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Films 3
Rashomon
1950 · Akira Kurosawa
- MovementJapanese
- StyleJapanese Golden Age, Art Cinema, Auteur Cinema
- CountryJapan
- Guide · Why watch this?A defining film of Japan's postwar golden age and the work that introduced Japanese cinema to a global audience. It also established the multi-perspective narrative as a…
- Guide · Cinema at the timeJapan was under Allied occupation until 1952. Studios such as Daiei were rebuilding, and period films (jidaigeki) were a staple, though the Western audience barely knew J…
- Guide · What to expect…ong contrasts between sunlit forest and dark gate. Language Japanese with subtitles. Dialogue is sparse, and long passages rely on images and music. Content Centres on a…
- Guide · Social contextJapan in 1950 was still occupied by Allied forces, mainly American, after defeat in 1945. Cities were damaged, food and housing were scarce, and many people were question…
- Guide · Watch with kids?…d a medieval setting, and may be worth discussing. It is in Japanese with subtitles and in black and white, so be ready to read along and settle into a slower rhythm. The…
Tokyo Story
1953 · Yasujirō Ozu
- MovementJapanese
- StyleJapanese Golden Age, Art Cinema, Melodrama
- CountryJapan
- Guide · Why watch this?A defining work of the Japanese golden age and of the shomin-geki family drama, it carried Ozu's distinctive minimalism to an international audience and became a referenc…
- Guide · Cinema at the timeJapanese cinema was thriving in the early 1950s. Studios such as Shochiku, Ozu's home, made steady output of contemporary family dramas alongside the period films that wo…
- Guide · What to expect…obtrusive score. Format Black and white, 4:3 Academy ratio, Japanese language. Always watch with subtitles, since much of the meaning is in phrasing and politeness. Perfo…
- Guide · Social contextJapan had been devastated by the Second World War and the Allied Occupation had ended only in 1952. By 1953 the economy was recovering, with Tokyo growing fast and the wa…
- Guide · Watch with kids?…children may lose interest. It is in black and white, with Japanese dialogue and subtitles, so be ready to read aloud for younger viewers. It is set in Japan in the earl…
Seven Samurai
1954 · Akira Kurosawa
- MovementJapanese
- StyleJapanese Golden Age, Historical Epic, Auteur Cinema
- CountryJapan
- Guide · Why watch this?A defining film of the Japanese golden age and of the jidaigeki, the period drama, it showed that a samurai film could combine popular entertainment with serious social o…
- Guide · Cinema at the timeJapanese cinema was in a postwar golden age, with studios such as Toho producing prestige and popular films. Seven Samurai became one of the most expensive Japanese produ…
- Guide · What to expect…style contrasts with the calm of the other leads. Language Japanese with subtitles. Dialogue ranges from formal samurai speech to rough peasant talk.
- Guide · Social contextJapan had lost the Second World War in 1945 and was under Allied Occupation until 1952. By 1954 the economy was recovering, helped by Korean War procurement, but memories…
- Guide · Watch with kids?…d to be comfortable reading along. Set in sixteenth-century Japan, where samurai were professional warriors above farmers in a strict class system. You may want to watch…
People 28
Ken Watanabe
Acting
- BiographyKen Watanabe is a Japanese actor of stage, film and television. He became a leading Japanese actor in the 1980s and 1990s, then gained international fame as a dignified,…
- Born inUonuma, Niigata, Japan
- Key filmsTampopo: Early screen role in Juzo Itami's celebrated Japanese food comedy, a landmark of 1980s Japanese cinema. The Last Samurai: His Hollywood breakthrough as Katsumoto…
- Awards…omination, Best Supporting Actor (The Last Samurai) - 2007: Japan Academy Prize for Best Actor (Memories of Tomorrow) - 2010: Japan Academy Prize for Best Actor (Shizuman…
Minoru Chiaki
Acting
- BiographyMinoru Chiaki (1917–1999) was a Japanese character actor best remembered for his supporting roles in Akira Kurosawa's films, especially the good-natured Heihachi in Seven…
- Born inHokkaido, Japan
- Key films…in Kurosawa's internationally acclaimed drama that brought Japanese cinema to Western audiences. Ikiru: Supporting role in Kurosawa's celebrated drama, showing his range…
- Awards- 1986 Japan Academy Prize, Best Actor (for Gray Sunset)
Mone Kamishiraishi
Acting
- BiographyMone Kamishiraishi is a Japanese actress, voice actress and singer from Kagoshima. She debuted in 2011 after the Toho Cinderella Audition and became widely known abroad a…
- Born inKagoshima, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan
- Key films…ko: Her screen breakthrough, a musical comedy that led to a Japan Academy Prize newcomer award. Wolf Children: An early voice role in Mamoru Hosoda's acclaimed animated f…
- Awards- 2015 – Japan Academy Film Prize, Newcomer of the Year (38th ceremony, for Lady Maiko)
Akira Ishihama
Acting
- BiographyAkira Ishihama (1935–2022) was a Tokyo-born Japanese actor whose screen career ran from the early 1950s into the late 1990s. He is best remembered for his role in Masaki…
- Born inTokyo, Japan
- Key films…ted by Masaki Kobayashi and widely regarded as a classic of Japanese cinema. The Human Condition I: No Greater Love: Part of Kobayashi's epic wartime trilogy, one of the…
Akira Kurosawa
Directing
- BiographyAkira Kurosawa (1910–1998) was a Japanese director and painter who made thirty films over five decades. Known for dynamic visuals and period dramas as well as contemporar…
- Born inShinagawa, Tokyo Prefecture, Japan
- Key filmsRashomon: Won the Golden Lion at Venice and brought Japanese cinema international attention. Ikiru: Humane drama about a dying bureaucrat searching for meaning, among his…
Chieko Higashiyama
Acting
- BiographyChieko Higashiyama (1890–1980) was a Japanese actress who began her career late, entering acting in 1925 at age 35. She trained at the Tsukiji Little Theatre and became a…
- Born inChiba, Japan
- Key films…d Man: A late-career film showing her continued presence in Japanese cinema into the 1960s.
Haruko Sugimura
Acting
- BiographyHaruko Sugimura (1909–1997) was a Japanese stage and film actress admired for her naturalistic, finely observed performances. She was a regular in Yasujiro Ozu's films an…
- Born inHiroshima, Japan
- Key films…ring: An early Ozu collaboration, and a landmark of postwar Japanese cinema. Early Summer: Another Ozu family drama that showed her place in his regular ensemble. Late Ch…
Hayao Miyazaki
Directing
- BiographyHayao Miyazaki is a Japanese animator, manga artist and director, and co-founder of Studio Ghibli with Isao Takahata. Known for hand-drawn fantasies about nature, flight…
- Born inTokyo, Japan
- Key films…cess Mononoke: An epic about nature and industry that broke Japanese box-office records and raised his profile in the West. Spirited Away: His biggest international succe…
Isao Takahata
Directing
- BiographyIsao Takahata (1935–2018) was a Japanese animation director and co-founder of Studio Ghibli, alongside Hayao Miyazaki. He never trained as an animator. Known for emotiona…
- Born inUjiyamada [now Ise], Mie, Japan
- Key films…ce of the Sun: His first feature as director, a landmark in Japanese animation that influenced later anime. Grave of the Fireflies: Devastating wartime drama, widely rega…
Kaoru Kobayashi
Acting
- BiographyKaoru Kobayashi (born 1951 in Kyoto) is a Japanese actor with a long career across film, television and stage. He is widely recognised as the quiet owner of the Midnight…
- Born inKyōto, Kyōto Prefecture, Japan
- Key films…ng role in the well-regarded drama about a team compiling a Japanese dictionary. Midnight Diner: Film version of the beloved story of a late-night eatery, built around hi…
Machiko Kyō
Acting
- BiographyMachiko Kyō (1924–2019) was a Japanese actress, trained as a dancer, who became a leading star of 1950s Japanese cinema. Her performances in Rashomon and Ugetsu brought h…
- Born inOsaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan
- Awards- Japan Academy Film Prize, Lifetime Achievement Award (year not confirmed here)
Mari Natsuki
Acting
- BiographyMari Natsuki is a Tokyo-born Japanese singer, dancer and actress who began her career as a young singer. She is best known internationally as the voice of the twin witche…
- Born inToshima, Tokyo, Japan
- Key films…ing animation is her most famous role worldwide. Onimasa: A Japanese Godfather: An early credit in a major Japanese drama directed by Hideo Gosha. Death Powder: A cult 19…
Masahiko Nishimura
Acting
- BiographyMasahiko Nishimura (born 1960 in Toyama) is a Japanese actor with a long career across film and television. He is known for live-action roles in comedies and dramas, and…
- Born inToyama, Toyama Prefecture, Japan
- Key films…ice role in Hayao Miyazaki's landmark animated epic, one of Japan's biggest box-office hits of its time. Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald: Part of the ensemble of Kōki Mitani's…
Masaki Kobayashi
Directing
- BiographyMasaki Kobayashi (1916–1996) was a Japanese director known for humanist, critical films about individuals pitted against rigid institutions. His best-known works are the…
- Born inOtaru, Hokkaidō, Japan
- Key films…monumental war trilogy, a defining humanist epic of postwar Japanese cinema. Harakiri: A stark, formally precise samurai film attacking feudal hypocrisy; often ranked amo…
Masao Mishima
Acting
- BiographyMasao Mishima (1906–1973) was a Japanese character actor from Niigata whose screen career ran from the mid-1930s to the early 1970s. He appeared in work by major director…
- Born inNiigata, Japan
- Key films…role in Ozu's acclaimed family drama, a landmark of postwar Japanese cinema. The Human Condition I: No Greater Love: Part of Kobayashi's monumental wartime epic, one of J…
Masayuki Mori
Acting
- BiographyMasayuki Mori (1911–1973) was a Japanese actor, son of the novelist Takeo Arishima. Known for refined, often melancholic leading roles, he worked with Kurosawa, Mizoguchi…
- Born inSapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
- Key films…d the samurai in Kurosawa's landmark film, which introduced Japanese cinema to wide international audiences. Ugetsu: Starred as the potter Genjuro in Mizoguchi's celebrat…
Nobunaga Shimazaki
Acting
- BiographyNobunaga Shimazaki (born 1988 in Shiogama, Miyagi) is a Japanese voice actor affiliated with Aoni Production. He has worked extensively in anime films and franchises, fro…
- Born inShiogama, Miyagi, Japan
- Key films…n acclaimed original anime feature from a new generation of Japanese animation. BLUE LOCK THE MOVIE -EPISODE NAGI-: Recent franchise film centred on Nagi, a character he…
Akemi Yamaguchi
Acting
- BiographyAkemi Yamaguchi is a Japanese actress born in Osaka Prefecture in 1946. Her credits cluster heavily in 1972 and 1973, with a few later appearances into the 1980s. Limited…
- Born inOsaka Prefecture, Japan
Aoi Yuuki
Acting
- BiographyAoi Yuuki (born 1992 in Chiba, Japan) is a Japanese voice actress and singer, represented by Aoni Production. She began as a child performer and became prominent in anime…
- Born inChiba, Japan
Chishū Ryū
Acting
- BiographyChishū Ryū (1904–1993) was a Japanese actor who appeared in well over 100 films from 1928. He was the favourite performer of director Yasujirō Ozu, often playing quiet, d…
- Born inTachibana, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan
Michio Mamiya
Sound
- BiographyMichio Mamiya (born 1929 in Asahikawa, Hokkaido) is a Japanese composer who has worked on films from the late 1950s onward. He is best known for scoring Isao Takahata's a…
- Born inAsahikawa, Hokkaido, Japan
Joe Hisaishi
Sound
- BiographyJoe Hisaishi (born Mamoru Fujisawa) is a Japanese composer, conductor and pianist with over 100 film scores to his name. He is best known for his long partnership with Ha…
- Born inNagano, Japan
Miyu Irino
Acting
- BiographyMiyu Irino (born 1988, Tokyo) is a Japanese actor and voice actor. He is best known for voicing Haku in Spirited Away and Shouya Ishida in A Silent Voice, as well as Sora…
- Born inTokyo, Japan
Makoto Shinkai
Directing
- BiographyMakoto Shinkai is a Japanese anime director, writer and novelist, and a founder of CoMix Wave Films. He is known for luminous, detailed visuals and romantic stories about…
- Born inKoumi, Nagano, Japan
Fumio Hayasaka
Sound
- BiographyFumio Hayasaka (1914–1955) was a Japanese composer of concert music and film scores. He is best known for his work with Akira Kurosawa and Kenji Mizoguchi, including Rash…
- Key films…cored Mizoguchi's ghostly masterpiece, blending traditional Japanese sound with a modern approach.
Olivia de Havilland
Acting
- Born inTokyo, Japan
Akira Kuwahara
Sound
- BiographyAkira Kuwahara (born 1985) is a Japanese musician and guitarist of the rock band RADWIMPS. He is known in film for the band's soundtracks to Makoto Shinkai's anime featur…
Raymond Burr
Acting
- Key films…er Steve Martin in the Americanized version of the original Japanese Godzilla. Raw Deal: A menacing role in a classic film noir, typical of his 1940s villain work. Pitfal…