Blu-ray Community Top Asian Films [Read OP--due Feb 16]

[don3663]

1. Hard Boiled
2. The Killer
3. Seven Samurai
4. A Better Tomorrow II
5. Ghost In The Shell
6. As Tears Go By
7. Akira
8. Pulse
9. Chunking Express
10. Nausicaa Valley Of The Wind
11. Police Story II
12. A Better Tomorrow
13. Infernal Affairs
14. Ringu
15. Princess Mononoke
16. Rashomon
17. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
18. Ip Man
19. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring
20. Howls

[Hucksta G]

Originally Posted by Mothravka

Which one? Shinoda's film is surely Japanese, but if it's Silence (2016) by Scorsese, that's pretty much on the border. It's more American than anything else, especially when it comes to the production.




Lilja 4-ever (2002) is a Swedish/Danish production by a Swedish director.

Slumdog Millionaire (2008) is mainly a British film, France and USA are listed as production countries too.

The Last Samurai (2003) is like Scorsese's film, mostly and mainly American. All the production companies involved are American. I think Japan is listed on IMDb just because it was shot there.

Incendies (2010) is a Canadian film. I think France is a bit involved too.

Only God Forgives (2013) is a Danish/French production (with Sweden and USA also listed on IMDb).

Life of Pi (2012) would mostly count as an American film with some British, Canadian and Taiwanese funding/production. But there's also not really any significance in the film to do with Taiwan.

Babel (2006) is a French/American/Mexican production.

The Russian Woodpecker (2015) is a British/American/Ukranian film, but I don't think we count Ukraine as Asia, especially when it doesn't usually happen elsewhere.

Gandhi (1982) is maybe more British than Indian, but counting it as an Asian production is maybe debatable.

Lion (2016) is mainly an Australian film with some British and American funding, it seems.

So yeah, I would say that Silence (2016), The Last Samurai (2003) and Life of Pi (2012) are absolutely more American than Asian and really stretching the definition. Gandhi (1982) is a bit harder, but I wouldn't count them in a poll like this. Maybe some other people have some input?

The others are clearly not Asian films.

Cheers for that will update when I have some time

[P-Rock]

01. My Neighbor Totoro (1988) Hayao Miyazaki
02. Patlabor 2: The Movie (1993) Mamoru Oshii
03. Kikujiro (1999) Takeshi Kitano
04. Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal (1999) Kazuhiro Furuhashi
05. Akira (1988) Katsuhiro Otomo
06. In The Mood For Love (2000) Kar-wai Wong
07. Memories Of Murder (2003) Joon-ho Bong
08. Dolls (2002) Takeshi Kitano
09. Ghost In The Shell (1995) Mamoru Oshii
10. NGE: The End Of Evangelion (1997) Hideaki Anno

11. Perfect Blue (1998) Satoshi Kon
12. 13 Assassins (2010) Takashi Miike
13. I'm A Cyborg, But That's OK (2006) Chan-wook Park
14. Infernal Affairs (2002) Andrew Lau & Alan Mak
15. Yojimbo (1961) Akira Kurosawa
16. Summer Wars (2009) Mamoru Hosoda
17. Survive Style 5+ (2004) Gen Sekiguchi
18. Versus (2000) Ryuhei Kitamura
19. Grave Of The Fireflies (1988) Isao Takahata
20. Fudoh: The New Generation (1996) Takashi Miike

21. Oldboy (2003) Chan-wook Park
22. The Taste Of Tea (2004) Katsuhito Ishii
23. Zatoichi (2003) Takeshi Kitano
24. Sword Of Doom (1966) Kihachi Okamoto
25. Millennium Actress (2001) Satoshi Kon
26. A Bittersweet Life (2005) Jee-woon Kim
27. Eat Drink Man Woman (1994) Ang Lee
28. Gozu (2003) Takashi Miike
29. Nightmare Detective (2006) Shinya Tsukamoto
30. The Handmaiden (2016) Chan-wook Park

31. Only Yesterday (1991) Isao Takahata
32. My Beautiful Girl, Mari (2002) Seong-kang Lee
33. Hero (2002) Yimou Zhang
34. Hard-Boiled (1992) John Woo
35. Children Who Chase Lost Voices (2011) Makoto Shinkai
36. Departures (2008) Yojiro Takita
37. Dreams (1990) Akira Kurosawa
38. A Tale Of Two Sisters (2003) Jee-woon Kim
39. Spirited Away (2001) Hayao Miyazaki
40. Whisper Of The Heart (1995) Yoshifumi Kondo

41. Lady Snowblood (1973) Toshiya Fujita
42. I Saw The Devil (2010) Jee-woon Kim
43. Detective Dee And The Mystery Of The Phantom Flame (2010) Tsui Hark
44. Metropolis (2001) Rintaro
45. Lesson Of Evil (2012) Takashi Miike
46. Hansel & Gretel (2007) Pil-sung Yim
47. Initial D: Drift Racer (2005) Andrew Lau & Alan Mak
48. Tokyo Tribe (2014) Sion Sono
49. Tekkonkinkreet (2006) Michael Arias
50. The Raid (2011) Gareth Evans

[Grethiwha]

Originally Posted by Alister_M

Yeah, Snowpiercer would be on my list if it qualified, but it doesn't. It's a South Korean/USA/Czech/French co-production, filmed in the Czech Republic and Austria.

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

The only rule for this poll is that the movie has to be produced, either in whole or in part, in an Asian country.

Based on this rule, Snowpiercer and Okja qualify; I wouldn't have included them if we were going just based on language, but they are both South Korean co-productions, with a Korean director and some spoken Korean.

Including something like Silence or Life of Pi because they're Taiwanese (not Japanese/Indian) co-productions seems like a bit of a stretch. The Last Samurai, having Japan listed as a country in IMDb, I would think is valid.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by Markgway

If you meant Far East Asia (i.e. Hong Kong, China, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, South Korea, etc.) you could just say that...

lol, those were the regions I thought of first, but after some thinking I think it would be okay to include Russia and the Middle East. If we run other regional-based polls, I'm not sure how else films from these places would be represented.

Originally Posted by Grethiwha

Based on this rule, Snowpiercer and Okja qualify; I wouldn't have included them if we were going just based on language, but they are both South Korean co-productions, with a Korean director and some spoken Korean.

Including something like Silence or Life of Pi because they're Taiwanese (not Japanese/Indian) co-productions seems like a bit of a stretch. The Last Samurai, having Japan listed as a country in IMDb, I would think is valid.

I was just catching up on the thread and was going to post that yes, these films are eligible. As to whether the films' content and talent reflects Asian culture, I leave up to voters' discretion.

I'll have to comb through the past couple of pages to check some of the others that were mentioned. Pretty sure Mothravka is spot-on about most, but the Taiwanese connection can make some of the films eligible. Per Wikipedia, Ukraine is considered part of Eastern Europe, so I'd say films from that country should be saved for the inevitable Top European Films thread.

[P-Rock]

I didn't include Stalker either. It's Russian, but was almost entirely shot in Estonia. So that would count as European.

[Alister_M]

Originally Posted by Grethiwha

Based on this rule, Snowpiercer and Okja qualify; I wouldn't have included them if we were going just based on language, but they are both South Korean co-productions, with a Korean director and some spoken Korean.

Including something like Silence or Life of Pi because they're Taiwanese (not Japanese/Indian) co-productions seems like a bit of a stretch. The Last Samurai, having Japan listed as a country in IMDb, I would think is valid.

Snowpiercer was entirely shot in Europe though. I mean, if we're gonna stretch things this far you could just as easily include stuff like Face/Off or Transformers: Age of Extinction.

[LegacyCosts]

Wouldn't it be easier if you just went with the nationality of the filmmaker?

[Jasonic]

Originally Posted by Alister_M

Snowpiercer was entirely shot in Europe though. I mean, if we're gonna stretch things this far you could just as easily include stuff like Face/Off or Transformers: Age of Extinction.

It's basically an entirely Korean produced film though. They really only hired an extra Czech producer in order to get negotiations to film in a studio there.
It would be liking not calling Lawrence of Arabia a British film because it was almost entirely shot in Africa and the Middle East.
It should be about the team behind the production and who got it made, not where it was filmed.

[Zillamon51]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Had to check to make sure--it looks like all three versions of Godzilla (1954, 1998, 2014) are eligible. I take it you're voting on the original?

How does that happen? The 1998 and 2014 films are U.S. productions, with Western casts and crew. The 2014 film co-stars Ken Watanabe and opens in Japan, but it is no more Asian than the films specifically disqualified in the OP. The 1998 film doesn't even have that much window dressing. It's about equal to The Lost World: Jurassic Park in terms of Asian influence.

[Al_The_Strange]

Well gang, here's the rationale I have concerning the half-and-half rule: I was expecting (maybe incorrectly) that some folks may want to vote on certain films (such as martial arts pictures) which do have Asian stars but may be connected to US productions (especially Bruce Lee films). In addition to certain animes perhaps. I knew going in that this would leave the door open for Transformers: AOE, those Godzilla remakes, and other odd titles. Rather than shut the door on all things, I wanted to leave you, the voters, in control of which films should qualify. I'd rather see you empowered with choice than limited.

In other words, the choice is yours. I just wanted to put a hard stop on pure Hollywood films that only use Asia as a backdrop (although the rule I have will permit some regardless--I don't think there's any good way to filter those out without becoming too nitpicky).

As far as limiting it to only Asian filmmakers, it might be a possibility, but then wouldn't there be Asian productions that use foreign filmmakers? I'm not aware of any examples, but I'd hate to snub a genuine Eastern film on the grounds that the director is not from there.

Like I said, the choice shall be yours.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by Zillamon51

How does that happen? The 1998 and 2014 films are U.S. productions, with Western casts and crew. The 2014 film co-stars Ken Watanabe and opens in Japan, but it is no more Asian than the films specifically disqualified in the OP. The 1998 film doesn't even have that much window dressing. It's about equal to The Lost World: Jurassic Park in terms of Asian influence.

Didn't look into it in-depth, I just saw both US and Japan listed on imdb. Chances are it boils down to simply a licensing deal or something.

I do agree that their distinction as an Asian films are weak and would be on the same level as typical Hollywood blockbusters. I'd be surprised if votes don't reflect this though.

[Scottie]

[GLaDOS]

This is gonna be fun.

Preliminary List and Candidates (in no particular order)

Seven Samurai
In the Mood for Love
Spirited Away
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Akira
Ghost in the Shell
Rashomon
Princess Mononoke
Chungking Express
Grave of the Fireflies
Your Name (Kimi No Na Wa)
My Neighbor Totoro
Yojimbo
Shaolin Soccer
Kung Fu Hustle
The Raid
Millennium Actress
Infernal Affairs
Perfect Blue
Oldboy (2003)
Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion
5 Centimeters Per Second
Paprika
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
The Handmaiden
House of Flying Daggers
Okja

[MechaGodzilla]

Originally Posted by Zillamon51

How does that happen? The 1998 and 2014 films are U.S. productions, with Western casts and crew. The 2014 film co-stars Ken Watanabe and opens in Japan, but it is no more Asian than the films specifically disqualified in the OP. The 1998 film doesn't even have that much window dressing. It's about equal to The Lost World: Jurassic Park in terms of Asian influence.

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Didn't look into it in-depth, I just saw both US and Japan listed on imdb. Chances are it boils down to simply a licensing deal or something.

I do agree that their distinction as an Asian films are weak and would be on the same level as typical Hollywood blockbusters. I'd be surprised if votes don't reflect this though.

I agree with Zillamon here. The '98 and '14 Godzilla films are US productions through and through, their only connection to Japan is the fact that they're based on a Japanese film/franchise. If they quality, then one could also argue something like The Magnificent Seven should qualify since it's a remake of Seven Samurai.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by MechaGodzilla

I agree with Zillamon here. The '98 and '14 Godzilla films are US productions through and through, their only connection to Japan is the fact that they're based on a Japanese film/franchise. If they quality, then one could also argue something like The Magnificent Seven should qualify since it's a remake of Seven Samurai.

Except, the Magnificent Seven is strictly a US production.

Perhaps, would it help to add a new rule that remakes of Asian films (aside from those produced within Asia) shouldn't be allowed?

EDIT:
The real issue is that I personally don't know where to draw the line between a full-blown US production and something shared without doing extensive research for each title. Which is more work that I don't think will have any bearing on the results anyway (unless something like Transformers: AOE really does bubble to the top somehow).

My intent is simply to set the guideline and let voters use their knowledge and common sense.

So how about this: if questionable titles bubble up consistently and become contenders for the results, we can discuss their eligibility. Also, for titles like Godzilla and GITS, I will count them as their original Asian productions unless folks specify (by putting the year in parenthesis). How would that sound?

[SSGT_BOND]

1. The Hidden Fortress (1958)
2. Hard Boiled (1992)
3. My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
4. Yojimbo (1961)
5. The Killer (1989)
6. Sanjuro (1962)
7. Throne of Blood (1957)
8. Vampire Hunter D (1985)
9. Princess Mononoke (1997)
10. Akira (1988)
11. Kagemusha (1980)
12. Iron Monkey (1993)
13. Ran (1985)
14. Chungking Express (1994)
15. Spirited Away (2001)
16. Kwaidan (1964)
17. Ninja Scroll (1993)
18. Lady Snowblood (1973)
19. Kung Fu Hustle (2004)
20. Fist of Legend (1994)
21. Zatoichi (2003)
22. Infernal Affairs (2002)
23. 13 Assassins (2011)
24. A Better Tomorrow (1986)
25. The Host (2006)
26. Police Story (1985)
27. Metropolis (2001)
28. Blade of the Immortal (2017)
29. I Saw the Devil (2010)
30. Hero (2002)
31. Sonatine (1993)
32. City on Fire (1987)
33. Ghost in the Shell (1995)
34. Samurai Rebellion (1967)
35. House of Flying Daggers (2004)
36. The Bride with White Hair (1993)
37. The Villainess (2017)
38. Snake in the Eagle's Shadow (1978)
39. The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978)
40. Samurai Banners (1969)
41. The Chaser (2008)
42. The Mermaid (2016)
43. Violent Cop (1989)
44. Red Cliff (2008)
45. Fulltime Killer (2003)
46. Shaolin (2011)
47. Boiling Point (1990)
48. Tokyo Gore Police (2008)
49. The Shogun's Samurai (1978)
50. The Street Fighter (1974)

[Mothravka]

Originally Posted by Grethiwha

The Last Samurai, having Japan listed as a country in IMDb, I would think is valid.

I disagree. Some scenes are shot in Japan, which I don't think makes it Asian. The majority of the film seems to be shot in New Zealand, that's why it is listed as a country too. It was shot in USA also. Wikipedia lists only USA as a country to take an interesting example.

But the director is American, the producers are American and all of the production companies are American. The same with the crew working behind the camera etc. And it was distributed by Warner Bros. I even think a lot of the awards it got were those that they only give out to American films. As I said, it's more American than Asian.

[principehomura]

I'm here to take notes!

[P-Rock]

Originally Posted by principehomura

I'm here to take notes!

I'm here to chew bubblegum and kick ass!