Seven Samurai
(1954)A farming village hires seven samurai to protect their crops from returning bandits. The defenders train the farmers and prepare for a final battle.
Japanese films from the years everyone borrowed from
Kurosawa, Ozu, Mizoguchi and everyone working alongside them. A lot of what films do now was worked out here first, and the surprise is how watchable it stayed. Subtitles and black and white, and worth both.
The catalogue in 3D
The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. They work from the whole catalogue, not just this list.
Harakiri
(1962)A masterless samurai requests to perform ritual suicide at a feudal lord's estate. Through flashbacks, he reveals the harsh code of the samurai and the tragic events that led him to seek this violent end.
The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer
(1961)This film follows a Japanese soldier struggling with his conscience during World War Two. He faces brutal conditions and impossible moral choices.
High and Low
(1963)A wealthy businessman plans to take over his company with his life savings. When a kidnapper takes the wrong boy by accident, he must decide whether to pay the ransom and lose his dream.
Ikiru
(1952)A terminally ill Tokyo bureaucrat searches for meaning in his final days. He struggles with the emptiness of his work and his strained family relationships.
Samurai Rebellion
(1967)A samurai is ordered to accept a woman into his son's marriage. When the order is later retracted, he refuses to comply, setting off a conflict with his clan's leadership.
The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity
(1959)A man is conscripted into the Japanese Imperial Army and forced to endure its brutal, dehumanizing system. The film follows his struggle to maintain his moral compass while facing cruelty from superiors and fellow soldiers.
The Woman in the Dunes
(1964)An amateur entomologist is tricked into staying at a house at the bottom of a sand dune, where a lonely widow lives. The villagers prevent him from leaving and force him to work shoveling sand.
Red Beard
(1965)A proud young doctor arrives at a rural clinic run by a gruff veteran physician, Red Beard. He resents the assignment but gradually learns to treat the poor and forgotten patients with compassion.
Tokyo Story
(1953)An elderly couple leaves their small town to visit their grown children in Tokyo. They find their children are too busy with their own lives to spend much time with them.
The Human Condition I: No Greater Love
(1959)A Japanese man tries to treat prisoners of war with humanity during World War II. He faces the harsh realities of military bureaucracy and brutality.
Yojimbo
(1961)A masterless samurai wanders into a town torn between two rival crime bosses. He plays both sides against each other, offering his services as a bodyguard to each without committing to either.
Sansho the Bailiff
(1954)Two aristocratic children are sold into slavery and forced to endure harsh conditions. The film follows their separate struggles to survive and find freedom.
Rashomon
(1950)Several people give conflicting accounts of a samurai's murder in a forest. Each version reveals how the witnesses and participants lie to make themselves look better.
Late Spring
(1949)A widowed father and his adult daughter live together in postwar Japan. Their quiet routine is disrupted when family and friends pressure the daughter to marry, forcing her to choose between caring for her father and starting a life of her own.
Ugetsu
(1953)A potter in 16th century Japan leaves his family to sell his wares and becomes enchanted by a ghostly woman. Meanwhile his brother-in-law pursues his dream of becoming a samurai. Both men find their ambitions come at a great personal cost.
Ran
(1985)An aging warlord divides his kingdom among his three sons. His decision sets off a violent power struggle and a brutal war.
The Naked Island
(1960)A poor family lives on a tiny island and spends every day hauling water to their crops by hand. The film shows their hard work and quiet struggle against the unforgiving landscape.
When a Woman Ascends the Stairs
(1960)A widowed bar hostess in Tokyo struggles to keep her business afloat while dealing with societal judgments and personal dilemmas. She navigates relationships with customers and potential suitors as she tries to secure a stable future.
The Hidden Fortress
(1958)Two greedy peasants get caught up in a war and agree to help a general and a princess cross enemy territory for a reward. They bicker and scheme while facing dangers and obstacles along the way.
Agent Aika
(1997)The series follows Aika Sumeragi, a young salvager for hire. She gets caught up in a plot from people who want to take over the world.
Sanjuro
(1962)A wandering samurai helps a group of young men take on corrupt officials. He outsmarts and outmaneuvers his enemies with cleverness and skill.
Dersu Uzala
(1975)A Russian explorer travels through the rugged wilderness of the Russian Far East in the early 1900s. He meets a native hunter who becomes his guide and close friend, and they rely on each other to survive the harsh environment.
Throne of Blood
(1957)A samurai warrior is tempted by a prophecy to betray his lord and seize the throne. His ambition is fueled by his cold and calculating wife, leading to a spiral of paranoia and violence.
An Autumn Afternoon
(1962)An aging widower realizes he should find a husband for his adult daughter who has been caring for him. He grapples with the loneliness that her marriage will bring.
Early Summer
(1951)A woman in her late twenties lives happily with her parents and her brother's family in post-war Japan. Her uncle's visit sets off family efforts to arrange a marriage for her.
Kagemusha
(1980)A petty thief is forced to impersonate a powerful warlord after the warlord dies, to keep their enemies from attacking. The thief struggles to maintain the deception as the clan's fate hangs in the balance.
The Burmese Harp
(1956)After World War II ends, a group of Japanese soldiers in Burma search for a missing comrade. They wonder if the Buddhist monk they see playing a harp is their friend who disappeared.
Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters
(1985)The film mixes episodes from Japanese writer Yukio Mishima's life with dramatizations of his novels. It shows his personal struggles and artistic obsessions, leading up to his final act. The score and production design create a dreamlike but haunting atmosphere.
Godzilla vs. Destoroyah
(1995)Godzilla's nuclear heart is melting down. A swarm of mutated crustaceans rises from the sea to attack Japan. The military tries to stop both threats.
Love Letter
(1995)A woman sends a letter to her deceased fiancé's childhood address and receives a reply. The reply comes from a woman with the same name who knew her fiancé when they were teenagers. They exchange letters to uncover memories of the man they both knew.
The Crucified Lovers
(1954)A married woman and a clerk in her husband's business fall in love and run away together. Their escape leads them into danger and hardship in feudal Japan.
Tampopo
(1985)A group of truck drivers help a struggling ramen shop owner improve her soup and noodles. The film mixes her story with short comedic scenes about food and eating.
The Face of Another
(1966)An engineer whose face is horribly burned gets a realistic prosthetic mask. He uses his new appearance to explore how identity and human connection change when your face is no longer your own.
Hachiko Monogatari
(1987)A dog named Hachiko waits each day at a train station for his owner to come home. After the owner dies suddenly, the dog continues the daily ritual for years, watched by the local community.
The Sword of Doom
(1966)A ruthless and skilled swordsman named Ryunosuke Tsukue cuts a violent path through 19th-century Japan. His lack of moral restraint and cruel nature lead him into a spiral of conflict and madness.
Dreams
(1990)A series of eight short vignettes based on the director's own dreams. They move through childhood memories, encounters with spirits, and visions of human impact on nature.
Kwaidan
(1964)Four ghost stories from feudal Japan show vengeful spirits punishing wrongdoers. The supernatural world seems cold and distant to the humans who suffer.
Good Morning
(1959)Two young brothers in a Japanese suburb go on a silent strike after their parents refuse to buy a television. They test their family's patience and bond with neighbors over flatulence jokes and everyday life.
The Bad Sleep Well
(1960)A man infiltrates a corrupt company to avenge his father's death. He slowly uncovers a web of corporate betrayal and cover-ups.
This list is from Underplayed Gems, a catalogue of films and series from everywhere. You can also browse by genre, country and year, or look around it in 3D and ask the Catbot there.