A selection of Excellent Japanese Movies
by farhad_97 | created - 26 Jul 2013 | updated - 12 Aug 2013 | PublicThe following list will contain a selection of Japanese movies which i have watched and enjoyed greatly and some which i believe many will find highly intriguing even though i have not found the time to watch them myself. You may find that most the movies on this list are of the samurai sub-genre, this is because these samurai movies are pretty badass, with a memorable and intriguing storyline , of course.
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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: 366,688 | Gross: $0.27M
Possibly one of the most influential films ever made... its absolutely magnificent!
2. 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: 136,135 | Gross: $4.14M
A colourful and striking depiction of Shakespeare's King Lear.
3. 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: 68,598
Truly a great and memorable story
4. 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: 180,363 | Gross: $0.10M
Brilliant direction from one of world's greatest directors, Akira Kurosawa
5. 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: 131,308
A mesmerizing story of a masterless samurai saving a town from two different gangs using his wits and skills
6. 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: 41,105
7. 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: 42,220
8. 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: 55,922
One of the best adaptions of Shakespeare's Macbeth
9. 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: 77,456
Spine-chilling horror of VHS tape you probably wouldn't dare to watch
10. Ju-on: The Grudge (2002)
R | 92 min | Horror
A mysterious and vengeful spirit marks and pursues anybody who dares enter the house in which it resides.
Director: Takashi Shimizu | Stars: Megumi Okina, Misaki Itô, Misa Uehara, Yui Ichikawa
Votes: 48,045 | Gross: $0.33M
How scary can blue people be, right?... apparently really scary!
11. 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: 87,513 | Gross: $0.06M
12. Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (1954)
Not Rated | 93 min | Action, Adventure, Biography
Depicts the early life of the legendary warrior Musashi Miyamoto; his years as an aspiring warrior, an outlaw and finally a true samurai.
Director: Hiroshi Inagaki | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Mariko Okada, Rentarô Mikuni, Kurôemon Onoe
Votes: 9,509
13. Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple (1955)
TV-PG | 104 min | Action, Adventure, Biography
Musashi Miyamoto returns to Kyoto after years of absence. After a series of fights against the Yoshioka School, he challenges its master to a duel.
Director: Hiroshi Inagaki | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Mariko Okada, Kôji Tsuruta, Kaoru Yachigusa
Votes: 6,961
14. Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island (1956)
TV-PG | 105 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Musashi Miyamoto is challenged to a duel by a confident swordsman Sasaki Kojiro. He agrees to fight him in a year's time.
Director: Hiroshi Inagaki | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Mariko Okada, Kôji Tsuruta, Kaoru Yachigusa
Votes: 6,699
15. 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: 38,163
16. 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: 68,555
17. 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: 39,611 | Gross: $2.42M
18. Tokyo Drifter (1966)
Not Rated | 82 min | Action, Crime
After his gang disbands, a yakuza enforcer looks forward to life outside of organized crime but soon must become a drifter after his old rivals attempt to assassinate him.
Director: Seijun Suzuki | Stars: Tetsuya Watari, Chieko Matsubara, Hideaki Nitani, Tamio Kawaji
Votes: 9,708
19. 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: 53,158
20. 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: 12,067
21. Black Cat (1968)
Not Rated | 99 min | Drama, Horror
Two women are raped and killed by samurai soldiers. Soon they reappear as vengeful ghosts who seduce and brutally murder the passing samurai.
Director: Kaneto Shindô | Stars: Kichiemon Nakamura, Nobuko Otowa, Kei Satô, Rokkô Toura
Votes: 8,573
22. 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: 89,200
23. Confessions (2010)
Not Rated | 106 min | Drama, Thriller
A psychological thriller of a grieving mother turned cold-blooded avenger with a twisty master plan to pay back those who were responsible for her daughter's death.
Director: Tetsuya Nakashima | Stars: Takako Matsu, Yoshino Kimura, Masaki Okada, Yukito Nishii
Votes: 42,048
24. 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: 194,388
This is a classic and a original film, its a must watch
25. 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: 205,125 | Gross: $0.55M
26. Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)
PG-13 | 145 min | Drama, Romance
The heartwarming tale of Nitta Sayuri, a young Japanese woman who transcended from her fishing-village roots and became one of Japan's most celebrated geisha.
Director: Rob Marshall | Stars: Ziyi Zhang, Ken Watanabe, Michelle Yeoh, Suzuka Ohgo
Votes: 160,705 | Gross: $57.49M
Some may not agree that it is a Japanese film but it is based in japan
27. 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: 31,394 | Gross: $0.68M
28. 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: 14,009
29. Drunken Angel (1948)
Not Rated | 102 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
A drunken doctor with a hot temper and a violence-prone gangster with tuberculosis form a quicksilver bond.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Takashi Shimura, Toshirô Mifune, Reizaburô Yamamoto, Michiyo Kogure
Votes: 13,361
30. 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: 54,962 | Gross: $1.50M
31. 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: 25,490
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