Top 100 Japanese live action movies from the 90s
Decade defined by the burst of the "bubble era" economy and collapse of the Japanese economy. Titled the "lost decade" of Japanese cinema but there are still heaps of quality films and even some masterpieces to be found. Here is my personal list of 100 of them worth watching.
List formed out of the 210 japanese live action movies I've seen from the 1990s. Inspired by the Mark Schilling book: Contemporary Japanese film. Best directors of this era judged by quality and quantity: Takeshi Kitano, Jun Ichikawa, Shinji Somai, Rokuro Mochizuki and Juzo Itami.
List formed out of the 210 japanese live action movies I've seen from the 1990s. Inspired by the Mark Schilling book: Contemporary Japanese film. Best directors of this era judged by quality and quantity: Takeshi Kitano, Jun Ichikawa, Shinji Somai, Rokuro Mochizuki and Juzo Itami.
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- 100 titles
- DirectorHirokazu KoreedaStarsArata IuraErika OdaSusumu TerajimaAfter death, people have a week to choose only one memory to keep for eternity.
- DirectorHideaki AnnoStarsTadanobu AsanoMitsuru FukikoshiMegumi HayashibaraA high school girl engages in compensated dating in order to buy an expensive ring before the day ends.
- DirectorShinji SômaiStarsKiichi NakaiJunko SakuradaTomoko TabataRenko, a girl in the sixth grade, is at first unperturbed by her parents' decision to separate. With the companionship of her boyfriend, Minoru, and Sally, a classmate in the same boat, Renko gradually realises the practical implications of divorce, and tries repeatedly to get her parents to reconcile. An old man teaches her about the need to forget the past...
- DirectorShunji IwaiStarsMiho NakayamaEtsushi ToyokawaBunjaku HanAfter losing her fiance in a fatal mountain-climbing incident, Hiroko was devastated. She comes across his childhood address in a school yearbook and impulsively writes to him. But what happens when she receives a reply?
- DirectorTakeshi KitanoStarsTakeshi KitanoKayoko KishimotoRen ÔsugiNishi leaves the police in the face of harrowing personal and professional difficulties. Spiraling into depression, he makes questionable decisions.
- DirectorKôhei OguriStarsKeiko MatsuzakaIttoku KishibeMidori KiuchiPeriod drama set in the 1950's about a couple isolating themselves from the outside world as they attempt to salvage their faltering marriage, no matter what the costs, after the husband has an affair.
- DirectorKazuo HaraStarsMitsuharu InoueYutaka HaniyaTetsu HijikataAn intimate portrait of the last years in the life of eccentric novelist Mitsuharu Inoue.
- DirectorKei KumaiStarsKumiko AkiyoshiEiji OkudaHisashi IgawaThree Japanese tourists - a soldier, a divorced woman, and a salaryman - make a pilgrimage to the Ganges River in India, each in hopes of finding some spiritual release or meaning in life.
- DirectorNobuhiro SuwaStarsTomokazu MiuraMakiko WatanabeRyudai TakahashiTetsuro is living with his young girlfriend Aki in a pleasant house in Tokyo. They both spend a lot of time at their jobs. However their routine is upset when Tetsuro brings his 8 year old son Shun to live with them, while his ex-wife recovers from a car accident. Aki is annoyed because she was not asked, and she knows that she will have to do the bulk of the work in caring for him. This forces Aki to reevaluate her relationship, and decide whether she is to remain a modern working woman, or become a mother.
- DirectorTakeshi KitanoStarsClaude MakiHiroko ÔshimaSabu KawaharaThe lives of a young, hearing-impaired and gloomy couple are fulfilled after the boy holds interest in surfboarding.
- DirectorJun IchikawaStarsIttoku KishibeMasayuki ShionoyaAkira YamanouchiFilmed in a documentary style six patients in six wards of different ages and circumstances await death at a hospital in Japan. The sterile and dismal environment is contrasted against the emotional being of the patients, their visitors and relatives and the outside world, which they will never again survey.
- DirectorShinji SômaiStarsRentarô MikuniNaoki SakataYasutaka OhA delightful and moving coming-of-age story. One summer, three young boys take an increasing interest in an eccentric old man who lives alone in a house surrounded by an overgrown garden. The boys form a bond with the recluse and set about weeding and replanting the garden.
- DirectorYôichi SaiStarsGorô KishitaniRuby MorenoMoeko EzawaStory of everyday life and romance of a taxi driver who is a Korean resident in Japan.
- DirectorJun IchikawaStarsMasahiro MotokiSadao AbeSatoko AbeA look at the youthful beginnings of manga giants Motoo Abiko, aka Fujiko Fujio, Fujio Akatsuka and Hiroo Terada, when they all lived in the same, dingy apartment building -- named Tokiwa-so -- in Tokyo's Ikebukuro district.
- DirectorJun IchikawaStarsRiho MakiseTomoko NakajimaYasuyo ShirashimaTugumi, who lives in a small seaside town, has been in delicate health from birth. Her parents spoiled her and she is rough and selfish. However, a few people are attracted by her beauty and unique character. In this summer, Tugumi loves Kyoichi Takahashi, who works in the art gallery of the town. One of Tugumi's old boy friends, the leader of bad boys, attacks Kyoichi and kills Tugumi's pet dog from jealousy. Tugumi plans revenge.
- DirectorHirokazu KoreedaStarsMakiko EsumiTakashi NaitôTadanobu AsanoA young woman's husband apparently commits suicide without warning or reason, leaving behind his wife and infant.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaIshirô HondaStarsTatsuo MatsumuraHisashi IgawaGeorge TokoroFollowing World War II, a retired professor approaching his autumn years finds his quality of life drastically reduced in war-torn Tokyo. Denying despair, he pursues writing and celebrates his birthday with his adoring students.
- DirectorHiroshi ShimizuStarsDuncanNanako ÔkôchiToshinori OmiA young woman joins a tour group after her uncle is committed to an asylum, using his ticket. While on the tour, she discovers a shocking suicide pact among the passengers and tour manager to drive the bus off a cliff for insurance money.
- DirectorKiyoshi KurosawaStarsMasato HagiwaraKôji YakushoTsuyoshi UjikiA frustrated detective deals with the case of several gruesome murders committed by people who have no recollection of what they've done.
- DirectorYasuo FuruhataStarsKen TakakuraShinobu ÔtakeRyôko HirosueThe touching reminiscing of an elderly railroad-station manager is interrupted by the sudden appearance of some good-natured girls.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsRyo IshibashiEihi ShiinaTetsu SawakiA widower takes an offer to screen girls at a special audition, arranged for him by a friend to find him a new wife. The one he fancies is not who she appears to be after all.
- DirectorNobuhiko ÔbayashiStarsRyô AmamiyaAiko AsanoTadanobu AsanoIt is 1965. High-school student Takeyoshi Fujiwara Yasufumi Hayashi) hears "Pipeline" by the Ventures, and is mesmerized by their unique sound. With three friends, he forms a band called "The Rocking Horsemen." A warm and comic glimpse into high-school and small-town life in Japan in the 60's.
- DirectorToshiaki ToyodaStarsChihara JuniaOnimaruAkaji MaroA young man gets off the train in the morning and wanders the business districts aimlessly. He runs across some yakuza gangsters, whom he despises, and goes on a killing spree, but soon becomes involved with a subordinate gang.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaIshirô HondaStarsAkira TeraoMitsuko BaishôToshie NegishiA collection of tales based upon eight of director Akira Kurosawa's recurring dreams.
