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Your Favorite Japanese Movies

roots reggae

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The discussion going on in the Shinjuku Swan thread got me thinking about great Japanese films.

What are some of your favorites and why?

One evening, long ago, just after I married in 2002, I was channel surfing on my TV cable provider, JCom, looking for English programs. My wife was out and I was bored.

I stumbled upon a movie in Japanese, of which I understood just a few words, back then, hardly much more, even now.

Yet, I seemed to understand what was going on, without subtitles.

When my wife got home, I started describing the film. She laughed, and recognized it immediately.

It turns out that it was a series of 48 films, spanning from 1968 to 1995 called Otoko Wa Tsurai Yo -It’s Tough Being a Man and NHK was showing the entire collection, something that happens every now and then.

We watched the remainder of the series and I was hooked. Later, I bought all 48, with English subtitles.

For those of you not familiar, here are a few links, describing the Tora-san series:

All the Tora-san films had broadly the same plot. In each, the hero meets, falls for and loses the girl. Individual entries were distinguished mainly by the casting of the heroines, known collectively as Tora-san’s “Madonnas.” Likewise, each film depicted the hero’s awkward interaction with his family.

But it is too simplistic to say that the series was formulaic, since the formula itself was the pleasure. From Tora-san’s unchanging opening narration and the whimsical theme tune, to the film-parody pre-credit dream sequences with which later episodes began, the viewer had the sense of returning to a familiar world, and reacquainting himself with characters that he had come to know intimately over the years. The regular twice-yearly installments, released to coincide with Bon summer holidays and New Year festivities, began to feel like visits from beloved relatives.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2008/11/14/films/114980/#.V5U-lBV94uo

Tora-san arrived on the screen when anything was possible if you worked hard enough, and people were forward-thinking and full of energy… A penniless, comic anti-hero, Tora-san lacked good looks and smarts and remained oblivious to the country’s modernization, living solely to bring happiness to those he loved.
- Yoji Yamada, Director

https://www.japansociety.org/content.cfm/best_of_tora-san

Otoko wa Tsurai yo(男はつらいよ?, "It's tough being a man") is a Japanese film series starring Kiyoshi Atsumi as "Tora-san" (寅さん?), a kind-hearted vagabond who is always unlucky in love. The series itself is often referred to as "Tora-san" by its fans.[1] Spanning 48 installments released between 1969 and 1995,[2] all of the Otoko wa tsurai yo films except episodes 3 (Azuma Morisaki) and 4 (Shun'ichi Kobayashi) were directed by Yōji Yamada, who also wrote (or co-wrote) all the screenplays.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otoko_wa_Tsurai_yo

tora san.png

tora san 2.jpg

 
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Ugetsu monogatari (Tales of a Pale and Mysterious Moon After the Rain) Kenji Mizoguchi
Rashomon
Kamikaze Girls (2004) Tetsuya Nakashima
Akira Kurosawa's Dreams 1990

Not exatly japanse movies ...
Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985)
Enter the Void (Soudain le vide) Gaspar Noe ( filmed in Tokyo )
 
Confessions (Kokuhaku), one of the best revenge movies I have seen together with Old Boy.
 
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oldboy is one of the best movies ever...
while i am constantly looking watching (and looking for) japanese movies, i find it hard to find good ones...
the better ones i can remember have been solanin and toku de zutto soba ni iru...
there are lots that are enjoyable, but its usually the humour thats putting me off... the fact that there is hunour at all, doesnt matter if its slapstick, or over the top horror/gore...
movies about japan (or from a non japanese point of view) are even worse, since except for a few, its about everything i dont like here (and usually think it doesnt even exist)... exception would be japanorama, but thats no movie at all...

ill keep you updated, whenever i find good movies...
 
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Shinjuku Swan and also Sakuran.
Sakuran might really appeal to the people who're interested in Japanese sex work history.
I know its a rip off of memoirs of a geisha but i personally like oiran over geisha and Anna Tsuchiya is a goddess.
 
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tsuchiya anna is better as an actress, than she is as a singer...
her movies have mainly been good and her acting is also quite nice... i was very surprised, in a positive way...
 
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I don't really know much about Japanese films because they often do not interest me, but Japanese animation films are awesome.
I've seen all the Ghibili films and Mononoke Hime is my favorite of all time, the theme is dark but it's deep.
 
my advise, mr bear, forget about stupid ghibli and watch real movies...i admit it is difficult to find good ones (at least for me, since my taste is fokken a), but there are really nice movies... though if you like animation, im sure you find lots of movies that entertain you....
 
my advise, mr bear, forget about stupid ghibli and watch real movies...i admit it is difficult to find good ones (at least for me, since my taste is fokken a), but there are really nice movies... though if you like animation, im sure you find lots of movies that entertain you....
How dare you insult Ghibili D: you shall be hanged for this! But most of the time I just watch Hollywood or Bollywood films, Slumdog Millionaire :)
 
well then youll have it easy to find entertaining movies anywhere^^
 
ペコロスの母に会いに行く is a great movie.
I also like 白ゆきひ姫殺人事件 (snow white murders case) and 母と暮らせば.
Think my favorite Takeshi Kitano is Dolls.

If you are into thrillers, クリーピー偽りの隣人 was quite good.

I also really like 愛のむきだし, but the movie is really long.
 
How dare you insult Ghibili D: you shall be hanged for this! But most of the time I just watch Hollywood or Bollywood films, Slumdog Millionaire :)

You are bear. You do not hang. You maul and eat! Seems you're turning more and more into people hanging out here.
 
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Hands down HOUSE directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi. It was released by Toho so its a major film but it is so trippy and psychedelic that its hard to imagine any major studio (in Japan or otherwise) releasing something like it today. The plot borders on incoherent at parts but its really more about enjoying the bizarre imagery/gags than anything else.

I also still really like Audition by Takashi Miike. Its such a slow build - the first hour and some change are basically every horrible late-90's Japanese romance movie - but the payoff is so worth it. Shiina Eihi is unbelievably good in her role.

In terms of animation Perfect Blue stands out as an all-time classic. The deconstruction/destruction of the "idol" paradigm is incredibly well done and the animation itself is beautiful.
 
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common knowledge... it was mentioned in a comment above, thats why i mentioned it again...
apologies, a lot of westerners seem to mistake it for a japanese film, so i always want to tell them its not.
 
just watched Ai No Uzu (love's whirlpool) recently on netflix. I liked it and I think it's the kind of movie to suggest in this forum.
 
You are bear. You do not hang. You maul and eat! Seems you're turning more and more into people hanging out here.
I never said anything about hanging with a rope :)
I'll hang stuff on the tree after I play with my preys

gimme da fuggin' keys ya cocksugga wat da faaaah...
 
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I never said anything about hanging with a rope :)
I'll hang stuff on the tree after I play with my preys

gimme da fuggin' keys ya cocksugga wat da faaaah...

Now, now, kids, try to get along and play nice.

I feel a sorta responsibility for both of you, having been the first to welcome both of you to the forum.:smuggrin:

By the way, I am proud of both of you. You have contributed positively to the forum and become excellent TAG citizens-way to go!!!
 
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Now, now, kids, try to get along and play nice.

I feel a sorta responsibility for both of you, having been the first to welcome both of you to the forum.:smuggrin:

By the way, I am proud of both of you. You have contributed positively to the forum and become excellent TAG citizens-way to go!!!
Haha we get along just fine!
The key thing is from this


Also thank you grandpa Roots :D