MyMovies: Japanese

by krympachy | created - 11 Aug 2011 | updated - 3 weeks ago | Public
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1. Ran (1985)

R | 160 min | Action, Drama, War

97 Metascore

In Medieval Japan, an elderly warlord retires, handing over his empire to his three sons. However, he vastly underestimates how the new-found power will corrupt them and cause them to turn on each other...and him.

Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu, Daisuke Ryû

Votes: 136,193 | Gross: $4.14M

2. Sansho the Bailiff (1954)

Not Rated | 124 min | Drama

96 Metascore

In medieval Japan, a compassionate governor is sent into exile. His wife and children try to join him, but are separated, and the children grow up amid suffering and oppression.

Director: Kenji Mizoguchi | Stars: Kinuyo Tanaka, Yoshiaki Hanayagi, Kyôko Kagawa, Eitarô Shindô

Votes: 18,225

3. Dreams (1990)

PG | 119 min | Drama, Fantasy

A collection of tales based upon eight of director Akira Kurosawa's recurring dreams.

Directors: Akira Kurosawa, Ishirô Honda | Stars: Akira Terao, Mitsuko Baishô, Toshie Negishi, Mieko Harada

Votes: 29,179 | Gross: $1.96M

4. Kagemusha: The Shadow Warrior (1980)

PG | 162 min | Drama, History, War

84 Metascore

A petty thief with an utter resemblance to a samurai warlord is hired as the lord's double. When the warlord later dies the thief is forced to take up arms in his place.

Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Ken'ichi Hagiwara, Jinpachi Nezu

Votes: 38,172

5. Street of Shame (1956)

Not Rated | 86 min | Drama

The personal tales of various prostitutes who occupy a brothel.

Director: Kenji Mizoguchi | Stars: Machiko Kyô, Aiko Mimasu, Ayako Wakao, Michiyo Kogure

Votes: 4,867

6. Taira Clan Saga (1955)

108 min | Drama, History

After his father is not rewarded for his military achievements, Taira Kiyomori rebels against the court and the monks who rule the country. He also falls in love with Tokiko and discovers unsettling revelations about his parentage.

Director: Kenji Mizoguchi | Stars: Narutoshi Hayashi, Raizô Ichikawa, Tatsuya Ishiguro, Michiyo Kogure

Votes: 1,101

7. Yôkihi (1955)

Not Rated | 98 min | Drama, History, Romance

In 8th-century China, the Emperor is grieving over the death of his wife. The Yang family wants to provide the Emperor with a consort so that they may consolidate their influence over the ... See full summary »

Director: Kenji Mizoguchi | Stars: Machiko Kyô, Masayuki Mori, Sô Yamamura, Eitarô Shindô

Votes: 2,062

8. A Story from Chikamatsu (1954)

Not Rated | 102 min | Drama, Romance, Thriller

Ishun is a wealthy but unsympathetic master printer who has wrongly accused his wife and best employee of being lovers. To escape punishment, the accused run away together, but Ishun is certain to be ruined if word gets out.

Director: Kenji Mizoguchi | Stars: Kazuo Hasegawa, Kyôko Kagawa, Eitarô Shindô, Eitarô Ozawa

Votes: 4,947

9. The Woman of Rumour (1954)

83 min | Drama, Romance

Hatsuko Umabuchi is a widow who runs a prosperous geisha house in present-day Kyoto. Her daughter Yukiko returns from Tokyo following a failed suicide attempt, after her lover found out ... See full summary »

Director: Kenji Mizoguchi | Stars: Kinuyo Tanaka, Tomoemon Otani, Yoshiko Kuga, Eitarô Shindô

Votes: 1,406

10. Musashino fujin (1951)

88 min | Drama, Romance

Set in post-war Japan, The Lady of Musashino tells the story of Michiko, a disillusioned young woman trapped in a loveless marriage. She confides in her younger cousin, Tsutomo, and the two become close.

Director: Kenji Mizoguchi | Stars: Kinuyo Tanaka, Yukiko Todoroki, Masayuki Mori, Akihiko Katayama

Votes: 711

11. The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum (1939)

Not Rated | 148 min | Drama, Romance

The adopted son of a legendary actor, and an aspiring star himself, turns to his infant brother's wet nurse for support and affection - only for her to give up everything for her beloved's glory.

Director: Kenji Mizoguchi | Stars: Shôtarô Hanayagi, Kôkichi Takada, Ryôtarô Kawanami, Kinnosuke Takamatsu

Votes: 4,395

12. Sisters of the Gion (1936)

95 min | Drama

Two geisha sisters lead a hard life in the Gion district of Kyoto. After one of them feels obliged to support a bankrupt businessman, the other sister sets up various schemes to get rid of him.

Director: Kenji Mizoguchi | Stars: Isuzu Yamada, Yôko Umemura, Benkei Shiganoya, Namiko Kawashima

Votes: 3,014

13. Osaka Elegy (1936)

90 min | Comedy, Drama

A young woman becomes a mistress of her boss in order to support her family.

Director: Kenji Mizoguchi | Stars: Isuzu Yamada, Yôko Umemura, Chiyoko Ôkura, Kiyoko Ôkubo

Votes: 2,595

14. Ugetsu (1953)

Not Rated | 96 min | Drama, Fantasy, War

A tale of ambition, family, love, and war set in the midst of the Japanese Civil Wars of the sixteenth century.

Director: Kenji Mizoguchi | Stars: Masayuki Mori, Machiko Kyô, Kinuyo Tanaka, Mitsuko Mito

Votes: 25,811 | Gross: $0.01M

15. Kwaidan (1964)

Not Rated | 183 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror

A collection of four Japanese folk tales with supernatural themes.

Director: Masaki Kobayashi | Stars: Rentarô Mikuni, Michiyo Aratama, Misako Watanabe, Kenjirô Ishiyama

Votes: 19,984

16. Samurai Rebellion (1967)

Not Rated | 128 min | Drama

90 Metascore

The mother of a feudal lord's only heir is kidnapped away from her husband by the lord. The husband and his samurai father must decide whether to accept the unjust decision, or risk death to get her back.

Director: Masaki Kobayashi | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Yôko Tsukasa, Gô Katô, Tatsuyoshi Ehara

Votes: 14,089

17. Harakiri (1962)

Not Rated | 133 min | Action, Drama, Mystery

85 Metascore

When a ronin requesting seppuku at a feudal lord's palace is told of the brutal suicide of another ronin who previously visited, he reveals how their pasts are intertwined - and in doing so challenges the clan's integrity.

Director: Masaki Kobayashi | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Ishihama, Shima Iwashita, Tetsurô Tanba

Votes: 68,643

18. Thirst for Love (1966)

98 min | Drama

Etsuko, after her husbands death, moves in with her in-laws. With ambivalence, she finds herself sexually involved with her father-in-law. She then finds herself desiring young gardener Saburo, who has a relationship with the maid Miyo.

Director: Koreyoshi Kurahara | Stars: Nobuo Nakamura, Ruriko Asaoka, Akira Yamanouchi, Yûko Kusunoki

Votes: 424

19. This Transient Life (1970)

Not Rated | 143 min | Drama

Near a remote Buddhist monastery, a young man falls in love with his sister and gets her pregnant. After a monk finds out, the young man becomes an assistant to a master sculptor, only to proceed to complicate matters with his affairs.

Director: Akio Jissôji | Stars: Michiko Tsukasa, Ryô Tamura, Eiji Okada, Isao Sasaki

Votes: 1,379

20. 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: 1,617 | Gross: $0.07M

21. The Eel (1997)

Not Rated | 117 min | Drama

81 Metascore

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: 6,400 | Gross: $0.41M

22. Vengeance Is Mine (1979)

Not Rated | 139 min | Crime, Drama

85 Metascore

Chronological exploits of Iwao Enokizu, a murderous thief on the run.

Director: Shôhei Imamura | Stars: Ken Ogata, Rentarô Mikuni, Chôchô Miyako, Mitsuko Baishô

Votes: 7,295

23. 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: 1,948

24. With Beauty and Sorrow (1965)

106 min | Drama, Romance

Long before the events of the movie Ôki, who was approaching middle age, had a relation to 16-year-old Otoko. She got pregnant, but the child was stillborn. Their relation stopped at the ... See full summary »

Director: Masahiro Shinoda | Stars: Kaoru Yachigusa, Mariko Kaga, Sô Yamamura, Kei Yamamoto

Votes: 332

25. Punishment Island (1966)

87 min | Drama, Mystery

Seeking revenge against the guard who tormented him, a young man returns to the island where he was imprisoned in reform school. But his plans for vengeance are disturbed when he encounters a strange and beautiful young woman.

Director: Masahiro Shinoda | Stars: Akira Nitta, Kei Satô, Kinzô Shin, Taiji Tonoyama

Votes: 261

26. Pale Flower (1964)

Not Rated | 96 min | Action, Crime

A gangster gets released from prison and has to cope with the recent shifts of power between the gangs, while taking care of a thrill-seeking young woman, who got in bad company while gambling.

Director: Masahiro Shinoda | Stars: Ryô Ikebe, Mariko Kaga, Takashi Fujiki, Naoki Sugiura

Votes: 4,391

27. Ballad of Orin (1977)

109 min | Drama

A blind traveling musician is abused and oppressed while she tours the country, even though the modern world imposes changes on people's behavior.

Director: Masahiro Shinoda | Stars: Shima Iwashita, Yoshio Harada, Tomoko Naraoka, Kirin Kiki

Votes: 644

28. Onibaba (1964)

Not Rated | 103 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller

Two women kill samurai and sell their belongings for a living. While one of them is having an affair with their neighbor, the other woman meets a mysterious samurai wearing a bizarre mask.

Director: Kaneto Shindô | Stars: Nobuko Otowa, Jitsuko Yoshimura, Kei Satô, Jûkichi Uno

Votes: 21,858

29. The Naked Island (1960)

Not Rated | 96 min | Drama

A family of four are the sole inhabitants of a small island where they struggle each day to irrigate their crops.

Director: Kaneto Shindô | Stars: Nobuko Otowa, Taiji Tonoyama, Shinji Tanaka, Masanori Horimoto

Votes: 6,181

30. Children of Hiroshima (1952)

Not Rated | 97 min | Drama, War

86 Metascore

Post war Hiroshima: It's been four years since the last time she visited her hometown. Takako faces the after effects of the A-bomb when she travels around the city to call on old friends.

Director: Kaneto Shindô | Stars: Nobuko Otowa, Osamu Takizawa, Masao Shimizu, Jûkichi Uno

Votes: 1,371

31. Twenty-Four Eyes (1954)

Not Rated | 156 min | Drama

Schoolteacher Hisako Oishi forms an emotional bond with her pupils and teaches them various virtues, while at the same time worrying about their future.

Director: Keisuke Kinoshita | Stars: Hideko Takamine, Itsuo Watanabe, Makoto Miyagawa, Takeo Terashita

Votes: 2,828

32. She Was Like a Wild Chrysanthemum (1955)

100 min | Drama, Romance

An old man, being rowed along a river, sees a field of daisies and thinks back to when he was fifteen. He recalls his time with, and away from, the girl cousin he grew up with and would ... See full summary »

Director: Keisuke Kinoshita | Stars: Noriko Arita, Chishû Ryû, Haruko Sugimura, Takahiro Tamura

Votes: 459

33. Immortal Love (1961)

103 min | Drama, Romance

A young woman is forced by circumstance into a loveless marriage while still in love with another. This episodic tale follows their story through three decades of bitter conflict which engulfs their children and those around them.

Director: Keisuke Kinoshita | Stars: Hideko Takamine, Keiji Sada, Tatsuya Nakadai, Nobuko Otowa

Votes: 624

34. The Ballad of Narayama (1958)

Not Rated | 98 min | Drama

A kabuki theatre-inflected story about a poor village whose people have to be carried to a nearby mountain to die once they get old.

Director: Keisuke Kinoshita | Stars: Kinuyo Tanaka, Teiji Takahashi, Yûko Mochizuki, Danko Ichikawa

Votes: 3,787

35. A Last Note (1995)

110 min | Drama

Yoko is a famous actress who goes to a mountain chalet for a few days rest. There, she learns a secret from her companion Toyoko.

Director: Kaneto Shindô | Stars: Haruko Sugimura, Nobuko Otowa, Hideo Kanze, Kyôko Asagiri

Votes: 245

36. The Life of Oharu (1952)

Not Rated | 133 min | Drama

Follows a woman's fight and survival amid the vicissitudes of life and the cruelty of society.

Director: Kenji Mizoguchi | Stars: Kinuyo Tanaka, Tsukie Matsuura, Ichirô Sugai, Toshirô Mifune

Votes: 7,644

37. Red Beard (1965)

Not Rated | 185 min | Drama

90 Metascore

In 19th-century Japan, a rough-tempered yet charitable town doctor trains a young intern.

Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Yûzô Kayama, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Reiko Dan

Votes: 21,101

38. Stray Dog (1949)

Not Rated | 122 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir

During a sweltering summer, a rookie homicide detective tries to track down his stolen Colt pistol.

Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Awaji, Eiko Miyoshi

Votes: 18,932

39. Rhapsody in August (1991)

PG | 98 min | Drama

Three generations' responses to the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.

Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Sachiko Murase, Richard Gere, Hisashi Igawa, Narumi Kayashima

Votes: 7,547 | Gross: $0.52M

40. Dersu Uzala (1975)

G | 142 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama

The Russian army sends an explorer on an expedition to the snowy Siberian wilderness where he makes friends with a seasoned local hunter.

Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Maksim Munzuk, Yuriy Solomin, Mikhail Bychkov, Vladimir Khrulyov

Votes: 33,511

41. Dodes'ka-den (1970)

Not Rated | 140 min | Drama

Various tales in the lives of Tokyo slum dwellers, including a mentally deficient young man obsessed with driving his own commuter trolley.

Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Yoshitaka Zushi, Kin Sugai, Toshiyuki Tonomura, Shinsuke Minami

Votes: 7,622

42. High and Low (1963)

Not Rated | 143 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery

90 Metascore

An executive of a Yokohama shoe company becomes a victim of extortion when his chauffeur's son is kidnapped by mistake and held for ransom.

Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Yutaka Sada, Tatsuya Nakadai, Kyôko Kagawa

Votes: 53,192

43. Yojimbo (1961)

Not Rated | 110 min | Action, Drama, Thriller

93 Metascore

A crafty ronin comes to a town divided by two criminal gangs and decides to play them against each other to free the town.

Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Eijirô Tôno, Tatsuya Nakadai, Yôko Tsukasa

Votes: 131,351

44. The Bad Sleep Well (1960)

Not Rated | 151 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller

A vengeful young man marries the daughter of a corrupt industrialist in order to seek justice for his father's suicide.

Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Masayuki Mori, Kyôko Kagawa, Tatsuya Mihashi

Votes: 14,015

45. The Hidden Fortress (1958)

Not Rated | 126 min | Action, Adventure, Drama

89 Metascore

Lured by gold, two greedy peasants unknowingly escort a princess and her general across enemy lines.

Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Misa Uehara, Minoru Chiaki, Kamatari Fujiwara

Votes: 42,236

46. The Lower Depths (1957)

Not Rated | 137 min | Drama

In a Japanese slum, various residents play out their lives, dreaming of better things or settling for their lot. Among them is a man who pines for a young woman but is stymied by her deceptive family.

Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Isuzu Yamada, Kyôko Kagawa, Ganjirô Nakamura

Votes: 5,946

47. Throne of Blood (1957)

Not Rated | 110 min | Drama

A war-hardened general, egged on by his ambitious wife, works to fulfill a prophecy that he would become lord of Spider's Web Castle.

Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Minoru Chiaki, Isuzu Yamada, Takashi Shimura

Votes: 55,942

48. I Live in Fear (1955)

103 min | Drama

An aging Japanese industrialist becomes so fearful of nuclear war that it begins to take a toll on his life and family.

Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Minoru Chiaki, Eiko Miyoshi

Votes: 5,535

49. Seven Samurai (1954)

Not Rated | 207 min | Action, Drama

98 Metascore

Farmers from a village exploited by bandits hire a veteran samurai for protection, who gathers six other samurai to join him.

Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Tsushima, Yukiko Shimazaki

Votes: 366,800 | Gross: $0.27M

50. Ikiru (1952)

Not Rated | 143 min | Drama

92 Metascore

A bureaucrat tries to find meaning in his life after he discovers he has terminal cancer.

Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Takashi Shimura, Nobuo Kaneko, Shin'ichi Himori, Haruo Tanaka

Votes: 87,550 | Gross: $0.06M

51. The Idiot (1951)

Not Rated | 166 min | Drama, Romance

A Japanese veteran, driven partially mad from the war, travels to the snowy island of Hokkaido where he soon enters a love triangle with his best friend and a disgraced woman.

Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Setsuko Hara, Masayuki Mori, Toshirô Mifune, Yoshiko Kuga

Votes: 5,660

52. Rashomon (1950)

Not Rated | 88 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery

98 Metascore

The rape of a bride and the murder of her samurai husband are recalled from the perspectives of a bandit, the bride, the samurai's ghost and a woodcutter.

Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Machiko Kyô, Masayuki Mori, Takashi Shimura

Votes: 180,440 | Gross: $0.10M

53. Scandal (1950)

Approved | 105 min | Drama

A celebrity photograph sparks a court case as a tabloid magazine spins a scandalous yarn over a painter and a famous singer.

Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Shirley Yamaguchi, Yôko Katsuragi, Noriko Sengoku

Votes: 4,667

54. The Quiet Duel (1949)

95 min | Drama

A surgeon gets syphilis from a patient when he cuts himself during an operation. The doctor's life is destroyed, but unlike the patient, he doesn't destroy others along with him.

Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Miki Sanjô, Kenjirô Uemura

Votes: 3,898

55. Drunken Angel (1948)

Not Rated | 102 min | Crime, Drama, Romance

A drunken doctor with a hot temper and a violence-prone gangster with tuberculosis form a quicksilver bond.

Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Takashi Shimura, Toshirô Mifune, Reizaburô Yamamoto, Michiyo Kogure

Votes: 13,359

56. No Regrets for Our Youth (1946)

PG | 110 min | Drama

The daughter of a politically disgraced university professor struggles to find a place for herself in love and life, in the uncertain world of Japan leading into WWII.

Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Setsuko Hara, Susumu Fujita, Denjirô Ôkôchi, Haruko Sugimura

Votes: 3,958

57. One Wonderful Sunday (1947)

Not Rated | 108 min | Drama, Romance

During a Sunday trip into war-ravaged Tokyo, despairing Yuzo and optimistic Masako look for work and lodging, as well as affordable entertainments to pass the time.

Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Isao Numasaki, Chieko Nakakita, Atsushi Watanabe, Zekô Nakamura

Votes: 3,677

58. Sanshiro Sugata (1943)

Not Rated | 79 min | Action, Adventure, Drama

Sugata, a young man, struggles to learn the nuance and meaning of judo, and in doing so comes to learn something of the meaning of life.

Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Denjirô Ôkôchi, Susumu Fujita, Yukiko Todoroki, Ryûnosuke Tsukigata

Votes: 5,629

59. The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail (1945)

Not Rated | 59 min | Adventure, Drama, Thriller

A Japanese general and his men disguise themselves as monks in order to pass an enemy border patrol.

Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Denjirô Ôkôchi, Susumu Fujita, Ken'ichi Enomoto, Masayuki Mori

Votes: 4,365

60. Sanshiro Sugata (1965)

159 min | Action, Drama

The story of Sanshiro Sugata, a young man who wants to learn the new art of judo. A wise teacher reveals to Sanshiro that judo is not merely a means of combat nor a demonstration of ... See full summary »

Director: Seiichirô Uchikawa | Stars: Yûzô Kayama, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Eiji Okada, Takashi Shimura

Votes: 443

61. The Burmese Harp (1956)

Not Rated | 116 min | Drama, Music, War

A conscience-driven Japanese soldier traumatized by the events of WWII adopts the lifestyle of a Buddhist monk.

Director: Kon Ichikawa | Stars: Rentarô Mikuni, Shôji Yasui, Tatsuya Mihashi, Jun Hamamura

Votes: 6,461

62. The Heart (1955)

120 min | Drama

At the end of Meiji era a young student befriend an older man who as a proof of trust but also as a kind of exorcism entrust him his secret, a story about jealousy, betrayal, shame and guilt.

Director: Kon Ichikawa | Stars: Masayuki Mori, Michiyo Aratama, Tatsuya Mihashi, Shôji Yasui

Votes: 488

63. Conflagration (1958)

99 min | Drama

Goichi Mizoguchi, an aspiring Buddhist monk who became involved in the temple that was owned by his father, through a series of flashbacks, framed as a police interrogation, Mizoguchi ... See full summary »

Director: Kon Ichikawa | Stars: Raizô Ichikawa, Ganjirô Nakamura, Tatsuya Nakadai, Yôichi Funaki

Votes: 949

64. Odd Obsession (1959)

107 min | Comedy, Drama

A man getting on in years sets out to find a way to resurrect his flagging virility.

Director: Kon Ichikawa | Stars: Machiko Kyô, Ganjirô Nakamura, Junko Kanô, Tatsuya Nakadai

Votes: 1,002

65. Fires on the Plain (1959)

Not Rated | 108 min | Drama, War

In the closing days of WWII, remnants of the Japanese army in Leyte are abandoned by their command and face certain death by starvation.

Director: Kon Ichikawa | Stars: Eiji Funakoshi, Mantarô Ushio, Yoshihiro Hamaguchi, Osamu Takizawa

Votes: 5,321

66. Assassination (1964)

104 min | Action, Crime, Drama

In 1863, when Americans warships approach Japan, a enigmatic ronin becomes a important figure in a complex game of power between the Shogunate and the empire.

Director: Masahiro Shinoda | Stars: Tetsurô Tanba, Shima Iwashita, Eiji Okada, Isao Kimura

Votes: 969

67. An Inn at Osaka (1954)

122 min | Drama

An Inn at Osaka, rarely seen outside Japan, follows the story of an insurance company executive from Tokyo, Mr. Mito, who is demoted to the Osaka office. He takes a room at a small inn and tries to rebuild his life.

Director: Heinosuke Gosho | Stars: Shûji Sano, Nobuko Otowa, Mitsuko Mito, Hiroko Kawasaki

Votes: 295

68. Like Father, Like Son (2013)

Not Rated | 121 min | Drama

73 Metascore

Ryota is a successful workaholic businessman. When he learns that his biological son was switched with another boy after birth, he faces the difficult decision to choose his true son or the boy he and his wife have raised as their own.

Director: Kore-eda Hirokazu | Stars: Masaharu Fukuyama, Machiko Ono, Yôko Maki, Lily Franky

Votes: 28,131 | Gross: $0.28M

69. Souls on the Road (1921)

91 min | Drama

A small town boy dreams of being a famous fiddler; meanwhile, two convicts escape from prison and hide in the woods

Director: Minoru Murata | Stars: Kaoru Osanai, Haruko Sawamura, Denmei Suzuki, Mikiko Hisamatsu

Votes: 229

70. In the Realm of the Senses (1976)

NC-17 | 109 min | Drama, Romance

A passionate telling of the story of Sada Abe, a woman whose affair with her master led to an obsessive and ultimately destructive sexual relationship.

Director: Nagisa Ôshima | Stars: Tatsuya Fuji, Eiko Matsuda, Aoi Nakajima, Yasuko Matsui

Votes: 22,795

71. Boy (1969)

97 min | Drama

A young boy reluctantly aids his swindling father in a threatening scam.

Director: Nagisa Ôshima | Stars: Fumio Watanabe, Akiko Koyama, Tetsuo Abe, Tsuyoshi Kinoshita

Votes: 1,884

72. Madadayo (1993)

134 min | Drama

79 Metascore

Following World War II, a retired professor approaching his autumn years finds his quality of life drastically reduced in war-torn Tokyo. Denying despair, he pursues writing and celebrates his birthday with his adoring students.

Directors: Akira Kurosawa, Ishirô Honda | Stars: Tatsuo Matsumura, Hisashi Igawa, George Tokoro, Masayuki Yui

Votes: 6,155 | Gross: $0.05M

73. A Man Vanishes (1967)

130 min | Documentary, Drama

92 Metascore

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: 830

74. The Castle of Sand (1974)

143 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller

Detectives investigate the murder of an old man found in a Tokyo rail yard.

Director: Yoshitarô Nomura | Stars: Tetsurô Tanba, Gô Katô, Kensaku Morita, Yôko Shimada

Votes: 1,535

75. Sweet Bean (2015)

Not Rated | 113 min | Drama

60 Metascore

Burdened with a heavy and ever-increasing debt, a dorayaki baker hires a kind ageing woman, after tasting her delicious surprise. Little by little, she unravels her beautiful inner world. Could she be holding the secret to his success?

Director: Naomi Kawase | Stars: Kirin Kiki, Masatoshi Nagase, Kyara Uchida, Miki Mizuno

Votes: 12,710 | Gross: $0.12M

76. Bushido (1963)

122 min | Action, Drama

After a salary-man's fiancée attempts suicide, he remembers his gruesome family history, which sees his ancestors sacrificing themselves for the sake of their cruel lords, and realizes that he's about to repeat their mistakes.

Director: Tadashi Imai | Stars: Kinnosuke Nakamura, Eijirô Tôno, Kyôko Kishida, Masayuki Mori

Votes: 505

77. Still Walking (2008)

Not Rated | 115 min | Drama

89 Metascore

A family gathers together for a commemorative ritual whose nature only gradually becomes clear.

Director: Kore-eda Hirokazu | Stars: Hiroshi Abe, Yui Natsukawa, You, Kazuya Takahashi

Votes: 18,613 | Gross: $0.16M

78. I Wish (2011)

PG | 128 min | Drama

80 Metascore

Twelve-year-old Koichi, who has been separated from his brother Ryunosuke due to his parents' divorce, hears a rumor that the new bullet trains will precipitate a wish-granting miracle when they pass each other at top speed.

Director: Kore-eda Hirokazu | Stars: Kôki Maeda, Oshiro Maeda, Ryôga Hayashi, Seinosuke Nagayoshi

Votes: 7,939 | Gross: $0.15M

79. Chinmoku (1971)

129 min | Drama, History

Two Jesuit priests encounter persecution when they travel to Japan in the 17th century to spread Christianity and to locate their mentor.

Director: Masahiro Shinoda | Stars: David Lampson, Don Kenny, Tetsurô Tanba, Mako

Votes: 1,182

80. Tokyo Sonata (2008)

PG-13 | 120 min | Drama

80 Metascore

An ordinary Japanese family slowly disintegrates after its patriarch loses his job at a prominent company.

Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa | Stars: Teruyuki Kagawa, Kyôko Koizumi, Yû Koyanagi, Kai Inowaki

Votes: 11,806 | Gross: $0.28M

81. Gate of Hell (1953)

Not Rated | 89 min | Drama, History

A samurai pursues a married lady-in-waiting.

Director: Teinosuke Kinugasa | Stars: Machiko Kyô, Kazuo Hasegawa, Isao Yamagata, Yatarô Kurokawa

Votes: 4,276

82. Air Doll (2009)

Unrated | 125 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance

65 Metascore

A life-size blow-up doll develops a soul and falls in love with a video store clerk.

Director: Kore-eda Hirokazu | Stars: Bae Doona, Arata Iura, Itsuji Itao, Joe Odagiri

Votes: 8,136

83. After the Storm (2016)

Not Rated | 118 min | Comedy, Drama

84 Metascore

After the death of his father, a private detective struggles to find child support money and reconnect with his son and ex-wife.

Director: Kore-eda Hirokazu | Stars: Hiroshi Abe, Yôko Maki, Satomi Kobayashi, Lily Franky

Votes: 12,755 | Gross: $0.27M

84. Our Little Sister (2015)

PG | 127 min | Drama, Family

75 Metascore

Three sisters who live in their grandmother's home invite their thirteen-year-old half sister, whom they have just met, to join them.

Director: Kore-eda Hirokazu | Stars: Haruka Ayase, Masami Nagasawa, Kaho, Suzu Hirose

Votes: 16,895 | Gross: $0.46M

85. Ghost in the Shell (1995)

TV-MA | 83 min | Animation, Action, Crime

76 Metascore

A cyborg policewoman and her partner hunt a mysterious and powerful hacker called the Puppet Master.

Directors: Mizuho Nishikubo, Mamoru Oshii | Stars: Atsuko Tanaka, Iemasa Kayumi, Akio Ôtsuka, Kôichi Yamadera

Votes: 156,865 | Gross: $0.52M

86. Three Outlaw Samurai (1964)

Not Rated | 94 min | Action, Drama

When poor peasants kidnap a magistrate's daughter to coerce him into reducing their unfair taxes, a wandering ronin decides to give them some help.

Director: Hideo Gosha | Stars: Tetsurô Tanba, Isamu Nagato, Mikijirô Hira, Miyuki Kuwano

Votes: 3,990

87. Sword of the Beast (1965)

Not Rated | 85 min | Action, Drama

After killing a counselor of his clan, a fugitive samurai befriends a couple poaching the shogun's gold in the mountains.

Director: Hideo Gosha | Stars: Mikijirô Hira, Gô Katô, Shima Iwashita, Toshie Kimura

Votes: 3,092

88. Portrait of Madame Yuki (1950)

88 min | Drama, Romance

Young servant girl Hamako has just started working for her personal heroine, Madame Yuki, but her romanticized view of the Madame is broken immediately as she is introduced to a list of the Madame's personal problems.

Director: Kenji Mizoguchi | Stars: Michiyo Kogure, Yoshiko Kuga, Ken Uehara, Eijirô Yanagi

Votes: 571

89. The Steel Edge of Revenge (1969)

PG | 124 min | Action, Adventure, Drama

A guilt-haunted samurai warrior attempts to stop a massacre taking place.

Director: Hideo Gosha | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Tetsurô Tanba, Yôko Tsukasa, Ruriko Asaoka

Votes: 2,618

90. The River Fuefuki (1960)

117 min | Drama, History, War

A young man decides to become a warrior, causing trouble for his clan.

Director: Keisuke Kinoshita | Stars: Hideko Takamine, Takahiro Tamura, Kôshirô Matsumoto, Shima Iwashita

Votes: 376

91. Taboo (1999)

Unrated | 100 min | Drama, History, Thriller

75 Metascore

The new member of a samurai militia unit causes disruption as several of his colleagues fall in love with him, threatening to disturb the rigid code of their squad.

Director: Nagisa Ôshima | Stars: Takeshi Kitano, Ryûhei Matsuda, Shinji Takeda, Tadanobu Asano

Votes: 8,072 | Gross: $0.05M

92. Fireworks (1997)

103 min | Crime, Drama, Romance

83 Metascore

Nishi leaves the police in the face of harrowing personal and professional difficulties. Spiraling into depression, he makes questionable decisions.

Director: Takeshi Kitano | Stars: Takeshi Kitano, Kayoko Kishimoto, Ren Ôsugi, Susumu Terajima

Votes: 33,172 | Gross: $0.23M

93. Kikujiro (1999)

PG-13 | 122 min | Drama, Comedy

44 Metascore

A young, naive boy sets out alone on the road to find his wayward mother. Soon he finds an unlikely protector in a crotchety man and the two have a series of unexpected adventures along the way.

Director: Takeshi Kitano | Stars: Takeshi Kitano, Yusuke Sekiguchi, Kayoko Kishimoto, The Great Gidayû

Votes: 22,164 | Gross: $0.20M

94. The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi (2003)

R | 116 min | Action, Comedy, Crime

75 Metascore

The blind masseur/swordsman comes to a town in control of warring gangs, and while bunking with a farming family, he meets two women with their own agenda.

Director: Takeshi Kitano | Stars: Takeshi Kitano, Tadanobu Asano, Yui Natsukawa, Michiyo Yasuda

Votes: 51,531 | Gross: $0.85M

95. Outrage (2010)

R | 109 min | Action, Crime, Drama

67 Metascore

The boss of a major crime syndicate orders his lieutenant to bring a rogue gang of drug traffickers in line, a job that gets passed on to his long-suffering subordinate.

Director: Takeshi Kitano | Stars: Takeshi Kitano, Kippei Shîna, Ryô Kase, Fumiyo Kohinata

Votes: 14,661

96. Sonatine (1993)

R | 94 min | Action, Comedy, Crime

73 Metascore

Several yakuza from Tokyo are sent to Okinawa to help end a gang war. The war then escalates and the Tokyo drifters decide to lay low at the beach.

Director: Takeshi Kitano | Stars: Takeshi Kitano, Aya Kokumai, Tetsu Watanabe, Masanobu Katsumura

Votes: 23,278

97. After the Rain (1999)

91 min | Drama

During a downpour, a generous ronin and his supporting wife are stranded at a country inn. The ronin comes to the attention of a lord who wants to hire him as an instructor for his men, who treat the ronin with disrespect.

Director: Takashi Koizumi | Stars: Akira Terao, Yoshiko Miyazaki, Shirô Mifune, Fumi Dan

Votes: 4,461

98. Hitokiri (1969)

140 min | Action, Biography, Drama

A destitute ronin allies himself with an established clan, but its ruthless leader tries to turn him into a mindless killer.

Director: Hideo Gosha | Stars: Shintarô Katsu, Tatsuya Nakadai, Yukio Mishima, Yûjirô Ishihara

Votes: 1,228

99. Godzilla (1954)

Not Rated | 96 min | Horror, Sci-Fi

79 Metascore

American nuclear weapons testing results in the creation of a seemingly unstoppable dinosaur-like beast.

Director: Ishirô Honda | Stars: Takashi Shimura, Akihiko Hirata, Akira Takarada, Momoko Kôchi

Votes: 39,642 | Gross: $2.42M

100. Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (1983)

R | 123 min | Drama, War

53 Metascore

During WWII, a British colonel tries to bridge the cultural divides between a British POW and the Japanese camp commander in order to avoid bloodshed.

Director: Nagisa Ôshima | Stars: David Bowie, Tom Conti, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Takeshi Kitano

Votes: 20,013 | Gross: $2.31M



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