Japanese Directors I'm Interested In
There is no country's cinema I've connected to or enjoyed more consistently than Japan's. I've had an especial love for the golden age of Japanese cinema – in the 1950s and 60s – but more recently I've come to really dig a lot of the more modern stuff as well. Anyway, here is a list of Japanese directors that I like or am interested in seeing more from.
Of course, there are still lots of Japanese directors I haven't yet, but am anxious to familiarize myself with, including...
Yasuzô Masumura (Red Angel)
Kô Nakahira (Crazed Fruit)
Gakuryû Ishii (The Crazy Family)
Kôji Shiraishi (Noroi: The Curse)
Susumu Hani (Nanami: The Inferno of First Love)
Tadashi Imai (Cruel Tales of Bushido)
Yosuke Fujita (Fine, Totally Fine)
...and many more.
Of course, there are still lots of Japanese directors I haven't yet, but am anxious to familiarize myself with, including...
Yasuzô Masumura (Red Angel)
Kô Nakahira (Crazed Fruit)
Gakuryû Ishii (The Crazy Family)
Kôji Shiraishi (Noroi: The Curse)
Susumu Hani (Nanami: The Inferno of First Love)
Tadashi Imai (Cruel Tales of Bushido)
Yosuke Fujita (Fine, Totally Fine)
...and many more.
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Shion Sono is a Japanese director, writer and poet. Born in Aichi Perfecture in 1961 he started his career working as a poet before taking his first steps in film directing. As a student he shot a series of short films in Super 8 and managed to make his first feature films in the late 80s and early 90s, in which he also starred. The film that helped him reach a wider international audience and establish himself as a cult director is Love Exposure (2008) , released in 2008. Ai no mukidashi is the first installment of Sono's Trilogy of Hate followed by Cold Fish (2010) and concluded with Guilty of Romance (2011). The films of Shion Sono often tell the stories of socially marginalized teenagers or young adults who end up engaging in activities that involve murders, sexual abuse and criminal behavior. Sono's films in most of the cases contain scenes filled with graphic violence and blood that echo the long pinku eiga and anime tradition of Japanese cinema.80s-Present
I've been trying to discover more of these acclaimed modern Japanese directors. Sono is an amazing discovery. He is a bold and visionary director. His films are consistently memorable and flawless in their direction: in particular the hilarious and wildly imaginative horror flick Exte, the brilliant and spirited Hazard, and Love Exposure, an immensely entertaining four-hour masterpiece. He is easily now my favourite modern Japanese director, and possibly my favourite person.
Seen: 38, Favourite Film: Hazard
My Ratings – 10/10: 5 films, 9/10: 14 films, 8/10: 6 films, 7/10: 6 films, 6/10: 2 films, 5/10: 4 films- Writer
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After training as a painter (he storyboards his films as full-scale paintings), Kurosawa entered the film industry in 1936 as an assistant director, eventually making his directorial debut with Sanshiro Sugata (1943). Within a few years, Kurosawa had achieved sufficient stature to allow him greater creative freedom. Drunken Angel (1948) was the first film he made without extensive studio interference, and marked his first collaboration with Toshirô Mifune. In the coming decades, the two would make 16 movies together, and Mifune became as closely associated with Kurosawa's films as was John Wayne with the films of Kurosawa's idol, John Ford. After working in a wide range of genres, Kurosawa made his international breakthrough film Rashomon (1950) in 1950. It won the top prize at the Venice Film Festival, and first revealed the richness of Japanese cinema to the West. The next few years saw the low-key, touching Ikiru (1952) (Living), the epic Seven Samurai (1954), the barbaric, riveting Shakespeare adaptation Throne of Blood (1957), and a fun pair of samurai comedies Yojimbo (1961) and Sanjuro (1962). After a lean period in the late 1960s and early 1970s, though, Kurosawa attempted suicide. He survived, and made a small, personal, low-budget picture with Dodes'ka-den (1970), a larger-scale Russian co-production Dersu Uzala (1975) and, with the help of admirers Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas, the samurai tale Kagemusha: The Shadow Warrior (1980), which Kurosawa described as a dry run for Ran (1985), an epic adaptation of Shakespeare's "King Lear." He continued to work into his eighties with the more personal Dreams (1990), Rhapsody in August (1991) and Madadayo (1993). Kurosawa's films have always been more popular in the West than in his native Japan, where critics have viewed his adaptations of Western genres and authors (William Shakespeare, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Maxim Gorky and Evan Hunter) with suspicion - but he's revered by American and European film-makers, who remade Rashomon (1950) as The Outrage (1964), Seven Samurai (1954), as The Magnificent Seven (1960), Yojimbo (1961), as A Fistful of Dollars (1964) and The Hidden Fortress (1958), as Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977).40s-90s
Of course Kurosawa is the best. I love too many of his films to count. I'd love to own all of them. His best are Ran and Ikiru.
Seen: 26, Favourite Film: Ikiru
My Ratings – 10/10: 6 films, 9/10: 14 films, 8/10: 4 films, 7/10: 1 film, 5/10: 1 film- Director
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Masaki Kobayashi was born on 14 February 1916 in Hokkaido, Japan. He was a director and writer, known for Harakiri (1962), Samurai Rebellion (1967) and The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer (1961). He died on 4 October 1996 in Tokyo, Japan.50s-80s
Kobayashi is my personal favourite – I love him almost on the same level as Kurosawa, and I think he's the most deserving of greater recognition. The Human Condition is perhaps my favourite film.
Seen: 17, Favourite Film: The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer
My Ratings – 10/10: 5 films, 9/10: 3 films, 8/10: 5 films, 7/10: 4 films- Director
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Takashi Miike was born in the small town of Yao on the outskirts of Osaka, Japan. His main interest growing up was motorbikes, and for a while he harbored ambitions to race professionally. At the age of 18 he went to study at the film school in Yokohama founded by renowned director Shôhei Imamura, primarily because there were no entrance exams. By his own account Miike was an undisciplined student and attended few classes, but when a local TV company came scouting for unpaid production assistants, the school nominated the one pupil who never showed up: Miike. He spent almost a decade working in television, in many different roles, before becoming an assistant director in film to, amongst others, his old mentor Imamura. The "V-Cinema" (Direct to Video) boom of the early 1990s was to be Miike's break into directing his own films, as newly formed companies hired eager young filmmakers willing to work cheap and crank out low-budget action movies. Miike's first theatrically distributed film was Shinjuku Triad Society (1995) (Shinjuku Triad Society), and from then on he alternated V-Cinema films with higher-budgeted pictures. His international breakthrough came with Audition (1999) (Audition), and since then he has an ever expanding cult following in the west. A prolific director, Miike has directed (at the time of this writing) 60+ films in his 13 years as director, his films being known for their explicit and taboo representations of violence and sex, as seen in such works as Bijitâ Q (2001) (Visitor Q), Ichi the Killer (2001) (Ichi The Killer) and the Dead or Alive Trilogy: Dead or Alive (1999), Dead or Alive 2: Birds (2000) and Dead or Alive: Final (2002).90s-Present
I love Miike. His films are all over the place. Some are incredibly disturbed, others insane, but still others are just really excellent, in the tradition of the older directors. Let it be known that The Happiness of the Katakuris is the most entertaining movie of all times.
Seen: 36, Favourite Film: The Happiness of the Katakuris
My Ratings – 10/10: 1 film, 9/10: 12 films, 8/10: 7 films, 7/10: 8 films, 6/10: 6 films, 5/10: 1 film, 4/10: 1 film- Actor
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Shin'ya Tsukamoto was born on 1 January 1960 in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. He is an actor and director, known for Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989), Vital (2004) and Tokyo Fist (1995).70s-Present
Tsukamoto's films have an incredible visual sense and an energy to them that is all his own. Watch Tetsuo: The Iron Man – I guarantee you've seen nothing else like it. Then watch Tokyo Fist and Gemini... These are all audio-visually extraordinary masterpieces, and the antidote to so much boring cinema.
Seen: 16, Favourite film: Tokyo Fist
My Ratings - 9/10: 4 films, 8/10: 5 films, 7/10: 4 films, 6/10: 3 films- Director
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Coming from a lower class family Mizoguchi entered the production company Nikkatsu as an actor specialized in female roles. Later he became an assistant director and made his first film in 1922. Although he filmed almost 90 movies in the silent era, only his last 12 productions are really known outside of Japan because they were especially produced for Venice (e.g The Life of Oharu (1952) or Sansho the Bailiff (1954). He only filmed two productions in color: Yôkihi (1955) and Taira Clan Saga (1955).20s-50s
The Mizoguchi films that do it for me are Sansho the Bailiff, Ugetsu monogatari, The Life of Oharu and The Crucified Lovers, these films that bring to life the world of medieval Japan. And harsh and cruel a world as it is, you feel like you're a part of it.
Seen: 9, Favourite Film: Sansho the Bailiff
My Ratings – 10/10: 1 film, 9/10: 2 films, 8/10: 1 film, 7/10: 3 films, 6/10: 2 films- Director
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Shohei Imamura's films dig beneath the surface of Japanese society to reveal a wellspring of sensual, often irrational, energy that lies beneath. Along with his colleagues Nagisa Ôshima and Masahiro Shinoda, Imamura began his serious directorial career as a member of the New Wave movement in Japan. Reacting against the studio system, and particularly against the style of Yasujirô Ozu, the director he first assisted, Imamura moved away from the subtlety and understated nature of the classical masters to a celebration of the primitive and spontaneous aspects of Japanese life. To explore this level of Japanese consciousness, Imamura focuses on the lower classes, with characters who range from bovine housewives to shamans, and from producers of blue movies to troupes of third-rate traveling actors. He has proven himself unafraid to explore themes usually considered taboo, particularly those of incest and superstition. Imamura himself was not born into the kind of lower-class society he depicts. The college-educated son of a physician, he was drawn toward film, and particularly toward the kinds of films he would eventually make, by his love of the avant-garde theater. Imamura has worked as a documentarist, recording the statements of Japanese who remained in other parts of Asia after the end of WWII, and of the "karayuki-san"--Japanese women sent to accompany the army as prostitutes during the war period. His heroines tend to be remarkably strong and resilient, able to outlast, and even to combat, the exploitative situations in which they find themselves. This is a stance that would have seemed impossible for the long-suffering heroines of classical Japanese films. In 1983, Imamura won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival for The Ballad of Narayama (1983), based on a Shichirô Fukazawa novel about a village where the elderly are abandoned on a sacred mountaintop to die. Unlike director Keisuke Kinoshita's earlier version of the same story, Imamura's film, shot on location in a remote mountain village, highlights the more disturbing aspects of the tale through its harsh realism. In his attempt to capture what is real in Japanese society, and what it means to be Japanese, Imamura used an actual 40-year-old former prostitute in his The Insect Woman (1963); a woman who was searching for her missing fiancé in A Man Vanishes (1967); and a non-actress bar hostess as the protagonist of his History of Postwar Japan as Told by a Bar Hostess (1970). Despite this anthropological bent, Imamura has cleverly mixed the real with the fictional, even within what seems to be a documentary. This is most notable in his A Man Vanishes (1967), in which the fiancée becomes more interested in an actor playing in the film than with her missing lover. In a time when the word "Japanese" is often considered synonymous with "coldly efficient," Imamura's vision of a more robust and intuitive Japanese character adds an especially welcome cinematic dimension.50s-00s
Such a majorly confident and talented director. Every one of his films is so well-crafted and fascinating – I'm excited to watch every one of them.
Seen: 14, Favourite Film: Profound Desires of the Gods
My Ratings – 10/10: 1 film, 9/10: 2 films, 8/10: 3 films, 7/10: 6 films, 6/10: 1 film, 2/10: 1 film- Animation Department
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Hayao Miyazaki is one of Japan's greatest animation directors. The entertaining plots, compelling characters, and breathtaking visuals in his films have earned him international renown from critics as well as public recognition within Japan.
Miyazaki started his career in 1963 as an animator at the studio Toei Douga studio, and was subsequently involved in many early classics of Japanese animation. From the beginning, he commanded attention with his incredible drawing ability and the seemingly endless stream of movie ideas he proposed.
In 1971, he moved to the A Pro studio with Isao Takahata. In 1973, he moved to Nippon Animation, where he was heavily involved in the World Masterpiece Theater TV animation series for the next 5 years. In 1978, he directed his first TV series, Future Boy Conan (1978). Then, he moved to Tokyo Movie Shinsha in 1979 to direct his first movie, the classic Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro (1979). In 1984, he released Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984), which was based on the manga of the same title he had started 2 years before. The success of the film led to the establishment of a new animation studio, Studio Ghibli. Since then, he has since directed, written, and produced many other films with Takahata. More recently, he has produced with Toshio Suzuki. All enjoyed critical and box office success, in particular Princess Mononoke (1997). It received the Japanese equivalent of the Academy Award for Best Film and was the highest-grossing (about USD $150 million) domestic film in Japan's history at the time of its release.
In addition to animation, he also draws manga. His major work was Nausicaä, an epic tale he worked on intermittently from 1982 to 1984 while he was busy making animated films. Another manga Hikotei Jidai, later evolved into Porco Rosso (1992).70s-Present
I'm not a huge anime guy, but I love Studio Ghibli. The quality of animation, and the amazing fantasy worlds Miyazaki creates, are unlike anything. Spirited Away, Nausicaa, Ponyo, all so good.
Seen: 11, Favourite Film: The Wind Rises
My Ratings – 10/10: 1 film, 9/10: 5 films, 8/10: 5 films- Director
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Isao Takahata was born on 29 October 1935 in Ise, Japan. He was a director and writer, known for Grave of the Fireflies (1988), Pom Poko (1994) and The Tale of The Princess Kaguya (2013). He died on 5 April 2018 in Tokyo, Japan.60s-10s
Though the fantastical worlds of Hayao Miyazaki's films have become synonymous with Studio Ghibli, Isao Takahata's films are often Ghibli's most funny, most sad, most heartfelt, and most visually inventive films, and they're just as remarkable as Miyazaki's films. I believe that Grave of the Fireflies is the greatest animated film I've ever seen.
Seen: 6, Favourite Film: Grave of the Fireflies
My Ratings – 10/10: 1 film, 9/10: 3 films, 7/10: 2 films- Actor
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Takeshi Kitano originally studied to become an engineer, but was thrown out of school for rebellious behavior. He learned comedy, singing and dancing from famed comedian Senzaburô Fukami. Working as a lift boy on a nightclub with such features as comic sketches and striptease dancing, Kitano saw his chance when a comedian suddenly fell ill, and he went on stage in the man's place. With a friend he formed the comic duo "The Two Beat" (his artist's name, "Beat Takeshi", comes from this period), which became very popular on Japanese television.
Kitano soon embarked on an acting career, and when the director of Violent Cop (1989) (aka "Violent Cop") fell ill, he took over that function as well. Immediately after that film was finished he set out to make a second gangster movie, Boiling Point (1990). Just after finishing Getting Any? (1994), Kitano was involved in a serious motorcycle accident that almost killed him. It changed his way of life, and he became an active painter. This change can be seen in his later films, which are characterized by his giving more importance to the aesthetics of the film, such as in Fireworks (1997) and Kikujiro (1999).80s-Present
His yakuza films are pretty unique and interesting, but what really shines through in all his films I think is that you always get the sense that he really enjoys making them. Take Kikujiro for example: less than three quarters of the way through the film the already minimalistic plot is abandoned completely, and he just has fun, and it's wonderful.
Seen: 16, Favourite Film: Kikujiro
My Ratings – 10/10: 1 film, 9/10: 2 films, 8/10: 3 films, 7/10: 5 films, 6/10: 4 films, 5/10: 1 film- Director
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Hiroshi Teshigahara was born the son of Sofu Teshigahara who was the founder of the Sogetsu School of Ikebana (flower arrangement). In 1950, he graduated from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music in oil painting. In 1958, he became the director of Sogetsu Art Centre and took a leading role in avant-garde activities in many fields of art. Beginning in 1980, acting as movie director, he was the Iemoto (Headmaster) of the Sogetsu School of Ikebana.50s-90s
The three films in Criterion's "Three Films by Hiroshi Teshigahara" boxset in particular are amazing; Woman in the Dunes is one of the greatest films I've ever seen.
Seen: 5, Favourite Film: Woman of the Sands
My Ratings – 10/10: 1 film, 9/10: 1 film, 8/10: 1 film, 7/10: 1 film, 6/10: 1 film- Writer
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Kaneto Shindô was born on 22 April 1912 in Hiroshima, Japan. He was a writer and director, known for Postcard (2010), The Island (1960) and A Last Note (1995). He was married to Nobuko Otowa and Miyo Shindo. He died on 29 May 2012 in Hiroshima, Japan.50s-10s
Onibaba and The Naked Island are two movies I kinda liked on my first viewing, but that really stuck with me. There's a sense of place about these movies – two very different films, mind – which is somehow unforgettable.
Seen: 5, Favourite Film: Onibaba
My Ratings – 9/10: 3 films, 8/10: 1 film, 7/10: 1 film- Additional Crew
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Seijun Suzuki was born in Nihonbashi, Tôkyô, on May 24, 1923. In 1943, he entered the army to fight at the front. In 1946, he enrolled in the film department of the Kamakura Academy and passed the assistant director's exam. For the next few years, he worked as an assistant director at several studios. In 1958, he directed his first film, Victory Is Ours (1956), and from then on he directed three to four films each year. With Branded to Kill (1967), he came into conflict with Hori Kyusaku, who was the president of Nikkatsu Studios at the time. Because of this, he was forced to work in television the next ten years. In 1977, A Tale of Sorrow (1977), his return to theatrically-released films, was released.50s-00s
Branded to Kill is one of my favourite things, and I'm a huge fan of his insane and colourful final two films, Pistol Opera and Princess Raccoon. I don't always totally love his movies, but I always appreciate the style.
Seen: 23, Favourite Film: Branded to Kill
My Ratings – 10/10: 1 film, 9/10: 3 films, 7/10: 4 films, 6/10: 5 films, 5/10: 6 films, 3/10: 4 films- Writer
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Tokyo-born Yasujiro Ozu was a movie buff from childhood, often playing hooky from school in order to see Hollywood movies in his local theatre. In 1923 he landed a job as a camera assistant at Shochiku Studios in Tokyo. Three years later, he was made an assistant director and directed his first film the next year, Zange no yaiba (1927). Ozu made thirty-five silent films, and a trilogy of youth comedies with serious overtones he turned out in the late 1920s and early 1930s placed him in the front ranks of Japanese directors. He made his first sound film in 1936, The Only Son (1936), but was drafted into the Japanese Army the next year, being posted to China for two years and then to Singapore when World War II started. Shortly before the war ended he was captured by British forces and spent six months in a P.O.W. facility. At war's end he went back to Shochiku, and his experiences during the war resulted in his making more serious, thoughtful films at a much slower pace than he had previously. His most famous film, Tokyo Story (1953), is generally considered by critics and film buffs alike to be his "masterpiece" and is regarded by many as not only one of Ozu's best films but one of the best films ever made. He also turned out such classics of Japanese film as The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice (1952), Floating Weeds (1959) and An Autumn Afternoon (1962).
Ozu, who never married and lived with his mother all his life, died of cancer in 1963, two years after she passed.20s-60s
Ozu's understated domestic dramas are always strangely compelling. He is not a bold director, but that is the point. I especially love Tokyo Story.
Seen: 18, Favourite Film: Tokyo Story
My Ratings – 10/10: 1 film, 9/10: 2 films, 8/10: 4 films, 7/10: 5 films, 6/10: 1 film, 5/10: 4 films, 2/10: 1 film- Director
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Hideo Gosha was born on 26 February 1929 in Akasaka, Tokyo, Japan (undisclosed). He was a director and writer, known for The Steel Edge of Revenge (1969), Yôkirô (1983) and Onimasa (1982). He died on 30 August 1992.60s-90s
The most badass of Samurai film directors – I love him, although I prefer his earlier films to his later, increasingly excessive films.
Seen: 9, Favourite Film: Three Outlaw Samurai
My Ratings – 9/10: 2 films, 8/10: 3 films, 7/10: 2 films, 6/10: 2 films- Director
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Nagisa Oshima's career extends from the initiation of the "Nuberu bagu" (New Wave) movement in Japanese cinema in the late 1950s and early 1960s, to the contemporary use of cinema and television to express paradoxes in modern society. After an early involvement with the student protest movement in Kyoto, Oshima rose rapidly in the Shochiku company from the status of apprentice, in 1954, to that of director. By 1960, he had grown disillusioned with the traditional studio production policies and broke away from Shochiku to form his own independent production company, Sozosha, in 1965. With other Japanese New Wave filmmakers, like Masahiro Shinoda, Shôhei Imamura and Yoshishige Yoshida, Oshima reacted against the humanistic style and subject matter of directors like Yasujirô Ozu, Kenji Mizoguchi and Akira Kurosawa, as well as against established left-wing political movements. Oshima has been primarily concerned with depicting the contradictions and tensions of postwar Japanese society. His films tend to expose contemporary Japanese materialism, while also examining what it means to be Japanese in the face of rapid industrialization and Westernization. Many of Oshima's earlier films, such as A Town of Love and Hope (1959) and The Sun's Burial (1960), feature rebellious, underprivileged youths in anti-heroic roles. The film for which he is probably best-known in the West, In the Realm of the Senses (1976), centers on an obsessive sexual relationship. Like several other Oshima works, it gains additional power by being based on an actual incident. Other important Oshima films include Death by Hanging (1968), an examination of the prejudicial treatment of Koreans in Japan; Boy (1969), which deals with the cruel use of a child for extortion purposes, and with the child's subsequent escapist fantasies; The Man Who Left His Will on Film (1970), about another ongoing concern of Oshima's, the art of filmmaking itself; and The Ceremony (1971), which presents a microcosmic view of Japanese postwar history through the lives of one wealthy family. In recent years, Oshima has repeatedly turned to sources outside Japan for the production of his films. This was the case with In the Realm of the Senses (1976) and Max My Love (1986). It is less well-known in the West that Oshima has also been a prolific documentarist, film theorist and television personality. He is the host of a long-running television talk show, "The School for Wives", in which female participants (kept anonymous by a distorting glass) present their personal problems, to which he responds from offscreen.50s-90s
I've seen my fair share of Oshima films at this point. I'm not sure I care for his stated interest in a more politicized approach to filmmaking, and I find a few of his movies dreadful, but this is a man who knows how to make a good film when he wants to.
Seen: 15, Favourite Film: Empire of Passion
My Ratings – 9/10: 3 films, 8/10: 2 films, 7/10: 2 films, 6/10: 4 films, 5/10: 1 film, 4/10: 1 film, 3/10: 2 films- Director
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Nobuhiko Ôbayashi was born on 9 January 1938 in Onomichi, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. He was a director and editor, known for House (1977), Turning Point (1994) and The Discarnates (1988). He was married to Kyôko Ôbayashi. He died on 10 April 2020 in Tokyo, Japan.60s-10s
I wasn't expecting his take on the In the Realm of the Senses story to contain a level of stylistic flourish comparable to the ludicrously entertaining "House". Are all his films this awesome? Why oh why aren't any more of them available outside of Japan?
Seen: 3, Favourite Film: House
My Rating – 10/10: 1 film, 9/10: 2 films- Writer
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Makoto Shinkai is a Japanese director, writer, producer, animator, editor, cinematographer, voice actor, manga artist and former graphic designer. Shinkai studied Japanese literature at Chuo University where he was a member of juvenile literature club where he drew picture books. In 1999, Shinkai released She and Her Cat, a five-minute short piece done in monochrome. His best knows films are The Place Promised in Our Early Days (2004), 5 Centimeters Per Second (2007), Children Who Chase Lost Voices (2011), The Garden of Words (2013), and Your Name (2016). His favorite anime is Castle in the Sky (1986) by Hayao Miyazaki.00s-Present
In a post-Studio Ghibli world, the most interesting anime filmmaker going. His movies are evocative and engaging, with some of the best animation I've seen in the medium.
Seen: 6, Favourite Film: 5 Centimeters per Second
My Ratings – 9/10: 1 film, 8/10: 2 films, 7/10: 2 films, 6/10: 1 film- Director
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Tetsuya Nakashima was born on 2 September 1959 in Fukuoka, Japan. He is a director and writer, known for Confessions (2010), Kiraware Matsuko no isshô (2006) and Kamikaze Girls (2004).90s-Present
I personally find Nakashima's earlier movies kitsch and lame, but he took an incredible turn towards a much darker kind of film with 2010's "Confessions", and managed to top it with "The World of Kanako" in 2014. These are two of the absolute best films in recent Japanese cinema, flawlessly directed, visually stunning, absolutely gripping, dark revenge dramas, to rival the very best of South Korean efforts in that genre. If he keeps up this quality, he's the most exciting Japanese director going today, after Sono.
Seen: 4, Favourite Film: The World of Kanako
My Ratings – 9/10: 2 films, 5/10: 1 film, 4/10: 1 film- Writer
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Yamada Yoji graduated Tokyo University in 1954, the year he joined Shochiku as an assistant director. In 1969, he launched the popular "Tora-san" series, the world's longest theatrical film series. "The Twilight Samurai" (The Twilight Samurai (2002)) marks his 77th film as well as his 41th year as a director since his first film in 1961: Nikai no Tanin (Stranger Upstairs).60s-Present
Twilight Samurai is one of the best samurai films of more recent years I've come across. The Hidden Blade is a bit of a weaker retread but ultimately excellent in its own right. And I'm very excited to watch the final film in that 'trilogy'.
Seen: 4, Favourite Film: The Twilight Samurai
My Ratings – 9/10: 1 film, 8/10: 1 film, 7/10: 1 film, 6/10: 1 film- Director
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Born in Takaoka, Toyama, Yojiro Takita came to international audiences' attention with the release of Okuribito ('Departures'), which won the Best foreign Language film awards at the Oscars in 2009. He had begun his directorial career in the 1980s with the 'chikan' ('molester') series depicting gropers in settings like trains. Still in the 'ping eiga' adult sub-genre he also completed the Serial Rape thriller in 1983. He diversified to comedy and TV serial work and, at the turn of the century, directed the mainstream Onmyoji. More recently he has been less prolific.80s-Present
What range this guy has! Twenty years before winning the first and only Oscar for Japan since the 1950s for best foreign language film for the wonderful Departures, he was making a series of pinku films about men groping women on trains. So he's done soft porn, Oscar-worthy films, and, if the ludicrous and visually spectacular Ashura is any indication, everything in between. And everything I've seen so far (I've not seen any of the Groper Train movies yet, granted) has been great!
Seen: 3, Favourite Film: Departures
My Ratings – 9/10: 2 films, 8/10: 1 film- Director
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Okamoto belonged to what one colleague called "the generation where most of them got killed": the leagues of university graduates who were drafted into and sacrificed to the last years of Japan's war in the South Pacific. Okamoto was drafted during the very worst of it, in 1943, but almost alone among his colleagues managed to survive. The experience helped shape his outlook on the nature of human conflict in general, and the Japanese war in particular: among his earliest successes (which led to a series) was Dokuritsugu Gurentai (1959), an acerbic story of island-bound soldiers that helped make Okamoto's reputation. Okamoto also made a name for himself as a director of equally cynical gangster pictures at Toho, including Boss of the Underworld (1959) and The Age of Assassins (1967). Kihachi Okamoto began his filmic training in 1945 under such estimable teachers as directors Mikio Naruse, Senkichi Taniguchi. and Ishiro Honda.50s-00s
This guy makes great samurai flicks – Sword of Doom and Kill!... He's a director I often forget about, but I shouldn't!
Seen: 4, Favourite Film: Kill!
My Ratings – 8/10: 2 films, 7/10: 1 film, 6/10: 1 film- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Writer
Kenji Misumi was born on March 2, 1921 in Kyoto, Japan. Misumi was the illegitimate child of a geisha mother and originally wanted to be a painter, but his father disapproved. Kenji attended Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto, Japan. During this time Misumi met future Daiei studio head Kan Kikuchi, who gave Misumi a business card for a prominent studio executive. Kenji began his career at Daiei as a gofer before going on to become an assistant director. Moreover, after World War II Misumi spent about four years as an inmate at a prison of war camp in Siberia. Kenji directed his first film for Daiei in 1956 and worked profusely as a contract director for Daiei until the studio went bankrupt in 1971. In the wake of Daiei's collapse Misumi went on to direct several more movies that include four out of six entries in the hugely popular and successful "Lone Wolf and Cub" series. He died at age 54 on September 24, 1975.50s-70s
The man who directed the first entry and many key entries in both the Zatoichi series AND the Lone Wolf and Cub series – this guy's importance to the chanbara genre can't be understated!
Seen: 11, Favourite Film: Zatoichi Challenged
My Ratings – 9/10: 3 films, 8/10: 6 films, 7/10: 1 film, 5/10: 1 film- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Japanese director/writer/actor whose often kinetic, cyberpunk style is much imitated. He expressed appreciation over the similarity of the international hit German film "Run Lola Run" (1998) to his first film as a director/writer, "Dangan Runner" (1996). When asked at the Chicago International Film Festival to recommend a film school, the black leather-jacketed Tanaka replied (via translator) "I've written and directed 5 award-winning movies and I didn't go to film school - so you shouldn't have to either !" At international film festivals, enjoys having his picture taken with audience members.
Acted in at least 5 films, before his first as director/writer. Acted in 1 movie each by cult auteurs Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Pulse (2001), aka Pulse) and Takashi Miike (Dead or Alive trilogy, Ishi the Killer). Has mostly used his birth name Hiroyuki Tanaka as an actor, often portraying cold-blooded gangsters, while mostly uses the name Sabu as director/writer.
His own films often involve yakuza and black comedy, but recent films are more stylistically diverse. Also wrote and directed "A1012K," a short science-fiction film (2002), about a robot gone berserk in a shopping mall. Older members of Japanese superstar pop/boy band V6 have appeared in several of Tanaka's movies.90s-Present
"Monday" and "Postman Blues" are two of the most original and funny Japanese comedies I've seen. I'd like to see much more from this prolific cult director.
Seen: 5, Favourite Film: Postman Blues
My Ratings – 8/10: 2 films, 7/10: 1 film, 6/10: 1 film, 5/10: 1 film- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Inagaki's career in film began as an actor--a child actor, in fact, appearing in numerous silent films beginning at the very dawn of Japanese cinema. This is probably why he was promoted to director at the unusually (for Japan) young age of 22. Along with producer Mansaku Itami (later the father of another acclaimed director, Juzo Itami), Inagaki concerned himself with the genre of Japanese period films. He also wrote (under a pseudonym) similar films for the short-lived director Sadao Yamanaka. The work of Inagaki, Itami and Yamanaka, singly and together, directly influenced the likes of Kenji Mizoguchi later, and helped define the very genre of the period film. Inagaki would direct dozens of them over his career, including two versions of Chushingura, and the Oscar winner for Best Foreign Film Samurai (1954, released in Japan as Miyamoto Musashi). For all his success, Inagaki grew more and more frustrated with his assignments over the years. Although proud of his final effort, Furin Kazan (Samurai Banners, 1969), he was unable to find financing in the increasingly conservative atmosphere of 1970s Japan. Once he had been at the top of his profession, second at Toho only to Akira Kurosawa; now, like Kurosawa, he was being cast aside as an old man whose time had passed, and whose kind of movie was now too expensive to produce. In his despair, Inagaki turned to alcohol, which helped contribute to his lonely and painful death. Of all the dozens of films he made, he often said, only a handful had he actually wanted to make: the Samurai trilogy (1954-6) and Furin Kazan. Whatever his opinion, much of his other work remains estimable, including Nippon Tanjo (1959) and Muhomatsu no Issho (The Life of Matsu the Untamed, 1958).20s-70s
I'm not a massive fan of the Samurai Trilogy, but The Rickshaw Man is wonderful. Interested in seeing more.
Seen: 4, Favourite Film: The Rickshaw Man
My Ratings – 9/10: 1 film, 8/10: 1 film, 7/10: 1 film, 6/10: 1 film- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Kiyoshi Kurosawa was born on 19 July 1955 in Kobe, Japan. He is a director and writer, known for Tokyo Sonata (2008), Pulse (2001) and Cure (1997).70s-Present
A very prolific and versatile director of dark dramas and low-key horror films. His best by far are the horror film Cure, and the non-horror film Tokyo Sonata, but pretty much every year this guy has a new movie that's at least worth watching...
Seen: 9, Favourite Film: Tokyo Sonata
My Ratings – 9/10: 2 films, 7/10: 2 films, 6/10: 3 films, 4/10: 2 films- Director
- Writer
- Visual Effects
Masahiro Shinoda was born on 9 March 1931 in Gifu, Japan. He is a director and writer, known for Double Suicide (1969), Chinmoku (1971) and Ballad of Orin (1977). He has been married to Shima Iwashita since 1967. They have one child.60s-00s
There are some Shinoda fans I'm not so fond of, including a couple of his most popular films, but there are just as many I think are great, and the crazy-ass film "My Face Red in the Sunset" (aka Killers on Parade) in particular, is awesome.
Seen: 6, Favourite Film: My Face Red in the Sunset
My Ratings – 9/10: 1 film, 8/10: 2 films, 7/10: 1 film, 5/10: 2 films- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Yoshitarô Nomura was born on 23 April 1919 in Asakusa, Tokyo, Japan. He was a director and writer, known for The Castle of Sand (1974), Suspicion (1982) and The Incident (1978). He died on 8 April 2005 in Tokyo, Japan.50s-80s
I've watched Stakeout and The Shadow Within. Both are simply great movies by this little-known director. I look forward to seeing "The Demon".
Seen: 2, Favourite Film: The Shadow Within
My Ratings – 9/10: 1 film, 8/10: 1 film- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Keisuke Kinoshita was born on 5 December 1912 in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan. He was a writer and director, known for Twenty-Four Eyes (1954), The Ballad of Narayama (1958) and The Garden of Women (1954). He died on 30 December 1998 in Tokyo, Japan.40s-80s
Kinoshita was the mentor of Masaki Kobayashi, one of my personal favourite directors. Though he's more sentimental in his storytelling than Kobayashi, I think he's a pretty great director in his own right – I'm definitely down to see more of his movies (although there are over 40 of them on Hulu Plus alone; it's kind of ridiculous).
Seen: 6, Favourite Film: Ballad of Narayama
My Ratings – 9/10: 1 film, 8/10: 2 films, 7/10: 1 film, 6/10: 1 film, 4/10: 1 film- Director
- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Koreyoshi Kurahara was born on 31 May 1927 in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. He was a director and writer, known for Antarctica (1983), Eight Below (2006) and Kaitei kara kita onna (1959). He was married to Yumiko Miyagino. He died on 28 December 2002 in Yokohama, Japan.50s-90s
The Warped Ones is a crazy and great film. I want to watch more such warped films.
Seen: 2, Favourite Film: The Warped Ones
My Ratings – 8/10: 1 film, 7/10: 1 film- Director
- Writer
- Editor
Born in Tokyo in 1962. Originally intended to be a novelist, but after graduating from Waseda University in 1987 went on to become an assistant director at T.V. Man Union. Snuck off set to film Mou hitotsu no kyouiku - Ina shogakkou haru gumi no kiroku (1991). His first feature, Maborosi (1995), based on a Teru Miyamoto novel and drawn from his own experiences while filming August Without Him (1994), won jury prizes at Venice and Chicago. The main themes of his oeuvre include memory, loss, death and the intersection of documentary and fictive narratives.90s-Present
One of the most prolific and revered Japanese filmmakers today; I would recommend Koreeda's work to fans of Ozu. While I personally find some of his movies slow and tedious, and have tired of the slew of samey family dramas he's put out in recent years, "The Third Murder" was a damn fine character drama and gives me hope for his newer output. There have also been some original films amongst his earlier works; Nobody Knows in particular is excellent.
Seen: 11, Favourite Film: Nobody Knows
My Ratings – 8/10: 1 film, 7/10: 4 films, 6/10: 3 films, 5/10: 2 films, 3/10: 1 film- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Terayama Shuji was born the only son of Terayama Hachiro and Terayama Hatsu in Hirosaki City, Aomori on December 10th, 1935; but his birth and name were officially registered on January 10th, 1936. His father, an officer in the "thought police", leaves for the Pacific War in early 1941. He dies in September of 1945 of dysentery on the Indonesian island of Celebes, one month after HIroshima and the end of the war. Terayama himself lived through the Aomori air raids that killed more than 30,000 people when he was 9 years old.
After the war, Terayama's mother was forced to leave Aomori to find work at an American army base in Kyushu. Terayama was left to live with relatives, where he was given a place to sleep behind the screen in a movie theater. In 1954 he entered Waseda University, but soon fell ill with nephrotic syndrome when he was 19 years old. He spends the time working on his own poetry and writings, as well as reading many Japanese and western classics; he was particularly impressed with Leutreamont's Les Chants de Maldoror.
Since 1959, he mainly earned his life as writer of broadcasts or theatric drama. In 1960, he married producer Eiko Kujo, and with her formed the theatre company "Tenjo Sajiki", or the Peanut Gallery in 1967. In 1964, he won the Prix Italia for his radio drama "Yamamba". In 1970 his first feature length film "The Emperor Tamato Ketchup" shocked the world with graphic images of a children's revolt along Nazi themes. He continued to write, produce, direct and generally create some of the worlds best avant-garde art until his death of the terminal illness that plagued him at age 49 on May 4th 1983. Prolific to the end, he published nearly 200 literary works, and over 20 shorts and full length films as well as untold works of theater with Tenjo Sajiki and others.
He has no children, but his art lives on with annual theatre events, and every 10 years a full summer festivals featuring his life and works.70s-80s
If I were to write a review of Pastoral: To Die In Country, it would read something like "?!". And I am reminded how many facets of Japanese cinema I've still yet to explore.
Seen: 2, Favourite Film: Pastoral: To Die In Country
My Ratings – 9/10: 1 film, 7/10: 1 film- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Kon Ichikawa has been influenced by artists as diverse as Walt Disney and Jean Renoir, and his films cover a wide spectrum of moods, from the comic to the overwhelmingly ironic and even the perverse. Ichikawa began his career as a cartoonist, and this influence is apparent in his skillful use of the widescreen, and in the strong, angular patterns seen in many of his compositions. He has directed Mr. Pu (1953), a popular film based on Junichi Yokoyama's "Mr. Pu" comic strip. At various points in his career Ichikawa has shown that he is capable of appealing to a popular audience without compromising his artistry. A great visual stylist and perfectionist, Ichikawa excels at screen adaptations of literary masterpieces, including Sôseki Natsume's The Heart (1955), Yukio Mishima's Conflagration (1958), Jun'ichirô Tanizaki's Odd Obsession (1959) and I Am a Cat (1975) and Tôson Shimazaki's The Outcast (1962). He has also remade film classics, such as Yutaka Abe's Ashi ni sawatta onna (1926) (Ichikawa's version: 1952) and Teinosuke Kinugasa's Yukinojô henge: Daiippen (1935) (Ichikawa's version: 1963), transposing them to contemporary settings.
The West was first introduced to Ichikawa when his The Burmese Harp (1956) won the San Giorgio Prize at the 1956 Venice Film Festival. His epic documentary Tokyo Olympiad (1965) (released the following year) and Alone on the Pacific (1963) explore, with dignity and imagination, the limits of human endurance. He has also worked in the thriller genre, with The Hole (1957), The Inugami Family (1976) and The Devil's Island (1977). Ichikawa tends to present strongly etched, complex characters: the stuttering acolyte who desires to preserve the "purity" of the Golden Pavilion (ENJO); the elderly husband who resorts to injections and voyeurism in order to remain sexually active (KAGI); the member of a pariah class who tries to deny his identity and to "pass" in regular society (HAKAI). More recently, Actress (1987) is a tribute to the fiercely independent Japanese actress Kinuyo Tanaka, who starred in many of Kenji Mizoguchi's films and was herself a director in later life. On the lighter side, Ichikawa's characters also include a 19th-century cat; a good-hearted, hapless teacher; and a baby who narrates how the world looks from his vantage point. He is especially adept at mixing comedy and tragedy within the same story. Until 1965, Ichikawa's close collaborator was his wife, screenwriter Natto Wada, with whom he produced most of his finest films.40s-00s
Another huge figure in the golden age of Japanese cinema. I'm nowhere near having a comprehensive familiarity with his huge filmography, but from those I've seen, The Burmese Harp stands out above the others, as his essential film.
Seen: 8, Favourite Film: The Burmese Harp
My Ratings – 9/10: 1 film, 7/10: 4 films, 6/10: 2 films, 5/10: 1 film- Writer
- Actor
- Producer
Hitoshi Matsumoto and his childhood friend Masatoshi Hamada teamed up as comedy duo Downtown. When they had their own TV shows in late 80s, they became phenomenal pop culture among young Japanese people. Unlike other comedy duos in Japan, they are still together, and they dominate prime time TV shows in Japan. They are most notably famous for their yearly "batsu" TV special aired on New Years Eve from 18:30 - 00:00 that has been running for 10 consecutive years which gained a large following internationally via YouTube.00s-Present
I've only seen two of comedian Hitoshi Matsumoto's four films, but based on those, he's arguably the most interesting and original cult comedy director of the last decade.
Seen: 2, Favourite Film: Symbol
My Ratings – 9/10: 1 film, 7/10: 1 film- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Kinji Fukasaku was born on 3 July 1930 in Mito, Japan. He was a director and writer, known for Battle Royale (2000), Fall Guy (1982) and Crest of Betrayal (1994). He was married to Sanae Nakahara. He died on 12 January 2003 in Tokyo, Japan.60s-00s
I know Battles Without Honour and Humanity is a classic, the "Godfather" of Japan, but I didn't like it AT ALL. I'm not into his crime movies, but I do dig his comedies, and of course "Battle Royale". However, the reason I'm putting him back on this list, is because I watched "Virus", which is the most freaking amazing, globe-trotting, apocalyptic, epic movie, which literally has everything. So great!
Seen: 7, Favourite Film: Virus
My Ratings – 9/10: 1 film, 8/10: 2 films, 7/10: 1 film, 6/10: 1 film, 6/10: 1 film, 3/10: 2 films