Posts Tagged ‘Japanese cinema’
Black Tight Killers Blu-ray Review: Branded to Thrill
Yasuharu Hasebe’s delirious caper oozes with style, and is better than ever in this new hi-def transfer restored by Radiance Films.
Read MorePerfect Days Movie Review: Wim Wenders Examines Perfect Solitude
Perfect Days is nominated for an Oscar this year for Best International Feature Film, and opens in U.S. theaters this week.
Read MoreElegant Beast Blu-ray Review: The Family That Scams Together
This adaptation of a stage play is a dark satire about Japanese life in the early ’60s.
Read MoreMasaaki Yuasa: Five Films Blu-ray Review: Time to Ride the Wave
The new box set is a treasure trove of content for Yuasa fans, and a great reminder of the impressive anime legacy he has crafted throughout his career.
Read MoreSamurai Wolf 1 & 2 Blu-ray Giveaway
There will be three winners.
Read MoreViolent Streets (1974) Blu-ray Review: Blood and Guts Yakuza Story
Real life former yakuza Noboru Ando plays a retired gangster who wants to escape a life that won’t leave him alone.
Read MoreSamurai Wolf 1 & 2 Blu-ray Review: A Scruffier Yojimbo
Hideo Gosha’s sword for hire stories depict an unkempt but decent ronin in a hellscape of dishonor and violence.
Read MoreA Fugitive from the Past Blu-ray Review: An Epic from the Past Finally Reaches USA
Director Tomu Uchida’s sprawling 1965 crime drama has finally arrived on home video for the first time outside of Japan.
Read MoreThe House of the Lost on the Cape Blu-ray Review: House of Lost Time
Kawatsura has the technical chops to put together a warm, good-looking film, but his treatment of the story is simply too precious to deliver any kind of payoff for viewers.
Read MoreHiroshima mon amour Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Rich and Rewarding Film
The performances of the two leads are masterful.
Read MorePoupelle of Chimney Town Blu-ray Review: A Whole New World
While the film just doesn’t flow as well as it could, the world building and character development are done with enough finesse to make the project worth watching.
Read MoreTo Sleep So as to Dream Blu-ray Review: Ode to Silent Japanese Cinema
A startlingly weird directorial debut about detectives searching for a kidnapped girl, made in the style of a silent film.
Read MoreThe Legend of the Stardust Brothers DVD Review: ’80s Japanese Manic Musical
Directed by the son of Osamu Tezuka, this film is several music videos in search of a story… that somehow works.
Read MoreDrive My Car Movie Review: A Sublime Journey
As the least-known contender in this year’s Oscar Best Picture nominees, Drive My Car has the best opportunity to surprise Western viewers unfamiliar with its story or cast. Thankfully, it takes full advantage of that opportunity, with director and co-screenwriter Ryusuke Hamaguchi somehow managing to turn a minor Haruki Murakami short story into a three-hour…
Read MoreRed Angel (1966) Blu-ray Review: Disturbing War Hospital Drama
Yasuzo Masamura’s dark drama about a nurse who struggles to maintain her humanity in the hell of war.
Read MoreWife of a Spy Blu-ray Review: Understated Japanese Spy Thriller
Yu Aoi’s brilliant performance bolsters Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s story in ‘40s Japan of a woman convinced her husband is a spy.
Read MoreBlind Beast Blu-ray Review: An Assured Vision by Director Yasuzo Masumura
The film is at its best when the captive Aki starts poking apart the relationship dynamic between the fully grown but totally dependent man and his nurturing old mother.
Read MoreThe Daimajin Trilogy Limited Edition Blu-ray Box Set: Stone Cold Kaiju Action
Generally overlooked in the West, but thanks to this expertly produced new box set the films have a much better chance to connect with discerning kaiju fans.
Read MoreIrezumi Blu-ray Review: Kiss of the Spider Woman
Another gem in Arrow Video’s rapidly expanding roster of spectacular niche films, and well worth adding to the library of all fans of Japanese cinema.
Read MoreIrezumi (1966) Blu-ray Review: Revenge and Obsession
A tattoo transforms a geisha into a spirit of vengeance in this moody period drama from Yasuzo Masumura.
Read MoreThe Invisible Man Appears Blu-ray Review: It Can Finally Be Seen
As the first existing tokusatsu, The Invisible Man Appears is massively important to Japanese history.
Read MoreSurvivor Ballads: Three Films by Shohei Imamura Blu-ray Review: Stories of Hardship and Endurance
Imamura’s ’80s era films demonstrate the famed director’s realist and humanist outlook with a trenchant mix of tragedy and satire.
Read MoreGraveyards of Honor Blu-ray Review: Grim Yakuza Renegade Dramas
Two adaptations of the same novel, made decades apart, about a yakuza too violent and self-destructive even for gang-life.
Read MoreWarning from Space Blu-ray Review: Starmen Waiting in the Sky
The first Japanese science fiction film shot in color is as surprisingly stylishly made as it is old-fashioned.
Read MoreBlack Test Car + The Black Report Blu-ray Review: Japanese Businessman Noir
Two ’60s crime thrillers by director Yasuzo Masumura that explore the dark side of post-war industrialized Japan.
Read MoreSukiyaki Western Django Blu-ray Review: The Good, the Bad, and the Quentin
Takashi Miike takes an inspired stab at the spaghetti Western genre.
Read MoreHiroshima Blu-ray Review: Unrelenting Terror
A documentary-style narrative film about the days following first atomic bomb dropping.
Read MoreThe Mad Fox Blu-ray Review: Kabuki-styled Cinematic Fantasia
Sometimes kabuki, sometimes animated, always fascinating, The Mad Fox is rife with political intrigue and forbidden romance.
Read MoreSolid Metal Nightmares: The Films of Shinya Tsukamoto Blu-ray Box Set Review
Arrow’s impressive box set contains a whopping 10 films surveying the career of this film auteur.
Read MoreInferno of Torture Blu-ray Review: Torsos, Tattoos, and Torture
Another in Teruo Ishii’s series of films depicting sadistic practices in Japanese history, all of which involve disrobing women.
Read MoreOne Missed Call Trilogy Blu-ray Review: Let This One Go to Voicemail
A spooky premise and an excellent set of extras can’t save this trilogy of films from getting hung up on.
Read MoreMillennium Actress Blu-ray Review: Animated Japanese Film Fantasia
Satoshi Kon’s second anime feature film about an actress’ pursuit of a lost love intertwines fiction and reality.
Read MoreRingu Collection Blu-ray Review: Ghostly Revenge, Again and Again
Four weird, gripping and often terrifying films of spectral revenge that began the J-horror boom are now on Blu-ray.
Read MoreRingu Blu-ray Review: One Ring That Started Them All
Arrow Video brings a new 4K restoration of this Japanese horror film that started a movement.
Read MoreThe Flavor of Green Tea over Rice Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Gentle Ozu Comedy
Grandmaster filmmaker Ozu’s minor, observant comedy about the growing differences between a middle-aged married couple.
Read MoreAkio Jissoji: The Buddhist Trilogy Blu-ray Review: New Wave Filmmaking, Naked Ladies
Challenging, evocative films from the Japanese New Wave that contemplate aspects of the Buddhist religion, with lots of sex.
Read MoreYakuza Law Blu-ray Review: Gory Fun Yakuza Anthology
Three fun but gory short stories of the Yakuza taking the law into their own hands, filled with bloody torture.
Read MoreNever-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki Blu-ray Review: Return of the King, or Don Quixote?
The legendary anime director emerges from retirement once again, with a documentary crew in tow exploring whether he’s still the master or just chasing an old man’s folly.
Read MoreNever-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki Blu-ray Review: Master Filmmaker’s New Challenge
An intimate look at Japanese filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki’s return from retirement to make a short CGI film.
Read MoreA Silent Voice Blu-ray Review: Bully Redemption in a Subdued Tone
An animated drama about a school bully picking on a deaf girl tells a story quiet about redemption and consequences.
Read MoreThe Street Fighter Collection Blu-ray Review: A Thrilling Action Trilogy
Well worth adding to any martial-arts fan’s collection.
Read MoreLiz and the Blue Bird Blu-ray Review: Take a Flyer on This Moving Anime Film
Close friends face the end of high school and differing plans for the future.
Read MoreMaquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms Blu-ray Review: Anime at Its Finest
Veteran scriptwriter Mari Okada makes a dazzling directorial debut.
Read MoreAudition Blu-ray Review: Family Drama Turns Violent
Takashi Miike’s disturbing melodrama gets a nice restoration from Arrow Video.
Read MoreLu Over the Wall Blu-ray Review: Vampire Mermaids Warm the Heart
A boy befriends a mermaid, and director Masaaki Yuasa reigns in his anarchic animation style…for a little while.
Read MoreMaquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms Blu-ray Review: Emotional, Poignant Fantasy Epic
This visually arresting fantasy story of a mother and son that pulls at the heartstrings (and the tear ducts).
Read MoreThe Night Is Short, Walk on Girl Blu-ray Review: A Long, Strange Trip
Funny, bizarre, and strangely obsessed with underpants, this Japanese animated comedy deserves to be seen.
Read MoreA Story from Chikamatsu Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Tale Worth Watching
Criterion continues their welcome attention to the works of director Kenji Mizoguchi with this superb new Blu-ray release.
Read MoreShoplifters Movie Review: A Potent Mix of Pragmatism and Empathy
Shoplifters is a well-acted, bittersweet ode to the impoverished.
Read MoreOrgies of Edo Blu-ray Review: Torture, Surrealism, and Topless Women
Teruo Ishii’s strange anthology of period stories of sex and torture is more bizarre than erotic, though entertaining.
Read MoreMetropolis (2001) Blu-ray Review: Visually Opulent, Narratively Dormant Adaptation
Inspired by Osamu Tezuka’s manga and Fritz Lang’s movie, this anime has style in excess…but lacks a cohesive story.
Read MoreHorrors of Malformed Men Blu-ray Review: Complete Malformed Japanese Madness
Teruo Ishii’s strangest film of murder, doppelgangers, and the titular malformed men finally makes it to Blu-ray.
Read MoreBloody Spear at Mount Fuji Blu-ray Review: Low on Blood, High on Social Commentary
Despite the lurid title, Tomu Uchida’s most famous work is more social commentary road movie than samurai action film.
Read MoreMind Game (2004) Blu-ray Review: Endlessly Confusing, Endlessly Fascinating
Masaaki Yuasa’s debut animated feature is a kaleidoscope of images and scenes that, miraculously, make a coherent (if confusing) film.
Read MoreStreet Mobster Blu-ray Review: Gritty, Nasty Yakuza Drama
Kinji Fukasaku’s brings docu-drama realism and brutal ugliness to the Yakuza genre in this gritty film.
Read MoreThe Third Murder Movie Review: All Justice, No Truth
Hirokazu Kore-eda’s keen observation of human interaction is brought to a courtroom drama, winner of six Japanese Academy awards.
Read MoreDetective Bureau 2-3: Go to Hell Bastards! Blu-ray Review: Undercover Yakuza Hijinks
Released in 1963, director Seijun Suzuki was on the brink of his artistic breakthrough with this comic gangland picture.
Read MoreMishima: A Life in Four Chapters Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Portrait of the Artist As a Fascinating Man
Director Paul Schrader crafts a daring, spellbinding biography of Japanese writer Yukio Mishima.
Read MoreThe Bloodthirsty Trilogy Blu-ray Review: Dracula Goes East
Three Japanese movies directed by Michio Yamamoto that involve Western-style vampires, with style, atmosphere, and some decent sprays of blood.
Read MoreSeijun Suzuki: The Early Years Vol. 2 Border Crossings: The Crime and Action Movies Blu-ray Review: Nikkatsu Noir
Five early films by Seijun Suzuki spotlight Nikkatsu’s early 60s trends and the director’s growing ambition.
Read MoreIchi the Killer Blu-ray Review: Blood-soaked Fun
Well Go USA’s new 4K transfer of Takashi Miike’s splatter classic gives you all the gore you can handle in pristine high definition.
Read MoreFathom Events and GKIDS Present Mary and the Witch’s Flower
Studio Ponoc, heir apparent to Studio Ghibli, proves they have taken the animated torch and ran with it.
Read MoreAn Actor’s Revenge Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Kabuki Costumes in Modernist Cinema
Kon Ichikawa’s remake of a ’30s movie dresses a stagey plot in innovative cinematic stylings.
Read MoreBlade of the Immortal Blu-ray Review: The Immortal Takashi Miike
Veteran director Takashi Miike reaches the unimaginable milestone of his 100th film with this spellbinding supernatural samurai tale.
Read MoreNapping Princess Blu-ray Review: Don’t Sleep on This
Veteran anime writer/director Kenji Kamiyama successfully launches a delightful new property.
Read MoreThe Green Slime (1968) Blu-ray Review: Would You Believe It When You’re Dead?
The Warner Archive Collection gives the campy U.S./Japanese cult classic a stellar new HD transfer.
Read MoreBook Review: Unchained Melody: The Films of Meiko Kaji by Tom Mes
A loving, informative reading on the films of a Japanese icon.
Read MoreNew Battles Without Honor and Humanity Blu-ray Box Set Review: Movies with Honor
Director Kinji Fukasaku and star Junta Sugawara team up again for more impressive results.
Read MoreHana-bi Blu-ray Review: Violence, Beauty, and Beautiful Violence
Takeshi Kitano’s first international success is unique, enigmatic and frequently beautiful.
Read MoreNew Battles Without Honor and Humanity: The Complete Trilogy Blu-ray Review: More Frenzied Yakuza Madness
Returning to his Yakuza series a whole six months after the last, Fukasaku covers similar ground, but finds new angles.
Read MoreBrutal Tales of Chivalry (1965) Blu-ray Review: Who Says Chivalry Is Dead?
The one and only Ken Takakura shows those young upstarts how to do it in this early yakuza offering from Toei and Twilight Time.
Read MoreAfter the Storm (2016) Blu-ray Review: Human Drama is Equally Sad, Sweet
Japanese director Kore-Eda continues career-long streak of touching, humorous and very human dramas.
Read MoreIn This Corner of the World Movie Review: Daily Life in Wartime
A personal perspective on war is shown in this anime about a daydreaming house-wife’s life in Japan in WWII.
Read MorePulse (2001) Blu-ray Review: Loneliness Is Hell
Japanese horror doesn’t so much scare, but fills you with unnamed dread.
Read MoreDoberman Cop (1977) Blu-ray Review: Sonny Chiba Does It Doggy Style
Arrow Video unleashes a truly mind-blowing 1970s exploitation action-comedy equivalent to fusion cuisine starring the larger-than-life Shin’ichi Chiba.
Read MoreWolf Guy (1975) Blu-ray Review: Lycanthropy, Grindhouse Style
Arrow Video throws us a bone in the form of a shapeshifting werewolf feller like no other.
Read MoreDoberman Cop (1977) Blu-ray Review: Sonny Chiba’s Hick Dirty Harry
Entertaining cop movie despite a wildly fluctuating tone, a departure from director Fukasaku’s harder-edged Yakuza material.
Read MoreCops vs. Thugs (1975) Blu-ray Review: Kon’nichiwa, Dirty Harry-san!
Arrow Video busts Kinji Fukasaku’s gritty, offbeat crime drama out of the Toei vaults.
Read MoreCops vs. Thugs (1975) Blu-ray Review: Corrupt Cops Combat Corporatization
A vintage Yakuza story by Fukasaku in his prime about the corrupt links between cops and gangs.
Read MoreWolf Guy Blu-ray Review: Too Much Guy, Not Enough Wolf
A bizarre genre mashup gives plenty of ’70s exploitation awesomeness, but very little werewolf.
Read MoreThe Yakuza (1974) Blu-ray Review: That Time Robert Mitchum Went to Japan
Like a trusty katana, the Warner Archive Collection whips out this neglected, gritty, emotional ’70s cult classic with much grace and dignity.
Read MoreGood Morning (1959) Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Japanese Master’s Flatulent Comedy
One of the great filmmakers of the 20th century fills his domestic comedy with wistfulness, charm…and fart jokes.
Read MoreKiju Yoshida: Love + Anarchism Blu-ray Review: Radical Politics and Radical Filmmaking
Thematic trilogy from a Japanese master, these three films are designed to be as beautiful, and baffling, as possible.
Read MoreDead or Alive Trilogy Blu-ray Review: Literally Explosive Cinematic Madness
Yakuza blow up the world, and that’s just first film of this loose trilogy starring Show Aikawa and Riki Takeuchi.
Read MoreMifune: The Last Samurai DVD Review: Japan’s Greatest Actor Profiled
Informative, engaging overview of the actor’s life and work, both with Akira Kurosawa and beyond.
Read MoreTampopo Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: An Endearing, Sensual, and Tasty Experience
Sweet, sexy, and hilarious food for thought.
Read MoreBlu-rays Review: Twilight Time Goes Around the World (and Then Some)
Six globetrotting adventures and dramas make their HD home video debuts, including a Sonny Chiba disaster flick and that missing title from you Ray Harryhausen collection.
Read MoreYour Name Movie Review: Bodies Swapped, Heartstrings Tugged
The top Japanese box-office draw of 2016, Your Name is a modern anime of uncommon quality, both visually and in storytelling.
Read MoreGhost in the Shell (1995) Limited Steelbook Blu-ray Review: Philosophical Animated Noir with Boobs
Terrifically stylized anime asks deep questions about technology we’re still trying to answer today.
Read MoreBlack Society Trilogy Blu-ray Review: Madman Miike’s (Relatively) Somber Saga
In these three films about criminal outsiders, Takashi Miike tones down his frenetic style demonstrating a commitment to craft.
Read MoreFathom Events Presents Spirited Away: 15th Anniversary
The re-release of the Miyazaki classic just breathes on the big screen.
Read MoreLone Wolf and Cub Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Manga Comes to Life
Chanbara film series is aided by the screenwriting of the manga series creator, Kazuo Koike.
Read MoreAFI Fest 2016 Review: Mifune: The Last Samurai: A Wonderful Remembrance
A straightforward biography that reveals little more than the story of the man’s life.
Read MoreThe Story of the Last Chrysanthemum Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: An Early Masterwork
A wonderful tale of love and loss at the Kabuki theater.
Read MoreFemale Prisoner Scorpion: The Complete Collection Blu-ray Review: These Ain’t Your Father’s Women-in-Prison Films
A terrific collection of some really wonderful genre films is maligned by less than stellar video quality.
Read MoreWoman in the Dunes Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Digging out a Life in Sand
Hiroshi Teshigahara’s enigmatic, hypnotic tale of a man trapped is equal parts Twilight Zone and Kafka, and completely absorbing.
Read MoreFemale Prisoner Scorpion: The Complete Collection Blu-ray Review: She’d Have Killed Bill in the First Movie
Meiko Kaji and her incredible cheekbones star in four Japanese women’s prison movies with varying levels of insanity.
Read MoreNikkatsu Diamond Guys: Vol 2 Blu-ray Review: The Sillier Side of Japan
Three movies from the 1960s show the Japanese made more than just deeply felt dramas and samurai flicks.
Read MoreNikkatsu Diamond Guys Volume 2 Blu-ray Review: Some Things Don’t Translate
A second volume of movies from Nikkatsu’s ’60s heyday branches out from just crime movies, with occasionally baffling results.
Read MoreThe Naked Island Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: The Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
Japanese film explores the travails of a poor farming family without the use of dialogue.
Read MoreOutlaw Gangster VIP: The Complete Collection Blu-ray Review: It Don’t Feel Good To Be a Gangster
Obscure Japanese films from the 1960s get an excellent release.
Read MoreOutlaw Gangster VIP: The Complete Collection Blu-ray Review: Gangster and Outlaw, All in One
Six Yakuza movies from the ’60s, replete with knife fights, anguish, and women falling in love with the wrong gangster.
Read MoreNikkatsu Diamond Guys Volume 1 Blu-ray Review: Action Heroes ’50s Japanese Style
Three action/crime films from Nikkatsu studios that showcase their popular leading me of the late 50s.
Read MoreJellyfish Eyes Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Surprisingly Unsurprising
Takashi Murakami’s first film is fun for the whole family but sorely lacking his usual artistic iconoclasm.
Read MoreAttack on Titan: The Movies: Part 1 & Part 2 Review: Anime-Inspired Cinematic Insanity
A two-part adaptation of the anime series, these movies deviate from the original, but keep the crazy spirit intact.
Read MoreStray Cat Rock Review: Bento Box of ’70s Delights
Box set compiles five groovy ’70s Japanese films.
Read MoreThe Happiness of the Katakuris (2001) Blu-ray Review: Anarchy, Sentiment, Family, Karaoke
Takashi Miike’s surrealist musical comedy finds its way to Blu-ray thanks to Arrow Video.
Read MoreThe Stranger Collection DVD Review: The Man with No Shame Trilogy
The Warner Archive Collection dusts off a trio of strange spaghetti westerns starring the even stranger Tony Anthony.
Read MoreBlind Woman’s Curse Blu-ray Review: Gory Japanese Ghosts and Yakuza Fun
A kitchen sink of Japanese genre elements from Japanese exploitation expert Teruo Ishii.
Read MoreAn Autumn Afternoon Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Master’s Final Masterpiece
Yasujiro Ozu left us with one final masterpiece in An Autumn Afternoon, a culmination of many of his favorite themes.
Read MoreThe Kingdom of Dreams and Madness DVD Review: The Glorious End of an Era
Documentary shines a spotlight on the legendary animation Studio Ghibli and its visionary co-founder, Hayao Miyazaki.
Read MoreGhidorah, The Three-Headed Monster DVD Review: Admittedly Goofy but a Lot of Fun
The film where Godzilla turned from villain to hero.
Read MoreInvasion of Astro-Monster DVD Review: The End of an Era
Thankfully, the plot holes don’t take away from the fun.
Read MoreThe Twilight Samurai (Tasogare Seibei) Blu-ray Review: Ex-Swordsman Blues
Wait, THIS lost to “The Barbarian Invasions”? THIS?!
Read MoreBooks Review: Starting Point: 1979-1996 and Turning Point: 1997-2008 by Hayao Miyazaki: Unique Memoirs from an Animation Genius
Starting Point and Turning Point memoirs provide insight into the work and life of Spirited Away director Hayao Miyazaki
Read MoreKagemusha Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: And a Thief Shall Lead Them
“The only crime is pride.” ― Sophocles, Antigone
Read MoreRan Criterion Collection DVD Review: Akira Kurosawa’s Final Masterpiece
Kurosawa uses Shakespeare’s King Lear to make a statement about mankind and the folly of war.
Read MoreHimizu Movie Review: Compellingly Weird Coming-of-age Drama
Himizu is a strange, but compelling, coming-of-age drama about a boy trying to find normalcy in post-tsunami Japan.
Read MoreGuilty of Romance Movie Review: Sexy Thriller with Tacked-on Murder
Sion Sono’s Guilty of Romance is a sexy, strange, perverse thriller about a housewife’s forays into prostitution.
Read MoreSanguivorous DVD Review: Super-Arty Asian Vampires
Sanguivorous is a horror film more interested in abstract visuals than narrative, or scares.
Read MoreFrom Up on Poppy Hill Blu-ray Review: The Son Also Rises
Miyazaki Jr. proves to be an adept director on his second attempt.
Read MoreThe Life of Oharu Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Mizoguchi’s Breakthrough Masterpiece
The Life of Oharu is devastating and gorgeous.
Read MoreThe Life of Oharu Criterion Collection DVD Review: The Downward Spiral
Portrait of a Japanese woman’s gradually declining station in life takes far too long to make its entirely obvious point.
Read MoreMasaki Kobayashi Against the System DVD Review: Angry and Elegant Political Films
Early films from the director of Harakiri reveal a rancorous, politically minded filmmaker.
Read MoreGate of Hell Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Not Quite Heavenly, but Far from Hellish
Tragic love story fails to build credibility, negating the tragedy
Read MoreUgetsu Criterion Collection DVD Review: What Price Desire?
A powerful, thought-provoking story.
Read MoreSansho the Bailiff Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: The Ties That Bind
Director Kenji Mizoguchi’s adaptation of a classic Japanese story is actually about a family torn asunder by a political feud, and their decade-long quest to reconnect.
Read MoreThe Ballad of Narayama Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Kinoshita’s Kabuki Theatre Envisions Ubasute
This meditation on aging benefits from its theatrical style.
Read MoreRashomon (1950) Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Restoration Shows Improvements, Not Perfection
Early tandem between legendary director Akira Kurosawa and actor Toshiro Mifune yields this undisputed classic film.
Read MoreRashomon Criterion Collection DVD Review: The Best of the Best
The visually stunning masterpiece from “The Emperor” of Japanese cinema remastered and packed with extras.
Read MoreThe Samurai Trilogy Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Journey Worth Embarking On
Toshirō Mifune is Musashi Miyamoto in this historical epic.
Read MoreThe Samurai Trilogy Criterion Collection DVD Review: Mifune in His Physical Prime
Director Hiroshi Inagaki and acting legend Toshiro Mifune combine to tell the epic story of folk hero Musashi Miyamoto.
Read MoreThe Secret World of Arrietty Blu-ray Review: Another Ghibli Gem
Miyazaki doesn’t direct this time around, but you’ll never be able to tell the difference.
Read MoreLate Spring Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Moving Look at a Family’s Season of Change
Director Yasujiro Ozu paints a heartbreaking portrait of a modern woman trapped by tradition.
Read MoreThree Outlaw Samurai Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Genre-Defining Samurai Film
A brilliantly shot period piece with beautiful cinematography and lots of fighting.
Read MoreGodzilla (1954) Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: The King of Monsters is Back
While the concept was original back in 1954, nowadays the film comes across as quite anticlimactic.
Read MoreThree Outlaw Samurai Criterion Collection DVD Review: Three is the Magic Number
A serviceable samurai yarn spotlighted by a rewarding underdog story and above average fight scenes.
Read MoreGodzilla (1954) The Criterion Collection DVD Review: The Legendary Monster Makes its Debut
A worthy addition to any fan of the genre’s movie collection.
Read MoreBranded to Kill Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Legendary Piece of Cinema You Should Not Miss
Suzuki’s 1967 Yakuza classic finally gets Blu-ray release.
Read MoreTokyo Drifter The Criterion Collection DVD Review: A Blast of Swinging Tokyo
Seijun Suzuki delivers a delirious Pop Art explosion.
Read MoreTokyo Drifter Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Style Over Substance
Jam-packed with more than enough visual artistry to compensate for its lightweight story.
Read MoreBranded to Kill Criterion Collection DVD Review: Suzuki’s Absurd Deconstruction of Yakuza Crime Films
Non-stop violence and duplicity from Japanese New Wave bad boy Seijun Suzuki.
Read MoreProfessor Layton and the Eternal Diva DVD Review: Animated Sleuthing Success
A richly illustrated full-length film based on the Nintendo DS puzzle game series.
Read MoreKuroneko Criterion Collection DVD Review: Expressionistic Horror in Feudal Japan
Kaneto Shindo’s film is a psychologically wrenching ghost story.
Read MoreKuroneko Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Things That Go Bump In The Night
Creates some spooky atmosphere but fails to drive a compelling narrative.
Read MoreHarakiri Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: The Samurai Condition
A masterful indictment of the morally bankrupt samurai system.
Read MoreThe Warped World of Koreyoshi Kurahara DVD Review: Diverse Dispatches from the Japanese New Wave
Koreyoshi Kurahara’s name may not ring many bells in the West, but it ought to.
Read MoreHigh and Low Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Kurosawa and Mifune: The Gold Standard
Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune team for another classic film.
Read MoreThe Makioka Sisters Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: No Joy No Luck Club
Beautiful kimonos and decent acting, but not much else to recommend.
Read MorePale Flower Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Essential Japanese New Wave
Cool couple chase illicit thrills in 1960s Tokyo.
Read MoreSeven Samurai Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Cinematic Masterpiece of Epic Proportions
A landmark in the history of film whose influence is still felt.
Read MoreStill Walking Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Most Personal Film
An emotional punch that extends far beyond the actions occurring in the film.
Read MoreStill Walking Criterion Collection DVD Review: A Masterpiece of Japanese Cinema
Director Hirokazu Kore-eda’s sixth film is a modern classic.
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