Kinema Junpo's Top 200 Japanese Films of All Time (2009)
by pompellio | created - 04 May 2021 | updated - 04 May 2021 | Publichttps://letterboxd.com/bobhoveyga/list/japanese-movies-all-time-best-200-kinejun/
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1. 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: 68,469
2. Seven Samurai (1954)
Not Rated | 207 min | Action, Drama
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: 366,451 | Gross: $0.27M
3. Floating Clouds (1955)
123 min | Drama, Romance
A tragic social drama set in post war Japan and concerns a lonely woman trying to find purpose and stability in a devastated Tokyo.
Director: Mikio Naruse | Stars: Hideko Takamine, Masayuki Mori, Mariko Okada, Isao Yamagata
Votes: 3,140
4. 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: 1,325
5. Battles Without Honor and Humanity (1973)
Not Rated | 99 min | Crime, Drama
During the violent chaos of post-War Japanese black market, a young gangster called Shozo Hirono has to keep up with the rapid shifts of power between unscrupulous bosses.
Director: Kinji Fukasaku | Stars: Bunta Sugawara, Hiroki Matsukata, Kunie Tanaka, Eiko Nakamura
Votes: 4,304
6. 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: 2,824
7. Rashomon (1950)
Not Rated | 88 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
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: 180,238 | Gross: $0.10M
8. Sazen Tange and the Pot Worth a Million Ryo (1935)
92 min | Comedy, Drama
A man gets rid of a cheap pot without knowing it contains a map to a treasure. As word spreads, many join in hunting it.
Director: Sadao Yamanaka | Stars: Denjirô Ôkôchi, Kiyozo, Kunitarô Sawamura, Reizaburô Yamamoto
Votes: 1,235
9. 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: 18,911
10. Typhoon Club (1985)
115 min | Drama, Romance
The movie takes place in the five-day period before, during and after a ferocious, seemingly liberating typhoon, which several students endure while marooned in their school gymnasium.
Director: Shinji Sômai | Stars: Yuichi Mikami, Yûki Kudô, Tomokazu Miura, Tomoko Aizawa
Votes: 969
11. Ikiru (1952)
Not Rated | 143 min | Drama
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: 87,432 | Gross: $0.06M
12. High and Low (1963)
Not Rated | 143 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
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: 53,064
13. Harakiri (1962)
Not Rated | 133 min | Action, Drama, Mystery
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: 68,483
14. 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: 1,816
15. Tokyo Olympiad (1965)
Not Rated | 170 min | Documentary, Sport
Kon Ichikawa examines the beauty and rich drama on display at the 1964 Summer Games in Tokyo, creating a record of observations that range from the expansive to the intimate.
Director: Kon Ichikawa | Stars: Antonio Ambu, Gary Anderson, Gerry Ashworth, Polina Astakhova
Votes: 2,197
16. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
PG | 117 min | Animation, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Warrior and pacifist Princess Nausicaä desperately struggles to prevent two warring nations from destroying themselves and their dying planet.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Sumi Shimamoto, Mahito Tsujimura, Hisako Kyôda, Gorô Naya
Votes: 182,313 | Gross: $0.50M
17. Humanity and Paper Balloons (1937)
86 min | Drama
The lives of two slum neighbors, one of a happy-go-lucky gambler and the other of a poor ronin, converge when the two get involved with the affairs of a powerful samurai official and his gangsters.
Director: Sadao Yamanaka | Stars: Chôjûrô Kawarasaki, Kan'emon Nakamura, Tsuruzô Nakamura, Chôemon Bandô
Votes: 2,293
18. Yojimbo (1961)
Not Rated | 110 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
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: 131,216
19. Boiling Point (1990)
Not Rated | 96 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Two disquieted junior baseball players seek revenge on the local yakuza for attacking their coach.
Director: Takeshi Kitano | Stars: Takeshi Kitano, Yûrei Yanagi, Yuriko Ishida, Taka Guadalcanal
Votes: 7,490 | Gross: $0.00M
20. 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: 25,783 | Gross: $0.01M
21. 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: 4,941
22. 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
23. Flowing (1956)
117 min | Drama
Otsuta is running the geisha house Tsuta in Tokyo. Her business is heavily in debt. Her daughter Katsuyo doesn't see any future in her mothers trade in the late days of Geisha. But Otsuta ... See full summary »
Director: Mikio Naruse | Stars: Kinuyo Tanaka, Isuzu Yamada, Hideko Takamine, Mariko Okada
Votes: 1,186
24. Branded to Kill (1967)
Not Rated | 91 min | Action, Crime, Drama
After a botched assignment, a rice-fetishizing hitman finds himself in conflict with his organization, and one mysterious, dangerous fellow-hitman in particular.
Director: Seijun Suzuki | Stars: Jô Shishido, Mariko Ogawa, Annu Mari, Kôji Nanbara
Votes: 10,199
25. 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: 7,286
26. Zigeunerweisen (1980)
Not Rated | 144 min | Horror, Mystery
A surreal period film following an university professor and his eerie nomad friend as they go through loose romantic triangles and face death in peculiar ways.
Director: Seijun Suzuki | Stars: Yoshio Harada, Naoko Ôtani, Kisako Makishi, Akaji Maro
Votes: 1,494
27. Ojôsan kanpai (1949)
89 min | Comedy, Romance
Goro is not Keizo's real brother, though he call Keizo "aniki" (brother). Goro was an orphan whose parents were killed in the war, and was raised and trained by Keizo.
Director: Keisuke Kinoshita | Stars: Shûji Sano, Setsuko Hara, Sugisaku Aoyama, Fusako Fujima
Votes: 296
28. Anjô-ke no butôkai (1947)
89 min | Drama
After Japan's loss in the war, the wealthy, cultured, liberal Anjo family have to give up their mansion and their way of life. They hold one last ball at the house before leaving. The ... See full summary »
Director: Kôzaburô Yoshimura | Stars: Setsuko Hara, Yumeko Aizome, Osamu Takizawa, Masayuki Mori
Votes: 443
29. Late Spring (1949)
Not Rated | 108 min | Drama
Several people try to talk 27-year-old Noriko into marrying, but all she wants is to keep on caring for her widowed father.
Director: Yasujirô Ozu | Stars: Chishû Ryû, Setsuko Hara, Yumeji Tsukioka, Haruko Sugimura
Votes: 19,283
30. 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: 7,640
31. Bloody Spear at Mount Fuji (1955)
Not Rated | 94 min | Adventure, Drama
A samurai travels to Edo with his two servants. On their way, they meet many people and encounter great injustice.
Director: Tomu Uchida | Stars: Chiezô Kataoka, Ryûnosuke Tsukigata, Chizuru Kitagawa, Yuriko Tashiro
Votes: 955
32. 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: 5,936
33. Floating Weeds (1959)
Not Rated | 119 min | Drama
The head of a Japanese theatre troupe returns to a small coastal town where he left a son who thinks he is his uncle, and tries to make up for the lost time, but his current mistress grows jealous.
Director: Yasujirô Ozu | Stars: Ganjirô Nakamura, Machiko Kyô, Haruko Sugimura, Ayako Wakao
Votes: 8,956
34. Good Morning (1959)
Not Rated | 94 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
Two boys begin a silence strike to press their parents into buying them a television set.
Director: Yasujirô Ozu | Stars: Keiji Sada, Yoshiko Kuga, Chishû Ryû, Kuniko Miyake
Votes: 11,002
35. Brother (1960)
98 min | Drama
Set in 1926 when Japanese tradition was much stronger, this standard drama looks at the inner workings of a small family, especially the relationship between a sister and brother.
Director: Kon Ichikawa | Stars: Keiko Kishi, Hiroshi Kawaguchi, Kinuyo Tanaka, Masayuki Mori
Votes: 484
36. Proxy War (1973)
Not Rated | 119 min | Action, Drama
Yakuza boss Shozo Hirono must choose his alliances carefully as the local gangster family affiliations prove themselves to be wildly unstable, causing gang conflicts to slowly escalate.
Director: Kinji Fukasaku | Stars: Bunta Sugawara, Akira Kobayashi, Tsunehiko Watase, Shingo Yamashiro
Votes: 1,533
37. The Funeral (1984)
Not Rated | 124 min | Comedy
When Wabisuke's father-in-law unexpectedly dies, the family goes through a series of events and occurrences as the funeral unfolds over three days in their home.
Director: Jûzô Itami | Stars: Tsutomu Yamazaki, Nobuko Miyamoto, Kin Sugai, Hideji Ôtaki
Votes: 1,848
38. My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
G | 86 min | Animation, Comedy, Family
When two girls move to the country to be near their ailing mother, they have adventures with the wondrous forest spirits who live nearby.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Hitoshi Takagi, Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto, Shigesato Itoi
Votes: 379,592 | Gross: $1.11M
39. Cure (1997)
Not Rated | 111 min | Crime, Horror, Mystery
A frustrated detective deals with the case of several gruesome murders committed by people who have no recollection of what they've done.
Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa | Stars: Masato Hagiwara, Koji Yakusho, Tsuyoshi Ujiki, Anna Nakagawa
Votes: 22,936 | Gross: $0.09M
40. I Was Born, But... (1932)
Not Rated | 90 min | Comedy, Drama
Two young brothers throw a tantrum when they discover that their father isn't the most important man in his workplace.
Director: Yasujirô Ozu | Stars: Tatsuo Saitô, Tomio Aoki, Mitsuko Yoshikawa, Hideo Sugawara
Votes: 6,203
41. Shukujo wa nani o wasureta ka (1937)
71 min | Comedy, Drama
An affluent medical professor, Komiya, and his bossy wife, Tokio, are to look after Setsuko, their high-spirited niece from Osaka. Setsuko is a liberated woman who does what she wants, ... See full summary »
Director: Yasujirô Ozu | Stars: Sumiko Kurishima, Tatsuo Saitô, Michiko Kuwano, Shûji Sano
Votes: 1,294
42. Oshidori utagassen (1939)
69 min | Comedy, Musical
Oharu is in love with a ronin who lives next door. A mistake puts Oharu's father deeply in debt to the local lord and he is confronted with having to sell Oharu in order to pay it off.
Director: Masahiro Makino | Stars: Chiezô Kataoka, Ryôsuke Kagawa, Takashi Shimura, Mitsuru Tôyama
Votes: 215
43. Carmen Comes Home (1951)
86 min | Comedy
A girl who had left her home village for life in Tokyo returns to her home years later, and evokes a scandal when the locals discover that she's a stripper.
Director: Keisuke Kinoshita | Stars: Hideko Takamine, Shûji Sano, Chishû Ryû, Kuniko Igawa
Votes: 701
44. The Human Condition I: No Greater Love (I) (1959)
Not Rated | 208 min | Drama, History, War
A Japanese pacifist, unable to face the dire consequences of conscientious objection, is transformed by his attempts to compromise with the demands of war-time Japan.
Director: Masaki Kobayashi | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Michiyo Aratama, Chikage Awashima, Ineko Arima
Votes: 9,338
45. The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity (II) (1959)
Not Rated | 181 min | Drama, History, War
As a conscript in war-time Japan's military, a pacifist struggles to maintain his determination to keep his ideals.
Director: Masaki Kobayashi | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Michiyo Aratama, Kokinji Katsura, Jun Tatara
Votes: 7,485
46. The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer (1961)
Not Rated | 190 min | Drama, History, War
His ideals challenged by life as a conscript in war-time Japan's military, a pacifist faces ever greater tests in his fight for survival.
Director: Masaki Kobayashi | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Michiyo Aratama, Tamao Nakamura, Yûsuke Kawazu
Votes: 7,310
47. Sanjuro (1962)
Not Rated | 96 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
A crafty samurai helps a young man and his fellow clansmen trying to save his uncle, who has been framed and imprisoned by a corrupt superintendent.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Keiju Kobayashi, Yûnosuke Itô
Votes: 41,077
48. Yearning (1964)
98 min | Drama, Romance
After a bombing raid destroys the family store and her husband, Reiko rebuilds and runs the shop out of love stopped short by destruction.
Director: Mikio Naruse | Stars: Hideko Takamine, Yûzô Kayama, Mitsuko Kusabue, Yumi Shirakawa
Votes: 2,065
49. Tokyo Drifter (1966)
Not Rated | 82 min | Action, Crime
After his gang disbands, a yakuza enforcer looks forward to life outside of organized crime but soon must become a drifter after his old rivals attempt to assassinate him.
Director: Seijun Suzuki | Stars: Tetsuya Watari, Chieko Matsubara, Hideaki Nitani, Tamio Kawaji
Votes: 9,696
50. Japan's Longest Day (1967)
157 min | Drama, History, War
A dramatization of the 24-hour period in which the Japanese government was deadlocked over the decision to accept or reject the Allies' demand for an unconditional surrender following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Director: Kihachi Okamoto | Stars: Seiji Miyaguchi, Rokkô Toura, Chishû Ryû, Sô Yamamura
Votes: 1,012
51. Minagoroshi no reika (1968)
90 min | Drama
Police investigators investigate the link between a serial killer's machinations and a young man who committed suicide under murky circumstances.
Director: Tai Katô | Stars: Makoto Satô, Chieko Baishô, Sanae Nakahara, Ranfan Ou
Votes: 287
52. Double Suicide (1969)
Not Rated | 105 min | Drama
A doomed love between a paper merchant and a courtesan.
Director: Masahiro Shinoda | Stars: Kichiemon Nakamura, Shima Iwashita, Shizue Kawarazaki, Tokie Hidari
Votes: 2,600
53. Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro (1979)
102 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
A 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.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Yasuo Yamada, Eiko Masuyama, Kiyoshi Kobayashi, Makio Inoue
Votes: 33,504
54. Kagemusha: The Shadow Warrior (1980)
PG | 162 min | Drama, History, War
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: 38,128
55. Crazy Thunder Road (1980)
97 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
When the leader of the once-notorious biker gang of Tokyo falls in love with a barmaid and quickly loses his rebellious ideals, the rest of the gang feels betrayed. Especially the reputedly... See full summary »
Director: Gakuryû Ishii | Stars: Tatsuo Yamada, Masamitsu Ohike, Kôji Nanjô, Nenji Kobayashi
Votes: 605
56. Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (1983)
R | 123 min | Drama, War
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: 19,988 | Gross: $2.31M
57. Ran (1985)
R | 160 min | Action, Drama, War
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: 136,022 | Gross: $4.14M
58. Castle in the Sky (1986)
PG | 125 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
A young boy and a girl with a magic crystal must race against pirates and foreign agents in a search for a legendary floating castle.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Mayumi Tanaka, Keiko Yokozawa, Kotoe Hatsui, Minori Terada
Votes: 182,089
59. Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989)
Not Rated | 67 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
A businessman accidentally kills The Metal Fetishist, who gets his revenge by slowly turning the man into a grotesque hybrid of flesh and rusty metal.
Director: Shin'ya Tsukamoto | Stars: Tomorô Taguchi, Kei Fujiwara, Nobu Kanaoka, Shin'ya Tsukamoto
Votes: 25,884
60. Sonatine (1993)
R | 94 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
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: 23,256
61. Chuji Tabinikki Daisanbu Goyohen (1927)
107 min | Drama
Trilogy about the travels of the kindly bakuto Kunisada Chuji. Film depicts Chuji's attempt to save the geisha Oshina, a rebellion against the rigid social structure of Edo Japan. Part 3. "The Chuji Patrol"
Director: Daisuke Itô | Stars: Denjirô Ôkôchi, Hideo Nakamura, Kichiji Nakamura, Seinosuke Sakamoto
Votes: 124
62. 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: 3,007
63. 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: 4,389
64. 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: 5,619
65. 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: 9,640
66. Lightning (1952)
87 min | Drama
Poor, pathetic mother Ose has four children, three daughters and a son, by four different men.
Director: Mikio Naruse | Stars: Hideko Takamine, Mitsuko Miura, Kyôko Kagawa, Chieko Murata
Votes: 816
67. Mother (1952)
PG-13 | 98 min | Drama
A teenaged girl witnesses her widowed mother's attempt to sustain her family.
Director: Mikio Naruse | Stars: Kinuyo Tanaka, Kyôko Kagawa, Eiji Okada, Akihiko Katayama
Votes: 861
68. Godzilla (1954)
Not Rated | 96 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
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: 39,539 | Gross: $2.42M
69. 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: 4,859
70. 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: 55,877
71. Tokyo Twilight (1957)
Not Rated | 140 min | Drama
Two sisters find out the existence of their long-lost mother, but the younger cannot take the truth of being abandoned as a child.
Director: Yasujirô Ozu | Stars: Setsuko Hara, Ineko Arima, Chishû Ryû, Isuzu Yamada
Votes: 4,911
72. The Hidden Fortress (1958)
Not Rated | 126 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
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: 42,193
73. The Ghost of Yotsuya (1959)
76 min | Horror
The ghost of a samurai's wife takes revenge on her husband.
Director: Nobuo Nakagawa | Stars: Shigeru Amachi, Noriko Kitazawa, Katsuko Wakasugi, Shuntarô Emi
Votes: 1,815
74. When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (1960)
Not Rated | 111 min | Drama
A middle-aged bar hostess, constantly in debt, is faced with numerous social constraints and challenges posed to her by her family, customers and friends.
Director: Mikio Naruse | Stars: Hideko Takamine, Tatsuya Nakadai, Masayuki Mori, Reiko Dan
Votes: 4,819
75. A Wife Confesses (1961)
91 min | Drama, Mystery
Ayako is charged with murdering her much older academic husband while climbing a mountain. Ayako was having an affair, apparently with her husband's approval, and this complicates the trial.
Director: Yasuzô Masumura | Stars: Ayako Wakao, Hiroshi Kawaguchi, Eitarô Ozawa, Haruko Mabuchi
Votes: 757
76. 13 Assassins (1963)
Not Rated | 125 min | Adventure, Action
A group of samurai plan to assassinate a sadistic feudal lord.
Director: Eiichi Kudô | Stars: Takayuki Akutagawa, Chiezô Kataoka, Kôtarô Satomi, Ryôhei Uchida
Votes: 1,043
77. Woman in the Dunes (1964)
Not Rated | 147 min | Drama, Thriller
An entomologist on vacation is trapped by local villagers into living with a woman whose life task is shoveling sand for them.
Director: Hiroshi Teshigahara | Stars: Eiji Okada, Kyôko Kishida, Kôji Mitsui, Hiroko Itô
Votes: 22,660
78. Red Beard (1965)
Not Rated | 185 min | Drama
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: 21,074
79. Story of a Prostitute (1965)
Not Rated | 96 min | Drama, Romance, War
In WW2 Manchuria, a prostitute grows to resent an abusive adjutant and falls in love with his aide.
Director: Seijun Suzuki | Stars: Tamio Kawaji, Yumiko Nogawa, Isao Tamagawa, Shôichi Ozawa
Votes: 1,594
80. A Colt Is My Passport (1967)
84 min | Action, Crime
A hit man is hired to kill a mob boss. After the deed is done, he and his driver are wanted dead by rival gangs who joined forces.
Director: Takashi Nomura | Stars: Jô Shishido, Jerry Fujio, Chitose Kobayashi, Ryôtarô Sugi
Votes: 2,312
81. 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: 7,611
82. 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: 22,774
83. House (1977)
Not Rated | 88 min | Comedy, Horror
A schoolgirl and six of her classmates travel to her aunt's country home, which turns out to be haunted.
Director: Nobuhiko Ôbayashi | Stars: Kimiko Ikegami, Miki Jinbo, Kumiko Ôba, Ai Matsubara
Votes: 33,664
84. Violent Cop (1989)
Not Rated | 103 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A violence prone police officer discovers that his colleague is trafficking drugs.
Director: Takeshi Kitano | Stars: Takeshi Kitano, Maiko Kawakami, Makoto Ashikawa, Shirô Sano
Votes: 12,982 | Gross: $0.00M
85. A Scene at the Sea (1991)
101 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
The lives of a young, hearing-impaired and gloomy couple are fulfilled after the boy holds interest in surfboarding.
Director: Takeshi Kitano | Stars: Claude Maki, Hiroko Ôshima, Sabu Kawahara, Toshizo Fujiwara
Votes: 6,677
86. Shall We Dance? (1996)
PG | 136 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
A successful but unhappy Japanese accountant finds the missing passion in his life when he begins to secretly take ballroom dance lessons.
Director: Masayuki Suô | Stars: Koji Yakusho, Tamiyo Kusakari, Naoto Takenaka, Eri Watanabe
Votes: 11,714 | Gross: $9.68M
87. Nobody Knows (2004)
PG-13 | 141 min | Drama
In a small Tokyo apartment, twelve-year-old Akira must care for his younger siblings after their mother leaves them and shows no sign of returning.
Director: Kore-eda Hirokazu | Stars: Yûya Yagira, Ayu Kitaura, Hiei Kimura, Momoko Shimizu
Votes: 31,345 | Gross: $0.68M
88. Hura gâru (2006)
108 min | Comedy, Drama
Young women in a small Japanese town look to revive their home's declining fortunes by building a Hawaiian village tourist attraction.
Director: Sang-il Lee | Stars: Yasuko Matsuyuki, Etsushi Toyokawa, Yû Aoi, Shizuyo Yamasaki
Votes: 2,269
89. Departures (2008)
PG-13 | 130 min | Drama
Soon after buying an expensive cello, Daigo learns that his orchestra is disbanding. He moves back to his hometown with his wife, where he answers an ad for what Daigo thinks is a travel agency but is, in actuality, a mortuary.
Director: Yôjirô Takita | Stars: Masahiro Motoki, Ryôko Hirosue, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Kazuko Yoshiyuki
Votes: 54,936 | Gross: $1.50M
90. Gururi no koto (2008)
TV-14 | 140 min | Drama
In 1993 Kanao and Shoko are a Tokyo couple awaiting the arrival of their first child. Although both have studied art, Kanao works as a shoe repairman, which doesn't stretch his rather ... See full summary »
Director: Ryosuke Hashiguchi | Stars: Lily Franky, Tae Kimura, Masaaki Akahori, Tamae Andô
Votes: 904
91. The Makioka Sisters (1983)
Not Rated | 140 min | Drama, Romance
The orphaned Makioka sisters look for a husband for their third sister, Yukiko, as the rebellious youngest sister, Taeko, is kept waiting her turn.
Director: Kon Ichikawa | Stars: Yoshiko Sakuma, Sayuri Yoshinaga, Yûko Kotegawa, Jûzô Itami
Votes: 1,718
92. Crazed Fruit (1956)
Not Rated | 86 min | Drama, Romance
Spending their summer on an exotic beach, two brothers fall for the same beautiful girl, whose charm and looks may hide more than they they bargained for.
Director: Kô Nakahira | Stars: Yûjirô Ishihara, Masahiko Tsugawa, Mie Kitahara, Shinsuke Ashida
Votes: 2,253
93. 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: 1,534
94. Noriko's Dinner Table (2005)
Not Rated | 159 min | Drama, Horror
A teenager called Noriko Shimabara runs away from her family in Tokoyama, to meet Kumiko, the leader of an Internet BBS, Haikyo.com. She becomes involved with Kumiko's "family circle", ... See full summary »
Director: Sion Sono | Stars: Kazue Fukiishi, Tsugumi, Yuriko Yoshitaka, Shirô Namiki
Votes: 4,986
95. The Wanderers (1973)
100 min | Comedy, Drama
Follows the fluctuating fortunes of three wanderers who travel through feudal Japan selling their services to whichever lord will fill their rice bowls.
Director: Kon Ichikawa | Stars: Isao Bitô, Tadao Futami, Ken'ichi Hagiwara, Reiko Inoue
Votes: 195
96. Fall Guy (1982)
109 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A lowly obsequious member of a movie star's entourage agrees to marry his boss's pregnant mistress so he can continue his feckless lifestyle. He then takes up dangerous work as a stunt man ... See full summary »
Director: Kinji Fukasaku | Stars: Keiko Matsuzaka, Morio Kazama, Mitsuru Hirata, Chika Takami
Votes: 789
97. A Fugitive from the Past (1965)
183 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Three thieves escape from a heist, one of them killing the other two. He is sheltered by a prostitute and sought after by the police, but only after ten years his true motivation unravels.
Director: Tomu Uchida | Stars: Rentarô Mikuni, Sachiko Hidari, Kôji Mitsui, Yoshi Katô
Votes: 1,295
98. A Japanese Village (1984)
210 min | Documentary
In the very heart of the Japanese mountains, Ogawa discovers a village still dealing with the trauma of global warfare and struggling for survival as their children flee for the cities.
Director: Shinsuke Ogawa
Votes: 63
99. Muddy River (1981)
105 min | Drama
In post-War Japan, a boy from a noodle store-owning family befriends a neighboring boy living in poverty.
Director: Kôhei Oguri | Stars: Takahiro Tamura, Mariko Kaga, Nobutaka Asahara, Makiko Shibata
Votes: 1,035
100. 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
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