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1950s

Japanese Golden Age

Post-war Japan produces humanist dramas, samurai epics and quiet domestic masterpieces that reach the world.

In the 1950s, Japanese cinema, restarted after the war, became one of the world's richest. Kurosawa's Rashomon won the Golden Lion in Venice in 1951 and opened Western eyes to Japanese film, while Mizoguchi, in long, fluid takes, told sad stories about women under pressure, and Ozu, with a low, still camera, found the whole of life in family kitchens and train journeys. Naruse, Kobayashi, Ichikawa and Inagaki added their own voices. Studios such as Toho, Shochiku and Daiei produced films in large numbers, and the period combined period dramas, modern family stories and war films.

Where
Japan, mostly Tokyo and Kyoto studios
When
The 1950s, from the late 1940s to the early 1960s
Key figures
Akira Kurosawa, Kenji Mizoguchi, Yasujiro Ozu, Mikio Naruse, Masaki Kobayashi, Kon Ichikawa
Landmark films
Rashomon (1950), Tokyo Story (1953), Ugetsu (1953), Seven Samurai (1954)
Legacy
Introduced Japanese cinema to the world and influenced directors from Spielberg to Wim Wenders

What to look for

  • Long takes, careful composition and stillness
  • Family, duty and the changes of postwar Japan
  • Samurai and period films alongside quiet modern dramas

Famous Directors

Akira KurosawaJapanYasujiro OzuJapanKenji MizoguchiJapanMasaki KobayashiJapanMikio NaruseJapanKon IchikawaJapanKeisuke KinoshitaJapanHiroshi InagakiJapanTeinosuke KinugasaJapanTadashi ImaiJapan

Top 100 rated films

  1. Seven Samurai 1954 · Akira Kurosawa · IMDb 8.6
  2. Harakiri 1962 · Masaki Kobayashi · IMDb 8.6
  3. High and Low 1963 · Akira Kurosawa · IMDb 8.4
  4. Ikiru 1952 · Akira Kurosawa · IMDb 8.3
  5. Red Beard 1965 · Akira Kurosawa · IMDb 8.3
  6. Sansho the Bailiff 1954 · Kenji Mizoguchi · IMDb 8.3
  7. Samurai Rebellion 1967 · Masaki Kobayashi · IMDb 8.3
  8. Yojimbo 1961 · Akira Kurosawa · IMDb 8.2
  9. Dersu Uzala 1975 · Akira Kurosawa · IMDb 8.2
  10. Ran 1985 · Akira Kurosawa · IMDb 8.2
  11. Late Spring 1949 · Yasujiro Ozu · IMDb 8.2
  12. Rashomon 1950 · Akira Kurosawa · IMDb 8.1
  13. Tokyo Story 1953 · Yasujiro Ozu · IMDb 8.1
  14. Ugetsu 1953 · Kenji Mizoguchi · IMDb 8.1
  15. Throne of Blood 1957 · Akira Kurosawa · IMDb 8.0
  16. The Hidden Fortress 1958 · Akira Kurosawa · IMDb 8.0
  17. Sanjuro 1962 · Akira Kurosawa · IMDb 8.0
  18. Early Summer 1951 · Yasujiro Ozu · IMDb 8.0
  19. Tokyo Twilight 1957 · Yasujiro Ozu · IMDb 8.0
  20. An Autumn Afternoon 1962 · Yasujiro Ozu · IMDb 8.0
  21. When a Woman Ascends the Stairs 1960 · Mikio Naruse · IMDb 8.0
  22. Yearning 1964 · Mikio Naruse · IMDb 8.0
  23. The Burmese Harp 1956 · Kon Ichikawa · IMDb 8.0
  24. The Life of Oharu 1952 · Kenji Mizoguchi · IMDb 8.0
  25. The Bad Sleep Well 1960 · Akira Kurosawa · IMDb 7.9
  26. Kagemusha 1980 · Akira Kurosawa · IMDb 7.9
  27. Floating Weeds 1959 · Yasujiro Ozu · IMDb 7.9
  28. Late Autumn 1960 · Yasujiro Ozu · IMDb 7.9
  29. Fires on the Plain 1959 · Kon Ichikawa · IMDb 7.9
  30. Kwaidan 1964 · Masaki Kobayashi · IMDb 7.9
  31. Twenty-Four Eyes 1954 · Keisuke Kinoshita · IMDb 7.9
  32. Stray Dog 1949 · Akira Kurosawa · IMDb 7.8
  33. I Was Born, But... 1932 · Yasujiro Ozu · IMDb 7.8
  34. Equinox Flower 1958 · Yasujiro Ozu · IMDb 7.8
  35. Good Morning 1959 · Yasujiro Ozu · IMDb 7.8
  36. Scattered Clouds 1967 · Mikio Naruse · IMDb 7.8
  37. Street of Shame 1956 · Kenji Mizoguchi · IMDb 7.8
  38. The Ballad of Narayama (1958) 1958 · Keisuke Kinoshita · IMDb 7.8
  39. Dreams (1990) 1990 · Akira Kurosawa · IMDb 7.7
  40. The Only Son 1936 · Yasujiro Ozu · IMDb 7.7
  41. Record of a Tenement Gentleman 1947 · Yasujiro Ozu · IMDb 7.7
  42. Early Spring 1956 · Yasujiro Ozu · IMDb 7.7
  43. The End of Summer 1961 · Yasujiro Ozu · IMDb 7.7
  44. Sound of the Mountain 1954 · Mikio Naruse · IMDb 7.7
  45. Tokyo Olympiad 1965 · Kon Ichikawa · IMDb 7.7
  46. Drunken Angel 1948 · Akira Kurosawa · IMDb 7.6
  47. A Story of Floating Weeds 1934 · Yasujiro Ozu · IMDb 7.6
  48. The Flavor of Green Tea over Rice 1952 · Yasujiro Ozu · IMDb 7.6
  49. Floating Clouds 1955 · Mikio Naruse · IMDb 7.6
  50. Repast 1951 · Mikio Naruse · IMDb 7.6
  51. A Geisha 1953 · Kenji Mizoguchi · IMDb 7.6
  52. Tokyo Trial 1983 · Masaki Kobayashi · IMDb 7.6
  53. There Was a Father 1942 · Yasujiro Ozu · IMDb 7.5
  54. Mother (1952) 1952 · Mikio Naruse · IMDb 7.5
  55. Lightning 1952 · Mikio Naruse · IMDb 7.5
  56. Flowing 1956 · Mikio Naruse · IMDb 7.5
  57. Rickshaw Man 1958 · Hiroshi Inagaki · IMDb 7.5
  58. Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island 1956 · Hiroshi Inagaki · IMDb 7.5
  59. Chushingura 1962 · Hiroshi Inagaki · IMDb 7.5
  60. Late Chrysanthemums 1954 · Mikio Naruse · IMDb 7.4
  61. Sisters of the Gion 1936 · Kenji Mizoguchi · IMDb 7.4
  62. Miss Oyu 1951 · Kenji Mizoguchi · IMDb 7.4
  63. Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto 1954 · Hiroshi Inagaki · IMDb 7.4
  64. Bushido, Samurai Saga 1963 · Tadashi Imai · IMDb 7.4
  65. Darkness at Noon 1956 · Tadashi Imai · IMDb 7.4
  66. A Page of Madness 1926 · Teinosuke Kinugasa · IMDb 7.3
  67. Dodes'ka-den 1970 · Akira Kurosawa · IMDb 7.3
  68. Madadayo 1993 · Akira Kurosawa · IMDb 7.3
  69. Daughters, Wives and a Mother 1960 · Mikio Naruse · IMDb 7.3
  70. An Actor's Revenge 1963 · Kon Ichikawa · IMDb 7.3
  71. A Japanese Tragedy 1953 · Keisuke Kinoshita · IMDb 7.3
  72. Immortal Love 1961 · Keisuke Kinoshita · IMDb 7.3
  73. Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple 1955 · Hiroshi Inagaki · IMDb 7.3
  74. Night Drum 1958 · Tadashi Imai · IMDb 7.3
  75. The Lower Depths (1957) 1957 · Akira Kurosawa · IMDb 7.2
  76. Rhapsody in August 1991 · Akira Kurosawa · IMDb 7.2
  77. The Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family 1941 · Yasujiro Ozu · IMDb 7.2
  78. The Makioka Sisters 1983 · Kon Ichikawa · IMDb 7.2
  79. Osaka Elegy 1936 · Kenji Mizoguchi · IMDb 7.2
  80. The 47 Ronin 1941 · Kenji Mizoguchi · IMDb 7.2
  81. Black River 1957 · Masaki Kobayashi · IMDb 7.2
  82. Crossroads 1928 · Teinosuke Kinugasa · IMDb 7.1
  83. Gate of Hell 1953 · Teinosuke Kinugasa · IMDb 7.1
  84. Conflagration 1958 · Kon Ichikawa · IMDb 7.1
  85. Princess Yang Kwei Fei 1955 · Kenji Mizoguchi · IMDb 7.1
  86. Alone on the Pacific 1963 · Kon Ichikawa · IMDb 7.0
  87. Utamaro and His Five Women 1946 · Kenji Mizoguchi · IMDb 7.0
  88. The Thick-Walled Room 1956 · Masaki Kobayashi · IMDb 7.0
  89. Morning for the Osone Family 1946 · Keisuke Kinoshita · IMDb 6.9
  90. The Garden of Women 1954 · Keisuke Kinoshita · IMDb 6.9
  91. The Key 1959 · Kon Ichikawa · IMDb 6.8
  92. Sanshiro Sugata 1943 · Akira Kurosawa · IMDb 6.7
  93. Carmen Comes Home 1951 · Keisuke Kinoshita · IMDb 6.5
  94. The Rose on His Arm 1956 · Keisuke Kinoshita · IMDb 6.5
  95. Mr. Pu 1953 · Kon Ichikawa · IMDb 6.3
  96. The Three Treasures 1959 · Hiroshi Inagaki · IMDb 6.3
  97. Whirlwind 1964 · Hiroshi Inagaki
  98. Muddy Waters 1953 · Tadashi Imai
  99. The Crucified Lovers 1954 · Kenji Mizoguchi
  100. Yukinojo's Revenge 1935 · Teinosuke Kinugasa