Opinions and or recommendations to get or not to get any of the following would be most appreciated:

2LDK
Adventures of Antoine Doinel Set
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul
Gojoe
Heartlands
Kikujiru
Kwaidan
Musa the Warrior
Onibaba
Revenge of the Ninja
Yakuza Papers Set
Uzumaki (Spiral)

Well I've only seen a couple from your list. I'd recommend the Antoine Dionel box set only if you are getting it cheaply. While the 400 Blows is a fantastic film the rest in the set are nothing great. Onibaba is pretty good I'd recommend that.

Here's my recommendations in order of my preference:

Onibaba
Kwaidan
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul
Adventures of Antoine Doinel Set
Kikujiru
Musa the Warrior
Uzumaki (Spiral)
Yakuza Papers Set


Don't know enough to rank:
2LDK
Gojoe
Heartlands
Revenge of the Ninja

$50.82 for a R1 copy factory sealed good? I don't keep up with the prices of most criterion sets/dvds though I know they can get pricey.

Bengoshi: Not a fan of the Yakuza Papers set? I have never got a chance to see them but they've always seemed like they might be really good.

Thanks for the feedback thus far.

kwaidan, onibaba are excellent but they may be a bit slow for some.

I was disappointed in Uzumaki, it's probably my least favorite of the recent "deadwetgirl" japanese horror movies that I've seen. It starts out promisingly but the sfx are sort of lame(not cheap-looking so much as poorly designed) and the story loses all focus about halfway through. The visual look of the film is striking though.

Musa the Warrior was pretty good, the action in it was a bit too Western for my taste, to give an idea it's more LOTR style battle scenes as opposed to Hero style battle scenes. Which is fine, of course, but I don't watch Korean films to see something I can see in any hollywood movie with similar subject matter(king arthur, 13th warrior etc).

I haven't seen any of the films of the Yakuza Papers box, but I'm looking forward to it's release, based on reviews I've read of the films.

The other films on your list I haven't seen.

I Loved Revenge of the Ninja when I was younger, but haven't seen it in years.

I don't think they're bad, just not as good as the other titles you listed. I like Fukasaku's Yakuza films in small doses, but I prefer his non-Yakuza films, especially Battle Royale and Shogun's Samurai.

Gotcha. What would you personally recommend ordering? I know it's all in personal taste but I'm interested in what you might suggest otherwise for the same genre of film.

Special thanks to bluesparrow, that was exactly the kind of information I was looking for.


P.S. Sorry to the mods for posting this in the wrong place, feel free to move it over to the DVD Reviews and Recommendations area at your will. Thanks.

Okay, presuming that you can only play Region-1 DVDs, I'd recommend the following:

For introspective, meditative or quiet titles:
Afterlife
Onibaba
What Time Is It There?
In the Mood for Love

Samurai Films:
Seven Samurai
Chushingura (1962)
Shogun's Samurai

Moody, Dark Japanese Horror/Crime:
Dark Water
Audition
Freeze Me

Check them out at IMDB for more info on plot particulars, if you're so inclined.

I *love* Chushingura and highly recommend it as well. It's the famous story of the 47 Ronin, and exceptionally entertaining. Good quality disc as well.

Dark Water I don't think has come out on region 1 yet, they're timing it for release with the remake, which just got moved back to next summer.

Besides those suggestions, I'd recommend:
the Lone Wolf & Cub series
Lady Snowblood
Lady Snowblood: Love Song of Vengeance
Branded to Kill
Tokyo Drifter
St John's Wort

You can easily find reviews of most of those films, but St John's Wort is a bit rarer, and a little hard to find on dvd. It's a recent Japanese horror film shot on DV, and has the look and feel of a Survival Horror video game(ala Silent Hill, Resident Evil, etc). It was a pleasant surprise when I finally saw it.

I'm region-free though the majority of my titles are R1. I have Afterlife, What Time is it There and In the Mood for Love as well as Seven Samurai (Kurosawa boxset *holy chime*) and Shogun's Samurai.

Chushingura is a really excellent suggestion I had forgotten though, so thank you. Regarding the Japanese Horror/Crime I own Audition though haven't seen Dark Water and know nothing of Freeze Me. I'm split 50/50 on Japanese horror films, I find they're either extremely well done or eEHhHhhhhhHhh.


Just orderered Branded to Kill and Tokyo Drifter, I've been meaning to pick those up for the longest time. To tell you the truth, I was a bit let down by St. John's Wort, it had a lot potential but the acting/effects killed a lot of it for me personally. Thanks again for the suggestions guys.

Given that you're region-free, here's a few more recommendations to consider:

For introspective, meditative or quiet titles:
All About Lily Chou Chou
Distance
Eureka
Shiki-Jitsu

Samurai Films:
Sword of Doom
Twilight Samurai