ICM Forum's Favorite Japanese Movies
by rokp33 | created - 07 Apr 2013 | updated - 09 Aug 2013 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Seven Samurai (1954)
Not Rated | 207 min | Action, Drama
Farmers from a village exploited by bandits hire a veteran samurai for protection, who gathers six other samurai to join him.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Tsushima, Yukiko Shimazaki
Votes: 366,935 | Gross: $0.27M
2. Woman in the Dunes (1964)
Not Rated | 147 min | Drama, Thriller
An entomologist on vacation is trapped by local villagers into living with a woman whose life task is shoveling sand for them.
Director: Hiroshi Teshigahara | Stars: Eiji Okada, Kyôko Kishida, Kôji Mitsui, Hiroko Itô
Votes: 22,712
3. 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: 18,237
4. The Human Condition I: No Greater Love (I) (1959)
Not Rated | 208 min | Drama, History, War
A Japanese pacifist, unable to face the dire consequences of conscientious objection, is transformed by his attempts to compromise with the demands of war-time Japan.
Director: Masaki Kobayashi | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Michiyo Aratama, Chikage Awashima, Ineko Arima
Votes: 9,362
5. Tokyo Story (1953)
Not Rated | 136 min | Drama
An old couple visit their children and grandchildren in the city, but receive little attention.
Director: Yasujirô Ozu | Stars: Chishû Ryû, Chieko Higashiyama, Sô Yamamura, Setsuko Hara
Votes: 68,637
6. Harakiri (1962)
Not Rated | 133 min | Action, Drama, Mystery
When a ronin requesting seppuku at a feudal lord's palace is told of the brutal suicide of another ronin who previously visited, he reveals how their pasts are intertwined - and in doing so challenges the clan's integrity.
Director: Masaki Kobayashi | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Ishihama, Shima Iwashita, Tetsurô Tanba
Votes: 68,704
7. 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: 180,528 | Gross: $0.10M
8. Ikiru (1952)
Not Rated | 143 min | Drama
A bureaucrat tries to find meaning in his life after he discovers he has terminal cancer.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Takashi Shimura, Nobuo Kaneko, Shin'ichi Himori, Haruo Tanaka
Votes: 87,597 | Gross: $0.06M
9. High and Low (1963)
Not Rated | 143 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
An executive of a Yokohama shoe company becomes a victim of extortion when his chauffeur's son is kidnapped by mistake and held for ransom.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Yutaka Sada, Tatsuya Nakadai, Kyôko Kagawa
Votes: 53,230
10. The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity (II) (1959)
Not Rated | 181 min | Drama, History, War
As a conscript in war-time Japan's military, a pacifist struggles to maintain his determination to keep his ideals.
Director: Masaki Kobayashi | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Michiyo Aratama, Kokinji Katsura, Jun Tatara
Votes: 7,506
11. The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer (1961)
Not Rated | 190 min | Drama, History, War
His ideals challenged by life as a conscript in war-time Japan's military, a pacifist faces ever greater tests in his fight for survival.
Director: Masaki Kobayashi | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Michiyo Aratama, Tamao Nakamura, Yûsuke Kawazu
Votes: 7,335
12. Late Spring (1949)
Not Rated | 108 min | Drama
Several people try to talk 27-year-old Noriko into marrying, but all she wants is to keep on caring for her widowed father.
Director: Yasujirô Ozu | Stars: Chishû Ryû, Setsuko Hara, Yumeji Tsukioka, Haruko Sugimura
Votes: 19,347
13. Ran (1985)
R | 160 min | Action, Drama, War
In Medieval Japan, an elderly warlord retires, handing over his empire to his three sons. However, he vastly underestimates how the new-found power will corrupt them and cause them to turn on each other...and him.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu, Daisuke Ryû
Votes: 136,242 | Gross: $4.14M
14. Yojimbo (1961)
Not Rated | 110 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
A crafty ronin comes to a town divided by two criminal gangs and decides to play them against each other to free the town.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Eijirô Tôno, Tatsuya Nakadai, Yôko Tsukasa
Votes: 131,392
15. Spirited Away (2001)
PG | 125 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
During her family's move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches and spirits, and where humans are changed into beasts.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Daveigh Chase, Suzanne Pleshette, Miyu Irino, Rumi Hiiragi
Votes: 849,820 | Gross: $10.06M
16. 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: 25,823 | Gross: $0.01M
17. My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
G | 86 min | Animation, Comedy, Family
When two girls move to the country to be near their ailing mother, they have adventures with the wondrous forest spirits who live nearby.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Hitoshi Takagi, Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto, Shigesato Itoi
Votes: 380,426 | Gross: $1.11M
18. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
PG | 117 min | Animation, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Warrior and pacifist Princess Nausicaä desperately struggles to prevent two warring nations from destroying themselves and their dying planet.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Sumi Shimamoto, Mahito Tsujimura, Hisako Kyôda, Gorô Naya
Votes: 182,603 | Gross: $0.50M
19. Princess Mononoke (1997)
PG-13 | 134 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
On a journey to find the cure for a Tatarigami's curse, Ashitaka finds himself in the middle of a war between the forest gods and Tatara, a mining colony. In this quest he also meets San, the Mononoke Hime.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Yôji Matsuda, Yuriko Ishida, Yûko Tanaka, Billy Crudup
Votes: 433,886 | Gross: $2.38M
20. Throne of Blood (1957)
Not Rated | 110 min | Drama
A war-hardened general, egged on by his ambitious wife, works to fulfill a prophecy that he would become lord of Spider's Web Castle.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Minoru Chiaki, Isuzu Yamada, Takashi Shimura
Votes: 55,974
21. Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
Not Rated | 89 min | Animation, Drama, War
A young boy and his little sister struggle to survive in Japan during World War II.
Director: Isao Takahata | Stars: Tsutomu Tatsumi, Ayano Shiraishi, Akemi Yamaguchi, Yoshiko Shinohara
Votes: 310,587
22. The Hidden Fortress (1958)
Not Rated | 126 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Lured by gold, two greedy peasants unknowingly escort a princess and her general across enemy lines.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Misa Uehara, Minoru Chiaki, Kamatari Fujiwara
Votes: 42,257
23. Battle Royale (2000)
Not Rated | 114 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
In the future, the Japanese government captures a class of ninth-grade students and forces them to kill one another under the revolutionary "Battle Royale" act.
Director: Kinji Fukasaku | Stars: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, Tarô Yamamoto, Chiaki Kuriyama
Votes: 194,482
24. When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (1960)
Not Rated | 111 min | Drama
A middle-aged bar hostess, constantly in debt, is faced with numerous social constraints and challenges posed to her by her family, customers and friends.
Director: Mikio Naruse | Stars: Hideko Takamine, Tatsuya Nakadai, Masayuki Mori, Reiko Dan
Votes: 4,832
25. The Sword of Doom (1966)
Not Rated | 120 min | Action, Drama
Through his unconscionable actions against others, a sociopath samurai builds a trail of vendettas that follow him closely.
Director: Kihachi Okamoto | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Michiyo Aratama, Yûzô Kayama, Yôko Naitô
Votes: 12,077
26. Howl's Moving Castle (2004)
PG | 119 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
When an unconfident young woman is cursed with an old body by a spiteful witch, her only chance of breaking the spell lies with a self-indulgent yet insecure young wizard and his companions in his legged, walking castle.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Chieko Baishô, Takuya Kimura, Tatsuya Gashûin, Akihiro Miwa
Votes: 449,636 | Gross: $4.71M
27. Red Beard (1965)
Not Rated | 185 min | Drama
In 19th-century Japan, a rough-tempered yet charitable town doctor trains a young intern.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Yûzô Kayama, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Reiko Dan
Votes: 21,109
28. 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 death by starvation.
Director: Kon Ichikawa | Stars: Eiji Funakoshi, Mantarô Ushio, Yoshihiro Hamaguchi, Osamu Takizawa
Votes: 5,322
29. The Life of Oharu (1952)
Not Rated | 133 min | Drama
Follows a woman's fight and survival amid the vicissitudes of life and the cruelty of society.
Director: Kenji Mizoguchi | Stars: Kinuyo Tanaka, Tsukie Matsuura, Ichirô Sugai, Toshirô Mifune
Votes: 7,646
30. Samurai Rebellion (1967)
Not Rated | 128 min | Drama
The mother of a feudal lord's only heir is kidnapped away from her husband by the lord. The husband and his samurai father must decide whether to accept the unjust decision, or risk death to get her back.
Director: Masaki Kobayashi | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Yôko Tsukasa, Gô Katô, Tatsuyoshi Ehara
Votes: 14,097
31. Sanjuro (1962)
Not Rated | 96 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
A crafty samurai helps a young man and his fellow clansmen trying to save his uncle, who has been framed and imprisoned by a corrupt superintendent.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Keiju Kobayashi, Yûnosuke Itô
Votes: 41,140
32. Fireworks (1997)
103 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
Nishi leaves the police in the face of harrowing personal and professional difficulties. Spiraling into depression, he makes questionable decisions.
Director: Takeshi Kitano | Stars: Takeshi Kitano, Kayoko Kishimoto, Ren Ôsugi, Susumu Terajima
Votes: 33,188 | Gross: $0.23M
33. Audition (1999)
R | 115 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A widower takes an offer to screen girls at a special audition, arranged for him by a friend to find him a new wife. The one he fancies is not who she appears to be after all.
Director: Takashi Miike | Stars: Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina, Tetsu Sawaki, Jun Kunimura
Votes: 89,272
34. A Story from Chikamatsu (1954)
Not Rated | 102 min | Drama, Romance, Thriller
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: 4,947
35. Onibaba (1964)
Not Rated | 103 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
Two women kill samurai and sell their belongings for a living. While one of them is having an affair with their neighbor, the other woman meets a mysterious samurai wearing a bizarre mask.
Director: Kaneto Shindô | Stars: Nobuko Otowa, Jitsuko Yoshimura, Kei Satô, Jûkichi Uno
Votes: 21,872
36. The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum (1939)
Not Rated | 148 min | Drama, Romance
The adopted son of a legendary actor, and an aspiring star himself, turns to his infant brother's wet nurse for support and affection - only for her to give up everything for her beloved's glory.
Director: Kenji Mizoguchi | Stars: Shôtarô Hanayagi, Kôkichi Takada, Ryôtarô Kawanami, Kinnosuke Takamatsu
Votes: 4,398
37. Early Summer (1951)
Not Rated | 125 min | Drama, Romance
A family chooses a match for their daughter Noriko, but she, surprisingly, has her own plans.
Director: Yasujirô Ozu | Stars: Setsuko Hara, Chishû Ryû, Chikage Awashima, Kuniko Miyake
Votes: 9,682
38. Stray Dog (1949)
Not Rated | 122 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
During a sweltering summer, a rookie homicide detective tries to track down his stolen Colt pistol.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Awaji, Eiko Miyoshi
Votes: 18,942
39. An Autumn Afternoon (1962)
Not Rated | 113 min | Drama
An aging widower arranges a marriage for his only daughter.
Director: Yasujirô Ozu | Stars: Chishû Ryû, Shima Iwashita, Keiji Sada, Mariko Okada
Votes: 10,711
40. The Bad Sleep Well (1960)
Not Rated | 151 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A vengeful young man marries the daughter of a corrupt industrialist in order to seek justice for his father's suicide.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Masayuki Mori, Kyôko Kagawa, Tatsuya Mihashi
Votes: 14,026
41. Good Morning (1959)
Not Rated | 94 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
Two boys begin a silence strike to press their parents into buying them a television set.
Director: Yasujirô Ozu | Stars: Keiji Sada, Yoshiko Kuga, Chishû Ryû, Kuniko Miyake
Votes: 11,056
42. The Burmese Harp (1956)
Not Rated | 116 min | Drama, Music, War
A conscience-driven Japanese soldier traumatized by the events of WWII adopts the lifestyle of a Buddhist monk.
Director: Kon Ichikawa | Stars: Rentarô Mikuni, Shôji Yasui, Tatsuya Mihashi, Jun Hamamura
Votes: 6,463
43. Departures (2008)
PG-13 | 130 min | Drama
Soon after buying an expensive cello, Daigo learns that his orchestra is disbanding. He moves back to his hometown with his wife, where he answers an ad for what Daigo thinks is a travel agency but is, in actuality, a mortuary.
Director: Yôjirô Takita | Stars: Masahiro Motoki, Ryôko Hirosue, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Kazuko Yoshiyuki
Votes: 54,990 | Gross: $1.50M
44. 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: 33,529
45. Castle in the Sky (1986)
PG | 125 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
A young boy and a girl with a magic crystal must race against pirates and foreign agents in a search for a legendary floating castle.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Mayumi Tanaka, Keiko Yokozawa, Kotoe Hatsui, Minori Terada
Votes: 182,426
46. Kikujiro (1999)
PG-13 | 122 min | Drama, Comedy
A young, naive boy sets out alone on the road to find his wayward mother. Soon he finds an unlikely protector in a crotchety man and the two have a series of unexpected adventures along the way.
Director: Takeshi Kitano | Stars: Takeshi Kitano, Yusuke Sekiguchi, Kayoko Kishimoto, The Great Gidayû
Votes: 22,173 | Gross: $0.20M
47. Akira (1988)
R | 124 min | Animation, Action, Drama
A secret military project endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns a biker gang member into a rampaging psychic psychopath who can only be stopped by a teenager, his gang of biker friends and a group of psychics.
Director: Katsuhiro Ôtomo | Stars: Mitsuo Iwata, Nozomu Sasaki, Mami Koyama, Tesshô Genda
Votes: 205,310 | Gross: $0.55M
48. The Face of Another (1966)
Not Rated | 124 min | Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A businessman with a disfigured face obtains a lifelike mask from his doctor, but the mask starts altering his personality.
Director: Hiroshi Teshigahara | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Mikijirô Hira, Kyôko Kishida, Miki Irie
Votes: 10,420
49. After Life (1998)
Not Rated | 119 min | Drama, Fantasy
After death, people have a week to choose only one memory to keep for eternity.
Director: Kore-eda Hirokazu | Stars: Arata Iura, Erika Oda, Susumu Terajima, Takashi Naitô
Votes: 13,760 | Gross: $0.80M
50. Kwaidan (1964)
Not Rated | 183 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
A collection of four Japanese folk tales with supernatural themes.
Director: Masaki Kobayashi | Stars: Rentarô Mikuni, Michiyo Aratama, Misako Watanabe, Kenjirô Ishiyama
Votes: 19,997
51. Porco Rosso (1992)
PG | 94 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
In 1930s Italy, a veteran World War I pilot is cursed to look like an anthropomorphic pig.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Shûichirô Moriyama, Tokiko Katô, Bunshi Katsura VI, Tsunehiko Kamijô
Votes: 102,157
52. Late Autumn (1960)
Not Rated | 128 min | Comedy, Drama
A widow tries to marry off her daughter with the help of her late husband's three friends.
Director: Yasujirô Ozu | Stars: Setsuko Hara, Yôko Tsukasa, Mariko Okada, Keiji Sada
Votes: 6,180
53. I Was Born, But... (1932)
Not Rated | 90 min | Comedy, Drama
Two young brothers throw a tantrum when they discover that their father isn't the most important man in his workplace.
Director: Yasujirô Ozu | Stars: Tatsuo Saitô, Tomio Aoki, Mitsuko Yoshikawa, Hideo Sugawara
Votes: 6,214
54. Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)
G | 103 min | Animation, Family, Fantasy
A young witch, on her mandatory year of independent life, finds fitting into a new community difficult while she supports herself by running an air courier service.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Kirsten Dunst, Minami Takayama, Rei Sakuma, Kappei Yamaguchi
Votes: 165,610
55. Kagemusha: The Shadow Warrior (1980)
PG | 162 min | Drama, History, War
A petty thief with an utter resemblance to a samurai warlord is hired as the lord's double. When the warlord later dies the thief is forced to take up arms in his place.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Ken'ichi Hagiwara, Jinpachi Nezu
Votes: 38,187
56. Ringu (1998)
Not Rated | 96 min | Horror, Mystery
A reporter and her ex-husband investigate a cursed video tape that is rumored to kill the viewer seven days after watching it.
Director: Hideo Nakata | Stars: Nanako Matsushima, Miki Nakatani, Yûko Takeuchi, Hitomi Satô
Votes: 77,518
57. Paprika (2006)
R | 90 min | Animation, Drama, Fantasy
When a machine that allows therapists to enter their patients' dreams is stolen, all hell breaks loose. Only a young female therapist, Paprika, can stop it.
Director: Satoshi Kon | Stars: Megumi Hayashibara, Tôru Emori, Katsunosuke Hori, Tôru Furuya
Votes: 96,958 | Gross: $0.88M
58. Vengeance Is Mine (1979)
Not Rated | 139 min | Crime, Drama
Chronological exploits of Iwao Enokizu, a murderous thief on the run.
Director: Shôhei Imamura | Stars: Ken Ogata, Rentarô Mikuni, Chôchô Miyako, Mitsuko Baishô
Votes: 7,299
59. Sonatine (1993)
R | 94 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Several yakuza from Tokyo are sent to Okinawa to help end a gang war. The war then escalates and the Tokyo drifters decide to lay low at the beach.
Director: Takeshi Kitano | Stars: Takeshi Kitano, Aya Kokumai, Tetsu Watanabe, Masanobu Katsumura
Votes: 23,284
60. Pale Flower (1964)
Not Rated | 96 min | Action, Crime
A gangster gets released from prison and has to cope with the recent shifts of power between the gangs, while taking care of a thrill-seeking young woman, who got in bad company while gambling.
Director: Masahiro Shinoda | Stars: Ryô Ikebe, Mariko Kaga, Takashi Fujiki, Naoki Sugiura
Votes: 4,392
61. Still Walking (2008)
Not Rated | 115 min | Drama
A family gathers together for a commemorative ritual whose nature only gradually becomes clear.
Director: Kore-eda Hirokazu | Stars: Hiroshi Abe, Yui Natsukawa, You, Kazuya Takahashi
Votes: 18,624 | Gross: $0.16M
62. Boy (1969)
97 min | Drama
A young boy reluctantly aids his swindling father in a threatening scam.
Director: Nagisa Ôshima | Stars: Fumio Watanabe, Akiko Koyama, Tetsuo Abe, Tsuyoshi Kinoshita
Votes: 1,884
63. Pitfall (1962)
Not Rated | 97 min | Crime, Drama, Fantasy
A man wanders into a seemingly deserted town with his young son in search of work. But after a bit of bad luck, he joins the town's population of lost souls.
Director: Hiroshi Teshigahara | Stars: Hisashi Igawa, Sumie Sasaki, Sen Yano, Hideo Kanze
Votes: 4,332
64. 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: 8,981
65. The Red Angel (1966)
Not Rated | 95 min | Drama, Romance, War
During the Sino-Japanese War, a young army nurse gives sympathy to her patients and falls in love with an impotent doctor who's addicted to morphine.
Director: Yasuzô Masumura | Stars: Ayako Wakao, Shinsuke Ashida, Yûsuke Kawazu, Ranko Akagi
Votes: 1,888
66. House (1977)
Not Rated | 88 min | Comedy, Horror
A schoolgirl and six of her classmates travel to her aunt's country home, which turns out to be haunted.
Director: Nobuhiko Ôbayashi | Stars: Kimiko Ikegami, Miki Jinbo, Kumiko Ôba, Ai Matsubara
Votes: 33,744
67. Ponyo (2008)
G | 101 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
A five-year-old boy develops a relationship with Ponyo, a young goldfish princess who longs to become a human after falling in love with him.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Liam Neeson, Tomoko Yamaguchi
Votes: 163,579 | Gross: $15.09M
68. Humanity and Paper Balloons (1937)
86 min | Drama
The lives of two slum neighbors, one of a happy-go-lucky gambler and the other of a poor ronin, converge when the two get involved with the affairs of a powerful samurai official and his gangsters.
Director: Sadao Yamanaka | Stars: Chôjûrô Kawarasaki, Kan'emon Nakamura, Tsuruzô Nakamura, Chôemon Bandô
Votes: 2,300
69. Muddy River (1981)
105 min | Drama
In post-War Japan, a boy from a noodle store-owning family befriends a neighboring boy living in poverty.
Director: Kôhei Oguri | Stars: Takahiro Tamura, Mariko Kaga, Nobutaka Asahara, Makiko Shibata
Votes: 1,036
70. Eureka (2000)
217 min | Drama
The traumatized survivors of a murderous bus hijacking come together and take a road trip to attempt to overcome their damaged selves. Meanwhile a serial killer is on the loose.
Director: Shinji Aoyama | Stars: Koji Yakusho, Aoi Miyazaki, Masaru Miyazaki, Yôichirô Saitô
Votes: 4,343 | Gross: $0.05M
71. The Naked Island (1960)
Not Rated | 96 min | Drama
A family of four are the sole inhabitants of a small island where they struggle each day to irrigate their crops.
Director: Kaneto Shindô | Stars: Nobuko Otowa, Taiji Tonoyama, Shinji Tanaka, Masanori Horimoto
Votes: 6,183
72. The Twilight Samurai (2002)
129 min | Drama, Romance
As the feudal Japan era draws to a close, a widower samurai experiences difficulty balancing clan loyalties, 2 young daughters, an aged mother, and the sudden reappearance of his childhood sweetheart.
Director: Yôji Yamada | Stars: Hiroyuki Sanada, Rie Miyazawa, Nenji Kobayashi, Ren Ôsugi
Votes: 25,517
73. Tampopo (1985)
Not Rated | 114 min | Comedy
A truck driver stops at a small family-run noodle shop and decides to help its fledgling business. The story is intertwined with various vignettes about the relationship of love and food.
Director: Jûzô Itami | Stars: Ken Watanabe, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Nobuko Miyamoto, Koji Yakusho
Votes: 22,576 | Gross: $0.22M
74. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006)
TV-PG | 98 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
A high-school girl named Makoto acquires the power to travel back in time, and decides to use it for her own personal benefits. Little does she know that she is affecting the lives of others just as much as she is her own.
Director: Mamoru Hosoda | Stars: Riisa Naka, Takuya Ishida, Mitsutaka Itakura, Ayami Kakiuchi
Votes: 70,884
75. The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On (1987)
Not Rated | 122 min | Documentary
A documentary following Kenzo Okuzaki, a 62-year-old WW2 veteran notorious for his protests against Emperor Hirohito, as he tries to expose the needless executions of two Japanese soldiers during the war.
Director: Kazuo Hara | Stars: Kenzo Okuzaki, Riichi Aikawa, Masaichi Hamaguchi, Toshio Hara
Votes: 2,125
76. The Ballad of Narayama (1983)
Not Rated | 130 min | Drama
In a poor 19th century rural Japanese village, everyone who reaches the age of 70 has to climb a nearby mountain to die. An elderly woman is reaching close to her cut-off age during her last days with her family.
Director: Shôhei Imamura | Stars: Ken Ogata, Sumiko Sakamoto, Tonpei Hidari, Aki Takejô
Votes: 9,138
77. Ichi the Killer (2001)
R | 129 min | Action, Crime, Drama
As sadomasochistic yakuza enforcer Kakihara searches for his missing boss he comes across Ichi, a repressed and psychotic killer who may be able to inflict levels of pain that Kakihara has only dreamed of achieving.
Director: Takashi Miike | Stars: Tadanobu Asano, Nao Ômori, Shin'ya Tsukamoto, Paulyn Sun
Votes: 60,059 | Gross: $0.02M
78. Branded to Kill (1967)
Not Rated | 91 min | Action, Crime, Drama
After a botched assignment, a rice-fetishizing hitman finds himself in conflict with his organization, and one mysterious, dangerous fellow-hitman in particular.
Director: Seijun Suzuki | Stars: Jô Shishido, Mariko Ogawa, Annu Mari, Kôji Nanbara
Votes: 10,211
79. Yearning (1964)
98 min | Drama, Romance
After a bombing raid destroys the family store and her husband, Reiko rebuilds and runs the shop out of love stopped short by destruction.
Director: Mikio Naruse | Stars: Hideko Takamine, Yûzô Kayama, Mitsuko Kusabue, Yumi Shirakawa
Votes: 2,070
80. 5 Centimeters per Second (2007)
TV-PG | 63 min | Animation, Drama, Family
Told in three interconnected segments, Takaki tells the story of his life as cruel winters, cold technology, and finally, adult obligations and responsibility converge to test the delicate petals of love.
Director: Makoto Shinkai | Stars: Kenji Mizuhashi, Yoshimi Kondou, Satomi Hanamura, Ayaka Onoue
Votes: 63,792
81. Death by Hanging (1968)
Not Rated | 117 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A Korean man is sentenced to death by hanging, but he survives the execution. For the following two hours, his executioners try to work out how to handle the situation in this black farce.
Director: Nagisa Ôshima | Stars: Kei Satô, Do-yun Yu, Fumio Watanabe, Hôsei Komatsu
Votes: 3,344
82. Love Exposure (2008)
Unrated | 237 min | Action, Comedy, Drama
A bizarre love triangle forms between a young Catholic upskirt photographer, a misandric girl and a manipulative cultist.
Director: Sion Sono | Stars: Takahiro Nishijima, Hikari Mitsushima, Sakura Andô, Yutaka Shimizu
Votes: 15,914
83. Whisper of the Heart (1995)
G | 111 min | Animation, Drama, Family
A love story between a girl who loves reading books, and a boy who has previously checked out all of the library books she chooses.
Director: Yoshifumi Kondô | Stars: Yoko Honna, Issei Takahashi, Takashi Tachibana, Shigeru Muroi
Votes: 72,674
84. Pulse (2001)
R | 119 min | Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Two groups of people discover evidence that suggests spirits may be trying to invade the human world through the Internet.
Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa | Stars: Haruhiko Katô, Kumiko Asô, Koyuki, Kurume Arisaka
Votes: 25,604 | Gross: $0.05M
85. In the Realm of the Senses (1976)
NC-17 | 109 min | Drama, Romance
A passionate telling of the story of Sada Abe, a woman whose affair with her master led to an obsessive and ultimately destructive sexual relationship.
Director: Nagisa Ôshima | Stars: Tatsuya Fuji, Eiko Matsuda, Aoi Nakajima, Yasuko Matsui
Votes: 22,811
86. Nobody Knows (2004)
PG-13 | 141 min | Drama
In a small Tokyo apartment, twelve-year-old Akira must care for his younger siblings after their mother leaves them and shows no sign of returning.
Director: Kore-eda Hirokazu | Stars: Yûya Yagira, Ayu Kitaura, Hiei Kimura, Momoko Shimizu
Votes: 31,417 | Gross: $0.68M
87. 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: 3,908
88. The Elegant Life of Mr. Everyman (1963)
103 min | Comedy, Drama
This comedy portrays the everyday life of an ordinary salary-man who uses himself as a model to write a novella.
Director: Kihachi Okamoto | Stars: Keiju Kobayashi, Michiyo Aratama, Eijirô Tôno, Jerry Itô
Votes: 311
89. 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: 4,870
90. The House of Small Cubes (2008)
Not Rated | 12 min | Animation, Short, Drama
To save his house from rising flood waters, an old man uses bricks to build it higher, then he relives events from his past while searching for his dropped pipe.
Director: Kunio Kato | Star: Masami Nagasawa
Votes: 11,655
91. A Page of Madness (1926)
Not Rated | 70 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
A man takes a job at an asylum with hopes of freeing his imprisoned wife.
Director: Teinosuke Kinugasa | Stars: Masuo Inoue, Ayako Iijima, Yoshie Nakagawa, Hiroshi Nemoto
Votes: 4,575
92. Mind Game (I) (2004)
Not Rated | 103 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
After a deadly encounter with two yakuza, a loser with a crush on his childhood girlfriend goes to heaven and back, embarking on a psychedelic self-discovery experience with her and his friends.
Directors: Masaaki Yuasa, Kôji Morimoto | Stars: Kôji Imada, Sayaka Maeda, Takashi Fujii, Seiko Takuma
Votes: 10,707 | Gross: $0.04M
93. 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: 2,870
94. Godzilla (1954)
Not Rated | 96 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
American nuclear weapons testing results in the creation of a seemingly unstoppable dinosaur-like beast.
Director: Ishirô Honda | Stars: Takashi Shimura, Akihiko Hirata, Akira Takarada, Momoko Kôchi
Votes: 39,684 | Gross: $2.42M
95. Twenty-Four Eyes (1954)
Not Rated | 156 min | Drama
Schoolteacher Hisako Oishi forms an emotional bond with her pupils and teaches them various virtues, while at the same time worrying about their future.
Director: Keisuke Kinoshita | Stars: Hideko Takamine, Itsuo Watanabe, Makoto Miyagawa, Takeo Terashita
Votes: 2,831
96. Like Someone in Love (2012)
Not Rated | 109 min | Drama
In Tokyo, a young sex worker develops an unexpected connection with a widower over a period of two days.
Directors: Abbas Kiarostami, Banafsheh Modaressi | Stars: Rin Takanashi, Tadashi Okuno, Ryô Kase, Denden
Votes: 13,086 | Gross: $0.22M
97. Black Rain (1989)
Not Rated | 123 min | Drama, War
The story of the aftermath of the Hiroshima bombing, based on Masuji Ibuse's novel.
Director: Shôhei Imamura | Stars: Yoshiko Tanaka, Kazuo Kitamura, Etsuko Ichihara, Shôichi Ozawa
Votes: 3,966
98. Pastoral: To Die in the Country (1974)
104 min | Drama, Fantasy
A young boys' coming of age tale set in a strange, carnivalesque village becomes the recreation of a memory that the director has twenty years later.
Director: Shûji Terayama | Stars: Kaoru Yachigusa, Keiko Niitaka, Masumi Harukawa, Kan Mikami
Votes: 2,410
99. Tokyo Twilight (1957)
Not Rated | 140 min | Drama
Two sisters find out the existence of their long-lost mother, but the younger cannot take the truth of being abandoned as a child.
Director: Yasujirô Ozu | Stars: Setsuko Hara, Ineko Arima, Chishû Ryû, Isuzu Yamada
Votes: 4,949
100. Ghost in the Shell (1995)
TV-MA | 83 min | Animation, Action, Crime
A cyborg policewoman and her partner hunt a mysterious and powerful hacker called the Puppet Master.
Directors: Mizuho Nishikubo, Mamoru Oshii | Stars: Atsuko Tanaka, Iemasa Kayumi, Akio Ôtsuka, Kôichi Yamadera
Votes: 156,940 | Gross: $0.52M
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