starring: Masahiro Matsuoka, Rei Kikukawa, Kazuki Kitamura, Don Frye, Akira Takarada
Godzilla's 50th birthday sees him travelling the globe as evil aliens have landed with evil alien thoughts. Only Godzilla and the Earth Defence Force... Read more
Female Convict Scorpion: Jailhouse 41 (1972)
Director: Shunya Ito
Starring: Meiko Kaji
Experimental and exploitation cinema meet in this subversive feature. The film follows a woman named Matsu (a.k.a. "Scorpion"), wrongly imprisoned aft... Read more