Kinema Junpo's Top Japanese Films of the 20th Century: Critics' poll (1995)
List activity
507 views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
119 titles
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsChishû RyûChieko HigashiyamaSô YamamuraAn old couple visit their children and grandchildren in the city, but receive little attention.
- 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.
- DirectorMikio NaruseStarsHideko TakamineMasayuki MoriMariko OkadaA tragic social drama set in post war Japan and concerns a lonely woman trying to find purpose and stability in a devastated Tokyo.
- DirectorSadao YamanakaStarsChôjûrô KawarasakiKan'emon NakamuraTsuruzô NakamuraThe lives of two slum neighbors, one of a happy-go-lucky gambler and the other of a poor ronin, converge when the two get involved with the affairs of a powerful samurai official and his gangsters.
- DirectorKenji MizoguchiStarsKinuyo TanakaTsukie MatsuuraIchirô SugaiFollows a woman's fight and survival amid the vicissitudes of life and the cruelty of society.
- DirectorTomu UchidaStarsRentarô MikuniSachiko HidariKôji MitsuiThree thieves escape from a heist, one of them killing the other two. He is sheltered by a prostitute and sought after by the police, but only after ten years his true motivation unravels.
- 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.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsTakashi ShimuraNobuo KanekoShin'ichi HimoriA bureaucrat tries to find meaning in his life after he discovers he has terminal cancer.
- DirectorSadao YamanakaStarsDenjirô ÔkôchiKiyozoKunitarô SawamuraA man gets rid of a cheap pot without knowing it contains a map to a treasure. As word spreads, many join in hunting it.
- DirectorYûzô KawashimaStarsFurankî SakaiSachiko HidariYôko MinamidaIn the last days of the Shogunate, a resourceful grifter seeks to outwit competing prostitutes, rebellious samurai and other inhabitants of a brothel in order to survive the hardened times.
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsSetsuko HaraChishû RyûChikage AwashimaA family chooses a match for their daughter Noriko, but she, surprisingly, has her own plans.
- 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.
- DirectorNagisa ÔshimaStarsMiyuki KuwanoFumio WatanabeMasahiko TsugawaLong takes and a highly theatrical visual approach combine to form a tense and confrontational look at the decline of a socialist student activists' movement in Japan.
- DirectorDaisuke ItôStarsDenjirô ÔkôchiHideo NakamuraKichiji NakamuraTrilogy about the travels of the kindly bakuto Kunisada Chuji. Film depicts Chuji's attempt to save the geisha Oshina, a rebellion against the rigid social structure of Edo Japan. Part 3. "The Chuji Patrol"
- DirectorDaisuke ItôStarsDenjirô ÔkôchiIchimaru IchikawaChiyoko KinoshitaTrilogy about the travels of the kindly bakuto Kunisada Chuji. Film depicts Chuji's attempt to save the geisha Oshina, a rebellion against the rigid social structure of Edo Japan. Part 1. "Koshu Swordfighting" - First film is lost
- DirectorDaisuke ItôStarsDenjirô ÔkôchiEnichiro MikawaHideo NakamuraTrilogy about the travels of the kindly bakuto Kunisada Chuji. Film depicts Chuji's attempt to save the geisha Oshina, a rebellion against the rigid social structure of Edo Japan. Part 2. "Shinshu Blood Laughter"
- DirectorKenji MizoguchiStarsKazuo HasegawaKyôko KagawaEitarô ShindôIshun is a wealthy but unsympathetic master printer who has wrongly accused his wife and best employee of being lovers. To escape punishment, the accused run away together, but Ishun is certain to be ruined if word gets out.
- DirectorHiroshi InagakiStarsTsumasaburô BandôKeiko SonoiYasushi NagataMatsugoro is a poor rickshaw driver whose animated spirit and optimistic demeanor make him a favorite of the town. Matsu helps an injured boy, Toshio, and is hired by the boy's parents.
- DirectorKeisuke KinoshitaStarsHideko TakamineItsuo WatanabeMakoto MiyagawaSchoolteacher Hisako Oishi forms an emotional bond with her pupils and teaches them various virtues, while at the same time worrying about their future.
- 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.
- DirectorKenji MizoguchiStarsIsuzu YamadaYôko UmemuraChiyoko ÔkuraA young woman becomes a mistress of her boss in order to support her family.
- DirectorNobuo NakagawaStarsShigeru AmachiNoriko KitazawaKatsuko WakasugiThe ghost of a samurai's wife takes revenge on her husband.
- DirectorKazuo HaraStarsKenzo OkuzakiRiichi AikawaMasaichi HamaguchiA documentary following Kenzo Okuzaki, a 62-year-old WW2 veteran notorious for his protests against Emperor Hirohito, as he tries to expose the needless executions of two Japanese soldiers during the war.
- DirectorKinji FukasakuStarsBunta SugawaraHiroki MatsukataKunie TanakaDuring the violent chaos of post-War Japanese black market, a young gangster called Shozo Hirono has to keep up with the rapid shifts of power between unscrupulous bosses.
- DirectorToshio MasudaStarsTetsuya WatariRuriko AsaokaJô ShishidoA young yakuza hitman named Goro does a job and needs to hideout away from Tokyo for a while. He hangs out with loose women and hard men and always manages to stay one step ahead of the law. In his exile, he comes under suspicion for a murder and meets the girlfriend of the murdered man. They develop a strange bond while unbeknown to Goro, another hitman is after him for the job he did in Tokyo.