Continuing on with my Japan travel series, Japanese culture is a complex enigma, a mystery that many Japanese claim cannot be fully understood even by natives. Watching Japanese films can illuminate these complexities, and within these mysteries is for me one of the key excitements about Japan: you latch on to something, a piece of the culture that fascinates, baffles, or intrigues you, and you follow the threads. This can be anything from food to cultural practices to art to the sciences that world specializes in and so much more.
Certain Japanese filmmakers are some of the most celebrated ever in film history; whether you are a cinema buff or wanting to learn more about Japanese culture (or just watch some great films!), then these are five Japanese filmmakers you need to know about.
1. Yasujiro Ozu
If Japan had one film ambassador who was able to perfectly capture the nuances and subtleties of Japanese culture Ozu would be the premier elect. His body of work is praised for its interior quietness, the drama kept reigned in, constantly bubbling under the surface, but always with an air of the poignant and deeply human.
Top three recommended films:
Tokyo Story
An Autumn Afternoon
Good Morning
2. Akira Kurosawa
If Ozu would be considered Japan's ambassador to the world then Kurosawa might be considered the ambassador of Japanese-Western culture's intersection.
A legendary pioneer of film who inspired movies such as Star Wars, The Godfather, The Magnificient Seven, and influenced filmmakers such as Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, Sergio Leone, Martin Scorsese and others, Kurosawa's films are a rich blend of the powerful, comedic, dark, poignant. His Shakespeare adaptations are particularly amazing.
At their core, however, they are all profoundly human. Picking only three of his to recommend was agony!
Top three recommended films:
Seven Samurai
Ikiru
Dreams
3. Masaki Kobayashi
Kobayashi has an eclectic body of work. He has tackled the classical Samurai genre with a celebrated version of the classic The 47 Ronin; he also embraced the anti-culture Japanese film wave with his fantastic Samurai Rebellion.
He has also produced acclaimed works in horror and family drama, as well as being credited by many with making the most profound film in existence, a three-part film called The Human Condition.
Kobayashi's work is splendid, a treat for anyone with either an interest in Japanese culture or good films in general.
Top three recommended films:
The Human Condition (Trilogy)
Kwaidan
Harakiri
4. Kon Ichikawa
Ichikawa is particularly remarkable for his background in animation; as such, in the era of black and white, his color hungry eye managed to create extraordinary compositions that suggested depth and color. Shadows and lighting, as well as the cinematography itself, are all used to extraordinary effect in his films.
When he finally hit the color era, his work took on even more profound qualities.
Top three recommended films:
The Burmese Harp (both the original and color remake)
Tokyo Olympiad
Fires on the Plain
5. Yojiro Takita
Takita has been a working director for decades in a variety of genres, including horror. His currently body of work includes only four films. In 2008, he deservedly accepted the Academy-award for Best Foreign Film with his masterpiece, Departures.
Top three recommended films:
Departures
When the Last Sword is Drawn
The Exam
Honorable mentions with a recommendation or two:
1. Shoehei Imamura
The Pornographers
2. Kenji Mizoguchi
Ugetsu
Sansho the Baliff
3. Mikio Naruse
When a Woman Ascends the Stairs
4. Nobuhiko Obayashi
House
5. Nagisa Oshima
In the Realm of the Senses
Empire of Passion
6. Hiroshi Shimizu
Japanaese Girls at the Harbor
7. Kaneto Shindo
The Naked Island
Onibaba
8. Hiroshi Teshigahara
Woman in the Dunes
Have a Japanese filmmaker you didn't see here you think is amazing? Share in the comments and post a film recommendation or two!
Certain Japanese filmmakers are some of the most celebrated ever in film history; whether you are a cinema buff or wanting to learn more about Japanese culture (or just watch some great films!), then these are five Japanese filmmakers you need to know about.
1. Yasujiro Ozu
If Japan had one film ambassador who was able to perfectly capture the nuances and subtleties of Japanese culture Ozu would be the premier elect. His body of work is praised for its interior quietness, the drama kept reigned in, constantly bubbling under the surface, but always with an air of the poignant and deeply human.
Top three recommended films:
Tokyo Story
An Autumn Afternoon
Good Morning
2. Akira Kurosawa
If Ozu would be considered Japan's ambassador to the world then Kurosawa might be considered the ambassador of Japanese-Western culture's intersection.
A legendary pioneer of film who inspired movies such as Star Wars, The Godfather, The Magnificient Seven, and influenced filmmakers such as Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, Sergio Leone, Martin Scorsese and others, Kurosawa's films are a rich blend of the powerful, comedic, dark, poignant. His Shakespeare adaptations are particularly amazing.
At their core, however, they are all profoundly human. Picking only three of his to recommend was agony!
Top three recommended films:
Seven Samurai
Ikiru
Dreams
3. Masaki Kobayashi
Kobayashi has an eclectic body of work. He has tackled the classical Samurai genre with a celebrated version of the classic The 47 Ronin; he also embraced the anti-culture Japanese film wave with his fantastic Samurai Rebellion.
He has also produced acclaimed works in horror and family drama, as well as being credited by many with making the most profound film in existence, a three-part film called The Human Condition.
Kobayashi's work is splendid, a treat for anyone with either an interest in Japanese culture or good films in general.
Top three recommended films:
The Human Condition (Trilogy)
Kwaidan
Harakiri
4. Kon Ichikawa
Ichikawa is particularly remarkable for his background in animation; as such, in the era of black and white, his color hungry eye managed to create extraordinary compositions that suggested depth and color. Shadows and lighting, as well as the cinematography itself, are all used to extraordinary effect in his films.
When he finally hit the color era, his work took on even more profound qualities.
Top three recommended films:
The Burmese Harp (both the original and color remake)
Tokyo Olympiad
Fires on the Plain
5. Yojiro Takita
Takita has been a working director for decades in a variety of genres, including horror. His currently body of work includes only four films. In 2008, he deservedly accepted the Academy-award for Best Foreign Film with his masterpiece, Departures.
Top three recommended films:
Departures
When the Last Sword is Drawn
The Exam
Honorable mentions with a recommendation or two:
1. Shoehei Imamura
The Pornographers
2. Kenji Mizoguchi
Ugetsu
Sansho the Baliff
3. Mikio Naruse
When a Woman Ascends the Stairs
4. Nobuhiko Obayashi
House
5. Nagisa Oshima
In the Realm of the Senses
Empire of Passion
6. Hiroshi Shimizu
Japanaese Girls at the Harbor
7. Kaneto Shindo
The Naked Island
Onibaba
8. Hiroshi Teshigahara
Woman in the Dunes
Have a Japanese filmmaker you didn't see here you think is amazing? Share in the comments and post a film recommendation or two!
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