Any good Japanese movies to watch?

[marillion]

^^ That movie sounds pretty good. I will have to check it out!

My recommendation is: "The Princess Blade"... Fantastic movie.. Really nice FX and a good story.

 

[Leroy]

i'm mainly looking for 'real' movies.

Anime stuff is just as legit Japanese cinema as the live action stuff if not more so. The reason the Japanese went for more animation than live action was because they don't have a Hollywood type industry to fall back on so they went the animation route. With anime you get plenty of robots too so it's win win.

As for live action Japanese movies I like the various Kaiju movies like Godzilla and what not. I am also very fond of Kurosawa's films.

 

[Sephiroth]

if you want a good monster flick, id recommend Zeiram & Zeiram 2 the anime miniseries is pretty good, too, don't pupu anime just because it's a different visual media

 

[LitmusDragon]

I'm a big Kurosawa nut. Just got into his stuff in the past year or so, he's made some great movies.

This is a great thread for movie suggestion. I'll be checking a lot of these out.

 

[Forbin]

I'm a big Kurosawa nut. Just got into his stuff in the past year or so, he's made some great movies.

This is a great thread for movie suggestion. I'll be checking a lot of these out.

He's made some of the greatEST movies!

 

[ReadyAndWilling]

is 'the time traveler' an animated movie?

i'm mainly looking for 'real' movies.

Yeah, it's live action

Here it is in Amazon. Apparently it's out next year in the US.

I watched the UK release last year.

All the movies I mentioned are live action, although some are based on manga, and have anime equivalents too. It's easy to get mixed up with the Death Note movies for instance.

oh so it's not out yet?

the only movie called 'the time traveler' i could find was an anime movie.

 

[ReadyAndWilling]

i'm mainly looking for 'real' movies.

Anime stuff is just as legit Japanese cinema as the live action stuff if not more so. The reason the Japanese went for more animation than live action was because they don't have a Hollywood type industry to fall back on so they went the animation route. With anime you get plenty of robots too so it's win win.

As for live action Japanese movies I like the various Kaiju movies like Godzilla and what not. I am also very fond of Kurosawa's films.

i've got no issue with anime, but i'd just prefer to see some live action in the mix.

 

[timothy]

Anything by Miyazaki - Grave of the Fireflies and Spirited Away are at the top of my list. Castle in the Sky has especially mind-bending visuals.

Most of the Japanese movies I like are not sf/f, go figure...

After Life - oddball movie about life after death, but not in an sf/f way.

Departures - another excellent movie about death.

Kwaidan - four stories based on Japanese ghost stories, very cool movie (and thanks for reminding me of this, I'm due for a rewatch.)

The Twilight Samurai and The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi - two very different take on the genre.

Tampopo - really different.

Akira Kurasawa's Dreams - really really different.

Ugetsu, Ikiru, Harakiri - intense human drama.

Hidden Fortress, Ran, Rashomon, Seven Samurai, Yojimbo - obvious suggestions, but just in case you haven't seen these already, they should be at the top of your list.

damn you beat me to it, I was going to mention Hidden Fortress fantastic movie.

 

[ReadyAndWilling]

Anything by Miyazaki - Grave of the Fireflies and Spirited Away are at the top of my list. Castle in the Sky has especially mind-bending visuals.

Most of the Japanese movies I like are not sf/f, go figure...

After Life - oddball movie about life after death, but not in an sf/f way.

Departures - another excellent movie about death.

Kwaidan - four stories based on Japanese ghost stories, very cool movie (and thanks for reminding me of this, I'm due for a rewatch.)

The Twilight Samurai and The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi - two very different take on the genre.

Tampopo - really different.

Akira Kurasawa's Dreams - really really different.

Ugetsu, Ikiru, Harakiri - intense human drama.

Hidden Fortress, Ran, Rashomon, Seven Samurai, Yojimbo - obvious suggestions, but just in case you haven't seen these already, they should be at the top of your list.

damn you beat me to it, I was going to mention Hidden Fortress fantastic movie.

is this it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hidden_Fortress

 

[zakkrusz]

My list of good Japanese live action I've seen is pretty short. Doubly so if you wanted to limit it to sci-fi/fantasy.

Death Note
Death Note 2: The Last Name
Gantz
Gantz: Perfect Answer

 

[The Laughing Vulcan]

is 'the time traveler' an animated movie?

i'm mainly looking for 'real' movies.

Yeah, it's live action

Here it is in Amazon. Apparently it's out next year in the US.

I watched the UK release last year.

All the movies I mentioned are live action, although some are based on manga, and have anime equivalents too. It's easy to get mixed up with the Death Note movies for instance.

oh so it's not out yet?

the only movie called 'the time traveler' i could find was an anime movie.

You really have to get used to the concept of importing when it comes to Japanese cinema, I'm in the UK, and depending on the release, I've movies from Region 2, Region 1, Region 4, and Region 3.

One of the best labels for independent Japanese (and Korean) cinema is a UK one, Third Window Films, and they have a lot of fans in the US who import from here. You'll need a DVD player that is PAL compatible though.

 

[Forbin]

I saw "Hidden Fortress" recently and I agree - fantastic.

A couple of other very good Samurai films I saw recently are "Revenge" and "13 Assassins."

 

[Set Harth]

Just got into his stuff in the past year or so

Me too. The catalyst was a TCM marathon coinciding with what would have been his 100th birthday.

( And my mentally willing Yojimbo to appear in the free On Demand menu, the only time I've been able to pull something like that off. )

 

[Delsaber]

Everything I was going to suggest has been suggested already, so I'll just throw in Blind Swordsman Zatoichi and call it a day.

...oh wait, there are literally dozens of Zatoichi movies. I dunno, start with the first two and then cherry-pick or skip to the big one that actually got a theatrical release on this side of the pond in 2003.

 

[timothy]

Anything by Miyazaki - Grave of the Fireflies and Spirited Away are at the top of my list. Castle in the Sky has especially mind-bending visuals.

Most of the Japanese movies I like are not sf/f, go figure...

After Life - oddball movie about life after death, but not in an sf/f way.

Departures - another excellent movie about death.

Kwaidan - four stories based on Japanese ghost stories, very cool movie (and thanks for reminding me of this, I'm due for a rewatch.)

The Twilight Samurai and The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi - two very different take on the genre.

Tampopo - really different.

Akira Kurasawa's Dreams - really really different.

Ugetsu, Ikiru, Harakiri - intense human drama.

Hidden Fortress, Ran, Rashomon, Seven Samurai, Yojimbo - obvious suggestions, but just in case you haven't seen these already, they should be at the top of your list.

damn you beat me to it, I was going to mention Hidden Fortress fantastic movie.

is this it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hidden_Fortress

yep.

 

[ReadyAndWilling]

Anything by Miyazaki - Grave of the Fireflies and Spirited Away are at the top of my list. Castle in the Sky has especially mind-bending visuals.

Most of the Japanese movies I like are not sf/f, go figure...

After Life - oddball movie about life after death, but not in an sf/f way.

Departures - another excellent movie about death.

Kwaidan - four stories based on Japanese ghost stories, very cool movie (and thanks for reminding me of this, I'm due for a rewatch.)

The Twilight Samurai and The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi - two very different take on the genre.

Tampopo - really different.

Akira Kurasawa's Dreams - really really different.

Ugetsu, Ikiru, Harakiri - intense human drama.

Hidden Fortress, Ran, Rashomon, Seven Samurai, Yojimbo - obvious suggestions, but just in case you haven't seen these already, they should be at the top of your list.

damn you beat me to it, I was going to mention Hidden Fortress fantastic movie.

is this it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hidden_Fortress

is this the right one?

 

[ReadyAndWilling]

damn you beat me to it, I was going to mention Hidden Fortress fantastic movie.

is this it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hidden_Fortress

yep.

ok, cool thanks.

are there any others live action japanese movies i could check out? even if they aren't sci-fiction?

 

[ReadyAndWilling]

My list of good Japanese live action I've seen is pretty short. Doubly so if you wanted to limit it to sci-fi/fantasy.

Death Note
Death Note 2: The Last Name
Gantz
Gantz: Perfect Answer

so these are the decent movies? i just saw the trailers and thought they look kinda weird?

 

[ReadyAndWilling]

is this it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hidden_Fortress

yep.

ok, cool thanks.

are there any others live action japanese movies i could check out? even if they aren't sci-fiction?

bump

 

[AFEK ESLCAFE W]

Galaxy Express 999 (1979)
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