A Month of Japanese Cinema | Ranked
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- Опубликовано: 9 мар 2024
- Here is the list of all the films I watched last month, in the order i watched them:
1. Harakiri
2. Late Spring
3. Early Summer
4. Kwaidan
5. Sansho the Bailiff
6. Gate of Hell
7. The Human Condition I
8. The Human Condition II
9. The Human Condition III
10. Onibaba
11. Ugetsu
12. The Life of Oharu
13. Tokyo Story
14. Samurai Rebellion
15. Godzilla
I love the attention given to Japanese cinema. You could honestly make a strong case that 1950s Japanese cinema was the greatest era in film history. Because there were many filmmakers that were so distinctly different from one another, but all made amazing movies.
All these films are super-familiar to me, but I nevertheless enjoyed re-seeing them through your eyes. You mentioned that none of the films are happy, but that's one of the things I respect about the Japanese movie audience: their acceptance of unhappy endings. However, you should definitely re-watch Sansho the Bailiff, which is one of my favorite movies of all time. I'm reasonably sure that you'll rate it higher the second time than you do here.
onibaba is my favorite from those 15 that you've seen ,but all of them are incredible. Amazing clip btw .
Onibaba surprised me with how simple and easy to watch it is, while still being effective. I feel like anyone could pick it up and enjoy it!
Besides Miyazaki you should checkout the filmography of Isao Takahata, Ghibli's co-founder and (imo) the best filmmaker out of the Ghibli roaster. His output is less whimsical/fantastic than Miyazaki, and way more rooted in the hardships of reality, and of types of stories that are unapologetically Japanese in themes and tone. He is mostly known for Grave of the Fireflies, but my favorite from his are Only Yesterday and The Tale of Princess Kaguya (which is also my favorite animated movie ever). You should probably do a whole month of Studio Ghibli to be honest.
Ive been obsessed with japannese cinema recently. I recommend: Shoplifters, Cure, Kairo, perfect blue, All about lily Chou-chou, Ringu, tampopo
Good video 👍
Thank you!
I’ve only seen 5 of these movies. I’ll even rank them from 5th best to my favorite.
5. Ugetsu
4. Late Spring
3. Godzilla
2. Tokyo Story
1. Harakiri
I think Harakiri is the best of the bunch. One of my favorite movies of all time!
I so badly want to watch The Human Condition trilogy 😊
Definitely give The Human Condition a try, especially if you love Harakiri! Though The Human Condition is slightly muddier visually, it is still beautiful and shares similar social criticism as Harakiri!
@@Cinematographs_ couldn’t find it on anything so I bought a physical copy of the trilogy. Thank you for the tip, it’s funny you got me into watching Tokyo Story again when you were talking about it in your video. I also think personally that a film doesn’t need social commentary in order for it to be a great film. I look more into the how well the editing is, the writing/storytelling, the characters, the pacing, and if the film does have a social commentary, I see how well executed it is. Is it subtle like Star Wars A New Hope or does it beat you over the head like Star Wars The Last Jedi. I do appreciate it when a film can do both well.
It isn’t faithfully a Japanese film, but Mishima: a Life in Four Chapters has gotta be one of my favorites of all time. Check it out for perhaps the most meticulously crafted film from the 80s.
Will definitely be adding to the watchlist!
Just started a similar exploration of the Golden Age of Japanese cinema and I’m definitely adding some of these to my watch list. Do you recommend watching the films of the same director back to back or all films in order of release (alternating directors)? Great video!
I’m glad to see that you are interested in some of these films and I’d love to know what you think of them after you finish watching! Honestly, I think I would recommend alternating directors when going through it-it helps keep the experience fresher and makes it easier to distinguish between films, if they aren’t of similar styles or themes. In general, I watch the same director back to back if the films are part of a trilogy/series, but I try to add the most variety throughout the month by switching gears. That way, I don’t feel tired/overexposed (because many directors share similar messages and themes throughout most of their work). I think watching the films in order of release would be great (I’d never thought of doing it like that before, though I feel like that’s most efficient). You could get a feel for the direction in which Japanese cinema evolved over the years. The only time I’ve ever stuck with one director is if I really want to get immersed in their work and know I enjoy them a lot. Otherwise, alternating directors is a great way to go. I hope you have fun looking into the Golden Age!
i also recommend the films from the new japanese wave , like Woman in the Dunes, Face of Another, Branded to Kill ,Vengeance is Mine, Intentions of Murder, Throw away your books rally in the streets , Pastoral to die in the country , Pale Flower, Tokyo Drifter, Pigs and battleship ,funeral parade of roses , the naked island , eros+massacre , death by hanging , in the realm of senses and sooo on :))
All added to my watchlist!! I'll eventually have to do a part two to my A Month of Japanese Cinema 😊
Also The Face of Another looks traumatic omg
Face Of Another is amazing. So is The Naked Island.
You should definitely watch love exposure, it is bonkers!
I don’t understand why the word “slow” is used as a negative description in film. To me, “fast” is more negative. I appreciate the time allowed for me to absorb every detail shown on screen, listen to every sound or piece of music, watch the actors’ faces and body language, or simply take time to digest everything I had seen in this and previous scenes.
The addiction today to hyper frenetic action, constant quick cuts, and unending movement seem to be due to compensate for a lack of acting prowess, for lackluster scripts, and a tendency to ignore depth of frame set-ups in favor of editing and overall techniques that hit the brain and body with adrenalin or serotonin rushes.
Who decided that “slow” rates a negative reaction, whereas “fast” does not? A scene of Toshiro Mifune slowly walking (in any film) or the sister in “Sansho” slowly walking into the lake or Setsuko’s face watching a Noh play are more dramatic and interesting than the back & forth rapid cuts seen in any film made today.
Traditional Japanese theatre is in essence “slow” but requires & allows for attention, patience and immersion; similarly traditional Japanese art is spare, minimalist and more effectively contrasts details with emptiness.
Scenes in a film may be “slow,” but that should not be considered a characteristic any more critical than describing a scene as colorful, frightening or humorous. It is a quality and as essential to a particular story or character development or a situation as any other description.
For me, both fast and slow have their places in certain types of films. I do agree in saying that films nowadays have shifted to quick cuts, and I read somewhere that the average shot length has decreased drastically from the 1900s to now. I don’t particularly see slow as negative in itself-for example, Ozu’s slow, meditative approach has really made an impression on me, and I love the fluidity of Kurosawa’s unbroken takes, especially in something like Red Beard or Seven Samurai, some of his longest works. Most of the time, I refer to something as “slow” negatively when I feel like the film/narrative isn’t moving quickly enough to capture my attention, not just in the nature of the editing itself. Though I feel as if “slow” having a negative connotation came with (or was sped up by) the rise of short form content and instant gratification-ten second Tiktoks, RUclips shorts, etc. Unfortunately, this probably discourages the style found often in Japanese cinema where you let the feelings of the film wash over you as the story progresses, which is a shame.
I loved this video. Japanese cinema is the best. I recommend the warped ones 1960, okaasan 1953 and the ballad of narayama 1958. Also if you liked onibaba i highly recommend kuroneko 1968. Its from the same director. All very different from each other.
Thank you! And I’ve looked at all of those films and added them to my watchlist; I feel as if the Ballad of Narayama is right up my alley!
@@Cinematographs_ its visually stunning and the story is gripping. Let me know what you thought of it. I'm so pleased you enjoyed The Life Of Oharu. I think its Mizoguchis best movie personally. Tokyo story is amazing of course. Late Autumn is my personal favourite Ozu film.
@@garyrobinson8665 I'm excited to watch it (probably later this week) and I will let you know my thoughts! The Life of Oharu felt like the most special Mizoguchi to me, with so much raw heart put into it. I heard about Late Autumn before, though I've never gotten around to it! I think eventually I'll have to make a Part Two to this video because there's so much more I want to watch and talk about.
@@Cinematographs_ cool please do a part two. Oharu made me cry. Its very bleak. I love Kinuyo Tanaka. She is in Okaasan or mother 1953 directed by Mikio Naruse. I recommended it. Its another sad tale but it also has quite a few uplifting moments. Ugetsu and Sansho were both overrated but I agree with you the endings were great. I won't recommend anymore movies I'm sure you have plenty to watch i could recommend dozens more.
@@garyrobinson8665 No such thing as too many movies for the watchlist ☺I appreciate the help a lot and am looking forward to creating a new list for an eventual part two!
Do you have a Letterboxd?
I do! It’s @christina_le! Sorry for the late response, I’d responded to this way back but for some reason that comment disappeared?
@@Cinematographs_ thanks so much!