Japanese Film

[blankpage]

IMO, out of all the foreign films out there, Japan produces the best. They've produced some of the best foreign films of all time, and some of the best films of all time. Great animation comes from Japan, too. What else would you want?

What is your opinion on the stuff that comes out of this small little island?

[Pootie]

The only Japanese film that I've seen is the 7 Samurai and I really liked it. I'm probably gonna rent Rashomon and The Killer soon based on friends reccomendations.

[The Delfonics]

Yes. Japanesse cinema is very creative. The only problem I have is the grain of their films really havent changed much. But this doesnt get in the way from me liking films from there. I also think Japan does a great job with their horror flicks.

I have to mention one of the best made films from Japan, Battle Royale right off the bat. This film is not only incredibly entertaining on a B level but it can be also viewed as a strong satire. Im excited for the sequel and actually put down 50 bucks to buy the Battle Royale 2-Disc OOP Tin.

Another Japaneese film that I like to mention is Riki-Oh. Its basically a B flick all the way but its just so surreal. Its like all the comicbook movies coming out in the USA but without the extreme gore. I have to say as a comicbook flick, Riki beats our Spiderman, most of the Batmans and even Daredevil.

[Slim]

I agree with you, blank. Some of the finest foreign cinema comes from Japan. Great films from great directors like Kurosawa to Miyazaki. A wide variety of films from deep and powerful dramas to amazingly imaginative anime and creepy horror flicks. Plenty of good stuff!

[The Delfonics]

A film that is highest on my Japan-film to see list is Yume(Dreams). Ive heard of its greatness.

[Paterfamilias]

I have seen Kurisawa's Seven Samurai and just watched Yojimbo today. I really like both of these films and am excited to watch all his others as well.

As a Western genre fan I can't believe that I haven't seen Kurisawa's movies before. I can see that Seven Samurai was the basis for Magnificent Seven and Yojimbo was the basis for A fistful of Dollars (as well as Last Man Standing). Have his other movies been re-made as westerns?

[Fisting Ackbar]

I've mostly been checking out a lot of Japanese horror, but even the non-genrefilms that I've seen from that country (SEVEN SAMURAI, HANA-BI, GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES, SPIRITED AWAY) have impressed me.

Of course not all of their films are great, but they have a thriving film industry with quite some talented folks (Hideo Nakata, Takeshi Kitano, Takashi Miike, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Hayao Miyazaki).

[dpf3737]

Originally posted by Fisting Ackbar


Of course not all of their films are great, but they have a thriving film industry with quite some talented folks (Hideo Nakata, Takeshi Kitano, Takashi Miike, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Hayao Miyazaki).


Japan also has a lot of great classic directors such as (other than Akira Kurosawa): Yasajiro Ozu, Kenji Mizoguchi, Shohei Immamura, Kon Ichikawa, Hiroshi Teshigahara, Mikio Naruse.

[Hannibal21]

Their stuff is absolutely superb. Back in China, there were several many Japanese films playing on TV and once my parents watches them, I'd also watch those films with them. Miyazaki and Kurosawa's continually make great, marvelous films. Seven Samurai is possibly my favorite Japanese film; Yojimbo, Rashomon, Battle Royale come pretty close. And of course, the animes.....well, my parents are big fans of them but I'm working on it. Out of all the foreign cinemas out there, I'd definitely prefer Asian cinema, starting with films from Japan/China.

[Fisting Ackbar]

Originally posted by dpf3737
Japan also has a lot of great classic directors such as (other than Akira Kurosawa): Yasajiro Ozu, Kenji Mizoguchi, Shohei Immamura, Kon Ichikawa, Hiroshi Teshigahara, Mikio Naruse.

To be honest I haven't realy heard of anything of them - with the exception of Akira of course - but perhaps this forum could introduce me to them.

[The 8 Ball]

Japanese films of all genres are very special, cause most of them are genre bending.

They unarguebly make the greatest animated films the world has to offer.

Akira
Spirited Away
Metropolis
Grave of The Fireflies
DBZ: The Tree of Might

And as for their live action films.....

all Akira Kurosawa films
The Eel
Battle Royale

[James Logan]

When it comes to live action, Kurosawa is the only Japanese director I know well -- and heck he's good. THE SEVEN SAMURAI is one of the best films ever, no questions asked.

Their animated flicks are fantastic, though. Miyazaki, DBZ, anime, and especially two masterpieces, in my mind: AKIRA and GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES (one of the most moving animated flicks ever).

[Tuukka]

Here is my review for an OUTSTANDING japanese movie which is sadly very little known:

Swallowtail Butterfly

I very rarely give films more than 8/10 but this film definitely deserves it. It's a japanese film from 1996 and written and directed by Shunji Iwai. I knew nothing about the film until it arrived to finnish film festival in the end of 1999. I can't believe the fact that this film is four years old and never has got any major recognition. Well at least the people who have seen the film seem to love it. It has plenty of highly enthusiastic reviews at IMDB and always seems to get praised where ever it is shown.

SB is a very original film; A mixture of drama, comedy, musical, action and scifi. The film happens in a japanese metropol of near future. A prostitute woman, Glico, adopts an unnamed 10-year old girl whose mother has died. Glico names the girl Ageha (Butterfly). When a client tries to rape Ageha, Glico accidently kills him. When they go to bury the man in the woods, they find a tape inside him. The tape has a secret code inside it which enables them to fool money automats and they can raise as much money as they want. Soon after that Glico's band suddenly raises to top of the charts with their modern version of Sinatra's "My way". Unfortunately the yakuza gangsters who own the tape are after them and people start dying nasty deaths...

It's a modern fairy tale, which requires you to do a bit of suspension of disbelief. There are pretty unlikely events happening sometimes, but it's all perfectly logical; The world and the story that SB creates make perfect sense in the context of the film. But if you wan't realism, stay away from this film.

Otherwise the script is very good. It's very inventive and original with many memorable scenes. The (subtitled) dialogue is good and characters are wonderful. It's very easy to fall in love with them. The acting in the film is superb all around.

Shunji Iwai shows remarkable talent in this film. It's full of great, inventive storytelling. Iwai has attraction to flashy visuals, but they never distact you from the story. Possibly the most amazing sequence is the dream sequence of Ageha, in which she kills a butterfly in her room, while her prostitute mother is having sex in the next room. It's simply breathtaking in it's poetic and dark visual beauty. Iwai also handles the action very well and there are a couple of scenes where you can see extremely gruesome violence. All in all the film manages to show you moments of wonderful joy and happiness, while at times it's very dark and disturbing.

Swallowtail Butterfly tells a small, personal story, but it has certain epic quality to it. This is thanks to Iwai's excellent directorial style which kept me mesmerized during it's 146 minute running time.

SB is not for everyone, since it's a bit weird and surrealistic. But if you like more "independent" and original films, you should definitely try to find it.

9/10. Brilliant film.

IMDB link: http://us.imdb.com/Title?0117797

(it has a 7.8 average and plenty of high praises)

[quoth_the_raven]

Japan is the main source of foreign movies i watch. anyone who has been paying attention to my posts in the last few months may have noticed that i have something of a love of Japanese culture, especially as regards their Cinema.

[Slim]

Originally posted by Hannibal21
And of course, the animes.....well, my parents are big fans of them but I'm working on it.

*GASP* Alright, what are you waiting for then? Get going, buddy!

[bob]

The Japanese horror films that are really popular on this board I don't particularly care for, but I think Kurosawa was a master, and Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune is my favorite actor.

Kurosawa and Mifune collaborations worth seeing:

Rashomon
Yojimbo
Sanjuro
Seven Samurai
The Hidden Fortress
Throne of Blood

Solo Kurosawa worth seeing:

Ran

Solo Mifune worth seeing:

The Samurai Trilogy

Bear in mind that this list is incomplete, Kurosawa and Mifune collaborated on 17 films.

[blankpage]

Glad to hear many other Schmoes share the love for Japanese film.

I haven't seen many Japanese horror films, though. What are some good ones to check out?

[sanshodayu]

Cinema's very own treasure islands.

The golden age was the 1950's; no country has ever matched Japan's achievements in the space of a few years. From 1951-55, Mizoguchi alone directed an unequalled string of masterpieces, including Miss Oyu, The Life of Oharu, Ugetsu Monogatari, Sansho the Bailiff, Yang Kwei Fei, Tales of the Taira Clan. I would place 4, possibly 5, of these in my overall top 50. Sansho is an ideal introduction to a master of camerawork, composition, involving dramas, exquisite visual beauty and fluid long takes.

Kurosawa and Ozu (Tokyo Story, Late Spring) are the 2 other most famous names of the classic period, but many others during the course of Japanese cinema history up to the present day's Takeshi Kitano gangster films, Miike's delirious violence and Miyazaki charming animations, are well worth checking out.

Here are my favourites;
Sansho the Bailiff (Mizoguchi)- the most wonderful film ever made, scripted by his loyal screenwriter Yoda!
Maborosi (Kore-eda)
Seven Samurai (Kurosawa)
Late Spring (Ozu)
Story of the Late Chrysanthemums (Mizoguchi)
Tales of the Taira Clan (Mizoguchi)
Tokyo Story (Ozu)

other popular/admired/essential films; Rashomon, Ran, Throne of Blood, Hidden Fortress (all Kurosawa, the last of these was the major influence on Star Wars) , Ugetsu Monogatari, The Life of Oharu (Mizoguchi) Ai no Corrida (Oshima), The Eel (Imamura), Eureka (Aoyama), Kwaidan (Kobayashi), Battle Royale (Fukasaku), Branded to Kill (Suzuki), Hana-Bi, Sonatine (Kitano) Floating Clouds (Naruse), My Neighbour Totoro, Spirited Away (both Miyazaki), Ring (Nakata), Akira (Otome), Audition, Ichi the Killer (Miike), Page of Madness (Kinugasa), An Actor's Revenge (Ichikawa), Woman of the Dunes (Teshigahara), Grave of the Fireflies (Takahata). 3 of these i've not seen, but i think my list covers a wide variety; should have something for all tastes.

[Damned Martian]

My name is Damned Martian, and I'm an anime lover

*hello damned martian*

I haven't seen any of Kurosawa other than Ran (which i didn't like much), and from the rest of their cinematography, i just can remember Hana-Bi now (6/10), so i'll just say that i love anime...

Need to see more movies!:(

[Slim]

I am an anime lover too! This love has forced me to buy entire collections of particular shows. Expensive DVDs that I don't regret buying. What's with the majority of schmoes and their attitude towards anime? Is it really that inaccessible or unappealing?

Anyway, I need help... ;)

[Jim H]

Yeah, Japan produces a lot of good stuff. China is my favorite foreign film country though.

Some great live action Japanese films...

Versus
Kurosawa's works
Battle Royale
The works of Takeshi Kitano

It goes without question that their animated films are among the worlds best.



BTW, a lot of people confuse Japanese and Chinese.

Ways to tell the films apart:

If names of the cast/crew in it end in any non-N consonant, or a double vowel, they're Chinese (Chow, Woo, Siu, Ng, etc).

If all the cast and crews names all end in a vowel or N , they're Japanese (Kurosawa, Mifune, Kitano). Japanese n's are the only singular consonant sound, unless you want to count doubled ones, like Kikkoko. There are no Ls in Japanese.

Of course, some names fit in both, which isn't surprising (like Chin, though I don't think that is a name you see in Japan much for some reason, heh). Full Chinese names also often follow a particular structure - Chow Yun-Fat, Ng Man-Tat, with a two part given name. The first name listed is their family name, the second TWO names is their given name. That's why Chow Yun-Fat is listed as Yun-Fat Chow on the IMDB (something I consider mildly offensive, but that's another story).

Because of varying romanizations (especially in Chinese) those brief little rules aren't super helpful, but hey.

Chinese sentences in movies often end with a sort of stretched ahhhhh sound, if that helps anyone. Japanese films tend to be higher budgeted with better production values, but that is just a generalization.

[bob]

An honest thanks to Jim H for the tutorial, it's easy to get confused by stuff like that if you are an ignorant yank like me.

[Jim H]

One thing I probably should mention is that there ARE other Asian languages, and it just gets more confusing... And it gets harder and harder to tell. Like Korean, which sounds kind of like Chinese that got partially eaten by Japanese - not too far from the truth, really. :)

[Paterfamilias]

Just watched Kurisawa's Ran. Wow. 4/5

This is how an epic should be done. Some highlights for me:

The big fight scene was awesome with that quiet haunting score.

I loved the son's wife. I don't remember her character's name, but she was one badass bitch!! I think one of the baddest ever.

[Slim]

.

[pat00139]

About Kurosawa, someone asked: 'Have his other movies been re- made as westerns?'

Kind of. Seven Samurai also influenced A Bug's Life. Rashomon influence Courage Under Fire and Body Shots to a certain extent. Like someone else said, The Hidden Fortress had big influcences on Star Wars. That's all I know of.

I've seen a bunch of Japanese movie and they've all been good to just outstanding. I personally prefer Hong Kong cinema to Japanese, but Kurosawa is one of my favorite directors ever. Seijun Suzuki and Takashi Miike are A LOT of fun to watch, also. Japan has always has an extraordinary lineup of terrific movies. Their animation blows Disney out of the water, no contest. I'm actually waiting very impatiently for Returner 2. There are still a ton of movies I want to watch but can't find (any Kiyoshi Kurosawa, for example, Ozu, and Mizoguchi, and some more recent movies). I definitely love Japanese cinema. I'd go see a Japanese flick over a Hollywood flick any day of the week.

About asian languages:
I find Korean and Japanese sound alike more than Korean and the Chinese languages (which in my opinion are quite distinctive). I can tell Cantonese and Mandarin from the other asian languages very easily.
(Not really important but I felt like saying it.)

[masknslasher86]

Streetfighter 1 and 2 are my favorite Japanese kung-fu movies. Sonny Chiba is the man with his selfish bad ass style. I love in the first one how he kills that one guy who did not pay up on the job and how he sold that guy's sister to a pimp. He's the bad guy/hero you love. Also the theme song is the best ever for any king-fu movie. Sister Streetfighter and The Streetfighter's Last Revenge both suck IMO though. Streetfighter was also the first Rated X movie to be shown in America for violence according to Quentin Tarantino's commentary to True Romance.

[Ren Hoek]

:) Some thoughts off the top of my head...

Anime - huge fan here! Miyazaki, Takahata, and Ôtomo can do no wrong in my eyes. Favourites include MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO, GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES, AKIRA, NINJA SCROLL, SPIRITED AWAY, GHOST IN THE SHELL... aaah, to many to name!


Classics - like everyone else, I love Kurosawa's work. THE SEVEN SAMURAI is one of the greatest masterpieces in cinematic history, and RASHOMON another favourite of mine. I had some problems sitting through Ozu's films at the beginning, but they've grown on me after repeated viewings, and I think (or hope) that I've discovered why they are so ultimately beloved (especially TOKYO STORY).


Godzilla - More than just a guilty pleasure, I actually think that the first GODZILLA flicks from the 50s are superb action flicks with a healthy message. If you're looking for the cheesy stuff, I'd recommend my faves GODZILLA VS. GIGAN and GODZILLA VS. MECHA-GODZILLA. Priceless! ;)


Horror - haven't seen much Japanese horror flicks before the 1990s, but some of the more recent productions blew me away, especially RINGU, DARK WATER, THE EYE, and the apocalyptic KAIRO (PULSE).


Kitano's movies have a special place in my heart. "Beat" Takeshi skillfully combines violence with poetry in an unique way, and his anti-heroes (from Yakuzas to pathologically violent cops) are among the most intriguing movie characters of all time. Faves: HANA-BI, SONATINE, BOILING POINT, and DOLLS

[JCPhoenix]

Originally posted by RenHoek
:) Some thoughts off the top of my head...

Anime - huge fan here! Miyazaki, Takahata, and Ôtomo can do no wrong in my eyes. Favourites include MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO, GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES, AKIRA, NINJA SCROLL, SPIRITED AWAY, GHOST IN THE SHELL... aaah, to many to name!

Horror - haven't seen much Japanese horror flicks before the 1990s, but some of the more recent productions blew me away, especially RINGU, DARK WATER, THE EYE, and the apocalyptic KAIRO (PULSE).


I haven't seen that many Japanese films yet and I agree with you (especially about the anime - Miyazaki, Takata, etc) but I might like to note that The Eye is a Chinese producction not a Japanese (where as Ringu was Japanese). Sorry, I'm ethnic Chinese so just have to make sure yall get it rite :p.

[Fisting Ackbar]

Originally posted by JCPhoenix
The Eye is a Chinese producction not a Japanese

I thought it was a Hong Kong/Thailand production :confused:

[bigred760]

One Name: Akira Kurosawa
-This man is the best director ever to make a film not in the U.S. I own Seven Samurai and Yojimbo. I'm looking to get a few more of his soon.
-But Italy has made some good stuff too - Sergio Leone was the man.

[bigred760]

Originally posted by Paterfamilias
I have seen Kurisawa's Seven Samurai and just watched Yojimbo today. I really like both of these films and am excited to watch all his others as well.

As a Western genre fan I can't believe that I haven't seen Kurisawa's movies before. I can see that Seven Samurai was the basis for Magnificent Seven and Yojimbo was the basis for A fistful of Dollars (as well as Last Man Standing). Have his other movies been re-made as westerns?

Those two (or three with LMS) are the most famous. Seven Samurai was also remade into an obscure space adventure movie (I don't even remember the name of it) and later into A Bug's Life. The Magnificent Seven had several sequels with the same type of idea. And Fistful of Dollars had its two successors as well.

[bob]

Streetfighter is a pretty good movie once you can get past the seven layers of cheese present at all times. Goofy fun.

A friend gave me a VHS copy of Ran a while ago, I haven't gotten around to watching it yet. I'll have to get on that.

[bob]

I've since watched Ran and bought the DVD...it's fantastic!! That film alone convinced me that Kurosawa is the best visual director of all time.

And a couple of follow-ups: I'm a little more partial to the Japanese horror movies now, learned how watch them without vomiting.

Anyone who likes the current day "push-the-envelope" Japanese directors like Takashi Miike should check out Branded to Kill and Tokyo Drifter by Seijun Suzuki's, Japan's original bad boy.

[Jim H]

Originally posted by bigred760
Those two (or three with LMS) are the most famous. Seven Samurai was also remade into an obscure space adventure movie (I don't even remember the name of it) and later into A Bug's Life. The Magnificent Seven had several sequels with the same type of idea. And Fistful of Dollars had its two successors as well.

Battle Beyond the Stars. I own it on DVD for some reason; it isn't that good, even on a B-Movie level. One interesting thing is that Robert Vaughn plays exactly the same role as he did in Magnificent Seven, only now he's in space. Woot.