The last few years have been wonderful for Japanese cinema. Excellent films such as Godzilla Minus One, Suzume, and Perfect Days have reignited interest in the Japanese film industry overseas. Japan is the fourth largest producer of films in the world and the third largest at the box office. office. With over a hundred years of film history, Japan has one of the oldest film industries in the world. With such a long history and so many movies, it can be intimidating to immerse yourself in Japan’s rich cinematic landscape. Japan has also produced some of the most influential directors of all time, from Akira Kurosawa to Hayao Miyazaki. The most important Japanese films of all time are the best addition to this impressive and historic industry and those interested in foreign cinema should not be missed.
When the newly invented kinetoscope arrived in Japan in 1896, a new form of storytelling came to an island country with a rich history of storytelling. The Japanese film industry temporarily took off and began to identify itself. Over the next few decades, Japan has become known for its Jidaigeki (period dramas depicting Japan’s recovery before Meiji), monster movies, anime, samurai films, and superbly filmed slow-paced dramas. However, there is much more.
Many of the highest-grossing Japanese films are animated films, and the highest-grossing Japanese film (in Japan and globally), 2020’s Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train, is added. The highest-grossing live-action film, Bayside Shakedown 2, only ranks 7th in Japan and 15th in the world. This list covers both animated and non-animated films. It considers the history of Japanese cinema but prioritizes the craftsmanship and quality of the films themselves. This is also the Western point of view of someone who does not speak Japanese. However, he hopes to capture the classics and the most important films of the impressive Japanese film industry.
Ring (as it was released in North America) helped popularize and identify the internationality of J-Horror. While American audiences are probably most familiar with its 2002 American remake, The Ring, the original is worth checking out.
Ring was a box office success and was critically acclaimed upon its release. Like the American version, the film follows a journalist who discovers the story on a cursed videotape that causes the deaths of other people seven days after watching it. The film not only popularized Japanese horror in the West, but also revived horror cinema in Japan, giving rise to films such as Pulse, The Grudge, and Dark Water. With more recent releases like One Cut to the Dead and Tag, Japanese horror continues to shine. Ring is broadcasting lately on Tubí.
The new film in the acclaimed Satoshi Kon anime, Paprika, follows a dream detective who pursues a terrorist with a device capable of influencing people’s dreams. Many have noticed how Paprika resembles the American movie Inception. However, Christopher Nolan did not cite the film as an influence even though the two films share many plot elements and themes.
Nolan would not be the first American director to be inspired by Kon’s work. It has been noted that Darren Aronofsky’s Requiem for a Dream is very similar to Kon’s works, Perfect Blue. Lately, Paprika has 86% of Rotten Tomatoes and lately it is streamed on Tubi. .
House, directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi, is the most experimental film on this list. The horror-comedy follows a young woman and her friends who head to the field of an aunt with health problems, only to be eaten in the area itself.
At first, the film was poorly rated, but it did well at the box office in Japan. It became a cult film overseas when it was released in the United States in the late 2000s. The film combines live action, animation, and live cinema for a revolutionary cinematic style. Sarah Cleary of The BFI said of the film: “Like many clever ghost stories, House reflects how occasions can provide beyond and, on some level, is the story of seven cheerful and carefree teenagers. the trauma of the war suffered by his parents’ generation. House is streaming lately on Max.
Unlike the American remake of the same name, Shall We Dance?It’s a romantic comedy about a middle-aged accountant who signs up for dance categories to escape his mundane life.
Directed by Masayuki Suo, the film was a box office success in Japan and the United States. Roger Ebert said of the film: “[It’s] one of the most entertaining films I’ve seen in a long time: a well-crafted character analysis that, like a Hollywood movie with a deft script, manipulates us but makes us love it. “Unfortunately, the film cannot be streamed in the United States.
Kinji Fukasaku’s newest film, Battle Royale, distinguishes between horror and action movies. The film is explosive, bloody and high-octane. It follows teenagers abandoned on a deserted island and forced to fight before the last survivor is allowed to leave.
The film is a favorite of directors like Quentin Tarantino and helped identify the “battle royale genre. “Although the film is considered a cult crop in the United States, it was a box office success in Japan and abroad. banned in several countries and not distributed in the United States for fear of legal trouble. However, it was eventually distributed in the United States in 2010. Battle Royale is lately streaming for free on Tubi, Pluto TV, The Roku Channel, and Amazon Prime. .
Your Name is an anime about two students who switch bodies as they approach a rare comet. The film is popular in Japan and abroad, and Japanese studios Toho will be screened in a live-action version.
Your Name has a little bit of everything: romance, comedy, heartbreak, a funky edge, a catchy soundtrack, and unexpected depth. Without giving too much away, the film balances the love of puppies and the cultural reminiscence of natural disasters. The film currently holds 98% of Rotten Tomatoes. Lately it is available to stream on Crunchy Roll.
Directed by Yoji Yamada and starring Hiroyuki Sanada and Rie Miyazawa, The Twilight Samurai follows a low-level samurai who serves as an accountant whose sleepy life is cut short when someone from his afterlife arrives in town.
The film is slow and tone-deaf. It takes place a few years before the Meiji Restoration and thus adopts another technique for the “samurai story” that appears in many other Jidaigeki films. The Twilight Samurai has won 12 Japanese Academy Awards and has also been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Movie in language. Unfortunately, it’s not available for streaming lately.
Sometimes referred to as Woman of Sand, Woman in the Dunes is a New Wave mystery about an amateur entomologist who arrives in a village and begins living with a widow at the foot of a sand dune.
Considered director Hiroshi Teshigahara’s masterpiece, the film stars Eiji Okada and Kyōko Kishida. The film was nominated for two Academy Awards and won the Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Roger Ebert said of the film in a 1998 review: “There’s never been sand photography like this (no, not even in ‘Lawrence of Arabia’), and by basing the story so firmly on this tangible physical reality, cinematographer Hiroshi. Segawa is helping the director pull off the power excursion of telling a parable as if it were happening. The movie can be rented on Apple TV and Amazon Prime.
Sometimes comedy doesn’t translate well. However, Tampopo’s lighthearted and arrogant technique for comedy transcends language barriers. The movie follows a delivery man and the owner of a ramen shop in their search for the best noodles.
Directed by Juzo Itami, the film stars Tsutomu Yamazaki, Nobuko Miyamoto, and Ken Watanabe. It is a natural and sexy entertainment that will make the audience need something more oriental than a spaghetti western. Lately, the film has been one hundred percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Tampopo literally translates to “Dandelion” and in the film refers to Chef Ramen’s first call; Many restaurants have followed this call due to the popularity of the film. Lately it has been streaming on Max.
If you have a stomachache, don’t look at Audition. La harvest of horror by Takashi Miike is known for its final torture sequence, but the film goes deeper than we think. Audition follows a widower who organizes fake movie auditions to try to help him get it. she goes out again, but she gets more than she bargained for when she chooses the charming but calm Asami.
The film has influenced many horror managers and the so-called “torture” genre. However, later films of the genre, such as Saw or Hostel (which features a cameo through Miike), Audition have limited use of blood. The film stands out above all for its masterful use of tension. Lately it has been freely transmitted on Tubi.
Akira is an anime classic. Set in the dystopian future of 2019, the film follows the leader of a motorcycle gang and his telekinetic friend in an uprising in Neo-Tokyo.
The film features beautiful, even strangely violent, imagery and has helped popularize animated films overseas. The film also popularized the “Akira slide,” a sliding motorcycle widely used in action and animated films. From the music to the action sequences, Akira is very influential. Tom Usher wrote for Vice: “[Akira] was the first time the West became massively involved with Japanese culture, and it had a massive impact: the influence of the film is still obvious everywhere. It is available to stream on Hulu.
Directed by Seijun Suzuki, Tokyo Drifter follows a former yakuza turned businessman who will have to leave an old rival behind. The film is somewhere between nostalgia for the 1960s and an incredibly fresh feel. The images of this film and their flavor are well worth the detour. .
The film is unapologetically in its B-movie status. Like many of Suzuki’s films, Tokyo Drifter is natural and unpretentious entertainment. The film currently owns 93% of Rotten Tomatoes. Se can be rented on Amazon Prime and Apple TV.
Written and directed by Satoshi Kon, Tokyo Godfathers has a little bit of everything. It’s a Christmas movie, an amine, a tragicomedy, and a Yazuka movie. The film follows three homeless people after finding a bathroom in the trash can.
Although the subtitled edition is for most of the anime on this list, the most recent English dub is notable for having a trans actress, Shakina Nayfack, playing the trans character of Hana (in the Japanese edition, Hana is unfortunately voiced by a man). . ). The film has gained a cult following in the United States and lately has a 92% percentage on Rotten Tomatoes. Lately it is streaming for free on The Roku Channel and Amazon Prime.
While many of prolific director Masaki Kobayashi’s films may have appeared on this list (and one will), Kwaidan is among the most interesting. The film is a horror anthology and features four unrelated ghost stories.
The film is based on the stories of Japanese folklore collected through Lafcadio Hearn, basically his 1904 paintings Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things. Although the film is a “horror movie”, its good looks detract from its terror. It won the Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Lately it has been streaming on Max.
Director Isao Takahata’s most recent film, The Tale of Princess Kaguya, is a bamboo cutter tale story from centuries-old folklore. The film is beautiful, even if it’s only animated, and breaks the same maximum aesthetic of many other Studio Ghibli films.
The Tale of Princess Kaguya is Takeo Chii’s newest film and also features Yukiji Asaoka in a guest appearance. The film follows a bamboo cutter who discovers a palm-sized woman on a light-filled shoot. Until 2023, The Boy and The Heron, The Tale of Princess Kaguya, the highest-budget film in Japanese history, with a budget of around $49 million. The film garnered universal acclaim and was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards. The production of the film also gave rise to the documentary Isao Takahata and his tale. Princess Kaguya’s Kaguya. La story of Princess Kaguya is airing lately on Max.
Hirokazu Kore-eda’s family crime drama, Shoplifters, was fueled by the veritable wave of crimes against the elderly and shoplifting in Japan. The film follows a family forced to stay in a hotel to rob stores due to poverty in modern-day Tokyo.
Shoplifters premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Palme d’Or. It was later nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards and the Golden Globes. The film also won 8 Japanese Academy Awards. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian first gave the film 4 out of five stars, but reviewed it to five stars after watching it for a moment. He added of the film, “Shoplifters is a complex, sophisticated, and mysterious film that ends with the ultimate ending of ordinary wonder, a twist worthy of dark mental suspense. Lately it is being streamed freely on Tubi and Peacock.
While other recent Godzilla movies, such as Shin Godzilla, are great, Godzilla Minus One is arguably the most productive Godzilla movie made in years (and in history?). Directed by Takashi Yamazaki, it is a kind of prequel to the original 1954 Godzilla. Minus One is set in 1945 and follows a former kamikaze pilot who survives an incident with Godzilla only to be placed in a redemption arc, fighting the monster on the surface of the seas.
The film was made on a smaller budget than the American Godzilla reboots and sequels, but it features special effects that are just as good, if not better. It even won the award for Best Visual Effects at the Oscars. The film has been acclaimed in Japan and the United States. as a Godzilla fashion masterpiece. Lately, the film has 98% of Rotten Tomatoes. It was released on November 3 (the same date as the full-scale release of the first Godzilla film in 1954) to celebrate the franchise’s 70th anniversary. It was also released in a black-and-white edition as part of the celebration. Lately it is available to stream on Netflix.
Written and directed by Akira Kurosawa, Rashomon is a film in the history of cinema. The film fostered the narrative device “The Rashomon Effect”, which describes the narrative use of other perspectives on the same event. Rashomon is a Japanese-era drama or Jidaigeki. A film that shows the same story of the rape of a girlfriend and the murder of a samurai from various angles, adding a thief, the bride, a woodcutter and the ghost of the samurai.
Kurosawa is already well established in Japan; however, Rashomon was one of the first Japanese films to garner critical acclaim overseas. It won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and an Academy Award at the Oscars (as it preceded the Academy’s International Film category). The film lately has a 98% on Rotten Tomatoes. Lately it is available to stream for free on Tubi or with a subscription on Max.
While the practical effects of the first Godzilla movie may seem a bit vulgar to a modern audience, Godzilla is a must-see. This movie is a classic monster movie for a reason and has a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Directed by Ishirō Honda, Godzilla is basically about the risks of nuclear bombs in post-World War II Japan. The film follows the now-famous kaiju as his home and family are destroyed by an American hydrogen bomb, leading him to wreak havoc. In Tokio. La film is now part of a franchise of 38 films (including 33 Japanese). This film introduced the Shōwa era of Godzilla films, which lasted until 1975 and included 15 films. In particular, Haruo Nakajima played the titular monster in a physical format. Dress up in many movies from this era. Godzilla is lately available to stream for free on Tubi and Pluto TV or with a subscription on Max.
Fireworks or Hana-Bi is a film by actor-turned-filmmaker Takeshi Kitano. The film follows a former cop after he borrows from the mob and gets caught up in crime to pay them back.
Fireworks is the latest film on the list of legendary director Akira Kurosawa’s one hundred favorite films. The film also won the Golden Lion at the Venice International Film Festival. The film is masterfully crafted and in a review of the 1998 film, Roger Ebert said: ” Not a picture or a word is superfluous. The film can be rented on YouTube and Google Play.
There are many Studio Ghibli films and especially those by director Hayao Miyazaki may have taken a place on this list. However, My Neighbor Totoro ticks all the boxes that make Miyazaki’s films great, adding the dreamlike magic of the countryside, the growth of formative years. , environmentalism and family ties.
The film follows two sisters who notice the spirit of the forest in rural Japan in the 1950s. While the 2004 English dub is the easiest to find, the original English dub from 1989 appeals to fans, especially those of a certain age. Totoro, the titular Spirit of the Forest, has become a cultural icon and also serves as Studio Ghibli’s mascot. The movie is available to stream on Max.
Directed by Yasujirō Ozu, Late Spring is the first installment in Ozu’s “Noriko Trilogy”, which also includes Early Summer in 1951 and Tokyo Story in 1953. Although the films have no connection in the plot, they feature actress Setsuko Hara as a single woman named Noriko. and the theme of women’s lives in post-war Japan.
The film is a wonderful example of a shomin-geki film (a genre about people’s lives). It follows a woman and her widowed father as her aunt hatches a conspiracy to put her in contact. The film exudes a silent and lasting sadness. Roger Ebert said of the film in 2005: “Late Spring tells a story that gets sadder and sadder the more you think about it. There is a tension in the film between Noriko’s smile and her feelings. Lately, the film is being freely streamed on Tubi.
There may be some topical bias with Drive My Car from 2021 onwards; However, the film is a beautiful vision of heartbreak, love and the common. It follows an elderly actor and director and his young driving force as he struggles to overcome the grief of his wife’s death while directing a production of Uncle Vanya.
The film is based on Haruki Murakami’s short story of the same name and stars Hidetoshi Nishijima, Tōko Miura, and Reika Kirishima. Drive My Car, the first Japanese film to earn a Best Picture nomination at the Academy Awards, where it also won the Academy. Best Film Award Internacional. La film has become the first non-English language film and one of only seven films to win Best Picture among the top three American critics’ teams (LAFCA, NYFCC, NSFC). sign up for Amazon Prime and Apple TV.
Ugetsu is considered a masterpiece of the golden age of Japanese cinema. The film tells the story of a hopeful samurai who leaves his wife and then himself will be seduced through a ghost. Even if we’re talking about a ghost story, it’s not really a horror movie. Directed by prolific filmmaker Kenji Mizoguchi, Ugetsu explores themes of lust, arrogance, and the position of women in society.
The film won the Pasinetti Award and the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival before being nominated for an Oscar for Best Costume Design, in black and white. The movie is available to stream on Tubi for free and Max with a subscription.
One of Studio Ghibli’s darkest films and arguably one of the darkest animated films of all time, Grave of the Fireflies follows two young men who suffer the horrors of war in 1940s Japan. Directed by Isao Takahata, Grave of the Fireflies was presented in a strange way in the first place. as a double feature film with the much lighter My Neighbor Totoro.
Grave of the Fireflies is the only Studio Ghibli theatrical film before 2011’s From Up on Poppy Hill for which Disney never had the North American distribution rights, perhaps due to darkness. However, it is still worth visiting. Roger Ebert said that Grave of the Fireflies is such an “emotional delight so intense that it forces you to reconsider the animation. “Unfortunately, Grave of the Fireflies is currently not available for rent or streaming in the United States.
Many of the “best Japanese film lists” are ruled by director Akira Kurosawa. There’s an explanation for that, however, with 30 films in a career spanning nearly 60 years, it’s becoming repetitive to sing his praises. That said, the announcements may have been completed on this list High and Low, Drunken Angel, Throne of Blood, The Hidden Fortress, Yojimbo, or Kurosawa’s Ran. While Kurosawa is best known for his samurai and film noir films, Ikiru easily ranks among the most productive.
Inspired by Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilyich, Ikiru follows a terminally ill bureaucrat on his new search for meaning. The film stars Takashi Shimura and Miki Odagiri and is strangely funny and deeply intimate. It was remade in Britain under the name Living of 2022 (“Ikiru” translates to “To Live”), with Bill Nighy. While Nighy’s functionality is fabulous, Living falls short of the original film. Ikiru is currently airing on Max.
Tokyo Story by Yasujirō Ozu is a masterpiece, but perhaps difficult to digest for foreign and fashionable audiences. The film is slow and the camera moves slightly. The film was even originally considered “too Japanese” for foreign audiences. However, it is a charming and sophisticated drama. about generational relationships that is well worth a visit.
Starring Chishū Ryū and Chieko Higashiyama, the film follows two elderly parents as they make a stopover with their adult children in Tokyo. Lately, the film has a score of one hundred percent on Rotten Tomatoes. In 2012, Tokyo Story topped the Sight and Sound list of the most important films. movies of all time. The 2013 film remade by Yōji Yamada under the name Tōkyō Kazoku. However, the original is superior. Lately it is being streamed for free on Tubi or Max with a subscription.
Fresh off the equally iconic The Human Condition trilogy (1959-1961), director Masaki Kobayashi delivered another masterpiece in 1962’s Harakiri. The film is cited as one of the most productive samurai films ever made. Harakiri follows a ronin of the Tokugawa shogunate who asks to dedicate a ritualized form of suicide called seppuku (or harakiri) at a local lord’s mansion.
The film explores themes of authority, power, and glory. Currently, the film ranks one hundred percent on Rotten Tomatoes and is the highest-rated film on Letterboxd. The film also won the Special Jury Prize at the 1963 Cannes Film Festival. Takashi Miike’s 3-d remake, Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai, also premiered at Cannes in 2011; however, in this case, the original is better. Harakiri from 1962 is available to rent on Apple TV.
Spirited Away is a Studio Ghibli film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. For 19 years, it held the record for the highest-grossing film in Japan and the first non-English-language animated film to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. (It’s also the only one until another Miyazaki film, The Boy and the Heron, won in 2024. )
The film is one of the best-made animated films of all time. It follows a ten-year-old woman trapped in the spirit realm who will have to save her parents from an evil witch. While many Studio Ghibli films may have made this list, adding Howl’s Howl’s Howl and Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away is arguably the studio’s most productive film. Lately it has been streaming on Max.
Another film by the legendary Akira Kurosawa, Seven Samurai, has been widely identified as “the greatest foreign-language film” ever made. The film follows an organization of farmers who rent samurai to protect their crops in the 16th century, the Sengoku era in Japan. .
The film marked a turning point for Japanese cinema and is still enjoyed today. The film has been a favorite of many directors, including Martin Scorsese and Andrei Tarkovsky. The Seven Samurai have also greatly encouraged later films, since The Seven Mercenaries of the 1960s. from Star Wars to Pixar’s Bugs. Seven Samurai’s “build a team” trope has also influenced the heist movie genre. In 2016, Toho finished a 4K recovery of the film’s second-generation detailed positives and third-generation duplicate negatives. Unfortunately, the original negative of the film has been lost. The 4K recovery is expected to return to theaters in New York and Los Angeles in July 2024. Lately it is also streaming on Max.
Conclusion
From the golden age of Japanese cinema in the 1950s to recent classics, there’s a lot to love about Japanese cinema. Whether you’re looking for samurai, ghosts, life, or animation classics, Japanese videos have a lot to offer, and Those 30 are the best.
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