Japanese Golden Age in 10 films

In the 1950s Japanese cinema won the West's attention with three very different masters: Kurosawa's energy, Ozu's stillness and Mizoguchi's long, flowing takes.

1. 1

   Late Spring 1949Yasujiro Ozu · IMDb 8.2Ozu's story of a daughter who does not want to leave her father to marry. His quiet style in its clearest form.

   Next: Rashomon ▾

   From Ozu's hushed family room to Kurosawa's restless energy, the film that first made the West look at Japan.
2. 2

   Rashomon 1950Akira Kurosawa · IMDb 8.1One crime told four times by four people who disagree. It introduced Japanese cinema to the West and made "Rashomon effect" a phrase.

   Next: The Life of Oharu ▾

   Now the third master: Mizoguchi answers Kurosawa's sharpness with patient, flowing takes and one woman's long story.
3. 3

   The Life of Oharu 1952Kenji Mizoguchi · IMDb 8.0Mizoguchi follows a woman's long decline in feudal Japan, with some of the most beautiful long takes of the era.

   Next: Ikiru ▾

   Back to Kurosawa, who leaves feudal times for modern Tokyo and turns his energy toward one ordinary man's question.
4. 4

   Ikiru 1952Akira Kurosawa · IMDb 8.3A dying civil servant looks for a purpose for his last months. Kurosawa's most humane film.

   Next: Ugetsu ▾

   Mizoguchi returns, trading the office for a world of war and ghosts where ambition comes at a price.
5. 5

   Ugetsu 1953Kenji Mizoguchi · IMDb 8.1Ghost story and war story together, as two men chase ambition and lose what matters. A masterpiece of Mizoguchi's later years.

   Next: Tokyo Story ▾

   Ozu answers with stillness: no ghosts, no battles, only a family and the small distances between its members.
6. 6

   Tokyo Story 1953Yasujiro Ozu · IMDb 8.1An old couple visits their grown children in Tokyo and finds little time for them. Often placed near the top of lists of the greatest films.

   Next: Sansho the Bailiff ▾

   After an intimate family drama, Mizoguchi widens the frame to the Middle Ages and a household pulled apart.
7. 7

   Sansho the Bailiff 1954Kenji Mizoguchi · IMDb 8.3A family torn apart in the Middle Ages, and a brother and sister who endure slavery. Mizoguchi at his most moving.

   Next: Seven Samurai ▾

   Kurosawa responds with action on a grand scale, as a village decides it must be defended.
8. 8

   Seven Samurai 1954Akira Kurosawa · IMDb 8.6Villagers hire seven masterless samurai to defend them against bandits. The model for countless action films since.

   Next: Throne of Blood ▾

   Still with Kurosawa and feudal Japan, but the village gives way to Shakespeare and the stylised stage.
9. 9

   Throne of Blood 1957Akira Kurosawa · IMDb 8.0Kurosawa moves Macbeth to feudal Japan, with the style of Noh theatre and a famous final scene.

   Next: Floating Weeds ▾

   To close, Ozu in colour: after the swords and castles, a gentle ending in a small seaside town.
10. 10

    Floating Weeds 1959Yasujiro Ozu · IMDb 7.9Ozu in colour: a travelling theatre troupe comes to a small seaside town. A remake of his own silent film.

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