Masahiro Shinoda was a pioneer in Japanese new wave noirs, and he applies his mastery of mood and character to the yazuka genre in Pale Flower. When a gangster is released from prison, he tries to find his footing in the gambling underworld of his gang when he encounters a wealthy and beautiful thrill seeker who draws him into her web. Together and apart they enter a self-destructive spiral.
Read MoreGenre: Crime
In the yakuza genre of Japanese Cinema, Tokyo Drifter is a staple. Director Seijun Suzuki adds a 1960s pop art aesthetic to a classic tale of a badass gang enforcer trying to go straight… but his old rival has other plans for him.
One of the best Japanese films ever made, Tokyo Drifter is thrilling, stylish, and exciting. It’s got the look of a classic Bond movie, but a darker feel thanks to a seedy and dark narrative that makes it a classic yakuza film.
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Kurosawa’s Stray Dog plays like a Hollywood detective noir set in gritty post-war Tokyo.
Japanese cinema legend Toshiro Mifune gives a raw and magnetic performance as a young detective who loses his gun and tries to save face by tracking it down before reporting it stolen. His search leads him to the slums and criminal underbelly of the city, where a veteran detective helps him find it before it’s used in a violent crime.
With experimental shots and lingering scenes, this early Kurosawa hints at the master director that was to come.
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A stylish and profound silent film from Yasujiro Ozu — director of Tokyo Story and Late Spring — Dragnet Girl stands alone in the gangster (yakuza) genre.
True to Ozu, the film is intimately focused on family and the interpersonal relationships between career hardened criminal Joji, his jealous girlfriend, and an innocent shop girl who gets pulled into his world.
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Kiyoshi Kurosawa breaks the mold of serial killer movies with an engrossing thriller that takes you inside the psyche of society.
When police uncover a series of murders, committed by different people using the same strange method, a gloomy detective takes on the descent into the killers’ madness while managing his wife’s own mental stability.
Eerie and masterful, Bong Jon-ho (director of Parasite) lists it as one of his all-time favorite films.
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Miranda July’s new offbeat family drama stars Evan Rachel Wood as the child of criminal parents whose world is turned upside down by a newly recruited partner in crime (Gina Rodriguez). A critically acclaimed Sundance choice, this film’s got heart and humor.
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Hell, any of them could have done it.
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Bong Joon-ho (Parasite) wrote and directed this fantastic crime thriller based on the real story of Korea’s first known serial killer. It’s widely considered one of the best films to ever come out of Korea and has been a longtime fav of our staff!
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Can two strangers get away with murder? If you’re a charming psychopath striking up a conversation on a train, there’s only one way to find out. Don’t miss this insane thriller from the master of suspense himself.
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Hitchcock’s 1934 original (which he later remade in 1956) casts an ordinary British couple on vacation when they suddenly find themselves embroiled in a case of international intrigue and attempted political assassination.
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