With Daiei Studios (Sorted by Popularity Ascending)
1. 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: 159,852 | Gross: $0.10M
2. 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, Kôji Yakusho, Tsuyoshi Ujiki, Anna Nakagawa
Votes: 12,835 | Gross: $0.09M
3. Cheerleader Camp (1988)
R | 89 min | Comedy, Horror, Thriller
A group of cheerleaders become the targets of an unknown killer at a remote summer camp.
Director: John Quinn | Stars: Betsy Russell, Leif Garrett, Lucinda Dickey, Lorie Griffin
Votes: 3,461
4. Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959)
Not Rated | 90 min | Drama, Romance
A French actress filming an anti-war film in Hiroshima has an affair with a married Japanese architect as they share their differing perspectives on war.
Director: Alain Resnais | Stars: Emmanuelle Riva, Eiji Okada, Stella Dassas, Pierre Barbaud
Votes: 30,069 | Gross: $0.09M
5. 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: 22,253 | Gross: $0.01M
6. Blind Beast (1969)
86 min | Drama, Horror
A blind sculpter and his mother kidnap a young model.
Director: Yasuzô Masumura | Stars: Eiji Funakoshi, Mako Midori, Noriko Sengoku
Votes: 3,150
7. Dersu Uzala (1975)
G | 142 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
The Russian army sends an explorer on an expedition to the snowy Siberian wilderness where he makes friends with a seasoned local hunter.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Maksim Munzuk, Yuriy Solomin, Mikhail Bychkov, Vladimir Khrulyov
Votes: 25,161
8. Sansho the Bailiff (1954)
Not Rated | 124 min | Drama
In medieval Japan, a compassionate governor is sent into exile. His wife and children try to join him, but are separated, and the children grow up amid suffering and oppression.
Director: Kenji Mizoguchi | Stars: Kinuyo Tanaka, Yoshiaki Hanayagi, Kyôko Kagawa, Eitarô Shindô
Votes: 15,573
9. Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris (1999)
Not Rated | 108 min | Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi
Gamera's ties to humanity have been severed as the Gyaos re-emerge. Nagamine and Asagi investigate as an orphaned girl named Ayana discovers a new creature. Named Iris, Ayana seeks revenge on Gamera for the death of her family.
Director: Shûsuke Kaneko | Stars: Shinobu Nakayama, Ai Maeda, Yukijirô Hotaru, Ayako Fujitani
Votes: 2,692
10. The Tale of Zatoichi (1962)
Not Rated | 95 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
The adventures of a blind, gambling masseur who also happens to be a master swordsman.
Director: Kenji Misumi | Stars: Shintarô Katsu, Masayo Banri, Ryûzô Shimada, Hajime Mitamura
Votes: 5,001
11. Gamera: Guardian of the Universe (1995)
Unrated | 96 min | Adventure, Fantasy, Horror
An ornithologist investigates reports of a monstrous new species of bird just as a teenage girl is gifted an amulet found on mysterious atoll. As the creatures begin to attack, an ancient guardian with a bond to the girl emerges.
Director: Shûsuke Kaneko | Stars: Tsuyoshi Ihara, Akira Onodera, Shinobu Nakayama, Ayako Fujitani
Votes: 3,263
12. 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: Kôji Yakusho, Tamiyo Kusakari, Naoto Takenaka, Eri Watanabe
Votes: 10,846 | Gross: $9.68M
13. Gamera: The Giant Monster (1965)
Not Rated | 81 min | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
From out of the arctic comes a gigantic flying, fire-breathing turtle that sets its sights on destroying Tokyo.
Director: Noriaki Yuasa | Stars: Eiji Funakoshi, Harumi Kiritachi, Junichiro Yamashita, Yoshiro Uchida
Votes: 3,110
14. 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: 7,647
15. Giants and Toys (1958)
95 min | Comedy, Drama
In the middle of a fierce commercial competition between three caramel companies, an executive builds up a ditsy teenage girl as a mascot while simultaneously trying to uncover the rival companies' plans.
Director: Yasuzô Masumura | Stars: Hiroshi Kawaguchi, Hitomi Nozoe, Osamu Abe, Kôichi Fujiyama
Votes: 910
16. Irezumi (1966)
86 min | Drama
A seductive woman gets kidnapped into prostitution. After getting a spider tattoo made on her back, she grows vengeful, leaving several men in her path.
Director: Yasuzô Masumura | Stars: Ayako Wakao, Akio Hasegawa, Gaku Yamamoto, Kei Satô
Votes: 919
17. Daimajin (1966)
Unrated | 84 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
A giant stone statue comes to life to protect the residents of a small town against the depradations of an evil warlord.
Director: Kimiyoshi Yasuda | Stars: Miwa Takada, Yoshihiko Aoyama, Jun Fujimaki, Ryûtarô Gomi
Votes: 1,420
18. Tomie (1998)
95 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
A traumatized young woman is trying to recover her memories with the help of a psychiatrist. During her hypnosis sessions, she repeats the name "Tomie" but is unable to recall where she knows it from.
Director: Ataru Oikawa | Stars: Miho Kanno, Mami Nakamura, Yoriko Dôguchi, Tomorô Taguchi
Votes: 1,736
19. Gamera vs. Barugon (1966)
Not Rated | 106 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
A giant monster that emits a destructive ray from its back attacks Japan and takes on Gamera.
Directors: Shigeo Tanaka, Noriaki Yuasa | Stars: Kôjirô Hongô, Kyôko Enami, Yûzô Hayakawa, Takuya Fujioka
Votes: 2,364
20. Gamera 2: Attack of the Legion (1996)
Not Rated | 99 min | Action, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
A meteor lands in Japan and unleashes hundreds of insect-like "Legion" creatures bent on colonizing the Earth. Gamera shows up to deal with the ever-evolving space adversary but the battle may result in him losing his bond with humanity.
Director: Shûsuke Kaneko | Stars: Toshiyuki Nagashima, Miki Mizuno, Tamotsu Ishibashi, Mitsuru Fukikoshi
Votes: 2,458
21. A Story from Chikamatsu (1954)
Not Rated | 102 min | Drama, History, Romance
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: 4,087
22. Gamera vs. Viras (1968)
Not Rated | 75 min | Action, Adventure, Family
Gamera the Flying Turtle falls under the spell of evil aliens, but two children free him and he returns to fight the aliens' monster, Viras.
Directors: Noriaki Yuasa, Shigeo Tanaka | Stars: Kôjirô Hongô, Tôru Takatsuka, Carl Craig, Michiko Yaegaki
Votes: 1,504
23. 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: 4,145
24. The Quiet Duel (1949)
95 min | Drama
A surgeon gets syphilis from a patient when he cuts himself during an operation. The doctor's life is destroyed, but unlike the patient, he doesn't destroy others along with him.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Miki Sanjô, Kenjirô Uemura
Votes: 3,212
25. Gamera vs. Zigra (1971)
Not Rated | 87 min | Action, Adventure, Family
Space aliens arrive on Earth with their giant shark and intend to take over the planet but they must first destroy Gamera.
Director: Noriaki Yuasa | Stars: Kôji Fujiyama, Daigo Inoue, Reiko Kasahara, Daihachi Kita
Votes: 1,548
26. Gate of Hell (1953)
Not Rated | 89 min | Drama, History
A samurai pursues a married lady-in-waiting.
Director: Teinosuke Kinugasa | Stars: Machiko Kyô, Kazuo Hasegawa, Isao Yamagata, Yatarô Kurokawa
Votes: 3,494
27. Zatoichi Goes to the Fire Festival (1970)
Not Rated | 96 min | Drama, Adventure, Action
Zatoichi meets an infamous blind leader of a gangster organization as he contends with a gloomy ronin widower.
Director: Kenji Misumi | Stars: Shintarô Katsu, Reiko Ôhara, Pîtâ, Kazuko Yoshiyuki
Votes: 1,282
28. Gamera: Super Monster (1980)
Not Rated | 92 min | Action, Family, Sci-Fi
Using several clips from previous Gamera entries, this film deals with alien forces sending all the monsters Gamera has faced in one final battle to rid the planet of its last hope.
Directors: Noriaki Yuasa, Shigeo Tanaka | Stars: Mach Fumiake, Yaeko Kojima, Yoko Komatsu, Keiko Kudo
Votes: 800
29. Fires on the Plain (1959)
Not Rated | 108 min | Drama, War
In the closing days of WWII remnants of the Japanese army in Leyte are abandoned by their command and face certain starvation.
Director: Kon Ichikawa | Stars: Eiji Funakoshi, Mantarô Ushio, Yoshihiro Hamaguchi, Osamu Takizawa
Votes: 4,657
30. Gamera vs. Jiger (1970)
Not Rated | 83 min | Action, Adventure, Family
When an ancient statue is moved for display in Expo '70, a giant, vaguely Triceratops-like monster is released. The monster goes to Japan in pursuit of the statue and ends up battling Gamera, the giant flying turtle.
Directors: Noriaki Yuasa, Shigeo Tanaka | Stars: Tsutomu Takakuwa, Kelly Varis, Katherine Murphy, Kon Ômura
Votes: 1,169
31. An Actor's Revenge (1963)
Not Rated | 115 min | Drama
Yukinojo, a Kabuki actor, seeks revenge by destroying the three men who caused the deaths of his parents. Also involved are the daughter of one of Yukinojo's targets, two master thieves, and a swordsman who himself is out to kill Yukinojo.
Director: Kon Ichikawa | Stars: Kazuo Hasegawa, Fujiko Yamamoto, Ayako Wakao, Eiji Funakoshi
Votes: 2,361
32. The Tale of Zatoichi Continues (1962)
Not Rated | 72 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
The blind masseur and swordsman, Zatoichi, learns of a powerful political figure's secret and is quickly tailed by a group of killers.
Director: Kazuo Mori | Stars: Shintarô Katsu, Yaeko Mizutani, Masayo Banri, Tomisaburô Wakayama
Votes: 2,331
33. Gamera vs. Gyaos (1967)
Not Rated | 87 min | Action, Family, Fantasy
Volcanic activity unleashes a bloodthirsty monster called Gyaos that Gamera must confront.
Directors: Noriaki Yuasa, Shigeo Tanaka | Stars: Kôjirô Hongô, Kichijirô Ueda, Reiko Kasahara, Naoyuki Abe
Votes: 2,056
34. Warning from Space (1956)
Unrated | 87 min | Drama, Sci-Fi
UFOs are seen around Tokyo. Because they look like giant starfish the aliens cannot approach us without creating panic. Hence one of them sacrifices itself and takes the form of a popular ... See full summary »
Director: Kôji Shima | Stars: Keizô Kawasaki, Toyomi Karita, Bin Yagisawa, Shôzô Nanbu
Votes: 991
35. Return of Daimajin (1966)
Not Rated | 79 min | Drama, Fantasy
Giant statue exacts revenge upon those who conquer its worshippers.
Director: Kenji Misumi | Stars: Kôjirô Hongô, Shiho Fujimura, Tarô Marui, Takashi Kanda
Votes: 677
36. Seance (2000 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 118 min | Crime, Drama, Fantasy
A psychic housewife and her husband become burdened with a kidnapped girl who escaped her assailant. Junko will not let her husband call the hospital or the police for purely selfish ... See full summary »
Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa | Stars: Kôji Yakusho, Jun Fubuki, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, Hikari Ishida
Votes: 1,701
37. A Geisha (1953)
Not Rated | 85 min | Drama
A seasoned geisha and her apprentice maiko are forced to give in to their clients' sexual advances to survive.
Director: Kenji Mizoguchi | Stars: Michiyo Kogure, Ayako Wakao, Seizaburô Kawazu, Saburô Date
Votes: 1,969
38. Princess Yang Kwei-fei (1955)
Not Rated | 98 min | Drama, History, Romance
In 8th-century China, the Emperor is grieving over the death of his wife. The Yang family wants to provide the Emperor with a consort so that they may consolidate their influence over the ... See full summary »
Director: Kenji Mizoguchi | Stars: Machiko Kyô, Masayuki Mori, Sô Yamamura, Eitarô Shindô
Votes: 1,774
39. Odd Obsession (1959)
107 min | Comedy, Drama
A man getting on in years sets out to find a way to resurrect his flagging virility.
Director: Kon Ichikawa | Stars: Machiko Kyô, Ganjirô Nakamura, Junko Kanô, Tatsuya Nakadai
Votes: 814
40. The Snow Woman (1968)
80 min | Horror, Romance
The lives of a master sculptor and his young apprentice are changed forever when they meet an evil witch during a snow storm.
Director: Tokuzô Tanaka | Stars: Shiho Fujimura, Akira Ishihama, Machiko Hasegawa, Taketoshi Naitô
Votes: 419
41. Wrath of Daimajin (1966)
Not Rated | 87 min | Fantasy
In a mountainous region of Japan, Lord Arakawa kidnaps the men of nearby villages to use as slave labor, producing gunpowder from his sulfur pits. A band of young boys decide to rescue their enslaved fathers on their own.
Director: Kazuo Mori | Stars: Hideki Ninomiya, Shinji Hori, Masahide Iizuka, Muneyuki Nagatomo
Votes: 614
42. Zatoichi the Fugitive (1963)
Not Rated | 86 min | Drama, Adventure, Action
A yakuza gang targets the blind masseur Zatoichi after he defeats their group in a wrestling match. Meanwhile a long lost love of Zatoichi's returns to his life.
Director: Tokuzô Tanaka | Stars: Shintarô Katsu, Miwa Takada, Masayo Banri, Jun'ichirô Narita
Votes: 1,688
43. New Tale of Zatoichi (1963)
Not Rated | 91 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Wishing to find peace, Zatoichi travels to his old village but only finds trouble when he ends up in a love triangle and finds old scores have followed him home.
Director: Tokuzô Tanaka | Stars: Shintarô Katsu, Mikiko Tsubouchi, Seizaburô Kawazu, Fujio Suga
Votes: 1,981
44. Hitokiri (1969)
140 min | Action, Drama, History
A destitute ronin allies himself with an established clan, but its ruthless leader tries to turn him into a mindless killer.
Director: Hideo Gosha | Stars: Shintarô Katsu, Tatsuya Nakadai, Yukio Mishima, Yûjirô Ishihara
Votes: 1,035
45. The Woman of Rumour (1954)
83 min | Drama, Romance
Hatsuko Umabuchi is a widow who runs a prosperous geisha house in present-day Kyoto. Her daughter Yukiko returns from Tokyo following a failed suicide attempt, after her lover found out ... See full summary »
Director: Kenji Mizoguchi | Stars: Kinuyo Tanaka, Tomoemon Otani, Yoshiko Kuga, Eitarô Shindô
Votes: 1,149
46. The Blue Sky Maiden (1957)
88 min | Comedy, Drama
Yuko is sent to the coastal regions to be raised away from the rest of her sophisticated family where she finds out from her ill grandmother that she is actually the love child of her wealthy businessman father and his ex-secretary.
Director: Yasuzô Masumura | Stars: Ayako Wakao, Keizô Kawasaki, Kenji Sugawara, Ryûji Shinagawa
Votes: 329
47. Zatoichi and the One-Armed Swordsman (1971)
Not Rated | 94 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Two of Japan and China's greatest heroic swordsman find themselves caught in a plot to protect a young child. But will national distrust and simple misunderstanding keep the two kindred spirits apart?
Director: Kimiyoshi Yasuda | Stars: Shintarô Katsu, Jimmy Wang Yu, Watako Hamaki, Michie Terada
Votes: 1,477
48. Miss Oyu (1951)
Not Rated | 94 min | Drama
Shinnosuke is introduced to Shizu as a prospective wife, but he falls in love with her widowed sister Oyu. Convention forbids Oyu to marry because she has to raise her son as the head of ... See full summary »
Director: Kenji Mizoguchi | Stars: Kinuyo Tanaka, Nobuko Otowa, Yûji Hori, Kiyoko Hirai
Votes: 1,575
49. Bridge of Japan (1956)
112 min | Drama, Romance
For his 1st color film, Ichikawa did an Edo era story of two geishas scheming against each other for control of the Nihonbashi bridge area, and vying for the affections of a young doctor.
Director: Kon Ichikawa | Stars: Chikage Awashima, Fujiko Yamamoto, Ayako Wakao, Ryûji Shinagawa
Votes: 55
50. Casshan (1973–1974)
TV-14 | Action, Animation, Sci-Fi
A scientist turns his willing son into a cyborg and sends him out into a post-apocalyptic world to hunt down his first creation, a homicidal robot dictator and his vast army of mechanical soldiers.
Stars: Ikuo Nishikawa, Reiko Mutô, Kenji Utsumi, Emiko Tsukada
Votes: 146