Rank/Rate the Films of These Asian Directors

[Qrazy]

Thanks to the Criterion collection many of us have seen a film or two from the directors below but some of these guys have made 40+ films and I was wondering if anyone has strayed off the beaten path and found any hidden gems. I'm leaving off the bigger names of Japanese cinema such as Ozu, Mizoguchi, Kurosawa because their filmographies have been discussed more widely. Suzuki, Ichikawa, Naruse, Teshigahara and Kobayashi have had some discussion as well but I'm keeping them on the list because I'm curious about their hidden gems. I'm also leaving off 90's directors such as Kitano, Miike, Koreeda and others because they're more widely discussed.

Ichikawa
Naruse
Okamoto
Kinoshita
Honda
Taniguchi
Suzuki
Kobayashi
Imamura
Oshima
Hani
Yamada
Fukasaku
Inagaki
Kinugasa
Yamanaka
Shindo
Teshigahara
Shinoda
Gosha
Itami
Mori
Sawashima
Ito
Nakahira
Nakagawa

For Yamada has anyone seen any of the Tora-san films?

[dreamdead]

Ichikawa:
The Burmese Harp - 9
Fires on the Plain - 8

Naruse:
When A Woman Ascends the Stairs - 8.5

Imamura:
Vengeance is Mine - 8

Suzuki:
Pistol Opera - 6.5 (would love to rewatch this one, since two viewing seem a necessity to understand its grasp)

Kobayashi:
Hari-Kari - 8.5

[Raiders]

Ichikawa
The Burmese Harp [****]

Honda
Gojira [***]

Suzuki
Tokyo Drifter [***½]
Branded to Kill [**½]
Pistol Opera [****]

Kobayashi
Seppuku [***½]
Kwaidan [**]

Imamura
The Pornographers [***]
Ballad of Narayama [***½]
Black Rain [***½]

Oshima
In the Realm of the Senses [**½]

Yamada
The Twilight Samurai [***½]
The Hidden Blade [**½]

Fukasaku
Battle Royale [**]

Inagaki
Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto [**½]
Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple [**½]
Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island [***]
Chushinguru [***]

Teshigahara
Woman in the Dunes [****]

I don't see him on your list, but Nakagawa may be worth checking out. I have only seen Jigoku (Hell) but it was a very unnerving, evocative (if surprisingly grotesque) experience.

[Spinal]

My review of Kuroneko. (http://filmepidemic.blogspot.com/2006/04/kuroneko-shindo-1968.html)

[Stay Puft]

Ichikawa:
Tokyo Olympiad - 8

Okamoto:
Samurai Assassin - 9

Honda:
Gojira - 10

Suzuki:
Tokyo Drifters - 6
Branded to Kill - 5

Kobayashi:
Harakiri - 9
Kwaidan - 7
Samurai Rebellion - 10

Imamura:
The Pornographers - 7

Oshima:
Taboo - 7

Yamada:
The Twilight Samurai - 8

Fukasaku:
Shogun's Samurai - 6
Battle Royale - 4

Inagaki:
Miyamoto Musashi trilogy - 7ish

Shinoda:
Samurai Spy - 6

Gosha:
Three Outlaw Samurai - 7
Goyokin - 7

...

I guess? I'm having a hard time remembering what I've seen. And it's been years since I've seen a lot of these. I can't actually seperate the Miyamoto Musashi films at this point, I should probably revisit Suzuki at some point as I suspect I would be more appreciative of his work now (it has been years and years since I watched those), etc.

[Qrazy]

Ichikawa:
Tokyo Olympiad - 8

Okamoto:
Samurai Assassin - 9

Honda:
Gojira - 10

Suzuki:
Tokyo Drifters - 6
Branded to Kill - 5

Kobayashi:
Harakiri - 9
Kwaidan - 7
Samurai Rebellion - 10

Imamura:
The Pornographers - 7

Oshima:
Taboo - 7

Yamada:
The Twilight Samurai - 8

Fukasaku:
Shogun's Samurai - 6
Battle Royale - 4

Inagaki:
Miyamoto Musashi trilogy - 7ish

Shinoda:
Samurai Spy - 6

Gosha:
Three Outlaw Samurai - 7
Goyokin - 7

...

I guess? I'm having a hard time remembering what I've seen. And it's been years since I've seen a lot of these. I can't actually seperate the Miyamoto Musashi films at this point, I should probably revisit Suzuki at some point as I suspect I would be more appreciative of his work now (it has been years and years since I watched those), etc.

Check out Gate of Flesh for Suzuki. I liked Samurai Spy more than you as well and am going to watch Pale Flower soon, I'll let you know if that's a good re-entry point for Shinoda.

[Stay Puft]

Check out Gate of Flesh for Suzuki. I liked Samurai Spy more than you as well and am going to watch Pale Flower soon, I'll let you know if that's a good re-entry point for Shinoda.

Yeah, I suspect I'd be more appreciative of Shinoda now, too. I watched a lot of these when I first starting to take an interest in world cinema, and I had much less of a capacity then to approach film in terms of form. What I look for in cinema has certainly changed since, too, so I can also imagine going back and not appreciating something like Okamoto's Samurai Assassin as much, as I remember that one being excessively talkative, and something I might not find as interesting.

[Qrazy]

Okamoto

Sword of Doom - B-

Suzuki

... aka A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness - D-
... aka Branded to Kill (International: English title) (USA) - B-
... aka Tokyo Drifter (USA) - B-
... aka Tattooed Life (USA) - B
... aka Story of a Prostitute - B
... aka Gate of Flesh - A-
... aka The Flower and the Angry Waves - C
... aka Youth of the Beast (USA: video title) - B+

Kobayashi

... aka Inn of Evil - C+
... aka Samurai Rebellion - A-
... aka Kwaidan - A-
... aka Harakiri - A+
... aka The Human Condition III - B
... aka The Human Condition II - B+
... aka The Human Condition I - A-
... aka Black River - C+

Imamura

... aka Ballad of Narayama - B+
... aka Vengeance Is Mine - B-
... aka The Pornographers - B-
... aka The Insect Woman - B+

Oshima

In the Realm of the Senses - C-

Yamada

Tora-San 1 - B
Tora-San 2 - B-
Tora-San 5 - C
Tora-San 6 - C
Tora-San 7 - C+
Tora-San 8 - C+
Tora-San 9 - C
Tora-San 10 - C+
Tora-San 11 - C+
Hidden Blade - B-
Twilight Samurai - B+

Fukasaku

Battle Royale - C
Yakuza Papers 1 - C-

Inagaki

Samurai I - B
Samurai II - B
Samurai III - B
Whirlwind - B-

Kinugasa

A Page of Madness - C+

Shindo

Onibaba - A
Naked Island - A-
Kuroneko - B+
Children of Hiroshima - C-

Teshigahara

Woman in the Dunes - A

Shinoda

Pale Flower - B
Samurai Spy - B
Under the Cherry Blossoms - C-
Punishment Island - C-

Gosha

Hitokiri - C+
Samurai Wolf - C
Sword of the Beast - B
Three Outlaw Samurai - B

Itami

Tampopo - A
Minbo - B-
The Funeral - B-
A Taxing Woman - B-

Ichikawa

Fires on the Plain - A-

[EyesWideOpen]

I used to read dvdtalk reviews frequently and they had a guy who reviewed all of the Tora-san films. Great reviews that made me want to watch them if they ever got a region 1 release.

[Stay Puft]

Ah, see, there's one I forgot already.

Shindo:
Onibaba - 8

How do you forget about movies you remember liking a lot? I don't know.

[Qrazy]

Fukasaku:
Shogun's Samurai - 6
Battle Royale - 4


I have to say I've also been very underwhelmed by Fukasaku. I don't find him to be very formally strong. Maybe I'll complete The Yakuza Papers some day but the first didn't really spark my interest.

[Qrazy]

I used to read dvdtalk reviews frequently and they had a guy who reviewed all of the Tora-san films. Great reviews that made me want to watch them if they ever got a region 1 release.

There has to be something said for a series that spanned 25 years with the same director (except for two films) and the same lead actor. Even if there are some rough patches it must be fascinating to see the transition of the world's universe in relation to the real world over such a long period of time.

[Stay Puft]

Some dude by the name of zuplucian has been uploading all of the Tora-san films on KG recently. He's up to number 28 or so, as I recall. I'm thinking of grabbing the first couple this summer just to get things started and seeing where it goes from there.

[Qrazy]

I don't see him on your list, but Nakagawa may be worth checking out. I have only seen Jigoku (Hell) but it was a very unnerving, evocative (if surprisingly grotesque) experience.

Haven't seen it but good call. I added Nakahira as well (Crazed Fruit). Has anyone seen Crazed Fruit or Double Suicide?

[Qrazy]

Some dude by the name of zuplucian has been uploading all of the Tora-san films on KG recently. He's up to number 28 or so, as I recall. I'm thinking of grabbing the first couple this summer just to get things started and seeing where it goes from there.

Sounds good, keep us posted.

[Sycophant]

...Time for me to see if I can still log in to my KG account.

[Qrazy]

I don't see him on your list, but Nakagawa may be worth checking out. I have only seen Jigoku (Hell) but it was a very unnerving, evocative (if surprisingly grotesque) experience.

I accidentally saw the remake to Jigoku actually. That's happened to me with The Magnificent Ambersons and Cat People before as well. All three were pretty bad.

[balmakboor]

I'm a big fan of Imamura's last few films The Eel, Dr. Akagi, and Warm Water Under a Red Bridge. Especially the last one.

[Bosco B Thug]

Honda:
Gojira - 7
Matango (aka Attack of the Mushroom People) - 6
Kobayashi:
Kwaidan - 7
Fukasaku:
Battle Royale - 5.5
Nakagawa:
Jigoku - 6.5
Shindo:
Onibaba - 7.5

I'm pretty sure I haven't seen any more films that could possibly be directed by anyone listed here, though retaining Japanese director's names is definitely a deficiency of mine.

[Duncan]

Suzuki
- Branded to Kill - 7
- Tokyo Drifter - 8.5

Imamura
- Vengeance is Mine - 7.5

Oshima
- Diary of an Shinjuku Thief - 6.5

Shindo
- Onibaba - 7.5

Teshigahara
- Woman in the Dunes - 9.5

Shinoda
- Double Suicide - 9.0
- Pale Flower - 7.5

Pretty sure I've seen more, but that's all I can remember at the moment. I've seen Gojira too, but that was a long time a go.

[Duncan]

Oshima is very highly respected within a certain circle of Japanese New Wave aficionados, but he doesn't seem to be doing very well here.

[Spinal]

Oshima is very highly respected within a certain circle of Japanese New Wave aficionados, but he doesn't seem to be doing very well here.

In the Realm of the Senses ***1/2

There you go.

[Qrazy]

Oshima is very highly respected within a certain circle of Japanese New Wave aficionados, but he doesn't seem to be doing very well here.

Yeah I'm certainly interested in seeing more from him but In the Realm of the Senses didn't do much for me. I'll probably check out Taboo next.

[Qrazy]

I'm a big fan of Imamura's last few films The Eel, Dr. Akagi, and Warm Water Under a Red Bridge. Especially the last one.

Cool, been meaning to see The Eel for a while now.

[Melville]

Naruse
When A Woman Ascends the Stairs - 8

Imamura
Vengeance is Mine - 9

Suzuki
Tokyo Drifter - 5

Kobayashi
Kwaidan - 4.5
Samurai Rebellion - 7

Oshima
In the Realm of the Senses - 4

Yamada
The Twilight Samurai - 8

Teshigahara
Woman in the Dunes - 10

[Qrazy]

I'm quite surprised by all the mediocre rankings of Kwaidan. Is it just because of it's episodic nature?

[Qrazy]

Naruse
When A Woman Ascends the Stairs - 8

Imamura
Vengeance is Mine - 9

Suzuki
Tokyo Drifter - 5

Kobayashi
Kwaidan - 4.5
Samurai Rebellion - 7

Oshima
In the Realm of the Senses - 4

Yamada
The Twilight Samurai - 8

Teshigahara
Woman in the Dunes - 10

I think you'll like Onibaba.

[soitgoes...]

Kon Ichikawa
The Burmese Harp (1956) - 10
Enjo (1958) - 6.5
Fires on the Plain (1959) - 8.5
Alone Across the Pacific (1963) - 7.0
The Makioka Sisters (1983) - 7.0

Shohei Imamura
Endless Desire (1958) - 7.0
The Insect Woman (1963) - 7.5
Intentions of Murder (1964) - 9.0
The Profound Desire of the Gods (1968) - 7.0
Vengeance Is Mine (1979) - 8.5
Ballad of Narayama (1983) - 8.5
Black Rain (1989) - 9.0
The Eel (1997) - 5.5

Naruse
Every Night Dreams (1933) - 9.0
Wife! Be Like a Rose! (1935) - 10
Hideko the Bus Conductress (1941) - 7.5
Ginza Cosmetics (1951) - 5.5
Repast (1951) - 9.0
Okaasan (1952) - 7.5
Lightning (1952) - 7.5
Wife (1953) - 6.5
Late Chrysanthemums (1954) - 6.5
Sound of the Mountain (1954) - 9.5
Floating Clouds (1955) - 9.0
Flowing (1956) - 7.5
Untamed (1957) - 7.0
Summer Clouds (1958) - 7.0
When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (1960) - 9.0
Yearning (1964) - 10
The Stranger Within a Woman (1966) - 7.0
Scattered Clouds (1967) - 7.5

Okamoto
The Sword of Doom (1966) - 7.0

Honda
Gojira (1954) - 8.0
Frankenstein Conquers the World (1965) - 4.0

Suzuki
Fighting Elegy (1966) - 4.0

Kobayashi
The Human Condition I (1959) - 9.5
The Human Condition II (1959) - 9.0
The Human Condition III (1961) - 8.5
Harakiri (1962) - 10
Kwaidan (1964) - 6.5
Samurai Rebellion (1967) - 8.5

Oshima
Cruel Story of Youth (1960) - 7.5
Shonen (1969) - 8.5

Yamada
The Twilight Samurai (2002) - 9.5
The Hidden Blade (2004) - 9.5

Fukasaku
Hepcat in the Funky Hat: Case of the 2,000,000 Yen Arm (1961) - 6.5
Sympathy of the Underdog (1971) - 9.0
Under the Flag of the Rising Sun (1972) - 8.5
The Yakuza Papers (1973) - 6.5
The Yakuza Papers Vol 2 (1973) - 5.0
Yakuza Graveyard (1976) - 6.0
Battle Royale (2000) - 4.0

Inagaki
Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (1954) - 5.5
Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple (1955) - 5.0
Samurai III: Duel on Gonryu Island (1956) - 5.5
Samurai Saga (1959) - 6.0
Chushingura (1962) - 6.5

Kinugasa
Gate of Hell (1953) - 6.5

Shindo
Children of Hiroshima (1952) - 8.0

Teshigahara
Woman in the Dunes (1964) - 9.0
The Face of Another (1966) - 8.0
Antonio GaudÃ* (1984) - 8.5

Shinoda
Punishment Island (1966) - 6.5
Double Suicide (1969) - 7.5

Gosha
Three Outlaw Samurai (1964) - 8.0
Sword of the Beast (1965) - 8.0
Goyokin (1969) - 9.0

Kinoshita
Twenty-Four Eyes (1954) - 8.5

Yamanaka
Sazen Tange and the Pot Worth a Million Ryo (1935) - 8.5
Kochiyama Soshun (1936) - 7.5
Humanity and Paper Balloons (1937) - 8.5

Hiroshi Shimizu
Japanese Girls at the Harbor (1933) - 8.5
Mr. Thank You (1936) - 8.0
Children in the Wind (1937) - 7.0
The Masseurs and a Woman (1938) - 8.0
Ornamental Hairpin (1941) - 7.0

[soitgoes...]

Also of note is Yoshishige Yoshida and Hiroshi Shimizu, and possibly Kôji Wakamatsu.

[soitgoes...]

Yeah I'm certainly interested in seeing more from him but In the Realm of the Senses didn't do much for me. I'll probably check out Taboo next.
I have a feeling you should go the other direction in his filmography. His 60s work, especially the years 1966-1971 seems to be not only more indicative of his style (and that of the New Wave), but is also, for those in the know, more highly regarded.

I've been meaning to delve into his work, but keep getting sidetracked by other films. I imagine Boy will be the next one of I'll see.

[Qrazy]

I have a feeling you should go the other direction in his filmography. His 60s work, especially the years 1966-1971 seems to be not only more indicative of his style (and that of the New Wave), but is also, for those in the know, more highly regarded.

I've been meaning to delve into his work, but keep getting sidetracked by other films. I imagine Boy will be the next one of I'll see.

Alright, seems like sound advice. Of the three directors you listed above which films would you recommend?

[Qrazy]

I currently have Yamanaka's Humanity and Paper Balloons, Gosha's Samurai Wolf and Naruse's Floating Clouds so I'll probably watch all of those in short order.

[Qrazy]

...Time for me to see if I can still log in to my KG account.

Haha I'd definitely recommend it, most of these films are good to great in my book. Although surprisingly you can find a fair number of them on regular torrent sites such as mininova.

[soitgoes...]

Alright, seems like sound advice. Of the three directors you listed above which films would you recommend?
Hiroshi Shimizu
Japanese Girls at the Harbor (1933) - 8.5
Mr. Thank You (1936) - 8.0
Children in the Wind (1937) - 7.0
The Masseurs and a Woman (1938) - 8.0

Yoshishige Yoshida
Eros Plus Massacre - 8.5
I've also seen the first 30 minutes of Coup d'etat and it looks great. He has a very unique visual style where he pushes action to the corners and edges of the screen. He blocks or obscures the faces of his characters. He makes great use of black and white cinematography. I don't think I've seen another director similar to his style.

Wakamatsu
I've only seen Go, Go Second Time Virgin which I gave a 6.5. The super great title is deserving of a 10. Wakamatsu is known for pinku films so I'm not sure if I'll give him more attention. Maybe.

[soitgoes...]

I currently have Yamanaka's Humanity and Paper Balloons, Gosha's Samurai Wolf and Naruse's Floating Clouds so I'll probably watch all of those in short order.Naruse!

But the 2 Yamanaka films I've seen were great too. I forgot to include him on my initial list.
Sazen Tange and the Pot Worth a Million Ryo (1935) - 8.5
Humanity and Paper Balloons (1937) - 8.5

It's a shame all most all of his films are lost. Stupid war.

[Qrazy]

Naruse!

But the 2 Yamanaka films I've seen were great too. I forgot to include him on my initial list.
Sazen Tange and the Pot Worth a Million Ryo (1935) - 8.5
Humanity and Paper Balloons (1937) - 8.5

It's a shame all most all of his films are lost. Stupid war.

I have Sudden Rain also.

And Osaka Elegy and The Story of the Late Chrysanthemums and some Ozu maybe Flavor of Green Tea over Rice.

What are your problems with The Samurai Trilogy? Too melodramatic?

[soitgoes...]

And Osaka Elegy and The Story of the Late Chrysanthemums and some Ozu maybe Flavor of Green Tea over Rice.Osaka Elegy is very good. I haven't seen Chrysanthemums yet. I was very meh on Mizoguchi at first. I could see how some could see him as being great, but he didn't do too much for me. I've since have started coming around, and can recognize his greatness.

On many days I'd call Ozu my favorite director, and that film is definitely one of my favorites of his. It is darker, maybe bitter is a better word, than most of his other works. More akin to Naruse in tone, but still very much Ozu in style, than any of his other films I've seen.


What are your problems with The Samurai Trilogy? Too melodramatic?
This. To be honest they were some of the first Japanese films I remember seeing, and that was many years ago, so they are probably in need of a re-visit. The problem is the other two Inagaki films I've seen since were forgettable.

[B-side]

Ichikawa:
Fires on the Plain- 7

Suzuki:
Tattooed Life- 5

Kobayashi:
Samurai Rebellion- 8
Kwaidan- 9
Harakiri- 9

Teshigahara:
Woman in the Dunes- 7.5
Pitfall- 8

Oshima:
In the Realm of the Senses- 8

[Qrazy]

I watched the first Tora-san. It was sentimental, funny, and at times genuinely moving. There's so much story crammed into the 90 minute run time but it flows completely naturally. After seeing this one I have really high hopes for this series. I'm psyched to dive in.

[soitgoes...]

I've had my interest in some of these directors aroused since this thread began a couple days ago.

Shonen (Oshima 69) - I was a little surprised at how straight forward this film is. Reading up beforehand I knew it to be the most "mainstream" of his work during his peak late 60's films. It's the true story of a family who runs a hit-and-run type scam over the period of a few years. The wife, and eventually her step-son, would throw themselves into the sides of slow moving cars, and then the husband would manipulate the victims into giving him settlements to keep everything hush-hush. Though a fairly straight-forward story, it does contain some great insight into the world of the boy. Oshima, always filming the fringe of society, gives us an absolutely wonderful character in this somewhat twisted coming-of-age story. 8.5

Alone Across the Pacific (Ichikawa 63) - Nothing spectacular in this true tale involving a man who sets sail in a 19-foot sailboat from Osaka by himself for San Francisco. Flashbacks give us a glimpse into his determination and meticulous preparedness for such a journey (it was illegal to leave Japan by way of a personal boat back then). The story on the water follows a man whose incredible loneliness almost unhinge his sanity. Well filmed as always by Ichikawa, but still missing something. I think just focusing on the man as he tries to come to grips with his loneliness would've made an interesting enough story. The flashbacks while well done individually, break the flow, and the viewer loses touch with the action (inaction) on the boat. 7.0

Sympathy for the Underdog (Fukasaku 71) - True Fukasaku through and through. My fourth film by the man, and all four throw violence right up front. He gives us Koji Tsuruta as Gunji, a up-and-coming crime boss looking for fortune on Okinawa. Koji plays a bad motherfucker, who gets out of a few jams just because his adversaries so admire the guts he has they back down (even when outnumbered 20+ to 4). Fukasaku uses a bunch of techniques, like quick edits, freeze frames and voice overs, to give him the visceral punch used to jar the viewer. Sometimes a tad over the top, always bad ass. 9.0

I really look forward to seeing more Fukasaku from this period. His Under the Flag of the Rising Sun was great too. Next up will be Yakuza Graveyard. Eventually I'll give The Yakuza Papers a go.

[Qrazy]

I've had my interest in some of these directors aroused since this thread began a couple days ago.

Shonen (Oshima 69) - I was a little surprised at how straight forward this film is. Reading up beforehand I knew it to be the most "mainstream" of his work during his peak late 60's films. It's the true story of a family who runs a hit-and-run type scam over the period of a few years. The wife, and eventually her step-son, would throw themselves into the sides of slow moving cars, and then the husband would manipulate the victims into giving him settlements to keep everything hush-hush. Though a fairly straight-forward story, it does contain some great insight into the world of the boy. Oshima, always filming the fringe of society, gives us an absolutely wonderful character in this somewhat twisted coming-of-age story. 8.5

Alone Across the Pacific (Ichikawa 63) - Nothing spectacular in this true tale involving a man who sets sail in a 19-foot sailboat from Osaka by himself for San Francisco. Flashbacks give us a glimpse into his determination and meticulous preparedness for such a journey (it was illegal to leave Japan by way of a personal boat back then). The story on the water follows a man whose incredible loneliness almost unhinge his sanity. Well filmed as always by Ichikawa, but still missing something. I think just focusing on the man as he tries to come to grips with his loneliness would've made an interesting enough story. The flashbacks while well done individually, break the flow, and the viewer loses touch with the action (inaction) on the boat. 7.0

Sympathy for the Underdog (Fukasaku 71) - True Fukasaku through and through. My fourth film by the man, and all four throw violence right up front. He gives us Koji Tsuruta as Gunji, a up-and-coming crime boss looking for fortune on Okinawa. Koji plays a bad motherfucker, who gets out of a few jams just because his adversaries so admire the guts he has they back down (even when outnumbered 20+ to 4). Fukasaku uses a bunch of techniques, like quick edits, freeze frames and voice overs, to give him the visceral punch used to jar the viewer. Sometimes a tad over the top, always bad ass. 9.0

I really look forward to seeing more Fukasaku from this period. His Under the Flag of the Rising Sun was great too. Next up will be Yakuza Graveyard. Eventually I'll give The Yakuza Papers a go.

I'm looking forward to finally diving into Inagaki I think he's right up my alley. Maybe we should rate Ozu, Mizoguchi, Kurosawa, etc at this point just to fill in the dots. I've been going back and editing my post with new viewings/ratings.

[soitgoes...]

I'm looking forward to finally diving into Inagaki I think he's right up my alley. Maybe we should rate Ozu, Mizoguchi, Kurosawa, etc at this point just to fill in the dots. I've been going back and editing my post with new viewings/ratings.Cool I've done the same. Putting the other three in my original post will take a bit of time. I've seen over 50 films between them.

[Qrazy]

Cool I've done the same. Putting the other three in my original post will take a bit of time. I've seen over 50 films between them.

Yeah true, that's part of why I didn't originally include them. Also if we include them then maybe we'd have to include contemporary directors, horror, anime, etc.

[soitgoes...]

Yeah true, that's part of why I didn't originally include them. Also if we include them then maybe we'd have to include contemporary directors, horror, anime, etc.Well Mizoguchi's consensus is coming up, and after that all three will have had one. Granted the other two's ratings are sorely out of date since I rated them 2-3 years ago.

[soitgoes...]

Tora-San 3 - C
Tora-San 2 - B-
Tora-San 1 - B
Is the 3rd film one of the ones Yamada didn't direct? Do you plan on keep watching the series? I wonder if it'll get stale.

[Qrazy]

Is the 3rd film one of the ones Yamada didn't direct? Do you plan on keep watching the series? I wonder if it'll get stale.

Yeah 3 and 4 Yomada didn't direct so I'm going to power through those and see how things go. I wonder if it will get stale as well because already things are becoming somewhat formulaic. I don't really have the ratio to download anymore right now though anyway hahaha.

[Qrazy]

Updated.

[MacGuffin]

Okay, here are my ratings for now:

Naruse
When a Woman Ascends the Stairs - 8

Suzuki
Youth of the Beast - 6
Gate of Flesh - 7
Tokyo Drifter - 0

Kobayashi
Harakiri - 8

Teshigahara
Pitfall - 8

Will update later.

[Qrazy]

Up.

[soitgoes...]

Japanese directors of note I've come across since this thread began:

Tomu Uchida
Kazuhiko Hasegawa
Tai Kato
Toshio Matsumoto
Yasuzo Masumura
Eiichi Kudo
Heinosuke Gosho
Yasujiro Shimazu
Nobuhiko Ôbayashi

Masumura is definitely the highlight of that group so far. I've given him more of a chance than the others, if only because of availability. Gosho and Uchida are probably the best received among Japanese film scholars. I'll have to give Uchida's Miyamoto series a go one of these days. It's suppose to be superior to Inagaki's trilogy (not hard to do in my estimation). I have his A Fugitive from the Past which is also suppose to be pretty great.

To follow up on a previous post, Wakamatsu is definitely deserving of mention here. Another name, Kenji Misumi, he of Zatoichi and Lone Wolf and Cub fame. More of a director for hire, than an auteur or what have you.

Also I've neglected Shûji Terayama, but he undoubtedly needs to be mentioned.