Focus on Japanese Cinema

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Focus on

日本の映画

JAPANESE CINEMA

A conversation with the West

From adaptations to homages, here are just a few of the most important moments in the conversation between Japanese and Western films. Japanese cinema has always mixed foreign technologies and styles with its own culture and sensibilities, creating something truly unique in the process—but the flow of influence goes both ways. In some cases, Japanese films have been directly remade for Western audiences, with everything from J-horror film Ring to the heartwarming story of Hachiko the dog getting this treatment. But often the influence is subtler, with film styles pioneered in Japan inspiring foreign directors, or key themes and plotlines being reused for a different audience in a new era or nation.

Be More Japan Japanese Cinema


Ugetsu	(1953) From their use of long takes to their narrative ambiguity, the films of Kenji Mizoguchi clearly inspired French New Wave directors.
Seven Samurai	(1954) This film by Akira Kurosawa had a huge impact on the work of George Lucas.
Lady snow blood	(1973) A bloody revenge story with a female lead: the influence on Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill is clear.
Tampopo	(1985) A love letter to Westerners and to food, Tampopo is director Juzo Itami’s take on American film styles.
Akira	(1988) You can draw a clear line from Akira’s wildly influential action scenes and gritty aesthetic to many later sci-fi films.
princess mononoke	(1997) Studio Ghibli’s first breakthrough in the West paved the way for more animated films to come.
Ring	(1998) Eschewing gore in favour of psychological terror, Ring defined the J-Horror genre. It was remade as The Ring by Gore Verbinski, and influenced scores more restrained horror films.
Battle royale	(2000) The Hunger Games has obvious parallels, and Tarantino has called it one of his favourite films.
Paprika	(2006) From blurry lines between dreams and reality to similar wardrobe choices – there are clear links between this animated film and the 2010 hit
isle of dogs	(2018) This stop-motion feature by Wes Anderson is crammed with references to Japanese culture and cinema, particularly the films of Akira Kurosawa.