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BFI releases a list of the best Japanese film of each year (1925-2019)

SteveWinwood

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www.bfi.org.uk

The best Japanese film of every year – from 1925 to now

From Kurosawa to Koreeda, we make some tough choices about the finest film of every year of Japanese film history going back to 1925.
www.bfi.org.uk

I'm not going to post a list because you are big boys and girls, you can read (also because I don't want to put in the work).

Man the 50s are just filled with heavy hitters. I also realized just how few Japanese films I've actually seen. Of course everyone likes a good Ozu or Kurosawa, but theres so much more!

Also more anime than I would have expected in the last 20 years there, but they made the list to intentionally be diverse.

I have added at least Fires on the Plain and Giants and Toys to my need to watch list.

I'd love to hear what you guys think of the list, what some of your favorites are, and what you think people should watch!
 
Smerdyakov

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Nov 13, 2017
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I would have gone with Still Walking in 2008, but I accept Love Exposure in the interest of making the list more interesting since Kore-eda is already well-represented. Millennium Actress is the most deserving of Satoshi Kon's movies to be on the list IMO but it was up against Spirited Away in 2001. I'd have still chosen it but Spirited Away is stiff competition.
 

Frunkle

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Paprika is fine, but nowhere near as enjoyable as Perfect Blue. If you're going to have a Kon movie on there it should've been PB.
 

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Oh thank god Linda Linda Linda is on that list. What a brilliant movie that more people should watch. It's a movie that just makes me happy thinking about.
 
Mr. Snuffleupagus

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Smerdyakov said:
I would have gone with Still Walking in 2008, but I accept Love Exposure in the interest of making the list more interesting since Kore-eda is already well-represented. Millennium Actress is the most deserving of Satoshi Kon's movies to be on the list IMO but it was up against Spirited Away in 2001. I'd have still chosen it but Spirited Away is stiff competition.
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Spirited Away is their magnum opus and though Millennium Actress is great, it would still fall behind Happiness of the Katakuris and Warm Water Under the Red Bridge in 2001 in my eyes.
 

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andymcc said:
I was THRILLED to see it on here. It is one of the greatest coming of age movies.
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Have you seen Swing Girls? It's on a similar wavelength as Linda Linda Linda where it's a class of high school girls who accidentally get interested in swing music and start performing big band music. The director had them actually learn how to play their instruments while filming so the progress in the movie is real life progress too. The final act is just like 15 minutes of the girls performing music and it is glorious. Just a great feel-good movie.
 
Rosenkrantz

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Glad to see Eureka, probably easiest almost 3 hours long movie I've ever seen.

00s and onward is a bit too festivaly for my taste. 13 Assassins not being on the list while Akunin is there hurts.
 
Excuse me

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Mr. Snuffleupagus said:
I know a few people who helped compile this list but that said;

2002; Twilight Samurai instead of Dolls? No way.
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Yes way. Twilight Samurai is so much better film. But pretty good list. Admitedly it's full of kind of obvious arthouse picks (Criterion,Canal,etc. releases). I should watch more 40s movies tho.

Rosenkrantz said:
Glad to see Eureka, probably easiest almost 3 hours long movie I've ever seen.
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Eureka is great. I say Love Exposure (2008) is even easier to sit through and it's almost 4hours. Not sure If I had given 2008 for Love Exposure. Still Walking is just so dam good. Both have aged well too. Tough call.

Btw, am I the only one who likes Miike's Bird People in China? Seems like it never shows up on these lists. You get either Audidition or Ichi the Killer but no love for Bird People :(
 
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Menome

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Not only did they get Female Prisoner Scorpion on the list as I was hoping for, they 'correctly' chose the second film in the series.
 

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sora87 said:
Is this streaming anywhere? I've wanted to watch it forever but just haven't ever found it anywhere.
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There's a low-quality but watchable version on YouTube. Might be your best bet unless you can track down a physical copy.

youtu.be

Linda 2005 | English subtitle HD - 日本映画 フル フル コメディ 日本映画-2016- ザ・ベスト 日本映画

Linda 2005 | English subtitle HD - 日本映画 フル フル コメディ 日本映画-2016- ザ・ベスト 日本映画 youtube
youtu.be youtu.be

Rosenkrantz said:
Never been a big fan of Sono tbh. There's one film of his I actually like (the one with Joe Odagiri turning into a gangster in the US) and that's it.
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Have you seen Tag? I found that to be a scathing indictment on how men view and treat women. It's my favorite Sono that I've seen.
 
Superpupperbabysassy

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An friend of mins passed away yesterday. He worked in the film industry. We both had an love for obscure cinema. I'm going to watch some of these films this weekend.
 
Rosenkrantz

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Frump said:
Have you seen Tag? I found that to be a scathing indictment on how men view and treat women. It's my favorite Sono that I've seen.
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Don't think I've seen anything he made past Himizu, guy's work is simply not for me.

Edit: Actually no, I tried to watch his vampire show, but noped out of it at the moment there MC had an asthma/panic attack while some dudes were killing her friends lol.
 
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Gabbo

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No Gojira seems odd to be left out given the cultural impact, but against Seven Samurai... tough call
 
Mr. Snuffleupagus

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Zabo said:
Yes way. Twilight Samurai is so much better film. But pretty good list. Admitedly it's full of kind of obvious arthouse picks (Criterion,Canal,etc. releases). I should watch more 40s movies tho.
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I dunno, though Sonatine is on the list, I always found Hana-Bi and especially Dolls to be superior - I'm a fan of unrequited love stories and heartache (hello Lost in Translation, Gone with the Wind and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) so that's probably where it's coming from.

Also, I'd argue Your Name should be on there for it's huge cultural impact.
 
sora87

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Frump said:
There's a low-quality but watchable version on YouTube. Might be your best bet unless you can track down a physical copy.

youtu.be

Linda 2005 | English subtitle HD - 日本映画 フル フル コメディ 日本映画-2016- ザ・ベスト 日本映画

Linda 2005 | English subtitle HD - 日本映画 フル フル コメディ 日本映画-2016- ザ・ベスト 日本映画 youtube
youtu.be youtu.be
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Ohh thanks, better than nothing! Think i'll watch it tonight.
 
Diarrhea Day-Lewis

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Kylac said:
spirited away over ichi the killer. smh. at least Audition is on there.
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I watched Ichi when I was much younger, like 19 or 20, and got a kick out of it, but when I watched the 4k remaster at Fantastic Fest 2017 I literally could not stomach the violence against the female characters and walked out. IDK man it just hit differently. I do love the films of his (forget his name) that I've seen and Blade of the Immortal was fun.
 
sweetmini

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1985 is not Tampopo, ... i mean... come ON. (maybe they just didn't want to give 2 years in sequence to Itami)
 
XaviConcept

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Cool list and a good resource to watch films Ive never heard of, many of my faves (Taste of Tea, Kikujiro, Battle Royale, etc ar enot in it and thats a good thing, imo, new things to discover)
 
Perfect Chaos

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Frump said:
There's a low-quality but watchable version on YouTube. Might be your best bet unless you can track down a physical copy.

youtu.be

Linda 2005 | English subtitle HD - 日本映画 フル フル コメディ 日本映画-2016- ザ・ベスト 日本映画

Linda 2005 | English subtitle HD - 日本映画 フル フル コメディ 日本映画-2016- ザ・ベスト 日本映画 youtube
youtu.be youtu.be
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Crap, this seems right up my girlfriend's alley, but it seems like this youtube rip is our best bet outside of an overpriced DVD. Is there really no way to get a decent version of this movie nowadays?
 
hiredhand

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I had not realized 1988 was such a banner year for theatrical anime. Akira, Totoro and Grave of the Fireflies all in the same year is crazy.
 

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Perfect Chaos said:
Crap, this seems right up my girlfriend's alley, but it seems like this youtube rip is our best bet outside of an overpriced DVD. Is there really no way to get a decent version of this movie nowadays?
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I wasn't able to find any legal other way. I assume it has to do with Japanese music rights, since that can have all sorts of red tape getting in the way.
 
Tom Nook

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Achire

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Ran was robbed.

Cool list, I should probably check out some of the other contemporary directors than just Koreeda. Very happy to see Naruse represented, though I would say When a Woman Ascends the Stairs is his best movie.
 
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