Japanese Cinema - Suggestions?

[Tron X]

I'm doing an independant study on japanese cinema for my cultural studies class. (I'm in grade 10). I just finished watching Seven Samurai, which was amazing, and want to watch more. I've done some research but would like to know your opinions on which films I should watch next. If possible could someone point me in the direction of a good 'pink film'? I think I'd also like to watch Gojira, should I? All suggestions welcome.

 

(PS - I'm also interested in Russian cinena just for personal enjoyment, any suggestions there?)

Edited May 1, 2006 by Tron X

[Nathan Milford]

Start off here: http://userhome.brooklyn.cuny.edu/anthro/j...seFilm/main.htm

[Tron X]

Thanks.

[Rupe Whiteman]

(PS - I'm also interested in Russian cinena just for personal enjoyment, any suggestions there?)

 

Watch 'Come and See' directed by Emil Klimov... It's a stunning and powerful film set in Belorussia during WW2. You want forget it after you've seen it.... & Andrei Tarkovsky's films too - Solaris, Stalker etc etc

 

Rupe Whiteman

[Sakari Suuronen]

Check out the classic Battleship Potempkin. Also, there's lots of intresting experimental stuff made in the 20's in the russia. Maybe someone can drop some names?

 

Japanese director Seijun Suzuki is one of my all time favorites. The Tokyo Drifter in the link above is good, but for me, he's best work is Branded To Kill. It's one of the coolest movies ever made (with Mario Bava's Diabolik)

Tattooed For Life "Irezumi ichidai" is also good, though not as near those movies above.

 

Newer japanse directors Takashi Kitano and Takashi Miike are definetily worth mentioning. From Kitano check out: Violent Cop, Sonatine, Hana-bi and Boiling Point. From Miike you can expect anything. He's really productive and at least for me, inspiring. Check out Dead Or Alive (it's a trilogy, I've only seen the first one), The City of Lost Souls, Visitor Q, Agitator. Many people have also liked Audition, I didn't. Fudoh is one of he's movie I'm dying to see. These movies will get you started.

 

Oh, and you gotta see these too: Shark Skin Man And The Peach Hip Girl, Gozu, Kamikaze Taxi, Shogun Assasin (I think this qualifies) and Tetsuo and Tetsuo 2: The Body Hammer by Tsukamoto.

Edited May 6, 2006 by Sakari S

[Leo Anthony Vale]

Check out the classic Battleship Potempkin. Also, there's lots of intresting experimental stuff made in the 20's in the russia. Maybe someone can drop some names?

 

---'Potemkin' seems to have been viewed to death by some, but still worth watching.

Other Eisenstein stuff too. The longer'October' is preferable to the shortver version 'Ten Days that shook the world, basicaly a political cartoon. Im quite fond of his sound films, 'Aleksandr Nevskii' and 'Ivan Groznii'

both parts; both with great scores by Prokofiev. But not sufficently apppreciated these days.

 

Bondarchuk's 'War and Peace' is suely the most expensive movie ever made and well worth a watch.

Also his 'They fought for their Motherland'.

 

Kalatazov's 'Cranes are Flying' and 'Yo Kuba' are amazing films. Even his Italian co-production is worth a watch.

 

S.Parajanov's 'Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors'AKA'Wild Horses of Fire' is a favorite doomed love and bravura handheld.

 

G.Kozintsev is a fine master, a silent of Gogal's 'The Overcoat' and later Sovscope Shakespeares, 'Gamlet' and 'King Lear' both with Shostakovich scores.

 

& Aleksandr Ptushko has quite enjoyable fairy tale/folk tale movies including 'Sadko', 'Ilya Muromets' first SovScope movie and 'Vii'

 

Conspicuous by its absence in the Japanese list is 'Harakiri' AKA 'Seppaku', one of the all time greats.

I've only seen the R.Burr version of Godzilla, but the Japanese sections are very noirish and moody.

The original should be worth watching. & its director Ishiro Honda apprenticed together with Kurosawa. They were best friends, Kurosawa gave the eulogy at Honda's funneral. Honda also did second unit for K. and associate producer on later K. films. Don't sell him short.

 

Zao Ichi movies are fun.

 

---LV

[Chris Pritzlaff]

Is October the film that was composed in entirely one shot or am I thinking of something else?

[Mark Allen]

Japanese film: Kurasawa's "High and Low" is probably my favorite Japanese film because the drama is so strong. It's not a fancy movie - it is great drama. It's my favorite Kurasawa film, I don't care much for his later work.

 

Russian Film: Something by Andrei Tarkovsky is maybe of interest. "The Sacrifice" is his last and maybe most notorious movie.

[Mike Kaminski]

Takeshi Miike's work is always interesting, although i find him overrated. His films are good watches but generally not a whole lot to them, i find. The only exception is his film Audition, probably because the source material was a novel. This, I feel, is Miike's masterpiece, even if it has been greatly overhyped in recent years and its twist ending spoiled. Amazingly, Miike appears to have made a masterpiece in spite of himself--he seems completely unaware of the subtext and treats it as a straight exploitation flick. The film works great as a visceral psychological horror flick but on repeat viewings the brilliant freudian undertone becomes apparent and you realise that the film was not at all the film you thought it was (hint, the sleeping sequences are key). Its a brilliant freudian study of mans fear of women and marriage.

 

I'm actually looking for some good contemporary Japanese drama that doesn't involve gore, cops and robbers or Yakuza but there sadly doesn't seem to be a lot. Kitano and Miike are good but I'm still searching for Japan's equivalent to China's Wong Kar Wai or Zhang Yimou.

[Matt Serrins]

In terms of Russian cinema, you may be thinking of Russian Ark by Sokurov. One take in the Hermitage museum.

 

For current Japanese cinema that's not as genre bound, check out Hirokazu Kore-eda (Maborosi, Afterlife, Nobody Knows), Kikujiro by beat takeshi, and Tony Takitani. I'm sure there's tons of other current stuff too that I don't know about. For past stuff, check out Imamura.

 

Matt Serrins