Get reelrec

Where to Start With Japanese Cinema

Past Kurosawa and past anime: quiet family dramas, yakuza poetry, deadpan comedy and one very large lizard.

reelrec 16 titles
  1. Tokyo Story
    1953 · Movie
    8.2
  2. Ugetsu
    1953 · Movie
    8.0
  3. Godzilla
    1954 · Movie
    7.6
  4. Harakiri
    1962 · Movie
    8.5
  5. Woman in the Dunes
    1964 · Movie
    8.2
  6. Tampopo
    1985 · Movie
    7.8
  7. Shall We Dance?
    1996 · Movie
    7.5
  8. Fireworks
    1997 · Movie
    7.7
  9. Battle Royale
    2000 · Movie
    7.3
  10. Departures
    2008 · Movie
    7.9
  11. Still Walking
    2008 · Movie
    7.8
  12. Confessions
    2010 · Movie
    7.6
  13. One Cut of the Dead
    2017 · Movie
    7.6
  14. Shoplifters
    2018 · Movie
    7.8
  15. Drive My Car
    2021 · Movie
    7.4
  16. Godzilla Minus One
    2023 · Movie
    7.6

Keep exploring

Anthology Series: A New Story Every Time

New cast, new case, new nightmare. Series that reset every season or every episode, so you can start almost anywhere.

16 titles

Catching Up: 2025

The films from 2025 worth an evening, before next year buries them. Fifteen, not fifty.

15 titles

Scared, Not Sickened

Dread, not gore. Horror that works on your nerves instead of your stomach.

16 titles

reelrec
Free on iPhone and iPad
Get reelrec
Open in reelrec