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.

It’s a Summer Film! is a new teen romcom out of Japan that’s simultaneously an ode to creative youth and a love letter to filmmaking in all forms.
Barefoot and her teen friends set out to make an awesome samurai film for their school film fest. They’ve got only a small tripod and an iPhone, while their snooty classmates with high tech filmmaking gear make a romcom.
With humor, heart, and an unexpected sci-fi twist, Sôshi Masumoto’s 2020 film is refreshing, sincere, and the kind of movie you’ll catch yourself smiling at in a dark theater.

Ishirô Honda’s offbeat and dark sci-fi horror film was initially banned in Japan when it was released in 1963. But in time, it’s built itself up as an enduring touchstone in Japanese cinema.

Matango uses spectacular practical effects and great performances to tell a captivating story of vacationers shipwrecked on a tropical island with limited food and a population of previous shipwreckees — hideously transformed by the island’s sinister flora.

No one does game shows quite like Japan. We’re screening a compilation of some of the wildest, wackiest, grossest, and funniest clips from Japanese Game Shows. (Please note this is for adult audiences).