The cinema of Japan

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any of Mikio Naruse, Keisuke Kinosh1ta, Hiroshi Shimizu (classic drama)

Art Theatre Guild related films (Japanese new wave, subset)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Th...ld_filmography

Kohei Oguri : Muddy River, Sleeping Man
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I think mark f just wiped out everything I was thinking of suggesting. I'll highlight some of those.

Love Exposure
A Page of Madness
Why Don't You Play in Hell?
Tampopo
Battles Without Honor and Humanity series
The Tale of Zatoichi
Youth of the Beast

I'm a fan of Sion Sono, but still haven't caught up to half his catalog, only slightly less prolific than Miike at the moment. Play in Hell might turn you off for seeming to be an ultraviolent exercise, but in fact is a satire of ultraviolent nihilism (and I think Tarantino's Kill Bill was its prime target, but I can't confirm that).


Page of Madness is a surrel silent film taken place in a mental asylum. It's plenty surreal already, but also, when it was rediscovered in the 70s, the old director had forgotten the order of the reels, so we've never seen it in its proper continuity. Still wildly evocative and hypnotic.


Tampopo is the best Japanese comedy of the 80s.


Battles is director Kenji Fukasaku's gritty crime drama, an excellent counterpart to its contemporary gritty police dramas of the American 70s, Italian poliziottesco, and also portends John Woo's later Hong Kong classics.


Even if they're samurai films, Zatoichi is such a sympathetic and compelling character that it might transcend it for you. Either Tale or Chest of Gold are good samples.


I'll try a novel suggestion and go with Female Prisoner Scorpion. These might seem like exploitation on their surface, but, at least the first couple, definitely have an art-house vibe, and I'm sure you'll be won over by some of their more memorably bizarre images.


Who else? Naruse has been mentioned, as well as Oshima, but for the latter, I'd seek out whatever you can. An Imamura that hasn't been mentioned (I think, it's hard to keep up) would be Profound Desires of the Gods. And among the J-horror, I might add Audition and Dark Water.



Right, I thought I may as well use this thread for a few reviews. First up -

Pale Flower
Dir.: Masahiro Shinoda



What an ultra cool crime movie. Ryo Ikebe is a smooth yakuza gang member who does the dirty work for his boss. He meets a beautiful mysterious woman in a gambling den and he's forced to rethink a few things. The photography in this film is gorgeous, and it features a mesmerizing dream sequence. It's Japanese noir at its' best.

It's hard to imagine the likes of Scorsese weren't influenced by this film, as there are many god shots, fast paced camera pans and other tropes that feature heavily in films like Taxi Driver and Good fellas. This would be part of a great double feature with something like Le Samourai too. Stunning film!




If you start with Ghibli... It will keep you busy for a while
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My Favorite Films



A couple of others I've seen somewhat recently (the past couple of years):


Slave Widow: I think this is the first official 'pink' film I've seen, but was very surprised at how sensitive and unexploitative it is. Basically a melodrama with sexual overtones, it's quite a progressive view of traditional Japanese patriarchy with a fine performance from Noriko Tatsumi.


Blind Woman's Curse: More of an action film in the vein of star Meiko Kaji's Lady Snowblood (which this film's finale closely evokes). And as with Kaji's Female Prisoner Scorpion, it may be too 'genre' than what you're looking for, but visually splendid at any rate.



Is that Toshio Matsumoto's Shura (1971) or is that a different one? Asking just because you don't see people mention that one a lot.


I found it to be quite a different beast than Funeral Parade of Roses.