Popular from Japan
Cure
(キュア)
A detective and a psychologist must solve a series of murders, but this killing spree is beyond both their fields.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1997
- Director Kiyoshi Kurosawa
- Cast Koji Yakusho, Tsuyoshi Ujiki, Anna Nakagawa, Yukijiro Hotaru, Yoriko Douguchi, Denden
- Genre Crime, Thriller, Horror, Mystery
- Available on Criterion Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video
Shoplifters
(万引き家族)
Sometimes it's better to choose your own family.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2018
- Director Hirokazu Kore-eda
- Cast Lily Franky, Sakura Ando, Mayu Matsuoka, Jyo Kairi, Miyu Sasaki, Kirin Kiki
- Genre Crime, Drama
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Hoopla, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Redbox, FlixFling, Spectrum On Demand, Tubi TV, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Godzilla
(ゴジラ)
A 164-foot-tall monster near Odo Island in Japan goes on a rampage that threatens the entire world.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1954
- Director Ishirō Honda
- Cast Akira Takarada, Momoko Kôchi, Akihiko Hirata, Takashi Shimura, Fuyuki Murakami, Sachio Sakai
- Genre Horror, Science Fiction, Thriller
- Available on fuboTV, Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Vudu, Amazon Video, Crackle, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, Shout! Factory TV, Plex,
Pokémon
(ポケットモンスター サン&ムーン)
Join Ash Ketchum on his adventures of becoming a Pokémon Master!
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1997
- Creator Satoshi Tajiri, Junichi Masuda, Ken Sugimori
- Cast Rica Matsumoto, Ikue Otani
- Genre Animation, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Netflix, Hulu, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Netflix basic with Ads
13 Assassins
(十三人の刺客)
Take up your sword.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan, United Kingdom • 2010
- Director Takashi Miike
- Cast Koji Yakusho, Takayuki Yamada, Yusuke Iseya, Gorô Inagaki, Kazue Fukiishi, Hiroki Matsukata
- Genre Adventure, Drama, Action
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Hoopla, fuboTV, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Redbox, FlixFling, Spectrum On Demand, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, VUDU Free, Peacock, Peacock Premium, DistroTV, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Kanopy, Plex,
Spirited Away
(千と千尋の神隠し)
A ten-year-old girl must save her parents from hostile spirits.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2001
- Director Hayao Miyazaki
- Cast Rumi Hiiragi, Miyu Irino, Mari Natsuki, Bunta Sugawara, Yumi Tamai, Ryunosuke Kamiki
- Genre Animation, Family, Fantasy
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
Akira
(AKIRA
)
Neo-Tokyo is about to E.X.P.L.O.D.E.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1988
- Director Takashi Nakamura
- Cast Mitsuo Iwata, Nozomu Sasaki, Mami Koyama, Tesshou Genda, Hiroshi Ohtake, Kōichi Kitamura
- Genre Science Fiction, Animation
- Available on Hulu, Crunchyroll, Crunchyroll Amazon Channel, Vudu
Delicious in Dungeon
(ダンジョン飯)
Adventurers become expert gastronomes as they turn dangerous monsters into delicious dishes.
- Japan • 2024
- Creator
- Cast
- Genre Action & Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads
Ghost in the Shell
(GHOST IN THE SHELL/攻殻機動隊
)
A group of cybernetically enhanced cops are called into a stop a biohacking threat.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan, United Kingdom • 1995
- Director Mamoru Oshii
- Cast Atsuko Tanaka, Akio Otsuka, Iemasa Kayumi, Kouichi Yamadera, Yutaka Nakano, Tesshou Genda
- Genre Action, Animation, Science Fiction
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, AMC on Demand, Tubi TV, Freevee
Attack on Titan
(進撃の巨人)
When the human race is hunted nearly to extinction by giant monsters, a small group of humans fight back.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2013
- Creator
- Cast Yūki Kaji, Marina Inoue, Yui Ishikawa, Hiroshi Kamiya, Saki Fujita, Yoshimasa Hosoya
- Genre Action & Adventure, Animation, Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, War & Politics
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Hulu, Microsoft Store, Crunchyroll, Adult Swim, Spectrum On Demand, Crunchyroll Amazon Channel
Ran
(乱)
The Greatest Shakespeare Film
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan, France • 1985
- Director Akira Kurosawa
- Cast Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu, Daisuke Ryû, Mieko Harada, Yoshiko Miyazaki
- Genre Action, Drama, History
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Video, AMC on Demand, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Death Note
(DEATH NOTE)
A brilliant, cynical teenager holds the power of life and death, but his crusade for justice blurs the line between good and evil.
- Japan • 2006
- Creator
- Cast Mamoru Miyano, Noriko Hidaka, Nozomu Sasaki
- Genre Animation, Mystery
- Available on Vudu, Amazon Video, Apple TV, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Microsoft Store, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Hoopla, Pluto TV, Peacock, Freevee, Netflix basic with Ads, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Cowboy Bebop
(カウボーイビバップ)
Amid rising crime rates across the solar system in 2071, bounty hunters, or "cowboys," chase criminals in exchange for rewards.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1998
- Creator Hajime Yatate
- Cast Koichi Yamadera, Unsho Ishizuka, Megumi Hayashibara, Aoi Tada
- Genre Action & Adventure, Animation, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Western
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Seven Samurai
(七人の侍)
Seven samurai answer a village's request for protection after they lose their masters and fall on hard times.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1954
- Director Akira Kurosawa
- Cast Toshirō Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Yoshio Inaba, Seiji Miyaguchi, Minoru Chiaki, Daisuke Katô
- Genre Action, Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Specials
(鋼の錬金術師 FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST
)
The Elric brothers search for the Philosopher's Stone to reverse their fates.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2009
- Creator
- Cast Romi Park, Rie Kugimiya, Shin-ichiro Miki, Kenta Miyake, Fumiko Orikasa, Megumi Takamoto
- Genre Action & Adventure, Animation, Drama, Mystery
- Available on Hulu, Crunchyroll, Crunchyroll Amazon Channel
New from Japan
Inazuma Eleven
(イナズマイレブン)
A soccer team must win a match against the best team in Japan if they want to save their club.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan, Spain, Mexico • 2008
- Creator
- Cast
- Genre Animation, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
- Available on Amazon Video
Plan 75
In a dystopian Japan, the government launches Plan 75, a program encouraging senior citizens to be euthanized to remedy its aging population.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan, France, Philippines • 2022
- Director Chie Hayakawa
- Cast Chieko Baisho, Hayato Isomura, Stefanie Arianne, Yumi Kawai, Taka Takao, Hisako Ôkata
- Genre Drama, Science Fiction
- Available on Criterion Channel, Amazon Video
Kingdom
(キングダム)
In ancient China, a young boy dreams of becoming the greatest general of the Qin Kingdom.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2019
- Director Shinsuke Sato
- Cast Kento Yamazaki, Ryo Yoshizawa, Masami Nagasawa, Kanna Hashimoto, Kanata Hongo
- Genre Action, Drama, History, War
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store
Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle
(Onoda, 10 000 nuits dans la jungle)
The true story of Hiroo Onoda, a Japanese soldier during WWII who surrendered 10,000 days after the Empire.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Japan, Germany • 2021
- Director Arthur Harari
- Cast Yuya Endo, Kanji Tsuda, Yuya Matsuura, Tetsuya Chiba, Shinsuke Kato, Kai Inowaki
- Genre Adventure, Drama, War
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, Freevee
The Last Ronin
(最後の忠臣蔵)
An army of loyal samurai plot to revenge their unjustly executed lord.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2010
- Director Shigemichi Sugita
- Cast Koji Yakusho, Koichi Sato, Nanami Sakuraba, Koji Yamamoto, Jun Fubuki, Kunie Tanaka
- Genre Drama, History
- Available on Tubi TV
We Are Little Zombies
(WE ARE LITTLE ZOMBIES)
Their parents are dead. They should be sad, but they can’t cry. So they form a kick-ass rock band.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2019
- Director Makoto Nagahisa
- Cast Keita Ninomiya, Satoshi Mizuno, Mondo Okumura, Sena Nakajima, Kuranosuke Sasaki, Youki Kudoh
- Genre Drama, Music
- Available on Fandor Amazon Channel, Peacock, OVID, Night Flight Plus, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy, Plex,
Nightwalker: Midnight Detective
(Night Walker -真夜中の探偵-)
A private eye-turned vampire must face demonic creatures known as the Nightbreed.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1998
- Creator Ayana Itsuki
- Cast Emi Shinohara, Takumi Yamazaki, Maaya Sakamoto, Toshihiko Seki
- Genre Action & Adventure, Animation, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
- Available on Pluto TV
Inu-oh
(犬王)
A cursed dancer and a musician stun society with electrifying concerts.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan, China • 2022
- Director Masaaki Yuasa
- Cast Avu-chan, Mirai Moriyama, Tasuku Emoto, Kenjiro Tsuda, Yutaka Matsushige, Kuroemon Katayama
- Genre Animation, Drama, Music
- Available on Hulu, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube, Redbox
Puella Magi Madoka Magica
(魔法少女まどか☆マギカ)
A schoolgirl is offered a wish in exchange for a commitment to battling witches.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2011
- Creator
- Cast Aoi Yuki, Chiwa Saito, Eri Kitamura, Ai Nonaka, Emiri Kato
- Genre Animation, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
- Available on Hulu, Crunchyroll, Crunchyroll Amazon Channel
One Piece Film: Red
A beloved singer with a concealed identity finally reveals herself to the world.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2022
- Director Goro Taniguchi
- Cast Kaori Nazuka, Ado, Shuichi Ikeda, Mayumi Tanaka, Kazuya Nakai, Akemi Okamura
- Genre Action, Adventure, Animation, Fantasy, Music
- Available on Netflix, Crunchyroll, Netflix basic with Ads, Crunchyroll Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, AMC on Demand
Lily C.A.T.
(LILY-C.A.T.)
The expendable crew of a space vessel must stop a murderous organism that somehow got on board.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1987
- Director Hisayuki Toriumi
- Cast Chikao Ohtsuka, Eiko Yamada, Osamu Saka
- Genre Animation, Horror, Science Fiction
- Available on The Roku Channel
Perfect Days
The film follows the daily life of Hirayama, who works as a toilet cleaner in Tokyo.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan, Germany • 2023
- Director Wim Wenders
- Cast Koji Yakusho, Arisa Nakano, Aoi Yamada, Tokio Emoto, Yumi Asou, Sayuri Ishikawa
- Genre Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand
Dragon Ball
(ドラゴンボール)
A young orphan teams up with a girl to seek out the seven wish-granting Dragon Balls.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1986
- Creator Akira Toriyama
- Cast Masako Nozawa, Mayumi Tanaka, Hiromi Tsuru, Tōru Furuya, Naoki Tatsuta, Naoko Watanabe
- Genre Comedy, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Animation, Action & Adventure
- Available on Vudu, Amazon Video, Hulu, Microsoft Store, Crunchyroll, Crunchyroll Amazon Channel
Future Boy Conan
(未来少年コナン)
A young boy isolated from the rest of the world agrees to help a girl save her family from the evil government.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1978
- Creator Hayao Miyazaki, Alexander Key
- Cast Noriko Ohara, Hideyuki Tanaka, Masatō Ibu, Kazuyo Aoki, Ichirō Nagai
- Genre Animation, Action & Adventure, Family, Kids, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video
Of Love & Law
(愛と法)
A documentary following Fumi and Kazu, who run the first law firm in Japan set up by an openly gay couple.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan, United Kingdom, France • 2017
- Director Hikaru Toda
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on OVID
Telescope Recommends
Harmonium
(淵に立つ)
There's something off-key in this household...
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan, France • 2016
- Director Kōji Fukada
- Cast Tadanobu Asano, Mariko Tsutsui, Takahiro Miura, Kanji Furutachi, Momone Shinokawa
- Genre Thriller
- Available on Hoopla, Film Movement Plus, Apple TV, Vudu, Amazon Video, Kanopy
Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train
(劇場版「鬼滅の刃」無限列車編)
Tanjiro joins one of the most powerful swordsmen in the Demon Slayer Corps to take down a monster.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2020
- Director Haruo Sotozaki
- Cast Natsuki Hanae, Akari Kito, Hiro Shimono, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, Satoshi Hino, Takahiro Sakurai
- Genre Action, Adventure, Animation, Fantasy
- Available on Crunchyroll, Crunchyroll Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
Howards End
A saga of class relations and changing times.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, Japan, United States • 1992
- Director James Ivory
- Cast Emma Thompson, Helena Bonham Carter, Anthony Hopkins, Samuel West, Vanessa Redgrave, Adrian Ross Magenty
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on MUBI, Fandor Amazon Channel, MUBI Amazon Channel, Cohen Media Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Kino Now, Tubi TV, Cineverse, Kanopy
Tokyo Story
(東京物語)
Shukishi and his wife, Tomi, journey to visit their adult children in Tokyo.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1953
- Director Yasujirō Ozu
- Cast Chishū Ryū, Chieko Higashiyama, Setsuko Hara, Haruko Sugimura, Sō Yamamura, Kuniko Miyake
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, Kanopy
Late Spring
(晩春)
Widower Shukichi feels obligated to marry off his only daughter.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1949
- Director Yasujirō Ozu
- Cast Chishū Ryū, Setsuko Hara, Yumeji Tsukioka, Haruko Sugimura, Hohi Aoki, Jun Usami
- Genre Drama
- Available on Fandor, Fandor Amazon Channel, Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Amazon Video, Tubi TV, Plex,
Drunken Angel
(酔いどれ天使)
A doctor and a gangster make the most unlikely of friendships.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1948
- Director Akira Kurosawa
- Cast Takashi Shimura, Toshirō Mifune, Reizaburô Yamamoto, Michiyo Kogure, Chieko Nakakita, Noriko Sengoku
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Plex,
Osama
In Afghanistan, a teenaged girl dresses as a boy so she can work to support her mother and grandmother.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Afghanistan, Ireland, Japan • 2003
- Director Siddiq Barmak
- Cast Marina Golbahari, Arif Herati, Zubaida Sahar, Mohammad Nadir Khwaja, Khwaja Nader
- Genre Drama
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, MGM Plus, Hoopla, fuboTV, MGM Plus Amazon Channel, MGM Plus Roku Premium Channel, Vudu, Amazon Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
The Red Turtle
(La tortue rouge)
Come discover the magic of nature...
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Belgium, Japan • 2016
- Director Michael Dudok de Wit
- Cast Emmanuel Garijo, Tom Hudson, Baptiste Goy, Axel Devillers, Barbara Beretta
- Genre Animation, Drama, Family, Fantasy
- Available on Starz Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand
Birdboy: The Forgotten Children
(Psiconautas, los niños olvidados)
There is light and beauty, even in the darkest of worlds.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Spain, Japan • 2015
- Director Pedro Rivero
- Cast Andrea Alzuri, Eva Ojanguren, Josu Cubero, Félix Arcarazo
- Genre Science Fiction, Animation, Drama, Horror
- Available on Shudder Amazon Channel, AMC+, AMC+ Amazon Channel, Shudder Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy
The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice
(お茶漬けの味)
A childless middle-aged couple faces a marital crisis of sorts.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1952
- Director Yasujirō Ozu
- Cast Shin Saburi, Michiyo Kogure, Koji Tsuruta, Chikage Awashima, Keiko Tsushima, Eijirô Yanagi
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel
Platform
(站台)
An amateur theater troupe evolves after China's "open door" policy.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Hong Kong, China, Japan • 2001
- Director Jia Zhangke
- Cast Zhao Tao, Wang Hongwei, Liang Jingdong, Tian Yi Yang, Wang Bo, Han Sanming
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel
Happy Together
(春光乍洩)
A couple take a trip to Argentina in search of a new beginning, but instead find themselves drifting ever further apart.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Hong Kong, Japan, Korea • 1997
- Director Wong Kar-wai
- Cast Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Leslie Cheung, Chang Chen, Gregory Dayton, Yee-Gan Chan
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Rakuten Viki, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube
Departures
(おくりびと)
An out-of-work cellist unknowingly accepts a job offer to prepare dead bodies for their funerals.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2008
- Director Yojiro Takita
- Cast Masahiro Motoki, Ryoko Hirosue, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Kazuko Yoshiyuki, Kimiko Yo, Takashi Sasano
- Genre Drama
- Available on Google Play Movies, Vudu, YouTube, Plex,
Spirited Away
(千と千尋の神隠し)
A ten-year-old girl must save her parents from hostile spirits.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2001
- Director Hayao Miyazaki
- Cast Rumi Hiiragi, Miyu Irino, Mari Natsuki, Bunta Sugawara, Yumi Tamai, Ryunosuke Kamiki
- Genre Animation, Family, Fantasy
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
I Wish
(奇跡)
A little bit of magic and a little bit of love.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2011
- Director Hirokazu Kore-eda
- Cast Koki Maeda, Oshiro Maeda, Nene Otsuka, Joe Odagiri, Ryôga Hayashi, Hoshinosuke Yoshinaga
- Genre Drama
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube, FlixFling, Pluto TV, VUDU Free, Freevee, DistroTV, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Kanopy, Plex,
Oscar Season: Koji Yakusho
Pension Metsa
(ペンションメッツァ)
A woman named Tenko runs a pension alone in a beautiful forest in Nagano, and makes conversation with her guests.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2021
- Creator
- Cast Satomi Kobayashi, Koji Yakusho, Shizuka Ishibashi, Bengal, Yuka Itaya, Takashi Yamanaka
- Genre Documentary, Drama
- Available on MZ Choice Amazon Channel, Mhz Choice
Tokyo Sonata
(トウキョウソナタ)
When Megumi accidentally finds out Ryûhei's secret and doesn't tell him, her trust in him, and their marriage, suffers.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan, Netherlands, Hong Kong • 2008
- Director Kiyoshi Kurosawa
- Cast Teruyuki Kagawa, Kyoko Koizumi, Kai Inowaki, Yū Koyanagi, Koji Yakusho, Haruka Igawa
- Genre Drama
- Available on Amazon Video, Tubi TV
The Last Ronin
(最後の忠臣蔵)
An army of loyal samurai plot to revenge their unjustly executed lord.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2010
- Director Shigemichi Sugita
- Cast Koji Yakusho, Koichi Sato, Nanami Sakuraba, Koji Yamamoto, Jun Fubuki, Kunie Tanaka
- Genre Drama, History
- Available on Tubi TV
Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai
(一命)
Love. Honor. Revenge.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan, United Kingdom • 2011
- Director Takashi Miike
- Cast Koji Yakusho, Naoto Takenaka, Eita, Hikari Mitsushima, Ebizo Ichikawa, Kazuki Namioka
- Genre Drama
- Available on Hoopla, Vudu, Microsoft Store, Amazon Video, Tubi TV, Pluto TV, VUDU Free, Freevee, Kanopy, Plex,
13 Assassins
(十三人の刺客)
Take up your sword.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan, United Kingdom • 2010
- Director Takashi Miike
- Cast Koji Yakusho, Takayuki Yamada, Yusuke Iseya, Gorô Inagaki, Kazue Fukiishi, Hiroki Matsukata
- Genre Adventure, Drama, Action
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Hoopla, fuboTV, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Redbox, FlixFling, Spectrum On Demand, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, VUDU Free, Peacock, Peacock Premium, DistroTV, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Kanopy, Plex,
Tampopo
(タンポポ)
Two Japanese truck drivers help a widowed restaurant owner learn to cook amazing ramen noodles.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1985
- Director Juzo Itami
- Cast Tsutomu Yamazaki, Nobuko Miyamoto, Ken Watanabe, Koji Yakusho, Rikiya Yasuoka, Hyôe Enoki
- Genre Comedy
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, YouTube
The Boy and the Beast
(バケモノの子)
A lonesome beast and an orphan boy join forces in this heartfelt coming-of-age film.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2015
- Director Mamoru Hosoda
- Cast Koji Yakusho, Aoi Miyazaki, Shota Sometani, Suzu Hirose, Kazuhiro Yamaji, Mamoru Miyano
- Genre Action, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Fantasy
- Available on Crunchyroll, Crunchyroll Amazon Channel, Apple TV
The Third Murder
(三度目の殺人)
Everyone has a truth they want to believe.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2017
- Director Hirokazu Kore-eda
- Cast Masaharu Fukuyama, Koji Yakusho, Shinnosuke Mitsushima, Mikako Ichikawa, Izumi Matsuoka, Isao Hashizume
- Genre Crime, Drama, Mystery
- Available on Film Movement Plus, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy
The Blood of Wolves
(孤狼の血)
Detective Shogo Ogami and his rookie partner Shuichi Hioka investigate mysterious disappearances amidst a growing yakuza turf war.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2018
- Director Kazuya Shiraishi
- Cast Kōji Yakusho, Tori Matsuzaka, Yoko Maki, Kenichi Takitoh, Takuma Otoo, Joey Iwanaga
- Genre Crime, Drama, Thriller
- Available on Shudder, AMC+ Amazon Channel
Classic Films from Japan
Dragnet Girl
(非常線の女)
In this silent gangster film, a career criminal is drawn to a sweet, strait-laced girl much to the ire of his longtime moll.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1933
- Director Yasujirō Ozu
- Cast Kinuyo Tanaka, Joji Oka, Sumiko Mizukubo, Kōji Mitsui, Yumeko Aizome, Chishū Ryū
- Genre Crime, Drama, Romance
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max
The Naked Island
(裸の島)
The only inhabitants of a small island in the Seto Inland Sea struggle to get by.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1960
- Director Kaneto Shindō
- Cast Nobuko Otowa, Taiji Tonoyama, Shinji Tanaka, Masanori Horimoto
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube
Early Summer
(麦秋)
28-year-old Noriko's parents pressure her to marry in postwar Japan.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1951
- Director Yasujirō Ozu
- Cast Setsuko Hara, Chishū Ryū, Chikage Awashima, Kuniko Miyake, Ichirô Sugai, Chieko Higashiyama
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV
Street of Shame
(赤線地帯)
The daily personal dramas of five women employed as sex workers in Tokyo’s Yoshiwara district.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1956
- Director Kenji Mizoguchi
- Cast Machiko Kyō, Aiko Mimasu, Ayako Wakao, Michiyo Kogure, Kumeko Urabe, Yasuko Kawakami
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel
Woman in the Dunes
(砂の女)
An entomologist suffers extreme psychological and sexual torture after being taken captive by the residents of a poor seaside village.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1964
- Director Hiroshi Teshigahara
- Cast Eiji Okada, Kyôko Kishida, Ginzô Sekiguchi, Kôji Mitsui, Sen Yano
- Genre Drama, Thriller
- Available on Criterion Channel, Apple TV, Amazon Video
Floating Weeds
(浮草)
Members of a traveling theater troupe meddle in the personal life of the troupe's leader.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1959
- Director Yasujirō Ozu
- Cast Ganjiro Nakamura, Machiko Kyō, Hiroshi Kawaguchi, Ayako Wakao, Haruko Sugimura, Chishū Ryū
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Kanopy
When a Woman Ascends the Stairs
(女が階段を上る時)
A middle-aged bar hostess, constantly in debt, is faced with numerous social constraints and challenges.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1960
- Director Mikio Naruse
- Cast Hideko Takamine, Masayuki Mori, Reiko Dan, Tatsuya Nakadai, Daisuke Katō, Ganjirô Nakamura II
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel
Immortal Love
(永遠の人)
While her fiancée is away fighting, a woman is raped by a landowner's son and forced into marriage.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1961
- Director Keisuke Kinoshita
- Cast Hideko Takamine, Keiji Sada, Tatsuya Nakadai, Nobuko Otowa, Akira Ishihama, Masakazu Tamura
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Criterion Channel
Yearning
(乱れる)
After a bombing raid destroys the family store, Reiko rebuilds and runs the shop out of love stopped short by destruction.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1964
- Director Mikio Naruse
- Cast Hideko Takamine, Yûzô Kayama, Mitsuko Kusabue, Mie Hama, Aiko Mimasu, Yû Fujiki
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel
Good Morning
(お早よう)
Two young boys stop speaking in protest when their parents refuse to buy a television set.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1959
- Director Yasujirō Ozu
- Cast Keiji Sada, Yoshiko Kuga, Chishū Ryū, Kuniko Miyake, Haruko Sugimura, Kôji Shitara
- Genre Comedy, Family, Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV
Tokyo Twilight
(東京暮色)
Two sisters discover the existence of their long-lost mother, but the younger cannot take the truth of being abandoned as a child.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1957
- Director Yasujirō Ozu
- Cast Setsuko Hara, Ineko Arima, Chishū Ryū, Isuzu Yamada, Teiji Takahashi, Masami Taura
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Tubi TV
A Man Vanishes
(人間蒸発)
This riveting documentary chronicles the missing-person’s case of Tadashi, a Japanese businessman who has vanished into thin air.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1967
- Director Shōhei Imamura
- Cast Yoshie Hayakawa, Shōhei Imamura, Shigeru Tsuyuguchi
- Genre Documentary, Drama
- Available on OVID, Apple TV
High and Low
(天国と地獄)
A wealthy executive becomes the victim of an extortion plot after his chauffeur’s son is kidnapped.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1963
- Director Akira Kurosawa
- Cast Toshirō Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Kyōko Kagawa, Tatsuya Mihashi, Isao Kimura, Kenjirō Ishiyama
- Genre Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Amazon Video
Floating Clouds
(浮雲)
Returning to Japan following WWII, Yukiko hopes to continue an affair started during wartime, but realizes the man won’t divorce his wife.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1955
- Director Mikio Naruse
- Cast Hideko Takamine, Masayuki Mori, Mariko Okada, Isao Yamagata, Chieko Nakakita, Daisuke Katō
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Criterion Channel