Tokyo Drifter 1966

Since 1984, the Criterion Collection has been dedicated to publishing important classic and contemporary films from around the world in editions that offer the highest technical quality and award-winning, original supplements. No matter the medium—from laserdisc to DVD and Blu-ray to streaming—Criterion has maintained its pioneering commitment to presenting each film as its maker would want it seen, in state-of-the-art restorations with special features designed to encourage repeated watching and deepen the viewer’s appreciation of the art of film.

Films listed in order of spine numbers. Releases with multiple films are listed as individual items where appropiate.

Last Update: Releases up to July 2024 (Spine #1228)

Source: https://www.criterion.com/shop/browse/list?sort=spine_number

Well over a century has passed since the Lumière brothers frightened the life out of Parisians with The Arrival of a Train at a Station, and well over a million titles have since been recorded - if the Internet Movie Database is anything to go by.

Out of these million-plus movies, our team of experts has picked what we believe is the essential 1,000 - those that best sum up the dazzling achievement and variety of the movies.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/film/series/1000-films-to-see-before-you-die

films that are elevated or sophisticated in their themes, style, and execution, often blurring the lines between traditional genre conventions and arthouse or experimental cinema. These movies are often considered to be a combination of commercial appeal and artistic merit, combining elements of popular genres such as crime, science fiction, or horror, with more serious and thought-provoking themes, innovative cinematography, and a focus on character development. High art genre movies are often more character-driven and less reliant on conventional plot structures, and they challenge the audience's expectations while providing a unique and engaging viewing experience.

Criterion Collection

Eccentric, Nostalgia, "quirky" Aesthetic, avant garde, cinematic, visually striking art movies and tv series

Based on the book by Jennifer Eiss

Surrealism in cinema refers to the use of dreamlike and irrational elements in films to create a unique visual style that challenges conventional notions of reality. It originated from the artistic movement of surrealism in the 1920s and 30s, which sought to tap into the subconscious mind through the use of irrational imagery and symbolism. In film, surrealism often employs techniques such as discontinuous editing, unexpected imagery, and the use of special effects to create a dream-like atmosphere and to challenge the viewer's perception of reality. The aim of surrealist films is to provoke an emotional and intellectual response from the audience, and to blur the boundaries between the conscious and the unconscious mind.

The Criterion Collection is a video distribution company which specializes in licensing and selling "important classic and contemporary films" in "editions that offer the highest technical quality and award-winning, original supplements."

This is a list of all films (main feature, extra featurette, making of, box-set meta entry, etc if it has a separate entry on trakt) released under Criterion Collection catalog, Essential Art House, Eclipse, Merchant Ivory collections etc. as DVD/BluRay. So far LaserDisc releases have not been included.

Notes to self:
Reviewed/cross-checked entries till Criterion Collection #200.
Last entry: Criterion Collection Spine #845 / Eclipse Series #44.

From the book by Jennifer Eiss. The list is arranged by chapter. Each chapter starts with a top 10 (in alphabetical order), followed by the "best of the rest" (in alphabetical order).

#1-83: Dramatic Situatons
#84-133: Gripping Tales
#134-165: Lights, Camera…!
#166-228: Visionary Universes
#229-280: Criminal Underworlds
#281-360: Tales of Terror
#361-432: Cult Humor
#433-453: The Wild Wild West
#454-502: Film Lab

Source: https://www.amazon.com/500-Essential-Cult-Movies-Ultimate/dp/1402774869

Since the 2015 TSPDT has released a companion to their greatest 1000 films, consisting of the films ranked 1001-2000. This list contains the most recent version of this list, with all the previous lists in the history.

Source: http://www.theyshootpictures.com/gf1000_films1001-2000.htm

The top 100 Japanese movies of all time as chosen by the Kinema Junpo magazine.

Missing:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0287648/
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071111/

Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20120330015712/http://www.kinejun.jp/special/90alltimebest/index.html

Thanks to all who’ve made this a very popular list, in spite of glitches causing dozens of fans to suddenly disappear :(

A big welcome to the land of cinematic wonders!

I’ve aimed for a rounded overview to include not only personal favourites but popular hits and international award winners, animé landmarks, avant-
garde films, the New Wave, erotic “pink films” and the great classics that are still the glory of world cinema.

Much of silent cinema before the 1930s has been lost, its Benshi narrators displaced but good finally to have the landmark film Souls on the Road on Mubi. In the 20s directors were able to learn their trade through prolific practice, aware of and encorporating developments in both the Soviet Union and the West… and then, what a wealth of wonders! Older masters: the unequalled aesthetic refinement of Mizoguchi, the charm of Shimizu, the quiet observational wisdom of Ozu, the tragically curtailed promise of Yamanaka, the balanced restraint of Naruse, the muscular humanism of Kurosawa… Then, a new generation from the late 50s, in full swing in the sexually freer 60s: the idealism of Kobayashi, the political bite of Oshima, the earthy subversion of Imamura, the cool of Suzuki and Masumura. the avant-garde Terayama.. So many to explore: Yoshida, Ichikawa Kon, Teshigahara, Shinoda, Wakamatsu, Kumai, the documentaries of Ogawa and Hara, the stop motion master Kawamoto, the blood soaked Fukasaku.. the rise of animé, with the international success of Studio Ghibli and Miyazaki’s beautiful flights of fancy, the spiky Tsukamoto, the popular appeal of Kitano, the prolific shocker Miike.. up to the present with Koreeda, Naomi Kawase, Sono, Kurosawa Kiyoshi… oh and i almost went without mentioning Samurai and Godzilla.

Source: http://mubi.com/lists/kenjis-japanese-canon

Missing on TMDB as of now:
ID: tt0242845, Title: Narita: The Peasants of the Second Fortress, Year: -

From the revered classics of Akira Kurosawa, to the modern marvels of Takeshi Kitano, the films that have emerged from Japan represent a national cinema that has gained worldwide admiration and appreciation. The Directory of World Cinema: Japan provides an insight into the cinema of Japan through reviews of significant titles and case studies of leading directors, alongside explorations of the cultural and industrial origins of key genres. The directory aims to play a part in the distribution of academic output by building a forum for the study of film from a disciplined theoretical base.

This is in the form of an A-Z of reviews, longer essays and research resources. The cinematic lineage of samurai warriors, yakuza enforcers and atomic monsters are discussed in addition to the politically charged works of the Japanese New Wave, making this a truly comprehensive volume.

The list is based on the contents of the Book, sorted by chapters:

• Film of the Year
• Alternative Japan
• Anime / Animation
• Chambara / Samurai Cinema
• Contemporary Blockbusters
• Jidaigeki & Gendaigeki / Period & Contemporary
• J-Horror / Japanese Horror
• Kaiju Eiga / Monster Movies
• Nuberu Bagu / The Japanese New Wave
• Pinku Eiga / Pink Films
• Yakuza / Gangster

More information on this is also aviable on http://worldcinemadirectory.co.uk/!

List for the 2nd edition: http://trakt.tv/users/sp1ti/lists/directory-of-world-cinema-japan-2

Asian Cinema: A Field Guide (2007) by Tom Vick is a book about the history of cinema in various regions throughout Asia. This is a list of films mentioned in the book.

Part One: The Old Guard
China: Tradition and Resistance (#1-76)
Japan: Cinema of Extremes (77-266)
India: All That and then Some (267-355)

Part Two: Postwar Booms
Hong Kong: The Fine Art of Popular Cinema (356-459)
Korea: Rising from the Ashes of History (460-573)

Part Three: Recent Arrivals
Iran: A Continuing Conversation (574-632)
Taiwan: The Little Island that Could (633-675)

Part Four: New Players
South and Southeast Asia: Coming Into Focus
Bangladesh (676 & 677), Bhutan (678 & 679), Cambodia (680-682), Indonesia (683-689), Malaysia and Singapore (690-704), Nepal (705 & 706), Pakistan (707), The Philippines (708-732), Sri Lanka (733-737), Thailand (738-766), Tibet (767-772), Vietnam (773-784)
Central Asia and the Middle East: Global Intersections
The Former Soviet Republics, Afghanistan, and Mongolia (785-800), The Middle East (801–832), Turkey (833-843)

Part Five: Where to Go from Here
(List of websites and books)

Source: https://www.amazon.com/Asian-Cinema-A-Field-Guide/dp/0061145858/

After doing Top 10's for many years, the Japanese magazine Kinema Junpo released a list of their Top 200 Japanese movies in 2009.

Source: http://www.kinejun.jp/special/90alltimebest/index.html

For those interested, here are many of the individual years Top 10s:
http://www.rinkworks.com/checklist/list.cgi?u=crimsong&U=crimsong&p=kinemajunpotop10s

:popcorn: :jp:
Updated Jan 2022
Top Japanese Movies manually curated based on:
- cinemaescapist.com
- asianmoviepulse.com
- letterbox.com
- bfi.org.uk
- kinejun.jp

Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival lineup for 2017.

From the revered classics of Akira Kurosawa, to the modern marvels of Takeshi Kitano, the films that have emerged from Japan represent a national cinema that has gained worldwide admiration and appreciation. The Directory of World Cinema: Japan provides an insight into the cinema of Japan through reviews of significant titles and case studies of leading directors, alongside explorations of the cultural and industrial origins of key genres. The directory aims to play a part in the distribution of academic output by building a forum for the study of film from a disciplined theoretical base.

This is in the form of an A-Z of reviews, longer essays and research resources. The cinematic lineage of samurai warriors, yakuza enforcers and atomic monsters are discussed in addition to the politically charged works of the Japanese New Wave, making this a truly comprehensive volume.

-

The list is based on the contents of the Book, sorted by chapters:
Film of the Year
Alternative Japan
Anime / Animation
Chambara / Samurai Cinema
Contemporary Blockbusters
Jidaigeki & Gendaigeki / Period & Contemporary
J-Horror / Japanese Horror
Kaiju Eiga / Monster Movies
Nuberu Bagu / The Japanese New Wave
Pinku Eiga / Pink Films
Yakuza / Gangster

More information on this is also aviable on http://worldcinemadirectory.co.uk/!

List for the 2nd edition: http://trakt.tv/user/sp1ti/lists/directory-of-world-cinema-japan-2

[Missing Virus (1980), has the same year+name as another movie (TMDB:41972)]