| A perfect topic to start things off. Quite simply, what are your favourite Japanese films? I'm a huge fan of both Takeshi Kitano and Satoshi Kon and am in love with almost all of their films. My favourite from Kitano is Kikujiro, followed by Hana-bi. My favourite from Kon is Millennium Actress, which is also probably favourite animated film. Tokyo Godfathers has also become a bit of a tradition for me around Christmas time. I also adore Kurosawa films, my favourites of his being Seven Samurai and Ran. A few other of my favourites include All About Lily Chou-Chou, Confessions, Twilight Samurai, Tokyo Sonata, Hana and Alice, The Man Who Stole the Sun, The Bird People in China and Ping Pong, the last of which was probably the first Japanese film I fell in love with. What about you? |
ToukaJul 20, 2011 5:07 AM
| I'm a big fan of Yasujiro Ozu films mainly, but I also love the films of Akira Kurosawa, Kenji Mizoguchi, Mikio Naruse, Sadao Yamanaka, and to a lesser extent Hirokazu Koreeda, Shohei Imamura, Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki. When it comes to Ozu however, nearly every one of his films is a quiet masterpiece. Before I was exposed to his work, I never realized the amount of beauty there was in the simple, ordinary lives of everyday people. It was a real eye opening realization for me, and something I advice anyone interesting in Japanese film to find out for themselves. That being said however, my favorite Japanese film would probably be Seven Samurai. A powerful statement on humanity and social roles, fantastic chracterization and 3 1/2 hours of engaging storyline culminating in the greatest battle ever seen on the screen. It's marvelous and endlessly entertaining. |
| I've only seen one of Ozu's films, that being Tokyo Story, which was unforgettable. I was completely taken by how the film was shot; the use of low angles and how the camera remained almost completely static, yet the shots captured everything perfectly. I'd like to see more of Ozu's films, but the DVDs are either very expensive or too hard to come by. Completely agree with you about Seven Samurai by the way. You wouldn't expect a three and a half hour black and white Japanese film to be so captivating, yet every second is just that. Plus the final battle is a great testament to how stunning an action sequence can be with a little elbow grease instead of special effects. If I had to choose an all time favourite Japanese film, I would also pick Seven Samurai. |
| There's a few Ozu films secretly uploaded on YouTube if you don't mind watching them in 10 minute sections. I found Equinox Flower, Early Spring, Tokyo Twilight, Late Autumn, both the silent and the color version of Floating Weeds, The End of Summer and Record of a Tenement Gentleman-- all of which are very solid films. Ozu's consistency was amazing, but it's too bad Late Spring isn't on there, I think that's his best work. |
MahleriteFeb 24, 2010 4:07 AM
| I might just watch them on YouTube then. Usually I'd refuse to watch a movie on YouTube for qualities sake but these films were made in the 40s/50s so it shouldn't matter too much. :P |
| I'm a fan of Studio Ghibli and I have watched some other films but my favorite is Princess Mononoke. |
 Try League of Legends. |
| I never really got the deal with Princess Mononoke. I liked it, but didn't think it was anywhere near as good as some of Miyazaki's other films, mainly Spirited Away and Ponyo. To each his own, however. I just took a quick peek at your list but can't see Sword of the Stranger, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time or Millennium Actress on there. I'd recommend looking into them. Essential viewing. |
| I think Princess Mononoke would be in Miyazaki's top 3 or 4 films, along with some of his early works. But when it comes to Ghibli, I usually side with Takahata being superior to his more famous colleague. Only Yesterday is probably my favorite animated film ever, even if you throw Disneys stuff into the mix. |
Touka said: I have seen the Sword of the Stranger I just forgot to add it to the completed list ,the other two I'm planing to watch them soon.I just took a quick peek at your list but can't see Sword of the Stranger, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time or Millennium Actress on there. I'd recommend looking into them. Essential viewing. |
| Try League of Legends. |
| I'd say Miyazaki's top four films would be Spirited Away, My Neighbour Totoro, Nausicaa and Ponyo. Could someone briefly explain why Princess Mononoke is regarded as one of his best? Also, what do you guys think of Howl's Moving Castle? That too was nominated for an Oscar, and it has quite an overwhelming score on both IMDb and on here. I personally enjoyed it but felt it was a little rough around the edges. Far from Miyazaki's best. |
| Hmm since I suck at explaining things I would say that everyone has his own sense of good and bad regarding an anime or a movie ,So I liked princess mononoke because of the story and maybe because it's the first anime I bought.The thing regarding Howl's Moving Castle I don't think it's bad it's actually good as the rest of Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli movies. |
| Try League of Legends. |
| But the story is a little lopsided, no? |
| I don't know. |
| Try League of Legends. |
| In terms of live action japanese films i guess i'm not too familiar in that area of cinema, but i do have to say that Ping Pong id one of the most interesting and humourous films i've seen a long time, i still long to own it. When it comes to favourite anime film i guess i dont have one, Sword of the Stranger, The Girl Who Left Through Time and Paprika would be my first picks also along with Spirited Away and Ponyo. |
| You would pick Paprika out of all of Satoshi Kon's films? Thats interesting. Paprika was definitely a visual feast with quite an intricate story. I'd personally say Millennium Actress is my favourite of his though. It was the first film of his I saw and it was done in such an interesting way I instantly fell in love with it. I'd also probably put Tokyo Godfathers before Paprika simply because of how enjoyable it is. I'll never get bored of that film. Also, while we're on the topic of Satoshi Kon... I love how he incorporates elements of filmmaking into a lot of his films and often disaplays his obsession with the art on screen. Perfect Blue focuses on an actress and a film production, Millennium Actress also focuses on an actress and Satoshi Kon explains her life through the films she made and in Paprika the main character is a film enthusiast and a little bit of a filmmaker himself. Good stuff! :D |
| That is incredible, small yet key aspects of film that linke Satohi Kon's films together and i feel they give you some insight into the mind of the creator. |
| Well the man himself did say the following... "To create Paranoia Agent, Tokyo Godfathers was necessary, and for Tokyo Godfathers to be born there needed to be a Millennium Actress before it. I don't take the works as separate pieces." There is a lot more than just references to Kon's love for filmmaking that link the films, though. For one they all blur the line between realism and fantasy and he does have a frequent soundtrack collaborator. All of his character designs aren't so different either. |
| Wow, that is amazing,Satoshi Kon is a man who is very very interesting, i'd love to meet the guy and discuss many things like his views on life and if there's anything specifically that inspires his work. |
| the only live acted Japanese movie ive seen was Iga Ninpocho... and it kicked so much ass! |
| CityLights pretty much named all the basics: I love Ozu, Kurosawa, Mizoguchi, Imamura, etc. as well as Seijun Suzuki (Youth of the Beast, Fighting Elegy, many others), Hiroshi Teshigahara (Woman in the Dunes, The Face of Another), Kihachi Okamoto (Sword of Doom!), Kinji Fukasaku (Yakuza Papers, Battle Royale), Takeshi Kitano (Hana-bi), and some of the newer directors like Shinya Tsukamoto (Tetsuo), Takashi Miike (though I'm really selective about which of his movies I like — Audition, Visitor Q, etc.), Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Cure, Pulse), Sion Sono (Suicide Circle), etc. I'm also into older Japanese horror and pinkie violence like House, School of the Holy Beast, Lady Snowblood, etc. Not to mention Miyazaki, Takahata, Oshii, etc. |
| Right now, since I havent watched too much, it's All About Lily Chou-Chou. But want to see as much as I'm capable of XD. |
 |
| Oh wow, I totally forgot about All About Lily Chou-Chou. I've wanted to see it for years ever since Jonathan Ross talked about it in his Asian Invasion programme. Curse it being so expensive on Amazon! |
| Yep! Too bad I only have the dvix rip, but is sooo damn worth it. |
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| Kid's Return is quite an interesting choice. Blue Spring is another film I've wanted to see for ages after reading the manga. Hoping it's in the same vein as Ping Pong, since they're both adaptations of manga from the same author. |
| Film?? does "Icchi" consider as it? http://www.ichithemovie.co.uk/ |
| Rashomon One of my favorite all time movies. Really loved the view into human psychology and symbolism. Also the some melancholic scenes :) |
| No sig :( |
Reckful said: The soundtrack is really sick too! Yeah, the soundtrack is wonderful. It's a real shame Joe Hisaishi doesn't collaborate with Kitano anymore. Thats what its all about. |
| Love Exposure and my favorite anime film is Kara no Kyoukai~The Garden of Sinners~A Study in Murder(Part2)~...not nothing heart |
BLeakXBuRSTX19 said: Love Exposure Gahh, I kept meaning to try and get hold of that. It was on at a film festival that I went to but I never got a chance to see it. Not watched any Japanese films for a while, but I absolutely adore Seven Samurai. I'm a huge Beat Takeshi fan. I couldn't tell you what my favourite Kitano film is, but Hana-bi is probably one of them. I'm sure that was one that had a lot of Kitano's artwork in it? I can't remember, hahaha. I absolutely adore the movie Sakuran One of the first DVDs I imported from Japan x3 |
| 頭脳は子供、見た目は大人！ ƪ(˘⌣˘)ʃ |
| Yeah, it was Hana-bi that featured his artwork and rather masterfully so. This scene was mesmerizingly beautiful. Kikujiro also featured some of his artwork. |
ToukaJun 27, 2010 5:55 AM
| I remember dubbing that scene FloraXFauna when I watched it. It's brilliant. I especially love the penguins. I can't believe I forgot about Kikujirou. That's one of my favourite Office Kitano films (not that there are any that I dislike) I remember watching a Japanese film on TV about a group who go on a coach trip, all with the intention of commiting suicide. I cannot for the life of me remember the name of the film, but I enjoyed it a lot. Any idea what it may be? |
| 頭脳は子供、見た目は大人！ ƪ(˘⌣˘)ʃ |
| Top 10 would probably be: Strawberry Shortcakes Vacation Tokyo Sonata Departures Aruitemo, Aruitemo Blue Spring Linda Linda Linda Hanging Garden Kaza-hana Hana and Alice Surprisingly, I noticed those are all post-2000. That's not the case with my favorite non-Japanese films. Huh. |
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| Too many ... but on first place Shichinin no samurai and other Kurosawa movies: Ran, Akahige, Nora inu. |
| I've been growing more fond of High and Low lately, a slightly overlooked film in the Kurosawa oeuvre I think. Gotta be right up there with Rashomon and Ikiru for me. |
| I'd have to say Kamikaze Girls. It was hilarious, yet serious at the same time. |
| (ﾟ∀ﾟ) |
| In terms of Japanese movies, I say my favorite Anime movies are Sword of the Stranger, Spirited Away and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. As for Live Action, I've only seen Battle Royale but I did like it so as of now its my favorite Live Action Japanese movie. |
 |
| Just joined this club~ I tend to only watch more recent japanese films though. But I'll try to limit myself. My favorite japanese films are Heavenly Forest, Waterboys, and Tenshi no Koi. I also like Hula Girls, Dear Doctor, The Magic Hour, and others.... :P Of course, Cyborg She is another great japanese film, but falls short in comparison to the director's korean films (Classic, Windstruck, My sassy girl...) |
| That's a terrific list, chumlum. I have probably heard of half of those films, but the other half I'm adding to my queue. Thanks. |
| Yes, quite a stunning list! I was a bit hesitant about watching Eureka but think I'll give it the priority now after having seen you rate it so high. Also, welcome katsup! Lovely to see more fans of Waterboys! :D |
| i love most of the movies i've seen directed by Takashi Miike: Audition, Ichi the Killer , Gozu, Visitor Q, Crows 0 part 1 and 2, Dead or Alive , Fudoh, segment Box from "Three extremes" , Imprint (still have to see the bird people in china..it's next on my to see list ) Ran and Seven Samurai by Kurosawa ( still have a lot of his movies to see) Tetsuo:the Iron Man Survive Style 5+ Battle Royale The tale of Zatoichi (1962) Twilight Samurai as for my favourite animated movies: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Ninja Scroll i'm still a noob when it comes to Japanese cinema..and hopefully in the future i'll add more titles to this list..sooo many movies to see |
| I've always had trouble watching pre-1995 films, which was when I started watching movies a lot... All my favorites are in the 2000s. Ima, Ai ni Yukimasu (Be With You) Shinkokyuu no Hitsuyou (Breathe In, Breathe Out) Dolls Tada, Kimi wo Aishiteru (Heavenly Forest) Jyuusannin no Shikaku (13 Assassins) Tenten Unmei ja nai Hito (A Stranger of Mine) Ping Pong Kokuhaku (Confessions) Departures Aoi Tori (The Blue Bird) Quiet Room e Youkoso (Welcome to the Quiet Room) |
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