Giant monster (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaiju) films from Japan, and others from elsewhere inspired by them. I also threw in the Ultra Series but haven't tried to be too completest on the television front. I've also not included every giant monster movie (there was a fad for them in America during the mid-20th Century), focusing instead on Japanese films and their imitators. There is already a more general giant monster movie list (http://www.imdb.com/list/azXnysC12q8/) or this wider-ranging one (http://www.imdb.com/list/r9EqWuR07JQ/).

See also: my weird Japanese films list (http://www.imdb.com/list/wLEyWudevvk/)

Further reading:  * http://www.kaijuphile.com * http://www.digitalmonsterisland.com * http://godzilla.wikia.com

This page has the technical details of Toho's kaiju, except Godzilla: http://www.listal.com/list/toho-kaiju-films

NB: IMDb's list ordering system is playing up so they're out of order

Jidaigeki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jidaigeki) (時代劇) are, for the purposes of this list, period Japanese movies and TV, ranging from the stately samurai films to the wilder exploitation movies. As well as samurai, we have the ronin, ninja, yakuza and just simple folk. Most are relatively straightly-told tales of swordplay, but some do head off in fantastical directions.

Inclusion criteria: Really anything set before the 20th Century, although I am prepared to be flexible if it is more rural and involves swordplay but occurs in the early 20th Century. I have also included some non-Japanese films that are set in the period and include samurai (or similar).

Recurring themes: Historical stories and characters that we often see cropping up include: Miyamoto Musashi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miyamoto_Musashi), The 47 Ronin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forty-seven_Ronin) (Chushingura (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C5%ABshingura)), Jubei Yagyu (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jubei_Yagyu) and Shimizu no Jirocho.

Further reading: Patrick Galloway has released 2 books where he reviews 50 samurai films and gives profiles of the key directors and actors (but doesn't add much analysis or context, however, it is written in a nicely accessible way): Stray Dogs & Lone Wolves: The Samurai Film Handbook (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1880656930/theempincwout-20) (2005) and Warring Clans, Flashing Blades: A Samurai Film Companion (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1933330783/theempincwout-20) (2009); there is also: The Samurai Film (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1585677809/theempincwout-20) (2007) by Alain Silver  and Samurai Films (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1842432559/theempincwout-20) (2008) by Roland Thorne. I haven't yet read Thorne's book but Silver's was exactly the kind of book I was looking for with an in-depth analysis of key directors, themes and characters, plus it includes a detailed filmography broken down by director or character/series or year - if you are looking to take your appreciation of jidaigeki onto a new level then that is the book for you.

Links/link: 50 Classic Samurai (Chambara, Jidaigeki) Films (http://www.ranker.com/list/50-classic-samurai-_chambara-jidaigeki_-films/stephenclark), a solid list, Jidai Geki (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/JidaiGeki) at TV Tropes.

See also: Yakuza (http://www.imdb.com/list/eAKrQJxJ-zo/) and ninja films (http://www.imdb.com/list/1UnqAV4YAv4/), which often have a period setting.

Availability: A number of companies have done a lot of hard work finding these films and giving them high quality home media releases: Criterion (http://www.criterion.com/explore/19-samurai-cinema), AnimEigo (http://www.animeigo.com/products/samurai), Eureka (http://eurekavideo.co.uk) and the BFI (http://filmstore.bfi.org.uk/cgi-bin/ss000003.pl?page=search&SS=samurai&search.x=0&search.y=0&PR=-1&TB=A). There are obvious problems with pre-1945 films from Japan but we still have some films from that period.

Comments: As I don't have a Facebook account I cannot interact with the new comments system, so have switched it off. I will start a thread on the message board and link it in here shortly.

Some of the strangest films I've seen come from China/Hong Kong/Taiwan. Mad magicians in crazed combat, hopping vampires and zombies in need of a roundhouse to the kisser.

About the list: There is a rough grouping a work and within them titles are ordered chronologically. We start with the precursors (coming in two waves during the 30s and the 50s, inspired by Dracula movies by Todd Browning and Hammer, respectively), setting the stage for the really boom which started with Black Magic (which is the first of a set of three films, with one pseudo-sequel thrown in), then we move onto the supernatural kung-fu films that helped inspire the hopping vampire (http://www.imdb.com/list/2O2mC476sGQ/) (jiang shi) craze, before throwing in some more off offerings (some of those without a lot of kung-fu make up for it in the horror).

References:  Spooky Encounters: A Gwailo's Guide to Hong Kong Horror (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1900486318/theempincwout-20) by Daniel O'Brien (2003), the best guide to this subject.

See also: ninja films (http://www.imdb.com/list/1UnqAV4YAv4/) and Asian zombie films (http://www.imdb.com/list/aGPRbCPAYbc/). In addition  Eternal Evils of Asia list (http://www.imdb.com/list/1DMBDeFDjYU/) lists occult horror films from southern Asia and Witches With Flying Heads (http://www.imdb.com/list/ls006147386/) has a rather specific subset of such films.

There is also Ghoul Sex Squad (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0178488/), an adult hopping vampire film that adding to this list causes problems.

The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974)

Yakuza films (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakuza_film). 

They have gone through a number of stages:

* Beginning - although most of the pre-WWII films are missing, some like Chuji's Travel Diary part 3 (1927), are still being found.

* Ninkyo eiga - chivalry films in the 1960s, with Seijun Suzuki being one of the more prominent directors, until he got sacked for getting too experimental, and Ken Takakura being a well-known face in front of the camera.

* Jitsuroku eiga - docudrama films in the 1970s, as typified by Kinji Fukasaku films, like Battles Without Honor and Humanity, usually set in the post-War period.

* Resurgence - yakuza films went off the radar in the 1980s and returned in the mid-90s thanks to prolific directors like Takeshi Kitano and Takashi Miike, the latter pushing the films into increasingly strange areas (while still delivering more conventional takes on the genre).

Further reading: Mark Schilling (2003). The Yakuza Movie Book : A Guide to Japanese Gangster Film (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1880656760/theempincwout-20).

See also: Jidaigeki (http://www.imdb.com/list/1pvhK09FoKA/) for period Japanese films (with which there is some crossover with this list).

Comments: As I don't have a Facebook account I cannot interact with the new comments system, so have switched it off. I will start a thread on the message board and link it in here shortly.

Gorô Kishitani, Kazuki Kitamura, Saki Takaoka, and Natsuo in Yakuza: Like a Dragon (2007)

Wyatt Russell, David Harbour, Olga Kurylenko, Sebastian Stan, Hannah John-Kamen, and Florence Pugh in Thunderbolts* (2025)

Varada Sethu and Ncuti Gatwa in Doctor Who (2023)

Tom Hardy in Venom: The Last Dance (2024)

Aaron Taylor-Johnson in Kraven the Hunter (2024)

Laurence Fishburne and Rami Malek in The Amateur (2025)

Varada Sethu in The Robot Revolution (2025)

Jenna Ortega in Death of a Unicorn (2025)

Cary Grant, Sophia Loren, and Frank Sinatra in The Pride and the Passion (1957)

Star Wars: Heir to the Empire - The Anime

Pierce Brosnan, Cate Blanchett, Tom Burke, Naomie Harris, Michael Fassbender, Regé-Jean Page, and Marisa Abela in Black Bag (2025)

Toni Collette, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Pattinson, Steven Yeun, and Naomi Ackie in Mickey 17 (2025)

Ryland Brickson Cole Tews in Hundreds of Beavers (2022)

Jack Quaid and Sophie Thatcher in Companion (2025)

Daniel Brühl, Wyatt Russell, Emily VanCamp, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, and Erin Kellyman in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021)

Jude Law and Kerry Condon in Skeleton Crew (2024)

Patti LuPone, Debra Jo Rupp, Kathryn Hahn, Joe Locke, Aubrey Plaza, Ali Ahn, and Sasheer Zamata in Agatha All Along (2024)

Mighty_Emperor

Ratings8K

Lists74

Check-ins4.2K

Recently viewed