Kinema Junpo's Top 198 Japanese Films

[HungFist]

Here's an interesting list from the legendary Japanese movie journal Kinema junpo. I've always liked their lists as, unlike most critics, they even have a little bit of love for cinema beyond genre borders. Most short sighted critics have been taught to praise certain filmmakers and genres, and ignore others. Kinema junpo on the other hand has included both Seven Samurai and Rape! 13th Hour on their list. And deservedly so.

http://wildgrounds.com/index.php/2010/0 ... 9-version/

How many films from the list have you seen?

Me? The bolded ones are the ones I've seen.

1. Tokyo Story (1953, Yasujiro Ozu)
2. Seven Samurai (1954, Akira Kurosawa)
3. Floating Clouds (1955, Mikio Naruse)
4. The Sun Legend of the End of the Tokugawa Era (1957, Y. Kawashima)
5. Battles Without Honour & Humanity (1973, Kinji Fukasaku)
6. Twenty-Four Eyes (1954, Keisuke Kinoshita)
7. Rashomon (1950, Akira Kurosawa)
8. Tange Sazen and the Pot Worth a Million Ryo (1935, S. Yamanaka)
9. The Man Who Stole the Sun (1979, Kazuhiko Hasegawa)
10. Family game (1983, Yoshimitsu Morita)

11. Stray Dog (1949, Akira Kurosawa)
12. Typhoon Club (1984, Shinji Somai)
13. Ikiru (1952, Akira Kurosawa)
14. Suzaki Paradise Red Light (1956, Y. Kawashima)
15. High and Low (1963, Akira Kurosawa)
16. A Fugitive from the Past (1965, Tomu Uchida)
17. Harakiri (1962, Masaki Kobayashi)
18. Intentions of Murder (1964, Shohei Imamura)
19. Tokyo Olympiad (1965, Kon Ichikawa)
20. The Castle of Sand (1974, Yoshitaro Nomura)

21. Failed Youth (1974, Tatsumi Kumashiro)
22. Nausicaa (1984, Hayao Miyazaki)
23. Humanity and Paper Balloons (1937, Sadao Yamanaka)
24. Yojimbo (1961, Akira Kurosawa)
25. Fighting Elegy (1966, Seijun Suzuki)
26. Fall Guy (1982, Kinji Fukasaku)
27. Boiling Point (1990, Takeshi Kitano)
28. Tales of Ugetsu (1953, Kenji Mizoguchi)
29. The Crucified Lovers (1954, Kenji Mizoguchi)
30. She Was Like a Wild Chrysanthemum (1955, Keisuke Kinoshita)

31. Flowing (1956, Mikio Naruse)
32. Samurai Vendetta (1959, Kazu Mori)
33. Branded to Kill (1967, Seijun Suzuki)
34. Vengeance is mine (1979, Shohei Imamura)
35. Zigeunerweisen (1980, Seijun Suzuki)
36. Here’s to the Girls (1949, Keisuke Kinoshita)
37. Ball at the Anjo House (1947, Kozaburo Yoshimura)
38. Late Spring (1949, Yasujiro Ozu) (new)
39. Till We Meet Again (1950, Tadashi Imai)
40. The Life Of Oharu (1952, Kenji Mizoguchi)

41. A Bloody Spear at Mount Fuji (1955, Tomu Uchida)
42. The Lower Depths (1957, Akira Kurosawa)
43. The Chaser (1958, Yoshitaru Nomura)
44. Floating Weeds (1959, Yasujiro Ozu)
45. Good Morning (1959, Yasujiro Ozu)
46. Desperate Outpost (1959, Kihachi Okamoto)
47. Her Brother (1960, Kon Ichikawa)
48. Cruel Story of Youth (1960, Nagisa Oshima)
49. The Graceful Brute (1962, Yuzo Kawashima)
50. Proxy War (1973, Kinji Fukasaku)

51. The Wanderers (1973, Kon Ichikawa)
52. The Youth Killer (1976, Kazuhiko Hasegawa)
53. Muddy River (1981, Kohei Oguri)
54. The Funeral (1984, Juzo Itami)
55. Himatsuri (1985, Mitsuo Yanagimachi)
56. My Neighbor Totoro (1988, Hayao Miyazaki)
57. Cure (1997, Kiyoshi Kurosawa)
58. Noriko’s Dinner Table (2005, Sion Sono)
59. I was born, but… (1932, Yasujiro Ozu)
60. What did the lady forget? (1937, Yasujiro Ozu)

61. Singing Lovebirds (1939, Masahiro Makino)
62. The Live of Matsu the Untamed (1943, Hiroshi Inagaki)
63. Carmen comes home (1951, Keisuke Kinoshita)
64. The Human Condition (1959-61, Masaki Kobayashi)
65. The Human Vapor (1960, Ishiro Honda)
66. Sanjuro (1962, Akira Kurosawa)
67. The Insect Woman (1963, Shohei Imamura)
68. Pale Flower (1964, Masahiro Shinoda)
69. Yearning (1964, Mikio Naruse)
70. Tokyo Drifter (1966, Seijun Suzuki)

71. Japan’s Longest Day (1967, Kihachi Okamoto)
72. The Profound Desire of the Gods (1968, S. Imamura)
73. The Human Bullet (1968, Kihachi Okamoto)
74. Big Time Gambling Boss (1968, Kosaku Yamashita)
75. I, The Executioner (1968, Tai Kato)
76. Boy (1969, Nagisa Oshima)
77. Double Suicide (1969, Masahiro Shinoda)
78. Tora-san (1969-95, Yoji Yamada)
79. Take Care, Red Riding Hood (1970, Shori Moritani)
80. Red Peony Gambles Her Life (1970, Tai Kato)

81. Kaoyaku (1971, Shintaro Katsu)
82. Wet Sand in August (1971, Toshiya Fujita)
83. Three Mad Dog Brothers (1972, Kinji Fukasaku)
84. Confidential: Secret Market (1974, Noboru Tanaka)
85. Castle of Gagliostro (1979, Hayao Miyazaki)
86. Kagemusha (1980, Akira Kurosawa)
87. Crazy Thunder Road (1980, Sogo Ishii)
88. Crazed Fruit (1981, Kichitaro Negishi)
89. A Japanese Village, Furuyashikimura (1982, Shinsuke Ogawa)
90. P. P. Rider (1983, Shinji Somai)

91. Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (1983, Nagisa Oshima)
92. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (1983, Nobuhiko Obayashi)
93. Love Hotel (1985, Shinji Somai)
94. Ran (1985, Akira Kurosawa)
95. No More Comics (1986, Yojiro Takita)
96. Castle in the Sky (1986, Hayao Miyazaki)
97. Tetsuo (1989, Shinya Tsukamoto)
98. Moving (1993, Shinji Somai)
99. Sonatine (1993, Takeshi Kitano)
100. Kids Return (1996, Takeshi Kitano)

101. Crazyon Shin-chan (2001, Tsutomu Mizushima)
102. The Twilight Samurai (2002, Yoji Yamada)
103. Bright Future (2003, Kiyoshi Kurosawa)
104. Ramblers (2003, Nobuhiro Yamashita)
105. Summer Days With Coo (2007, Keiichi Hara)
106. A Diary of Chuji’s Travels (1927, Daisuke Ito)
107. Capricious Young Man (1936, Mansaku Itami)
108. Sisters of the Gion (1936, Kenji Mizoguchi)
109. Story of the Last Chrysantemum (1939, Kenji Mizoguchi)
110. Sanshiro Sugata (1943, Akira Kurosawa)

111. Ware Maboroshi No Sakana O Mitari (1950, Daisuke Ito)
112. Early Summer (1951, Yasujiro Ozu)
113. Lightning (1952, Mikio Naruse)
114. Mother (1952, Mikio Naruse)
115. Jirocho Sangokuchi (1952-54, Masahiro Makino)
116. Godzilla (1954, Ishiro Honda)
117. Street of Shame (1956, Kenji Mizoguchi)
118. Crazed Fruit (1956, Ko Nakahira)
119. Throne of Blood (1957, Akira Kurosawa)
120. Tokyo Twilight (1957, Yasujiro Ozu)

121. Washi to Taka (1957, Umetsugu Inoue)
122. Enjo (1958, Kon Ichikawa)
123. The Hidden Fortress (1958, Akira Kurosawa)
124. Ghost Story of Yotsuya (1959, Nobuo Nakagawa)
125. Late Autumn (1960, Yasujiro Ozu)
126. When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (1960, Mikio Naruse)
127. Hito Mo Arukeba (1960, Yuzo Kawashima)
128. Ten Dark Woman (1961, Kon Ichikawa)
129. The Last War (1961, Shue Matsubayashi)
130. A Wife Confesses (1961, Yasuzo Masumura

131. Foundry Town (1962, Kiriro Urayama)
132. Destiny’s Son (1962, Kenji Misumi)
133. The Outcast (1962, Kon Ichikawa)
134. The Elegant Life of Mr. Everyman (1963, Kihachi Okamoto)
135. The Thirteen Assassins (1963, Eiichi Kudo)
136. Woman In The Dunes (1964, Hiroshi Teshigahara)
137. Red Beard (1965, Akira Kurosawa)
138. Seisaku’s Wife (1965, Yasuzo Masumura)
139. Story of a Prostitute (1965, Seijun Suzuki)
140. A Certain Killer (1967, Kazuo Mori)

141. Like a Shooting Star (1967, Toshio Masuda)
142. A Colt Is My Passport (1967, Takashi Nomura)
143. Tora-san: It’s Tough Being A Man (1969, Yoji Yamada)
144. Go, Go Second Time Virgin (1969, Koji Wakamatsu)
145. Violence Without a Cause (1969, Koji Wakamatsu)
146. Dodes’ka-den (1970, Akira Kurosawa)
147. Attack at Daylight(1970, Kiyoshi Noshimura)
148. Minata (1972, Noriaki Tsuchimoto)
149. The Morning Schedule (1972, Susumu Hani)
150. Night of the Felines (1972, Noboru Tanaka)

151. Akai Tori Nigeta? (1973, Toshiya Fujita)
152. Tora-san’s Forget Me Not (1973, Yoji Yamada)
153. Narita: Heta Village (1973, Shinsuke Ogawa)
154. Street of Joy (1974, Tatsumi Kumashiro)
155. Shiranui Sea (1975, Noriaki Tsuchimoto)
156. Graveyard of Honor (1975, Kinji Fukasaku)
157. Preparation for the Festival (1975, Kazuo Kuroki)
158. In The Realm of the Senses (1976, Nagisa Oshima)
159. Lullaby of the Earth (1976, Yasuzo Masumura)
160. House (1977, Nobuhiko Obayashi)

161. The Devil’s Boucing Ball Song (1977, Kon Ichikawa)
162. Shinjuku midaregai: Ikumade matte (1977, Chusei Sone)
163. Mount Hakkoda (1977, Shiro Moritani)
164. Rape! 13th Hour (1977, Yasuharu Hasebe)
165. Third Base (1978, Yoichi Higashi)
166. Path of the Beast (1980, Tatsumi Kumashiro)
167. Station (1981, Yasuo Furuhata)
168. Attacked Women (1981, Banmei Takahash)
169. Angel Guts: Red Prono (1981, Toshiharu Ikeda)
170. Something Like It (1981, Yoshimitsu Morita)

171. The Imperial Navy (1981, Shue Matsubayashi)
172. Transfer Student (1982, Nobuhiko Obayashi)
173. Burst City (1982, Sogo Ishii)
174. The Makioka Sister (1983, Kon Ichikawa)
175. Inujini Sesi Mono (1986, Kazuyuki Izutsu)
176. The Sea and Poison (1986, Kei Kumai)
177. Violent Cop (1989, Takeshi Kitano)
178. The Sting of Death (1990, Kohei Oguri)
179. A Scene at the Sea (1991, Takeshi Kitano)
180. The Rocking Horsemen (1992, Nobuhiko Obayashi)

181. Tetsuo 2 (1992, Shinya Tsukamoto)
182. Where is the Moon? (1993, Yoichi Sai)
183. Shall We Dance? (1996, Masayuki Suo)
184. Tokiwa: The Manga Apartment (1996, Jun Ichikawa)
185. Gakko 3: The New Voyage (1998, Yoji Yamada)
186. Face (2000, Jun Sakamoto)
187. Kaza-Hana (2000, Shinji Somai)
188. Swing Girls (2004, Shinobu Yaguchi)
189. Nobody Knows (2004, Hirokazu Koreeda)
190. The Reason (2004, Nobuhiko Obayashi)

191. Break Through! (2004, Kazuyuki Izutsu)
192. Who’s Camus Anyway? (2005, Mitsuo Yanagimachi)
193. Memories of Matsuko (2006, Tetsuya Nakashima)
194. Hula Girls (2006, Sang-il Lee)
195. What the Snow Brings (2005, Kichitaro Negishi)
196. Departures (2008, Yojiro Takita)
197. All Around Us (2008, Ryosuke Hashiguchi)
198. Children of the Dark (2008, Junji Sakamoto)

From the list I've seen:
Feb 27, 2010: 51 movies
Jun 19, 2010: 53 movies
Jan 6, 2011: 58 movies
Feb 25, 2011: 60 movies
Nov 28, 2011: 66 movies
Jul 19, 2012: 70 movies
Sep 5, 2013 72 movies
Jun 30, 2014 76 movies
Dec 12, 2017: 80 movies
Aug 31, 2019: 86 movies
Sep 3, 2021: 90 movies
Nov. 10, 2023: 97 movies

[gasteropod]

I've seen 5 of those lol, but I really want to see Hausu.

[grim_tales]

I have seen 7 of them, I have Humanity and Paper Balloons, Vengeance is Mine and Kagemusha on DVD but not watched them yet.

[Yi-Long]

Wow, no Battle Royale on that list, plus I'm missing some anime-flicks. Not even Akira is on the list I believe. Now, I'm personally not a huge fan of Akira (the anime), but many are.

No Love Exposure either, yet many claim it to be one of the best and most important asian movies of the last 10 years.

[grim_tales]

I preferred Spirited Away and Mononoke to Nausicaa.

[gasteropod]

Whoops, I didn't realise Hung posted the films he's seen, I've seen 7 then.

85. Castle of Gagliostro (1979, Hayao Miyazaki)

lol!

[grim_tales]

I've never seen that one Gas. Why the lol?

[gasteropod]

It's an amusing spelling error, it should be Cagliostro.

[Shingster]

I've only seen at least 55 of those, can't be arsed to look up which Tora san films they've listed so haven't counted them (I've seen the first 5 or so Tora films), nor have I counted films I saw years ago and barely remember. The thing is though, there's at least another 30titles in there that I've had on DVD for years and still haven't gotten round to watching yet!

I'm stunned that Grave of the Fireflies isn't on there tbh.

[Marshall]

HOUSE (#160) is really the 1977 film, yes?

[grim_tales]

It's an amusing spelling error, it should be Cagliostro.

Ah I see.

[HungFist]

HOUSE (#160) is really the 1977 film, yes?

yes.

[HungFist]

The Toronto J-Film Pow-Wow comes up with an incredibly boring Top 100 Favorite Japanese Films list
http://jfilmpowwow.blogspot.com/2011/01 ... orite.html

Seen 54 of those, know all the rest by reputation. Not a single discovery for me to make there.

[Japanflix]

A good list, but I felt they could have put "The Human Condition a little higher up on the lsit.

[HungFist]

Kinema Junpo's Top Japanese Movies (By Year)
http://www.rinkworks.com/checklist/list ... unpotop10s

[grim_tales]

I've since seen Kagemusha since I made my last post in this thread so I've seen 8 now