Consider this a sloppy and not complete by any means roundup for Japanese and Japan-related cinema and other visual entertainment.
Just quick hits, a few links, please take the time to add to it if you have something to say.
First, buddy Banghi puts forth:
a quick and dirty list focusing on directors highlights or favs rather than spamming a list of Kurosawa…
* Tokyo Story
* Tampopo
* High and low
* Castle of Cagliastro
* In the realm of the senses
* Kwaidan
* Akira
* Any/all Zatoichi
* Ballad of Narayama
* Rodan
* The Burmese harp
* Battle royale
Next, I made a little list of Japanese and related for folks coming to wedding as a primer – a few ideas to load up on your device for plane viewing to get ya in the spirit:* Lost in Translation – Bill Murray is a confused actor promoting whiskey in Tokyo, hijinks ensue
* Isle of Dogs – Wes Anderson’s stop motion about well, dogs and friendship
* Zatoichi – classic Edo-period-set films about a blind masseur/master swordsman
* Tanpopo – not a spaghetti western, a ramen western and ode to food and love – See also Minba, a film lampooning the yakuza which (likely) got director Itami killed (yikes!)
* Seven Samurai – before the Magnificent 7, came Kurosawa’s B&W masterpiece
+ TV dramas like Long Vacation, Tokyo Love Story, Pride, Beach Boys are subtitled all over Youtube for cheesy fun
Amazon has a few quirky series like Ramen Loving Girl, Sunshine Sento Sake, Tokyo Girl (subtitled) for a funtime
Third, an article from Japan Times about film scholar/critic MARK Schilling
Fourth, article about 1939 film stars army dogs, the loyal, abandoned war combatants
Pal SW in Guam says: Very hard to find, but one I loved as a young Gaijin in Japan years ago, was ‘Tokyo Pop’ (YT a horrible copy)
Banghi also notes: I cut my teeth reading Donald Richie…
Me: Also worth noting Donald Keene, Japanese translator (recently passed on)
A few riffs about Juzo Itami:
Devon in NYC: Damn – I had no idea about Itami Juzo. That is really sad.
