Time Out's The 50 Best Japanese Movies of All Time

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"Thanks to the likes of Hirokazu Kore-eda, Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Mamoru Hosoda, Japanese cinema is in rude health. It’s the home of one of the greatest filmmakers to ever stride the planet in Akira Kurosawa, but he’s not the only GOAT candidate Japan has produced – heck, there’s a whole field’s worth of them. Yasujirō Ozu, Hayao Miyazaki, Kenji Mizoguchi and the chin-stroking cineaste’s pick, Kon Ichikawa, all deserve a place in the firmament too. Between them, they’ve made a vast contribution to the movie canon and bridged the gap between east and west with classics as varied as Tokyo Story, Seven Samurai and My Neighbor Totoro.

The country’s booming silent era gave way to a post-war golden age, which in turn spawned a punky, provocative ’60s New Wave and an explosion in anime. Masterpieces abound, many of them vastly influential in the US and Europe, and a cultural osmosis has seen ideas exchanged between like-minded creators like Kurosawa and John Ford and Studio Ghibli and Pixar. Tarantino and Scorsese are apostles of this remarkable national cinema, and Godzilla continues to roar in Hollywood blockbusters. But there’s so much to get stuck into, it’s not always easy to know where to begin.

To coincide with a special Akira Kurosawa season at London’s BFI Southbank, we’ve taken a deep dive into the best of this god-level national cinema. Allow us to take you on a tour of the ultimate Nihon gold nuggets." --Time Out

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  1. 1 new

    Shichinin no samurai

    1954 — a.k.a. Seven Samurai, in 36 top lists Check
  2. 2 new

    Ugetsu monogatari

    1953 — a.k.a. Ugetsu, in 25 top lists Check
  3. 3 new

    Tôkyô monogatari

    1953 — a.k.a. Tokyo Story, in 27 top lists Check
  4. 4 new

    Rashômon

    1950 — a.k.a. Rashomon, in 34 top lists Check
  5. 5 new

    Banshun

    1949 — a.k.a. Late Spring, in 16 top lists Check
  6. 6 new

    Suna no onna

    1964 — a.k.a. Woman in the Dunes, in 22 top lists Check
  7. 7 new

    Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi

    2001 — a.k.a. Spirited Away, in 39 top lists Check
  8. 8 new

    Akira

    1988, in 22 top lists Check
  9. 9 new

    Seppuku

    1962 — a.k.a. Hara-Kiri, in 16 top lists Check
  10. 10 new

    Cure

    1997 — a.k.a. The Cure, in 7 top lists Check
  11. 11 new

    Ran

    1985, in 25 top lists Check
  12. 12 new

    Pâfekuto burû

    1997 — a.k.a. Perfect Blue, in 13 top lists Check
  13. 13 new

    Ringu

    1998, in 12 top lists Check
  14. 14 new

    Tôkyô orinpikku

    1965 — a.k.a. Tokyo Olympiad, in 6 top lists Check
  15. 15 new

    Ikiru

    1952, in 25 top lists Check
  16. 16 new

    Sanshô dayû

    1954 — a.k.a. Sansho the Bailiff, in 21 top lists Check
  17. 17 new

    Ukikusa

    1959 — a.k.a. Floating Weeds, in 10 top lists Check
  18. 18 new

    Tonari no Totoro

    1988 — a.k.a. My Neighbor Totoro, in 23 top lists Check
  19. 19 new

    Yôjinbô

    1961 — a.k.a. Yojimbo, in 19 top lists Check
  20. 20 new

    Hana-bi

    1997 — a.k.a. Fireworks, in 11 top lists Check
  21. 21 new

    Ôdishon

    1999 — a.k.a. Audition, in 11 top lists Check
  22. 22 new

    Tengoku to jigoku

    1963 — a.k.a. High and Low, in 16 top lists Check
  23. 23 new

    Gojira

    1954 — a.k.a. Godzilla, in 12 top lists Check
  24. 24 new

    Kaidan

    1964 — a.k.a. Kwaidan, in 13 top lists Check
  25. 25 new

    Maboroshi no hikari

    1995 — a.k.a. Maborosi, in 3 top lists Check
  26. 26 new

    Biruma no tategoto

    1956 — a.k.a. The Burmese Harp, in 12 top lists Check
  27. 27 new

    Onibaba

    1964, in 13 top lists Check
  28. 28 new

    Batoru rowaiaru

    2000 — a.k.a. Battle Royale, in 9 top lists Check
  29. 29 new

    Shurayukihime

    1973 — a.k.a. Lady Snowblood, in 3 top lists Check
  30. 30 new

    Hotaru no haka

    1988 — a.k.a. Grave of the Fireflies, in 21 top lists Check
  31. 31 new

    Hausu

    1977 — a.k.a. House, in 8 top lists Check
  32. 32 new

    Ai no korîda

    1976 — a.k.a. In the Realm of the Senses, in 16 top lists Check
  33. 33 new

    Dare mo shiranai

    2004 — a.k.a. Nobody Knows, in 8 top lists Check
  34. 34 new

    Bara no sôretsu

    1969 — a.k.a. Funeral Parade of Roses, in 7 top lists Check
  35. 35 new

    Ai no mukidashi

    2008 — a.k.a. Love Exposure, in 4 top lists Check
  36. 36 new

    Onna bakari no yoru

    1961 — a.k.a. Girl of Dark, in 0 top lists Check
  37. 37 new

    Tampopo

    1985, in 10 top lists Check
  38. 38 new

    Kiga kaikyô

    1965 — a.k.a. A Fugitive from the Past, in 4 top lists Check
  39. 39 new

    Onna ga kaidan wo agaru toki

    1960 — a.k.a. When a Woman Ascends the Stairs, in 8 top lists Check
  40. 40 new

    Sonachine

    1993 — a.k.a. Sonatine, in 10 top lists Check
  41. 41 new

    Doraibu mai kâ

    2021 — a.k.a. Drive My Car, in 11 top lists
    Check
  42. 42 new

    Nobi

    1959 — a.k.a. Fires on the Plain, in 6 top lists Check
  43. 43 new

    Narayama bushikô

    1983 — a.k.a. Ballad of Narayama, in 8 top lists Check
  44. 44 new

    Tôkyô nagaremono

    1966 — a.k.a. Tokyo Drifter, in 6 top lists Check
  45. 45 new

    Jigokumon

    1953 — a.k.a. Gate of Hell, in 9 top lists Check
  46. 46 new

    Tetsuo

    1989 — a.k.a. Tetsuo, the Iron Man, in 10 top lists Check
  47. 47 new

    Kuruizaki sanda rodo

    1980 — a.k.a. Crazy Thunder Road, in 3 top lists Check
  48. 48 new

    Okuribito

    2008 — a.k.a. Departures, in 8 top lists Check
  49. 49 new

    Moe no suzaku

    1997 — a.k.a. Suzaku, in 0 top lists Check
  50. 50 new

    Kamera o tomeru na!

    2017 — a.k.a. One Cut of the Dead, in 4 top lists
    Check
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Last updated on Feb 6, 2023; source