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'
Late Spring (1949)
8.3/10
Director: Yasujiro Ozu
Starring: Chishu Ryu, Setsuko Hara, Haruko Sugimura, Yumeji Tsukioka
One of the most powerful of Yasujiro Ozu's family portraits, "Late Spring" tells the story of a widowed father who feels compelled to marry off his be... 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
Stray Dog (1949)
7.9/10
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Starring: Takashi Shimura, Toshiro Mifune, Isao Kimura, Keiko Awaji
Early Kurosawa film is a masterful mix of film noir and police thriller in which a rookie detective (Toshiro Mifune) has his pistol stolen, and his se... Read more
Drunken Angel (1948)
7.8/10
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Starring: Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura
Takashi Shimura plays an alcoholic doctor trying to bring about both spiritual and physical recovery of the human debris living in the yakuza-infested... Read more
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
Sanshiro Sugata (1943)
6.8/10
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Starring: Takashi Shimura, Denjiro Okochi, Susumu Fujita, Yukiko Todoroki, Ryunosuke Tsuki...
Based on a best-seller, the debut film from master auteur, Akira Kurosawa, tells the beginning of Judo in Japan. The eponymous protagonist is on a qu... Read more
There Was A Father (1942)
7.8/10
Director: Yasujiro Ozu
Starring: Chishu Ryu, Shin Saburi
Shuhei Horikawa, a poor schoolteacher, struggles to raise his son Ryohei by himself, despite neither money nor prospects. Read more
The Loyal 47 Ronin (1941)
7.3/10
Director: Kenji Mizoguchi
Starring: Yoshizaburo Arashi, Utaemon Ichikawa
A timeless tale of honor and revenge, told in two parts by master director Kenji Mizoguchi. 'The Loyal 47 Ronin' tells the true story of a loyal group... 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
Passing Fancy (1933)
7.2/10
Director: Yasujiro Ozu
Two Tokyo co-workers come across a destitute young lady in search of a place to live. Read more