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Directors Your 10 favourite Japanese films? (1 Viewer)

john davies

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Feb 18, 2003
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1.Sansho the Bailiff (Mizoguchi)
2.Maborosi (Kore-eda)
3.Seven Samurai (Kurosawa)
4.Story of the Late Chrysanthemums (Mizoguchi)
5.Tales of the Taira Clan (Mizoguchi)
6.Late Spring (Ozu)
7.Tokyo Story (Ozu)
8.Ugetsu Monogatari (Mizoguchi)
9.Hidden Fortress (Kurosawa)
10.The Loyal 47 Ronin (Mizoguchi)

also; The Life of Oharu (Mizoguchi), Kwaidan (Kobayashi), Ai No Corrida (Oshima), Miss Oyu (Mizoguchi), My Neighbour Totoro (Miyazaki), The Human Condition (Kobayashi), Early Spring (Ozu), Spirited Away (Miyazaki), Eureka (Aoyama)..
 

Brook K

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Feb 22, 2000
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Ikiru (Kurosawa)
Tokyo Story (Ozu)
Ugetsu (Mizoguchi)
Ran (Kurosawa)
Woman In The Dunes (Teshigahara)
A Scene At The Sea (Kitano)
Grave Of The Fireflies (Takahata)
Manji (Masumura)
My Neighbor Totoro (Miyazaki)
Cure (Kiyoshi Kurosawa)

Limited myself to two Kurosawa's, otherwise would probably have Rashomon, Red Beard, and/or Madadayo on here as well.
 

john davies

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Feb 18, 2003
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You're obviously well up on the subject. I've not yet seen The Cure, though i've heard good things and know nothing of Manji. Can you say something about it? Red Beard (underrated) and Rashomon (essential) just missed my list, by the way.
 

Angelo.M

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Aug 15, 2002
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seven samurai
rashomon
ikiru
tokyo story
yojimbo
sanjuro
the hidden fortress
ran
samurai triology
tokyo drifter
 

JonZ

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Dec 28, 1998
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Seven Samurai
Ran
Roshomon
Akira
Samurai III Duel at Ganryu Island
Yojimbo
Godzilla
The Street Fighter
Tokyo Story
Grave Of The Fireflies
 

Lew Crippen

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May 19, 2002
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As always, unordered:

1.Woman of the Dunes
2.Seven Samurai
3.Ikiru
4.I Was Born, but…
5.Spirited Away
6.My Neighbor Totoro
7.Ugetsu
8.Tokyo Drifter
9.Tokyo Story
10.Ran
 

MartinTeller

Screenwriter
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Feb 26, 2002
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I really haven't seen nearly as many as I'd like to, but here's my top 10 anyway (rather embarassingly heavy on Kurosawa):

Princess Mononoke
Kwaidan
Chushingura
Sansho the Bailiff
Seven Samurai
Red Beard
Ikiru
Sanjuro
Rashomon
Madadayo

honorable mention (not exactly a Japanese film): Mishima


Really hoping to add more Ozu and Mizoguchi soon, so far I've only seen Ohayo and Sansho.
 

Brook K

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Me too Martin, I've only seen Tokyo Story, Good Morning, The 47 Ronin, and Ugetsu.

John, the best equation/summary I can make for Manji, is it is similar in story/theme to In The Realm of the Senses, but more skillfully made and restrained, but lacking the heat and singular forward momentum of ITR. It is about a husband and wife who find something lacking in their lives and relationship, and turn to a 3rd party with results that are shocking, moving, and even sad.

Directed by the highly underrated and underknown director Yasuzo Masumura, it was released on DVD by Fantoma along with 3 more of his films, all of which I'd recommend - Blind Beast (a freak show of sexual subjugation and loneliness with "have to see it to believe it" set design), Afraid To Die (starring Yukio Mishima as a Yakuza who has the unfortunate weakness of being "afraid to die" and also featuring Takashi Shimura in a complete turn from the kindly mentor types he played in Kurosawa movies) and Giants And Toys (a satirical comedy about big business in Japanese society).
 

john davies

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Feb 18, 2003
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122
Thanks a lot for that, Brook. Yes, i've now found it in Donald Richie's book "A Hundred Years of Japanese Cinema". Strange i should have forgotten about it, as there's a striking shot of 2 (apparently topless) women in a clinch.
Masumura's "fast-moving" style, at least when he arrived on the scene, is contrasted with Ozu and Mizoguchi, and appealed to a younger generation at the time, including Oshima, it says. Manji sounds from your description more restrained than some of his other films.

Richie says Masumura's films "critical of Japan's military past" eg The Nakano Army School, The Hoodlum Soldier, "particularly interesting".

I'll have to look out for his films. I don't think they're available in the UK though.
 

Brook K

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Feb 22, 2000
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I'll have to pick up Richie's book. I haven't seen those Masumura films that are "critical of the Japanese military". I've only seen the 4 that are on DVD and that I described. The most critical of the military film that I've seen from Japan is Mizoguchi's Ugetsu.
 

Jim_K

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Apr 7, 2000
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Favorites?

Seven Samurai
Yojimbo
Gojira (1954)
Akira
Throne of Blood
Zatoichi and the Chess Expert
Lone Wolf and Cub Sword of Vengeance
Ran
Sword of Blood
Samurai Trilogy


and another 10

The Hidden Fortress
Zatoichi and the Chest of Gold
Harakiri
Princess Mononoke
Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx
Onibaba
Sanjuro
Samurai Assassin
Barefoot Gen
Samurai Rebellion
 

Arman

Screenwriter
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Jan 10, 2003
Messages
1,625
Unordered:
Battle Royale (Fukasaku)
Grave Of The Fireflies (Takahata)
Spirited Away (Miyazaki)
Tokyo Story (Ozu)
Rashomon (Kurosawa)
Seven Samurai (Kurosawa)
My Neighbor Totoro (Miyazaki)
Madadayo (Kurosawa)
Kwaidan (Kobayashi)
Akira (Otomo) & Princess Mononoke (Miyazaki)

Special honorable Mention:

Floating Weeds (Ozu)
The Hidden Fortress, Sanjuro, Yojimbo, Throne of Blood, Ran (Kurosawa)
 

Justin_S

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Mar 4, 2001
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Kairo
Uzumaki
Onibaba
Ju-on
Audition
Cure
Battle Royale
Ringu
Happiness of the Katakuris
Dark Waters
 

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