Japanese Movie Recommendations

[wuggles451]

So I bought Versus a while back and now am like a junkie who needs his next fix of Japanese cinema. So i ordered, from superhappyfun.com(highly recommended), Gozu, Miike's latest and my first Takashi Miike film. Also I ordered Down to Hell the predecessor to Versus. If I like these, next on the list is Fireworks, Wild Zero, Dead or Alive, and Battle Royal. Any other suggestions?



Post Edited (09-15-03 21:39)

[Dunners]

yeah battle royale definitley

[Cullen]

I recommend Ringu , the inspiration for Ring and Joyû-rei (also called Ghost Actress ) if you're looking for horror movies, Yojimbo and Sanjûrô if you're looking for Samurai movies.
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[Scott]

I know this one isn't in the league of Kirwasawa or the ones Wuggles mentioned, but I liked NINJA WARS. The ones below are on my list to see

Wild Zero
Fireworks
Yojimbo

[Anon E. Mouse]

I'll give you two picks and compare it to an American film.

Gonin.  This is the Japanese Res Dogs.  Very cool action, over the top characters, Yakuza, homoerotic tension, brilliant camera work, what more can you ask for of a Japanese action film?  One of my favorite films.

Tokyo Fist.  This is the film Fight Club strived to be.  Awesome tale of two men who feel emasculated after a tragic event, and the lengths they go through to feel like men again.  Brutal and poignant.

[Conrad]

I would recommend "Hana-Bi" and "Brother", both Beat Takeshi films.  They remind me of Aki Kaurismaki's style of film-making - very *very* black humour and static set-ups.  Then there's "Tokyo Drifter", a pretty-hard-to-define 60's gangster film, and - not for the faint of heart - "Tetsuo" and "Tetsuo 2", sort of sci-fi splatter on a miniscule budget.
The "Ring" films are atmospheric, even creepy, but nothing like as frightening as people made them out to be.
Finally, for the epics, "Ran" and "Kagemusha", big films with a Shakespearean ethos.

[wuggles451]

Wow, thanks for all the suggestions, out of all of them i think I have only seen Brother. Not too interested in the Ringu series but Tokyo Fist and Tokyo Drifter have got me curious.

[Vermin Boy]

Check out Happiness of the Katakuris. Absolutely biting-heads-off-rabbits INSANE horror-comedy-musical. You won't regret it.

[dean]

if it actually has biting the heads off rabbits, i'm there!

what's wrong with the ringu series? it doesn't have the big scares of other horror films and doesn't have the big budget of other films, but as previously said, it has the atmosphere sadly lacking in most films nowadays, and that final scene scares the pants off me no matter what.

i also reccomend the film Hypnosis.  i guess it's similar to ringu, but i'd say it's a lot scarier, and at times fairly creepy.  great film

[Eric]

Excellent suggestions (esp "Brother" and "Tetsuo"). Prequel (?) to the Ringu-series, "Baasudei", too.

Probably mentioned already. But try Takashi Miike's "Ichi the Killer". ("Koroshiya 1")

[Vermin Boy]

Sorry, no rabbit decapitation, but it does have claymation action scenes, dancing zombies, suicide by chopsticks, karaoke (complete with lyrics at the bottom of the screen), pedophiliac sumo wrestlers, and an uplifting ending, to boot. Did I mention it's the best movie ever? 'Cause that bears repeating.

[wuggles451]

I just didn't like Ring when I saw it in theatre so have no real desire to seek out the originals. The end scene, if you are refering to when the girl crawls out of the TV, that was the final nail in the coffin I absolutly hated that.

[dean]

ah well, can't please 'em all! :P

[Neville]

If you are into horror, maybe you'll enjoy "Dark Water", the latest film from the creators of "Ringu". If you look for more classic stuff, the best-known Kurosawa films, like "Ran", "Yojimbo" or "Seven Samurais".

I'm not much into japanese films myself, but easily my favourites from this country are the animated works of Miyazaki, like "Laputa", "Porco Rosso", "Princess Mononoke" or "Spirited away".

Some people have mentioned Takeshi Kitano. I hated "Violent Cop", but I've heard the critics rave about his latest stuff, "Hana-bi" and "Dolls", or even earlier films, like "Sonatine" or "Boiling Point", so you may feel like watching them.

[Jim H]

Buy the 4 movie collection titled Sonny Chiba's greatest hits.  3 of the four movies are good (both Street Fighters and the Samurai one) the bodyguard one sucks.  I bought the set for $7.50.