Japanese cinema Archives - Page 3 of 4

Blu-rays Review: Twilight Time Goes Around the World (and Then Some)

By Luigi Bastardo | April 22, 2017 |

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.

Your Name Movie Review: Bodies Swapped, Heartstrings Tugged

By Kent Conrad | April 5, 2017 |

The top Japanese box-office draw of 2016, Your Name is a modern anime of uncommon quality, both visually and in storytelling.

Ghost in the Shell (1995) Limited Steelbook Blu-ray Review: Philosophical Animated Noir with Boobs

By Mat Brewster | March 11, 2017 |

Terrifically stylized anime asks deep questions about technology we’re still trying to answer today.

Black Society Trilogy Blu-ray Review: Madman Miike’s (Relatively) Somber Saga

By Kent Conrad | February 8, 2017 |

In these three films about criminal outsiders, Takashi Miike tones down his frenetic style demonstrating a commitment to craft.

Fathom Events Presents Spirited Away: 15th Anniversary

By Shawn Bourdo | December 16, 2016 |

The re-release of the Miyazaki classic just breathes on the big screen.

Lone Wolf and Cub Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Manga Comes to Life

By Steve Geise | December 6, 2016 |

Chanbara film series is aided by the screenwriting of the manga series creator, Kazuo Koike.

AFI Fest 2016 Review: Mifune: The Last Samurai: A Wonderful Remembrance

By Gordon S. Miller | December 5, 2016 |

A straightforward biography that reveals little more than the story of the man’s life.

Dark Water Blu-ray Review: A More Intimate Ring of Terror

By Kent Conrad | October 28, 2016 |

Original Ringu director’s best follow-up to his international hit, Dark Water is overwhelmingly atmospheric and surprisingly poignant.

The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: An Early Masterwork

By Mat Brewster | September 14, 2016 |

A wonderful tale of love and loss at the Kabuki theater.

Female Prisoner Scorpion: The Complete Collection Blu-ray Review: These Ain’t Your Father’s Women-in-Prison Films

By Mat Brewster | September 7, 2016 |

A terrific collection of some really wonderful genre films is maligned by less than stellar video quality.

Woman in the Dunes Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Digging out a Life in Sand

By Kent Conrad | August 19, 2016 |

Hiroshi Teshigahara’s enigmatic, hypnotic tale of a man trapped is equal parts Twilight Zone and Kafka, and completely absorbing.

Female Prisoner Scorpion: The Complete Collection Blu-ray Review: She’d Have Killed Bill in the First Movie

By Kent Conrad | August 18, 2016 |

Meiko Kaji and her incredible cheekbones star in four Japanese women’s prison movies with varying levels of insanity.

Nikkatsu Diamond Guys: Vol 2 Blu-ray Review: The Sillier Side of Japan

By Mat Brewster | July 23, 2016 |

Three movies from the 1960s show the Japanese made more than just deeply felt dramas and samurai flicks.

Nikkatsu Diamond Guys Volume 2 Blu-ray Review: Some Things Don’t Translate

By Kent Conrad | June 22, 2016 |

A second volume of movies from Nikkatsu’s ’60s heyday branches out from just crime movies, with occasionally baffling results.

The Naked Island Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: The Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

By Steve Geise | May 31, 2016 |

Japanese film explores the travails of a poor farming family without the use of dialogue.

Outlaw Gangster VIP: The Complete Collection Blu-ray Review: It Don’t Feel Good To Be a Gangster

By Mat Brewster | May 20, 2016 |

Obscure Japanese films from the 1960s get an excellent release.

Outlaw Gangster VIP: The Complete Collection Blu-ray Review: Gangster and Outlaw, All in One

By Kent Conrad | April 25, 2016 |

Six Yakuza movies from the ’60s, replete with knife fights, anguish, and women falling in love with the wrong gangster.

Nikkatsu Diamond Guys Volume 1 Blu-ray Review: Action Heroes ’50s Japanese Style

By Kent Conrad | January 26, 2016 |

Three action/crime films from Nikkatsu studios that showcase their popular leading me of the late 50s.

Jellyfish Eyes Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Surprisingly Unsurprising

By Steve Geise | December 18, 2015 |

Takashi Murakami’s first film is fun for the whole family but sorely lacking his usual artistic iconoclasm.

Attack on Titan: The Movies: Part 1 & Part 2 Review: Anime-Inspired Cinematic Insanity

By Kent Conrad | October 20, 2015 |

A two-part adaptation of the anime series, these movies deviate from the original, but keep the crazy spirit intact.

Stray Cat Rock Review: Bento Box of ’70s Delights

By Steve Geise | September 3, 2015 |

Box set compiles five groovy ’70s Japanese films.

Stray Cat Rock Blu-ray Review: Motorcycle Girl Gangs and Hippy Crime Sprees

By Kent Conrad | July 15, 2015 |

Five loosely connected Japanese exploitation movies capture the spirit, and looseness of their age.

The Happiness of the Katakuris (2001) Blu-ray Review: Anarchy, Sentiment, Family, Karaoke

By Critical curmudgeon | July 9, 2015 |

Takashi Miike’s surrealist musical comedy finds its way to Blu-ray thanks to Arrow Video.

The Stranger Collection DVD Review: The Man with No Shame Trilogy

By Luigi Bastardo | May 13, 2015 |

The Warner Archive Collection dusts off a trio of strange spaghetti westerns starring the even stranger Tony Anthony.

Retaliation Blu-ray Review: Japanese Gangster Exploitation Mayhem

By Kent Conrad | May 12, 2015 |

Another fine Arrow release of a late-’60s era Japanese exploitation picture.

Blind Woman’s Curse Blu-ray Review: Gory Japanese Ghosts and Yakuza Fun

By Kent Conrad | March 27, 2015 |

A kitchen sink of Japanese genre elements from Japanese exploitation expert Teruo Ishii.

An Autumn Afternoon Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Master’s Final Masterpiece

By Dusty Somers | February 25, 2015 |

Yasujiro Ozu left us with one final masterpiece in An Autumn Afternoon, a culmination of many of his favorite themes.

The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness DVD Review: The Glorious End of an Era

By Steve Geise | January 24, 2015 |

Documentary shines a spotlight on the legendary animation Studio Ghibli and its visionary co-founder, Hayao Miyazaki.

Ghidorah, The Three-Headed Monster DVD Review: Admittedly Goofy but a Lot of Fun

By Gordon S. Miller | December 24, 2014 |

The film where Godzilla turned from villain to hero.

Invasion of Astro-Monster DVD Review: The End of an Era

By Gordon S. Miller | December 22, 2014 |

Thankfully, the plot holes don’t take away from the fun.

The Twilight Samurai (Tasogare Seibei) Blu-ray Review: Ex-Swordsman Blues

By Luigi Bastardo | December 8, 2014 |

Wait, THIS lost to “The Barbarian Invasions”? THIS?!

Books Review: Starting Point: 1979-1996 and Turning Point: 1997-2008 by Hayao Miyazaki: Unique Memoirs from an Animation Genius

By Kent Conrad | June 9, 2014 |

Starting Point and Turning Point memoirs provide insight into the work and life of Spirited Away director Hayao Miyazaki

Kagemusha Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: And a Thief Shall Lead Them

By Gordon S. Miller | March 24, 2014 |

“The only crime is pride.” ― Sophocles, Antigone

Ran Criterion Collection DVD Review: Akira Kurosawa’s Final Masterpiece

By Gordon S. Miller | March 23, 2014 |

Kurosawa uses Shakespeare’s King Lear to make a statement about mankind and the folly of war.

Himizu Movie Review: Compellingly Weird Coming-of-age Drama

By Kent Conrad | March 15, 2014 |

Himizu is a strange, but compelling, coming-of-age drama about a boy trying to find normalcy in post-tsunami Japan.

Guilty of Romance Movie Review: Sexy Thriller with Tacked-on Murder

By Kent Conrad | March 14, 2014 |

Sion Sono’s Guilty of Romance is a sexy, strange, perverse thriller about a housewife’s forays into prostitution.

Sanguivorous DVD Review: Super-Arty Asian Vampires

By Kent Conrad | November 21, 2013 |

Sanguivorous is a horror film more interested in abstract visuals than narrative, or scares.

From Up on Poppy Hill Blu-ray Review: The Son Also Rises

By Steve Geise | August 26, 2013 |

Miyazaki Jr. proves to be an adept director on his second attempt.

The Life of Oharu Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Mizoguchi’s Breakthrough Masterpiece

By Dusty Somers | July 16, 2013 |

The Life of Oharu is devastating and gorgeous.

The Life of Oharu Criterion Collection DVD Review: The Downward Spiral

By Steve Geise | July 12, 2013 |

Portrait of a Japanese woman’s gradually declining station in life takes far too long to make its entirely obvious point.

Masaki Kobayashi Against the System DVD Review: Angry and Elegant Political Films

By Dusty Somers | June 7, 2013 |

Early films from the director of Harakiri reveal a rancorous, politically minded filmmaker.

Gate of Hell Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Not Quite Heavenly, but Far from Hellish

By Steve Geise | April 12, 2013 |

Tragic love story fails to build credibility, negating the tragedy

Ugetsu Criterion Collection DVD Review: What Price Desire?

By Gordon S. Miller | March 26, 2013 |

A powerful, thought-provoking story.

Sansho the Bailiff Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: The Ties That Bind

By Steve Geise | February 27, 2013 |

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.