Japanese Movie Listing - P
Out of all the Japanese movies beginning with the letter P, Princess Mononoke is a classic animated movie. Be aware, though, that this is not exactly a movie meant for young children. It's an insight into the world of folklore and supernatural creatures that are a part of the Japanese culture.Penny Serenade (1941)
Cary Grant, Irene Dunn. Brief interlude set in Japan (done in the studio), which includes an earthquake. . .
Picture Bride (1995)
In 1918, a young Japanese woman leaves everything behind and moves to Hawaii to embark on an arranged marriage. She soon discovers that it's not what she imagined it to be. But slowly, her disillusionment turns to passion as a whole new world opens up for her. Youki Kudoh, Tamlyn Tomita, Akira Takayama, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Toshiro Mifune (Cameo). Directed by: Kayo Hatta.
Poppy (1935) 72m. (Gubijinso)
A recently rediscovered work not screened in the West until 1976, Mizoguchi's Poppy is an ornate melodrama made on a lavish budget, and finds the director experimenting in American-style filmmaking. Based on a 1908 novel by Soseki Natsume, the film stars Kuniko Miyake as Fujio, an affluent and able young woman engaged to a rising young diplomat. Despite her betrothal, she finds herself falling in love with Ono, the young student hired to tutor her in English. He is attracted by Fujio's wealth and beauty, but is himself engaged to another. When self-centred Fujio resolves to forsake everything for Ono, the consequences prove dire. Poppy "shows that the range of Mizoguchi's experimentation at this period was great indeed. . . [It was shot] to exploit to the full the possibilities of Western style dramatic editing. . . The film is by no means a negligible piece of work and was clearly the object of considerable thought and care. It is as if Mizoguchi felt the need to give the Western mode one serious, thorough-going try before striking out in his own, Japanese, direction" (Noël Burch). Director: Kenji Mizoguchi. Cast: Kuniko Miyake, Ichiro Tsukida, Daijiro Natsukawa. B&W, In Japanese with English subtitles. [Daniel Richard]
Pray for Death (1985)
The story begins in Japan, where Akira Saito (played by Sho Kosugi) debates whether or not he should move to the U.S. His wife who is half American (played by Donna Kei-Benz) wants them to move. He decides to go to the temple where he was raised. There he is confronted by his father (played by Robert Ito), who tells Akira that no matter where he goes he cannot escape his shadows, that he will always be a ninja. Akira, his wife and his two sons (played by Sho's real life sons Kane and Shane) move to the U.S. They unwittingly become the target of some local mobsters, and Akira's wife and one of his son's are involved in a hit and run. Akira tracks down the thug who ordered the hit and run, and tells him that if he doesn't leave the Saito family alone, he will "pray for death". This angers the thug even more and he kills Akira's wife. Akira then takes the law into his own hands and returns to the shadows, to the world of the ninja. He tracks down the mobsters, and cleans house. (In my opinion, Sho's second best ninja film. Similar to "Revenge of the Ninja". Higher production values than usual. The first foreign-made ninja film ever to be shown in Japan. Quite an honor, if you ask me. This is a very good ninja film. Sho once again is very impressive. -- Richard ) [Daniel Richard]
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Princess Mononoke (Mononoke hime) (1997) D: Hayao Miyazaki Ashitaka, a brave warrior, is cursed by a beast he has killed. To remove his curse, he has to travel far south to find a forest god Shishigami. On his journey, Ashitaka meets Eboshi, a woman who wants to kill Shishigami to get a reward for his head. Opposing Eboshi is a girl named San, a.k.a. Princess Mononoke, who lives with wolves and fights humans. Ashitaka's mission is to put an end to the war and to save Shishigami. [A. Blaine] |
Princess Yang Kweifei (1955) 91m. (Yokihi)
"One of the most beautiful films ever to treat beauty as a subject" (Andrew Sarris), this big-budget spectacle was Mizoguchi's first film in colour, and demonstrates "a marvelously expressive sense of the medium" (David Cook). Co-produced with Hong Kong's Shaw Brothers, who would later propel Bruce Lee to international stardom, Princess Yang Kwei Fei is set in 8th-century China, and tells of the tragic love affair between a servant girl and the last emperor of the T'ang Dynasty. Machiko Kyo stars as the eponymous heroine, a humble scullery maid whose marriage to the widowed Emperor Huan Tsung (Masayuki Mori) precipitates jealousy, palace intrigue, and full-scale rebellion. Part romantic fairy tale and part ghost story, the film abounds in sumptuous costumes, exquisite decor, and extraordinary colour. "A system of colours was worked out which were like leitmotivs in their implications. The concern was for pictorial values and the result was a control of colour in which shade itself becomes drama" (Donald Richie). "Perhaps the most beautiful hymn ever raised by the cinema to the love of a woman for a man" (Louis Marcorelles). The Taira Clan Saga , which appeared the same year, was Mizoguchi's only other colour film. Director: Kenji Mizoguchi. Cast: Machiko Kyo, Masayuki Mori, So Yamamura, Sakae Ozawa. Colour, In Japanese with English subtitles. [Daniel Richard]
The Pornographers (1966) (Jinruigaku Nyumon) D: Imamura Shohei.
A black comedy about a professional pornographer. Disillusioned with the vicissitudes of his work, he fabricates a life-size mannequin that he believes to be the reincarnation of his former lover.
Japanese Movies by Title
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Note that since each of these movies was seen by a normal human being, what you read here is just one person's opinion :) Your own opinion may of course be different! If you notice that a movie listing is missing or incorrect, please Contact Me (Really!! WRITE ME!!!) so I can update the list!
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