Lonewolf2003's Favorite Japanese Movies
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- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneTakashi ShimuraKeiko TsushimaFarmers from a village exploited by bandits hire a veteran samurai for protection, who gathers six other samurai to join him.
- DirectorMasaki KobayashiStarsTatsuya NakadaiAkira IshihamaShima IwashitaWhen 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.
- DirectorKenji MizoguchiStarsKinuyo TanakaYoshiaki HanayagiKyôko KagawaIn 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.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsDaveigh ChaseSuzanne PleshetteMiyu IrinoDuring 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.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneEijirô TônoTatsuya NakadaiA crafty ronin comes to a town divided by two criminal gangs and decides to play them against each other to free the town.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneMachiko KyôMasayuki MoriThe 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.
- DirectorIsao TakahataStarsTsutomu TatsumiAyano ShiraishiAkemi YamaguchiA young boy and his little sister struggle to survive in Japan during World War II.
- DirectorMasaki KobayashiStarsTatsuya NakadaiMichiyo AratamaChikage AwashimaA 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.
- DirectorMasaki KobayashiStarsTatsuya NakadaiMichiyo AratamaTamao NakamuraHis ideals challenged by life as a conscript in war-time Japan's military, a pacifist faces ever greater tests in his fight for survival.
- DirectorMasaki KobayashiStarsTatsuya NakadaiMichiyo AratamaKokinji KatsuraAs a conscript in war-time Japan's military, a pacifist struggles to maintain his determination to keep his ideals.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsHitoshi TakagiNoriko HidakaChika SakamotoWhen two girls move to the country to be near their ailing mother, they have adventures with the wondrous forest spirits who live nearby.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsTatsuya NakadaiAkira TeraoJinpachi NezuIn 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.
- DirectorKore-eda HirokazuStarsYûya YagiraAyu KitauraHiei KimuraIn 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.
- DirectorKon IchikawaStarsRentarô MikuniShôji YasuiTatsuya MihashiA conscience-driven Japanese soldier traumatized by the events of WWII adopts the lifestyle of a Buddhist monk.
- DirectorKenji MizoguchiStarsKinuyo TanakaTsukie MatsuuraIchirô SugaiFollows a woman's fight and survival amid the vicissitudes of life and the cruelty of society.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsChieko BaishôTakuya KimuraTatsuya GashûinWhen 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.
- DirectorMasaki KobayashiStarsToshirô MifuneYôko TsukasaGô KatôThe 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.
- DirectorShunji IwaiStarsHayato IchiharaShûgo OshinariAyumi ItoThe problematic lives of teenager students for whom the singer Lily Chou-Chou's dreamy music is the only way to escape an alienating, violent and insensitive society.
- DirectorKatsuhiro ÔtomoStarsMitsuo IwataNozomu SasakiMami KoyamaA 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.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsYôji MatsudaYuriko IshidaYûko TanakaOn 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.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneMinoru ChiakiIsuzu YamadaA war-hardened general, egged on by his ambitious wife, works to fulfill a prophecy that he would become lord of Spider's Web Castle.
- DirectorKihachi OkamotoStarsTatsuya NakadaiMichiyo AratamaYûzô KayamaThrough his unconscionable actions against others, a sociopath samurai builds a trail of vendettas that follow him closely.
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsKeiji SadaYoshiko KugaChishû RyûTwo boys begin a silence strike to press their parents into buying them a television set.
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsMieko TakamineShin SaburiHideo FujinoWhen the patriarch of the Toda family suddenly dies, his widow discovers that he has left her with nothing but debt and married children who are unwilling to support her--except for her most thoughtful son, just returned from China.
- DirectorKinji FukasakuStarsTatsuya FujiwaraAki MaedaTarô YamamotoIn 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.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsMaksim MunzukYuriy SolominMikhail BychkovThe Russian army sends an explorer on an expedition to the snowy Siberian wilderness where he makes friends with a seasoned local hunter.
- DirectorMori MasakiStarsIssei MiyazakiCatherine BattistoneYoshie ShimamuraA powerful statement against war, Barefoot Gen is a disturbing story about the effect of the atomic bomb on a boy's life and the lives of the Japanese people.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneTatsuya NakadaiKeiju KobayashiA 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.
- DirectorHiroshi TeshigaharaStarsEiji OkadaKyôko KishidaKôji MitsuiAn entomologist on vacation is trapped by local villagers into living with a woman whose life task is shoveling sand for them.
- DirectorHsiao-Hsien HouStarsYo HitotoTadanobu AsanoMasato HagiwaraThe story revolves around Yoko Inoue, a pregnant woman in search of a cafe that was frequented by a Taiwanese composer whose life she is researching.
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsSetsuko HaraChishû RyûChikage AwashimaA family chooses a match for their daughter Noriko, but she, surprisingly, has her own plans.
- DirectorMamoru OshiiStarsMalgorzata ForemniakWladyslaw KowalskiJerzy GudejkoIn a dystopian world, a woman spends her time playing an illegal and dangerous game, hoping to find meaning in her world.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneYûzô KayamaTsutomu YamazakiIn 19th-century Japan, a rough-tempered yet charitable town doctor trains a young intern.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsMasahiro MotokiRenji IshibashiMakoA salaryman and yakuza are each sent by their bosses to a remote Chinese village but discover more than they expected.
- 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.
- DirectorMasahiro ShinodaStarsRyô IkebeMariko KagaTakashi FujikiA 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.
- DirectorKenji MizoguchiStarsMasayuki MoriMachiko KyôKinuyo TanakaA tale of ambition, family, love, and war set in the midst of the Japanese Civil Wars of the sixteenth century.
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsChishû RyûChieko HigashiyamaSô YamamuraAn old couple visit their children and grandchildren in the city, but receive little attention.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsTakashi ShimuraNobuo KanekoShin'ichi HimoriA bureaucrat tries to find meaning in his life after he discovers he has terminal cancer.
- DirectorMizuho NishikuboMamoru OshiiStarsAtsuko TanakaIemasa KayumiAkio ÔtsukaA cyborg policewoman and her partner hunt a mysterious and powerful hacker called the Puppet Master.
- DirectorHideo GoshaStarsTetsurô TanbaIsamu NagatoMikijirô HiraWhen poor peasants kidnap a magistrate's daughter to coerce him into reducing their unfair taxes, a wandering ronin decides to give them some help.
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsShin SaburiKinuyo TanakaIneko ArimaA businessman clashes with his elder daughter over her choice of a husband.
- DirectorKihachi OkamotoStarsTatsuya NakadaiEtsushi TakahashiYuriko HoshiTwo ronin - an ex-samurai and an ex-farmer - get caught up in a local official's complex game of murder and betrayal.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsSumi ShimamotoMahito TsujimuraHisako KyôdaWarrior and pacifist Princess Nausicaä desperately struggles to prevent two warring nations from destroying themselves and their dying planet.
- DirectorSatoshi KonStarsMegumi HayashibaraTôru EmoriKatsunosuke HoriWhen 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.
- DirectorAbbas KiarostamiBanafsheh ModaressiStarsRin TakanashiTadashi OkunoRyô KaseIn Tokyo, a young sex worker develops an unexpected connection with a widower over a period of two days.
- DirectorKore-eda HirokazuStarsHiroshi AbeYui NatsukawaYouA family gathers together for a commemorative ritual whose nature only gradually becomes clear.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsKirsten DunstMinami TakayamaRei SakumaA 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.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsTatsuya NakadaiTsutomu YamazakiKen'ichi HagiwaraA 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.
- DirectorTakeshi KitanoStarsClaude MakiHiroko ÔshimaSabu KawaharaThe lives of a young, hearing-impaired and gloomy couple are fulfilled after the boy holds interest in surfboarding.
- DirectorShunji IwaiStarsAnne SuzukiYû AoiTomohiro KakuWhen two best friends develop a crush on the same boy, they develop a plan to trick him into dating them.
- DirectorNobuhiro YamashitaStarsBae DoonaAki MaedaYû KashiiA music group of girls need to learn to play a song before the school festival.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsYasuo YamadaEiko MasuyamaKiyoshi KobayashiA dashing thief, his gang of desperadoes and an intrepid cop struggle to free a princess from an evil count, and learn the secret of a treasure that she holds part of the key to.
- DirectorTakeshi KitanoStarsTakeshi KitanoKayoko KishimotoRen ÔsugiNishi leaves the police in the face of harrowing personal and professional difficulties. Spiraling into depression, he makes questionable decisions.
- DirectorKore-eda HirokazuStarsLily FrankySakura AndôKirin KikiOn the margins of Tokyo, a dysfunctional band of outsiders are united by loyalty, a penchant for petty theft and playful grifting. When the young son is arrested, secrets are exposed that upend their tenuous, below-the-radar existence.
- DirectorKenji MizoguchiStarsShôtarô HanayagiKôkichi TakadaRyôtarô KawanamiThe 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.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsMayumi TanakaKeiko YokozawaKotoe HatsuiA young boy and a girl with a magic crystal must race against pirates and foreign agents in a search for a legendary floating castle.
- DirectorShôhei ImamuraStarsHiroyuki NagatoJitsuko YoshimuraMasao MishimaA young hoodlum decides to work for a criminal organization that is tearing itself apart.
- DirectorShôhei ImamuraStarsOsamu TakizawaShin'ichi YanagisawaHiroyuki NagatoA rumbunctious and ribald tale of a troupe of travelling actors who alternate highlights of kabuki theatre with strip shows.
- DirectorSatoshi KonKô MatsuoStarsMiyoko ShôjiShôzô ÎzukaMami KoyamaA TV interviewer and his cameraman meet a former actress and travel through her memories and career.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneTakashi ShimuraKeiko AwajiDuring a sweltering summer, a rookie homicide detective tries to track down his stolen Colt pistol.
- DirectorTakeshi KitanoStarsMiho KannoHidetoshi NishijimaTatsuya MihashiThree stories of never-ending love.
- DirectorMichael Dudok de WitStarsEmmanuel GarijoTom HudsonBaptiste GoyA man is shipwrecked on a deserted island and encounters a big red turtle, which changes his life.
- DirectorYûji ShimomuraStarsTak SakaguchiYura KondoTakumi SaitôA legend covert soldier with a mysterious past now decides to once again unleash his beast inside of him to stand up for what he cares about.
- DirectorKenji KamiyamaHiroyuki OkiuraStarsMichael DobsonYoshikazu FujikiSumi MutohA traumatized member of an elite para-military police force falls for the sister of a female terrorist courier who died in front of him on duty.
- DirectorMamoru HosodaStarsRiisa NakaTakuya IshidaMitsutaka ItakuraA 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.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsKen'ichi EndôShungiku UchidaKazushi WatanabeA troubled and perverted family find their lives intruded by a mysterious stranger who seems to help find a balance in their disturbing natures.
- DirectorKenji MisumiStarsTomisaburô WakayamaKayo MatsuoMinoru ÔkiTrailed by a clan of female ninja, Ogami is paid to assassinate a clan traitor accompanied by three killers known as the Gods of Death.
- DirectorKenji MisumiStarsTomisaburô WakayamaGô KatôYûko HamaOgami Itto volunteers to be tortured by the yakuza to save a prostitute and is hired by their leader to kill an evil chamberlain.
- DirectorYoshiyuki KurodaStarsTomisaburô WakayamaAkihiro TomikawaJunko HitomiIn the sixth and final film of the Lone Wolf and Cub series, the final conflict between Ogami Itto and the Yagyu clan is carried out.
- DirectorKenji MisumiStarsTomisaburô WakayamaMichiyo YasudaAkihiro TomikawaFive warriors challenge Ogami to duels. Each holds a part of information needed to complete the assassination of a mad clan leader.
- DirectorYoshiaki KawajiriStarsKôichi YamaderaEmi ShinoharaTakeshi AonoA vagabond swordsman is aided by a kunoichi and a spy in battling a demonic clan of killers - led by a ghost from his past - who are bent on overthrowing the Tokugawa Shogunate.
- DirectorYôji YamadaStarsHiroyuki SanadaRie MiyazawaNenji KobayashiAs 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.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneShirley YamaguchiYôko KatsuragiA celebrity photograph sparks a court case as a tabloid magazine spins a scandalous yarn over a painter and a famous singer.
- DirectorShin'ya TsukamotoStarsShin'ya TsukamotoTakahiro MuraseTakahiro KandakaA man wakes up to find himself locked in a cramped concrete maze of corridors, in which he can barely move. He doesn't remember why he is there or how he got there. He has a terrible stomach injury and is slowly bleeding to death.
- DirectorNoboru IguchiStarsMinase YashiroAsamiNobuhiro NishiharaMaimed while seeking revenge, a girl becomes stronger than ever.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneMisa UeharaMinoru ChiakiLured by gold, two greedy peasants unknowingly escort a princess and her general across enemy lines.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneYutaka SadaTatsuya NakadaiAn executive of a Yokohama shoe company becomes a victim of extortion when his chauffeur's son is kidnapped by mistake and held for ransom.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsKoji YakushoTakayuki YamadaYûsuke IseyaA group of assassins come together for a suicide mission to kill an evil lord.
- DirectorKôhei OguriStarsTakahiro TamuraMariko KagaNobutaka AsaharaIn post-War Japan, a boy from a noodle store-owning family befriends a neighboring boy living in poverty.
- DirectorKon IchikawaStarsEiji FunakoshiMantarô UshioYoshihiro HamaguchiIn the closing days of WWII, remnants of the Japanese army in Leyte are abandoned by their command and face certain death by starvation.
- DirectorKaneto ShindôStarsNobuko OtowaTaiji TonoyamaShinji TanakaA family of four are the sole inhabitants of a small island where they struggle each day to irrigate their crops.
- DirectorNagisa ÔshimaStarsTatsuya FujiEiko MatsudaAoi NakajimaA passionate telling of the story of Sada Abe, a woman whose affair with her master led to an obsessive and ultimately destructive sexual relationship.
- DirectorYasuharu HasebeStarsJô ShishidoHideaki NitaniYôko YamamotoKuroda (Jô Shishido) is a mob hitman who turns on his employers after being forced to execute his lover. Joining forces with his similarly wronged brothers, hot-headed Eiji (Tatsuya Fuji) and aspiring boxer Saburô (Jirô Okazaki), the trio escalate their mob retaliation to all-out turf war where no one will stop until one faction emerges victorious.
- DirectorKaneto ShindôStarsKichiemon NakamuraNobuko OtowaKei SatôTwo women are raped and killed by samurai soldiers. Soon they reappear as vengeful ghosts who seduce and brutally murder the passing samurai.
- DirectorTetsuya NakashimaStarsTakako MatsuYoshino KimuraMasaki OkadaA 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.
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsSetsuko HaraYôko TsukasaMariko OkadaA widow tries to marry off her daughter with the help of her late husband's three friends.
- DirectorYûzô KawashimaStarsTatsuya MihashiYumeji TsukiokaMie KitaharaWhen she was a little girl, Wakako Kyoguku's portrait was painted by a talented young artist. Years later, she takes it to an art gallery in Ginza, in hopes of reuniting with the creator whom she never knew the name.
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsGanjirô NakamuraMachiko KyôHaruko SugimuraThe 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.
- DirectorToshio MatsumotoStarsKatsuo NakamuraJûrô KaraYasuko SanjoAfter being robbed by a geisha, a ronin warrior carves a bloody path to seek revenge.
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsChikage AwashimaRyô IkebeTeiji TakahashiA young man and his wife struggle within the confines of their passionless relationship while he has an extramarital romance.
- DirectorMamoru HosodaStarsRebecca HallDaniel Dae KimKoji YakushoA young boy encounters a magical garden which enables him to travel through time and meet his relatives from different eras, with guidance by his younger sister from the future.
- DirectorJun'ichi SatôTomotaka ShibayamaStarsMirai ShidaNatsuki HanaeJohnny Yong BoschMiyo Sasaki is in love with her classmate Kento Hinode and tries repeatedly to get Kento's attention by transforming into a cat, but at some point, the boundary between herself and the cat becomes ambiguous.
- DirectorNorifumi SuzukiStarsReiko IkeAkemi NegishiRyôko EmaDuring the Meiji era, a gambler called Ocho takes revenge on three gangsters who killed her father, shelters a wanted anarchist and confronts a British spy.
- DirectorSion SonoStarsHiroki HasegawaKumiko AsôMotoki FukamiBullied and diminished by his fellow employees, demure and bashful Ryoichi Suzuki finds support in an unusual friendship with a turtle. Together they will share many adventures and finally conquer the world.
- DirectorShun'ya ItôStarsMeiko KajiFumio WatanabeYukie KagawaAfter spending a year in solitary confinement, Matsu escapes from prison with six more convicts, followed by the guards led by the vengeful warden who wants her dead at all costs.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsTakashi ShimuraToshirô MifuneReizaburô YamamotoA drunken doctor with a hot temper and a violence-prone gangster with tuberculosis form a quicksilver bond.
- DirectorTakeshi KitanoStarsKen KanekoMasanobu AndôLeo MorimotoDropping out of high school, two friends at first find success, one as a up-and-coming boxer and one as a low level gangster. Yet, their life decisions still find a way of catching up with them.
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsChishû RyûShima IwashitaKeiji SadaAn aging widower arranges a marriage for his only daughter.
- DirectorIsao TakahataStarsChloë Grace MoretzJames CaanMary SteenburgenKaguya is a beautiful young woman coveted by five nobles. To try to avoid marrying a stranger she doesn't love, she sends her suitors on seemingly impossible tasks. But she will have to face her fate and punishment for her choices.