Japanese Films I Will Be Forcing DD To Watch
List activity
608 views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
35 titles
- DirectorKôzaburô YoshimuraStarsSetsuko HaraYumeko AizomeOsamu TakizawaAfter Japan's loss in the war, the wealthy, cultured, liberal Anjo family have to give up their mansion and their way of life. They hold one last ball at the house before leaving. The seemingly cold, cynical son secretly grieves for his defeated father and the values that the war destroyed, while the daughter tries to prevent father from taking his life and to find her own place in the new Japan.aka 'The Ball at the Anjo House.' Made soon after the war, and very beautiful.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneMasayuki MoriKyôko KagawaA vengeful young man marries the daughter of a corrupt industrialist in order to seek justice for his father's suicide.2½ hour Kurosawa noir.
- DirectorKôzaburô YoshimuraStarsAyako WakaoJunichiro YamashitaTamao NakamuraHaunting melodrama focuses on a young bamboo worker who takes his father's prostitute as his wife.
- DirectorYasuzô MasumuraStarsEiji FunakoshiMako MidoriNoriko SengokuA blind sculpter and his mother kidnap a young model.From the director of MANJI.
- DirectorYoshishige YoshidaStarsKeiji SadaKaneko IwasakiShin'ichirô MikamiAn insurance company employee threatens suicide after a massive layoff is announced by the management. The company takes advantage of his threat by turning it into an advertising campaign.Brilliant PREMISE.
- DirectorSeijun SuzukiStarsJô ShishidoMariko OgawaAnnu MariAfter a botched assignment, a rice-fetishizing hitman finds himself in conflict with his organization, and one mysterious, dangerous fellow-hitman in particular.This is the really strange one I was pestering you about earlier this year.
- DirectorYoshitarô NomuraStarsMinoru ÔkiTakahiro TamuraSeiji MiyaguchiTwo cops on stakeout wait for a murderer.aka 'Stakeout.' Noir. I remember enjoying it, and could watch it again.
- DirectorMikio NaruseStarsHideko TakamineMasayuki MoriMariko OkadaA tragic social drama set in post war Japan and concerns a lonely woman trying to find purpose and stability in a devastated Tokyo.From Mikio Naruse, director of WHEN A WOMAN ASCENDS THE STAIRS.
- DirectorSeijun SuzukiStarsJô ShishidoKôji WadaYumiko NogawaAn injured thief on the run finds sanctuary within a brothel of united, ruthless women.
- DirectorYasuzô MasumuraStarsHiroshi KawaguchiHitomi NozoeHideo TakamatsuIn 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.From the director of MANJI.
- DirectorHajime SatôStarsTeruo YoshidaTomomi SatôHideo KôThe survivors of a plane crash in a remote area are attacked by blob-like alien creatures that turn their victims into blood-thirsty vampires.
- DirectorKoreyoshi KuraharaStarsYûjirô IshiharaMie KitaharaIsamu KosugiA former boxer gets involved with a club hostess trying to escape the clutches of her gangster employer.This is that weird, cheap noir film I love so much that I was debating showing to you last time I visited.
- DirectorKoreyoshi KuraharaStarsYûjirô IshiharaRuriko AsaokaHiroyuki NagatoA celebrity impulsively leaves fast-paced Tokyo to deliver a much-needed jeep to a remote village. When his controlling manager, the woman he loves, follows, the two must reconcile while dodging reporters.This one is pretty insane. I'd be interested to see how you react to it. It floored me.
- DirectorShinobu HashimotoStarsFurankî SakaiMichiyo AratamaKumi MizunoOn a post-war peaceful day in Japan, Toyomatsu Shimizu, a barber as well as a good father and husband, is suddenly arrested by the Prefectural Police as a war criminal and sued for murder. According to the accusation by GHQ, Toyomatsu "attemped to kill a US prisoner", which was nothing but an order by his superior and failed after all with hurting the prisoner by weak Toyomatsu. Also, Toyomatsu was driven to corner at the trial by the fact that he fed the US prisoner some burdock roots to nourish him. Toyomatsu believes nothing but being not guilty, but he is sentenced to death by hanging. Prior to the execution, Toyomatsu writes a long farewell letter to his family, the wife and the only son: "If I ever incarnate, I hate to be a human being any more.... Oh yes, I would like to be...a shellfish living on the rock-bottom of the sea."
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsTakashi ShimuraNobuo KanekoShin'ichi HimoriA bureaucrat tries to find meaning in his life after he discovers he has terminal cancer.Kurosawa. You showed some interest in this one recently.
- DirectorKeisuke KinoshitaStarsHideko TakamineKeiji SadaTatsuya NakadaiA young woman is forced by circumstance into a loveless marriage while still in love with another. This episodic tale follows their story through three decades of bitter conflict which engulfs their children and those around them.
- DirectorKeisuke KinoshitaStarsYûko MochizukiYôko KatsuragiMasami TauraAlternating in time, between the end of World War II and 1953, Haruko, a widow, does what she can to keep her daughter Utako and son Seiichi safe, fed, and sheltered. By 1953, it's clear that the children, as they enter adulthood, want little to do with their mother. They have a different view of their childhood and her sacrifices: in their eyes, she abandoned them to live a life of pleasure. The self-pitying Haruko is sure her life was one of pain and humiliation, for her children. As Seiichi, now a medical student, announces his plans to let a wealthy man adopt him, and as Utako considers the offer to go away with a married man who is her English teacher, what is left for Haruko?This one is just the best. THE BEST.
- DirectorTadashi ImaiStarsShinjirô EbaraHitomi NakaharaEiji OkadaJunai Monogatari is about two poor youths, Mitsuko and Kando, rebelling against society in various ways, who are desperately trying to be together despite tortuous circumstances.aka 'The Story of Pure Love.' I gave this a high rating long ago but don't remember anything about it.
- DirectorToshio MasudaStarsTomio AokiIzumi AshikawaRyôji HayamaA group of five college students decide to jinx a bicycle race in their favor and claim the money to pay off their debts, but when the illegal bookie cannot pay, they take up his offer of "collateral" as revenge and complexities begin to unravel and ruin their scheme.aka 'Perfect Game.' Noir (bicycle) track heist movie. I rated it highly but hardly remember it.
- DirectorYasuzô MasumuraStarsHiroshi KawaguchiHitomi NozoeAiko MimasuStory of a young couple whose fathers are prison bound.From the director of MANJI.
- DirectorTakashi NomuraStarsJô ShishidoJerry FujioChitose KobayashiA hit man is hired to kill a mob boss. After the deed is done, he and his driver are wanted dead by rival gangs who joined forces.aka 'A Colt is My Passport'
- DirectorUmetsugu InoueStarsMachiko KyôMinoru ÔkiJunko KanôA jeweler hires detective Akechi to find his daughter kidnapped by a famous thief known as the Black Lizard.aka 'Black Lizard.' This one's a lot of fun, but I actually enjoyed it. I usually hate fun.
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsChishû RyûSetsuko HaraYumeji TsukiokaSeveral people try to talk 27-year-old Noriko into marrying, but all she wants is to keep on caring for her widowed father.Ozu. The director of TOKYO STORY.
- DirectorKon IchikawaStarsMachiko KyôGanjirô NakamuraJunko KanôA man getting on in years sets out to find a way to resurrect his flagging virility.This is the film you recorded off TCM earlier this year. I'm up for watching it again.