Best Japanese Films
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- DirectorShin TogashiStarsMasahiro HisanoYukika SakurataniShoichi SatoSexuality blooms early when an elementary school student boy falls in love with a junior high school girl in tandem with the onset of his puberty. It is barely younger man and older woman relationship, but all concerned are proud and on a high including the students' adoring parents.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneMisa UeharaMinoru ChiakiLured by gold, two greedy peasants unknowingly escort a princess and her general across enemy lines.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneYutaka SadaTatsuya NakadaiAn executive of a Yokohama shoe company becomes a victim of extortion when his chauffeur's son is kidnapped by mistake and held for ransom.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneTakashi ShimuraKeiko TsushimaFarmers from a village exploited by bandits hire a veteran samurai for protection, who gathers six other samurai to join him.
- DirectorYoshifumi KondôStarsYoko HonnaIssei TakahashiTakashi TachibanaA love story between a girl who loves reading books, and a boy who has previously checked out all of the library books she chooses.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsYôji MatsudaYuriko IshidaYûko TanakaOn a journey to find the cure for a Tatarigami's curse, Ashitaka finds himself in the middle of a war between the forest gods and Tatara, a mining colony. In this quest he also meets San, the Mononoke Hime.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsMayumi TanakaKeiko YokozawaKotoe HatsuiPazu's life changes when he meets Sheeta, a girl whom pirates are chasing for her crystal amulet, which has the potential to locate Laputa, a legendary castle floating in the sky.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsYasuo YamadaEiko MasuyamaKiyoshi KobayashiA dashing thief, his gang of desperadoes and an intrepid cop struggle to free a princess from an evil count, and learn the secret of a treasure that she holds part of the key to.
- DirectorKatsuhiro ÔtomoStarsMitsuo IwataNozomu SasakiMami KoyamaA secret military project endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns a biker gang member into a rampaging psychic psychopath who can only be stopped by a teenager, his gang of biker friends and a group of psychics.
- DirectorTakeshi KitanoStarsTakeshi KitanoYusuke SekiguchiKayoko KishimotoA 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.
- DirectorTakeshi KitanoStarsTakeshi KitanoKayoko KishimotoRen ÔsugiNishi leaves the police in the face of harrowing personal and professional difficulties. Spiraling into depression, he makes questionable decisions.
- DirectorNagisa ÔshimaStarsDavid BowieTom ContiRyuichi SakamotoDuring WWII, a British colonel tries to bridge the cultural divides between a British POW and the Japanese camp commander in order to avoid bloodshed.
- DirectorSeijun SuzukiStarsJô ShishidoMariko OgawaAnnu MariAfter a botched assignment, a rice-fetishizing hitman finds himself in conflict with his organization, and one mysterious, dangerous fellow-hitman in particular.
- DirectorIshirô HondaStarsTakashi ShimuraAkihiko HirataAkira TakaradaAfter a dinosaur-like beast - awoken from undersea hibernation by atom bomb testing - ravages Tokyo, a scientist must decide if his similarly dangerous weapon should be used to destroy it.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsRyo IshibashiEihi ShiinaTetsu SawakiA widower takes an offer to screen girls at a special audition, arranged for him by a friend to find him a new wife. The one he fancies is not who she appears to be after all.
- DirectorJûzô ItamiStarsKen WatanabeTsutomu YamazakiNobuko MiyamotoA truck driver stops at a small family-run noodle shop and decides to help its fledgling business. The story is intertwined with various vignettes about the relationship of love and food.
- DirectorJûzô ItamiStarsNobuko MiyamotoTsutomu YamazakiMasahiko TsugawaIf tax evasion is an art, wheeler-dealer Hideki Gondo is Rembrandt. And so, a determined taxing woman gets the tough assignment of trying to catch him.
- DirectorMasayuki SuôStarsMasahiro MotokiMisa ShimizuNaoto TakenakaChronicling the turmoil and pandemonium that ensues at a derelict university sumo club, and the rise of some unlikely heroes.
- DirectorKôki MitaniStarsToshiaki KarasawaKyôka SuzukiMasahiko NishimuraJust before the live airing of a radio play, an actress decides to change the name of her character. This cascades into a battle of egos by all involved that causes continual script changes while the play is on-air live.
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsKeiji SadaYoshiko KugaChishû RyûTwo boys begin a silence strike to press their parents into buying them a television set.
- DirectorFumihiko SoriStarsYôsuke KubozukaArata IuraSam LeeAs a child, the introverted Smile was being bullied by a gang of kids until the brash Peco came by and chased all of them away. Peco then takes Smile under his wing and teaches him how to play the game of ping pong. From there, a lifelong best friend relationship comes into existence between these two polar opposite kids. Fast forward a decade later, and Smile and Peco are now about to compete in a high-stakes regional ping pong tournament. While Peco has always wanted to be the best ping pong player in the world, he has never had the drive to fully devote himself to the game. Rather than finding him practicing in the high school gym, you would more often than not find Peco hustling other kids out of money at the local ping pong parlor. This is in contrast with Smile, who has the god-given talents to actually become the worlds best ping pong player but is too humble to destroy his opponents. More often than not, he allows his opponents to win points and even entire games out of sympathy for them. Now these two best friends try to deal with their own inner turmoils as they move further and further into the regional ping pong tournament. Peco has to overcome a knee injury while trying to rediscover the fun aspects of the game of Ping Pong. Meanwhile, Smile now seems to have gained the killer instinct by going through a rigorous training regiment instilled by his high school coach. As the tournament progresses, it becomes more likely that these two best friends will face off against each other in the final match.
- DirectorYosuke FujitaStarsYoshiyoshi ArakawaYoshino KimuraYoshinori OkadaA tragicomedy about two listless friends who fall for the same girl and try to find out what they want from their life.
- DirectorMizuho NishikuboMamoru OshiiStarsAtsuko TanakaIemasa KayumiAkio ÔtsukaA cyborg policewoman and her partner hunt a mysterious and powerful hacker called the Puppet Master.
- DirectorHiroyuki YamagaSteve ZuckermanStarsLeo MorimotoDavid ThomasMitsuki YayoiIn an alternative Earth, a young astronaut participates in a controversial fledgling space program.
- DirectorHiroyuki KitakuboStarsShinji OgawaShinsuke ChikaishiChisa YokoyamaA compassionate young nurse is determined to help an elderly invalid strapped to a revolutionary health care bed but there are unexpected consequences.