Akira Terao, Mitsuko Baisho, Toshie Negishi. Eight mythical, dreamlike vignettes thematically united by their concern with man's relationship to nature tell stories of animal weddings, ghosts of... more
Toshiro Mifune, Yuzo Kayama. The patients at a poor medical clinic and a sharp but overbearing doctor teach an enthusiastic young intern hard lessons about the true meaning of practicing medicine. In... more
The original silent drama from Japanese filmmaker Yasujiro Ozu, "A Story of Floating Weeds," follows a travelling theatre troupe's visit to a seaside town and the group's leader's emotional reunion... more
Actor Yūsuke Kafuku (Hidetoshi Nishijima) dearly loved his wife Oto (Reika Kirishima), despite her infidelities-and her abrupt death pushed him to mental collapse. Offered a comeback staging of... more
Having left her countryside home to find success in the city, lovely part-time bartender Yoshie (Miyuki Kuwano) was readily charmed by the swagger of customer Eiji (Mikijirô Hira). As they move in... more
Takashi Shimura, Nobuo Kaneko. The renowned director, Akira Kurosawa, combines poetic imagery and complex flashbacks to tell the story of a man who vows to make his final days meaningful after he... more
Eiji Okada, Kyoko Kishida, Hiroko Ito. An entomologist misses his bus in the middle of a desert to get home to Tokyo. After descending into a sand-pit hut to lie with a mysterious desert woman, he... more
Chishu Ryu, Setsuko Hara. Ozu's moving masterpiece finds generational conflict within a post-WWII Japanese family. An elderly couple travels to Tokyo from their small fishing village to visit their... more
Having grown in a devout Christian family and desperate to please his sin-obsessed Catholic priest father, young Yu (Takahiro Nishijima) a fairly normal kid who has no legitimate sins to confess... more
The lyrical, profoundly moving STILL WALKING is the most personal work to date from contemporary Japanese master Hirokazu Kore-eda (MABOROSI, AFTER LIFE, NOBODY KNOWS). Fashioned as a tribute to his... more
One of the most powerful of the family portraits by Yasujiro Ozu (TOKYO STORY), LATE SPRING tells the story of a widowed father who feels compelled to marry off his beloved only daughter. Eminent Ozu... more
Paul Schrader's visually stunning, collagelike portrait of the acclaimed Japanese author and playwright Yukio MISHIMA (played by Ken Ogata) investigates the inner turmoil and contradictions of a man... more
What one memory of your life would you want to live over and over? In this compelling and heartfelt fantasy from Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda ("Maborosi"), the newly dead are met in a "way... more
When an idealistic governor disobeys the reigning feudal lord, he is cast into exile, his wife and children left to fend for themselves and eventually separated by vicious slave traders. Under the... more
Machiko Kyo, Mitsuko Mito, Kinuyo Tanaka. Two peasants in war-torn 16th-century Japan abandon their families to seek their fortunes in the spoils of war. In attaining his goal, each man destroys his... more
Tatsuya Fuji, Eiko Matsuda. A controversial piece of Japanese cinema originally banned in the States for its graphic sex scenes and still banned in Japan, this Nagisa Oshima-directed erotica classic... more
The late Japanese filmmaker Yasujiro Ozu directed 53 films over the course of his career; these are some the finest from his artistic prime. Includes Early Spring (Haruko Sugimura. 1956/145 min.),... more
Toshiro Mifune. His father's mysterious death on the job prompts a man to seek revenge against the powerful construction company that employed him. In Japanese with english subtitles. 1960/b&w/151... more
The final film from Yasujiro Ozu (Tokyo Story) was also his last masterpiece, a gently heartbreaking story about a man's dignified resignation to life's shifting currents and society's modernization.... more
Chishu Ryu, Setsuko Hara. Ozu's moving masterpiece finds generational conflict within a post-WWII Japanese family. An elderly couple travels to Tokyo from their small fishing village to visit their... more
Takashi Shimura, Nobuo Kaneko. The renowned director, Akira Kurosawa, combines poetic imagery and complex flashbacks to tell the story of a man who vows to make his final days meaningful after he... more
Years before Akira Kurosawa changed the face of cinema with such iconic works as Rashomon, Seven Samurai, and Yojimbo, he made his start in the Japanese film industry with four popular and... more
Often called the Godard of the East, Japanese director Nagisa Oshima was one of the most provocative film artists of the twentieth century, and his works challenged and shocked the cinematic world... more
One of the ineffably lovely domestic sagas made by Yasujiro Ozu at the height of his mastery, The Flavor of Green Tea over Rice is a subtly piercing portrait of a marriage coming quietly undone.... more
In early-'50s Japan, war veteran and writer Toshio (Ittoku Kishibe) came clean to his wife Miho (Keiko Matsuzaka) regarding her suspicions about his ongoing affair with a neighbor woman. Despite his... more