Japanese Culture >> Top 10 Japanese Films
Top 10 Japanese Films
By: Anthony Chatfiled
Japanese film grew out of a fine tradition of theater and
stage acting, unlike any seen elsewhere in the world. The style and proficiency
of the Japanese tradition translated to a grandiosity and beauty unlike anything
the world would see from another culture. The aesthetic mastery of film space by
auteurs the likes of Kurosawa, Mizoguchi, or Ozu and the ability to turn
animation even into masterpiece have made Japanese film one of the greatest
national entries into the pantheon of world cinema. The list below is not the
ten most intriguing, or ten most interesting, or ten most popular Japanese films
ever made, but the ten Japanese films that I believe represent the most
important aspects of the cultures contributions to film.
Chushingura – The 47 Ronin is a classic Japanese tale, originally Kabuki that
found its way into a slew of film adaptations in the 20th century. While not the
first, nor necessarily the best, this version captures the tale the most fully
and displays the action on a grander scale than any of its predecessors. Hiroshi
Inagaki directed and starring Toshiro Mifune, the star of Japanese cinema at the
time, it told the tale as well as any other film of the times.
Grave of the Fireflies – One of the saddest movies ever made, directed by Isao
Takahata, one of Miyazaki’s few peers, also a director for Studio Ghibli. It
tells the tragic tale of a young boy and his younger sister trying to survive
during World War II Japan. The sheer force of this film, actually enhanced by
its animation, has brought the toughest of friends to tears. Brutally touching.
Hana-bi – Beat Takeshi is a highly regarded modern Japanese director who has
managed to show up just about everywhere as a director, an actor, an author, a
television host. His name is so common that he changed it to be more dynamic,
but the cultural aspects of his importance aside, he’s one hell of a good
director, and probably helped form the modern definition of the Japanese crime
drama/thriller genre. His work in Hana-bi displays this best.
Crazed Fruit – Nakahira Ko’s classic is one of the enduring film works of the
fifties, culturally. It captured the post war flaming youth genre wonderfully
while showing the world what Japan was doing as it rediscovered itself. It
catapulted a new genre forward and today is still considered one of the greatest
modern productions from Japan (non-historical).
Early Summer – Yasujiro Ozu’s works spanned an epic career of development in
both thought and vision, but this is considered by many his greatest, as the
self destruction of a Japanese family, one of his most common themes.
The Life of Oharu – The classic Japanese novel of a court lady devolved to a
common whore, Kenji Mizoguchi’s grandiose affair is a beautifully shot,
wonderfully scored masterpiece that outlines the greatest of the many Japanese
specific flairs for the aesthetic in film.
Tokyo Olympiad – The only documentary on the list, Tokyo Olympiad is the product
of Kon Ichikawa’s reconstruction of documentary footage from the 1964 Olympics,
the first ever held in Asia, then in Tokyo. His tale focuses on the human, the
spectators and the preparations rather than the superhuman feats of the
athletes, showing the entire process, not merely the adrenal pumping climax. One
of the greatest sports films ever made.
Ikiru – While Seven Samurai is his most favorite, many will agree that Ikiru is
his greatest film. Akira Kurosawa’s Ikiru tells the tale of a Japanese business
man with little time to live and a life he wants to take the time to live. It’s
Kurosawas sharp indictment of beaurocratic living and the necessity to find a
purpose in life, not to waste it.
Spirited Away – Hayo Miyazaki is considered by most to be Japan’s most prolific
living film director. And he creates animation. Such as it is that his work
speaks to the import of animation in the Japanese cultural consciousness. His
work is some of the best animation in the world, beautiful fairy tales told of
various cultures and tales, and this is the best of them all. Spirited Away is a
film any child or adult should see in their life time.
Seven Samurai – Akira Kurosawa’s Samurai epic founded and set the pace for the
modern samurai film, and the spaghetti western, and a half dozen other films and
genres the world over. Of every film on this list, this is the one you’re most
likely to have seen and enjoyed. It opened the West to the films of the East and
made Kurosawa a name to be remembered. Kurosawa’s scope and film mastery as seen
in Seven Samurai make this one of the greatest films ever made, anywhere. The
classic tale as he wrote it of seven ronin (unemployed samurai) going to the
rescue of a small village being pillaged by bandits is as classic as its stars
and director.
About the Author:
I'm a self avowed unemployed writer, working on semi-constant basis to try
and overcome the need to go and work a real job. I've written more than 200
articles and reviews and am constantly scouring the internet for any and all
excuses and methods to make myself less dependent on corporate pay days. Visit
my website at
TheChatfield.com.