Sort by IMDb Rating - Highest Rated Movies and TV Shows With Shôhei Imamura
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1. The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On (1987)
Not Rated | 122 min | Documentary
A documentary following Kenzo Okuzaki, a 62-year-old WW2 veteran notorious for his protests against Emperor Hirohito, as he tries to expose the needless executions of two Japanese soldiers during the war.
Director: Kazuo Hara | Stars: Kenzo Okuzaki, Riichi Aikawa, Masaichi Hamaguchi, Toshio Hara
Votes: 2,129
2. Tokyo Story (1953)
Not Rated | 136 min | Drama
An old couple visit their children and grandchildren in the city, but receive little attention.
Director: Yasujirô Ozu | Stars: Chishû Ryû, Chieko Higashiyama, Sô Yamamura, Setsuko Hara
Votes: 68,778
3. Early Summer (1951)
Not Rated | 125 min | Drama, Romance
A family chooses a match for their daughter Noriko, but she, surprisingly, has her own plans.
Director: Yasujirô Ozu | Stars: Setsuko Hara, Chishû Ryû, Chikage Awashima, Kuniko Miyake
Votes: 9,696
4. Music for the Movies: Tôru Takemitsu (1994 TV Movie)
58 min | Documentary, Music
A documentary of the Japanese film composer Toru Takemitsu, featuring interviews and clips from films he scored.
Director: Charlotte Zwerin | Stars: Tôru Takemitsu, Hiroshi Teshigahara, Masaki Kobayashi, Masahiro Shinoda
Votes: 70
5. Black Rain (1989)
Not Rated | 123 min | Drama, War
The story of the aftermath of the Hiroshima bombing, based on Masuji Ibuse's novel.
Director: Shôhei Imamura | Stars: Yoshiko Tanaka, Kazuo Kitamura, Etsuko Ichihara, Shôichi Ozawa
Votes: 3,973
6. The Ballad of Narayama (1983)
Not Rated | 130 min | Drama
In a poor 19th century rural Japanese village, everyone who reaches the age of 70 has to climb a nearby mountain to die. An elderly woman is reaching close to her cut-off age during her last days with her family.
Director: Shôhei Imamura | Stars: Ken Ogata, Sumiko Sakamoto, Tonpei Hidari, Aki Takejô
Votes: 9,153
7. Vengeance Is Mine (1979)
Not Rated | 139 min | Crime, Drama
Chronological exploits of Iwao Enokizu, a murderous thief on the run.
Director: Shôhei Imamura | Stars: Ken Ogata, Rentarô Mikuni, Chôchô Miyako, Mitsuko Baishô
Votes: 7,308
8. The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice (1952)
Not Rated | 116 min | Drama
A childless middle-aged couple faces a marital crisis.
Director: Yasujirô Ozu | Stars: Shin Saburi, Michiyo Kogure, Kôji Tsuruta, Chishû Ryû
Votes: 3,696
9. Cinéma, de notre temps (1989– )
Documentary
"Cinema of Our Time" is a documentary series about contemporary filmmakers from around the world, created by Janine Bazin and André S. Labarthe, as a follow-up to the acclaimed initial series "Filmmakers of Our Time" (1964-1972).
Stars: Jean-Claude Dauphin, André S. Labarthe, Jean-François Stévenin, Jean Douchet
Votes: 193
10. Intentions of Murder (1964)
Not Rated | 150 min | Drama
A housewife living under her tyrannical husband has her life stressfully turned upside down after getting raped by a burglar.
Director: Shôhei Imamura | Stars: Masumi Harukawa, Kô Nishimura, Shigeru Tsuyuguchi, Yûko Kusunoki
Votes: 1,822
11. Pigs and Battleships (1961)
Not Rated | 108 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A young hoodlum decides to work for a criminal organization that is tearing itself apart.
Director: Shôhei Imamura | Stars: Hiroyuki Nagato, Jitsuko Yoshimura, Masao Mishima, Tetsurô Tanba
Votes: 2,595
12. Profound Desires of the Gods (1968)
Not Rated | 173 min | Drama
An engineer from Tokyo arrives on a drought-ridden tropical island to drill a well to power a nearby sugar mill. He meets the inbred Futori family, hated by the locals for breaking religious customs.
Director: Shôhei Imamura | Stars: Rentarô Mikuni, Chôichirô Kawarasaki, Hideko Okiyama, Kanjûrô Arashi
Votes: 1,949
13. I Lived, But... (1983)
123 min | Documentary
A documentary about Ozu's life and career.
Director: Kazuo Inoue | Stars: Ineko Arima, Chikage Awashima, Shôhei Imamura, Shima Iwashita
Votes: 248
14. The Insect Woman (1963)
Not Rated | 123 min | Drama
Life story of a woman born in poverty trying to succeed. Through her many schemes, she faces her ups and downs in a cyclical nature, fueled mostly by self-interest.
Director: Shôhei Imamura | Stars: Seizaburô Kawazu, Kazuo Kitamura, Tanie Kitabayashi, Teruko Kishi
Votes: 2,503
15. Suzaki Paradise: Red Light District (1956)
81 min | Drama
A couple stand indecisively on a bridge in Asakusa. Tsutae and Yoshiji have lost confidence and passion for their future as they get on the bus for Tsukishima and get off at Suzaki. Across ... See full summary »
Director: Yûzô Kawashima | Stars: Michiyo Aratama, Yukiko Todoroki, Seizaburô Kawazu, Tatsuya Mihashi
Votes: 821
16. Muhomatsu Returns Home (1973 TV Movie)
48 min | Documentary
Three years after his first two documentaries on these soldiers who did not return, Imamura invites one of the interviewees, settled in Thailand, to return to Japan.
Director: Shôhei Imamura | Stars: Fujiko Fujita, Fujio Fujita, Matsuyoshi Fujita, Michiko Hamaguchi
Votes: 67
17. The Eel (1997)
Not Rated | 117 min | Drama
A businessman kills his adulterous wife and is sent to prison. After the release, he opens a barbershop and meets new people, talking almost to no one except an eel he befriended while in prison.
Director: Shôhei Imamura | Stars: Koji Yakusho, Misa Shimizu, Mitsuko Baishô, Akira Emoto
Votes: 6,412 | Gross: $0.41M
18. Kyûpora no aru machi (1962)
99 min | Drama
Set in Kawaguchi, just north of Tokyo in the early 60s, the movie chronicles the lives of poor foundry workers and their families; and one girl's dreams of self-improvement through going on to higher education.
Director: Kiriô Urayama | Stars: Sayuri Yoshinaga, Mitsuo Hamada, Eijirô Tôno, Shôichi Ozawa
Votes: 200
19. The Pornographers (1966)
Not Rated | 120 min | Comedy, Drama
While avoiding the mob and local authorities, a world-weary pornographer finds being a family man the most difficult as he wrestles with his own desires and afflictions.
Director: Shôhei Imamura | Stars: Shôichi Ozawa, Sumiko Sakamoto, Keiko Sagawa, Masaomi Kondô
Votes: 2,530
20. A Man Vanishes (1967)
130 min | Documentary, Drama
Plastics salesman Oshima disappeared without a word to anyone, and has been missing for two years. Shohei Imamura and his crew follow Oshima's fiancé Yoshie and actor Shigeru Tsuyuguchi as they investigate the disappearance.
Director: Shôhei Imamura | Stars: Shigeru Tsuyuguchi, Yoshie Hayakawa, Shôhei Imamura
Votes: 831
21. Sun in the Last Days of the Shogunate (1957)
Not Rated | 110 min | Comedy, Drama
In the last days of the Shogunate, a resourceful grifter seeks to outwit competing prostitutes, rebellious samurai and other inhabitants of a brothel in order to survive the hardened times.
Director: Yûzô Kawashima | Stars: Furankî Sakai, Sachiko Hidari, Yôko Minamida, Yûjirô Ishihara
Votes: 1,328
22. Dr. Akagi (1998)
Not Rated | 129 min | Comedy, Drama, History
At the end of WWII, Japanese doctor Akagi searches for the cure for hepatitis in the prisoner-of-war camp.
Director: Shôhei Imamura | Stars: Akira Emoto, Kumiko Asô, Jacques Gamblin, Tomorô Taguchi
Votes: 1,616 | Gross: $0.07M
23. Endless Desire (1958)
101 min | Comedy, Crime
Endless Desire is a black comedy on the spoils of war much extended and enhanced by the greed, treachery, laziness, and lust of the postwar decade.
Director: Shôhei Imamura | Stars: Hiroyuki Nagato, Misako Watanabe, Kô Nishimura, Sanae Nakahara
Votes: 493
24. History of Postwar Japan as Told by a Bar Hostess (1970)
105 min | Documentary
A documentary film showcasing life in postwar Japan as seen through the eyes of a bar hostess.
Director: Shôhei Imamura | Stars: Chieko Akaza, Etsuko Akaza, Tami Akaza, Fukumi Kuroda
Votes: 236
25. Karayuki-san (1975)
70 min | Documentary
Director Shôhei Imamura interviews Kikuyo Zendo, a 73 year-old Japanese woman who was trafficked in 1921 to work as a prostitute in Malaysia. She discusses her sex work career and marriages... See full summary »
Director: Shôhei Imamura | Stars: Kurahachi Fukuda, Tora Hirano, Shôhei Imamura, Shôhei Nagao
Votes: 126
26. Have You Seen the Barefoot God? (1986)
100 min | Drama
2 almost inseparable friends. The talented painter recognized by all decided to leave the town where they live and become an artist and the shy poet who only sees his future in his mother's business.
Director: Soo-Kil Kim | Stars: Tamotsu Ishibashi, Gen Kodama, Yoriko Dôguchi, Tomoko Aizawa
Votes: 54
27. The Balloon (1956)
Not Rated | 110 min | Drama
Haruki Murakami is a successful family man and the head of a camera company. Unbeknownst to Murakami, his arrogant son oscillates between a mistress and a new lover who sings at a nightclub... See full summary »
Director: Yûzô Kawashima | Stars: Masayuki Mori, Tatsuya Mihashi, Mie Kitahara, Sachiko Hidari
Votes: 308
28. Kuroi ushio (1954)
113 min | Drama
Director: Sô Yamamura | Stars: Sô Yamamura, Eijirô Tôno, Keiko Tsushima, Shizue Natsukawa
Votes: 17
29. The Pirates of Buban (1972 TV Movie)
46 min | Documentary
Director: Shôhei Imamura | Stars: Kô Nishimura, Shôichi Ozawa, Shigeru Tsuyuguchi, Kazuo Kitamura
Votes: 73
30. Samurai no ko (1963)
Director: Mitsuo Wakasugi | Stars: Mitsuo Hamada, Midori Tashiro, Kayo Matsuo, Yôko Minamida
Votes: 11
31. Our Town (1956)
98 min | Drama
In 1906, a man returns to Japan after finishing a job in the Philippines, only to discover that his lover is dying, leaving him a baby girl.
Director: Yûzô Kawashima | Stars: Ryûtarô Tatsumi, Yôko Minamida, Shirô Ôsaka, Taiji Tonoyama
Votes: 296
32. In Search of the Unreturned Soldiers in Thailand (1971 TV Movie)
45 min | Documentary
In Thailand, Imamura brings together three Japanese soldiers who did not return home after World War II to discuss their experiences during and after the war.
Director: Shôhei Imamura
Votes: 71
33. September 11 (2002)
Unrated | 134 min | Drama
The effects of the 9/11 terrorist attacks are told from different points of view around the world.
Directors: Alejandro González Iñárritu, Youssef Chahine, Amos Gitai, Shôhei Imamura, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Claude Lelouch, Ken Loach, Samira Makhmalbaf, Mira Nair, Idrissa Ouedraogo, Sean Penn, Danis Tanovic | Stars: Maryam Karimi, Mohamad Dolati, Agelem Habibi, Esmat Vahedi
Votes: 5,933
34. Zegen (1987)
124 min | Comedy
A Japanese immigrant in 1901 Hong Kong wishes to become a simple shopkeeper. Fate soon intervenes, allowing him to mix adventure and fervent patriotism with greed.
Director: Shôhei Imamura | Stars: Ken Ogata, Mitsuko Baishô, Chun-Hsiung Ko, Norihei Miki
Votes: 449
35. My Second Brother (1959)
101 min | Drama
Director: Shôhei Imamura | Stars: Hiroyuki Nagato, Kayo Matsuo, Takeshi Okimura, Akiko Maeda
Votes: 262
36. Stolen Desire (1958)
92 min | Comedy
A rumbunctious and ribald tale of a troupe of travelling actors who alternate highlights of kabuki theatre with strip shows.
Director: Shôhei Imamura | Stars: Osamu Takizawa, Shin'ichi Yanagisawa, Hiroyuki Nagato, Kô Nishimura
Votes: 686
37. Tales of Ginza (1955)
117 min | Drama
When she was a little girl, Wakako Kyoguku's portrait was painted by a talented young artist. Years later, she takes it to an art gallery in Ginza, in hopes of reuniting with the creator whom she never knew the name.
Director: Yûzô Kawashima | Stars: Tatsuya Mihashi, Yumeji Tsukioka, Mie Kitahara, Seizaburô Kawazu
Votes: 275
38. Seishun no satsujinsha (1976)
132 min | Crime, Drama
Though his parents help him run the family business, Jun still feels persecuted by their love; when they bar him from meeting with his girlfriend, tensions increase.
Director: Kazuhiko Hasegawa | Stars: Yutaka Mizutani, Mieko Harada, Etsuko Ichihara, Ryôhei Uchida
Votes: 368
39. Why Not? (1981)
151 min | Drama
Near the turbulent end of the Edo era, a man returning to Japan after exile in America searches for his wife and becomes swept up in the current of revolution in this incisive period drama from the great Shohei Imamura.
Director: Shôhei Imamura | Stars: Shigeru Izumiya, Kaori Momoi, Masao Kusakari, Ken Ogata
Votes: 690
40. Keirin shônin gyôjyôki (1963)
One summer day, the priest of the Hojuuin Temple dies. As soon as he hears the news, Harumichi returns to town and organizes a grand funeral. He was never willing to take over the family ... See full summary »
Director: Shôgorô Nishimura | Stars: Eimei Esumi, Toyo Fukuda, Kotoe Hatsui, Hiroshi Hijikata
Votes: 15
41.
Cinéma, de notre temps (1989– )
Episode:
Shohei Imamura, le libre penseur
(1995)
60 min | Documentary
Documentary about the director Shohei Imamura. This intimate portrayal arrives to calm us. In good health and enjoying life, Imamura gets drunk methodically in a bar worthy of "An Autumn ... See full summary »
Director: Paulo Rocha | Star: Shôhei Imamura
Votes: 46
42. Warm Water Under a Red Bridge (2001)
119 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
A down-and-out businessman travels to a seaside town, where he meets a woman with unusual sexual powers.
Director: Shôhei Imamura | Stars: Koji Yakusho, Misa Shimizu, Mitsuko Baishô, Mansaku Fuwa
Votes: 2,853 | Gross: $0.06M
43. Till We Meet Again (1955)
Not Rated | 115 min | Drama, Romance
Sonejiro sacrifices all comfort to devote himself to research. Young housewife Yachiyo is disappointed with her husband Kappei, who is more attracted to mountain climbing and another girl. ... See full summary »
Director: Yûzô Kawashima | Stars: Sô Yamamura, Yumeji Tsukioka, Tatsuya Mihashi, Rentarô Mikuni
Votes: 182
44. In Search of the Unreturned Soldiers in Malaysia (1970 TV Movie)
47 min | Documentary
The searching of un-return japanese soldier in Malaysia by Imamura Shohei with the help from local people.
Director: Shôhei Imamura | Star: Shôhei Imamura
Votes: 80
45. Ai no onimotsu (1955)
Not Rated | 111 min | Comedy, Drama
Jozaburo Araki is the head of a famous family-owned wholesale pharmaceutical store with a well-established history. At present he is the Minister of Health and Welfare, and is considering ... See full summary »
Director: Yûzô Kawashima | Stars: Sô Yamamura, Tatsuya Mihashi, Isuzu Yamada, Mie Kitahara
Votes: 204
46. 2009: Lost Memories (2002)
R | 136 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
A failed assassination attempt in Harbin, China in 1909 changes the course of history. Now two JBI agents must find the connections between it and an ancient Korean artifact.
Directors: Lee Dong-Joon, Si-myung Lee | Stars: Jang Dong-gun, Tôru Nakamura, Jin-ho Seo, Shin Goo
Votes: 3,433
47. Nishi Ginza Station (1958)
52 min | Comedy, Drama
While his wife and children are away on holiday, a henpecked, daydreaming pharmacist begins a flirtatious relationship with the pretty girl in the boutique opposite. Almost a Japanese screwball comedy.
Director: Shôhei Imamura | Stars: Frank Nagai, Shin'ichi Yanagisawa, Hisano Yamaoka, Masahiko Shimazu
Votes: 344
48. Bains de minuit (1987–1988)
Stars: Thierry Ardisson, Guy Cuevas, Philippe Guérin, Sylvain Bergère
Votes: 15
49. Fantasia (1973)
TV-G | 125 min | Music
A series of eight famous pieces of classical music, conducted by Leopold Stokowski and interpreted in Toys and Plush by Diecast Stories team of artists.
Directors: Masanori Hata, Shôhei Imamura, Kei Kumai, Jun'ya Satô, Isao Takahata
50. Permission de minuit (1987)
Talk-Show
Stars: Frédéric Mitterrand, Christine Bravo, Ariel Wizman, Jérôme Garcin