I've been binging on Japanese cinema these last few days, and feel I must, for the good of every cinephile, share the absolute masterpieces which I've come across. They were all great of course, though these stood out in particular:
High and Low - 9/10
Honestly, I expected this would be good, though I was not prepared for such greatness. This has become perhaps my favourite Kurosawa film to date. It has everything! There were a few brief moments of awkwardness and/or unnecessary lines, especially from Mifune, though all in all, this is definitely up there. How it isn't in the top 250 and Ran is, I'll never know.
Woman of the Dunes - 9/10
Teshigahara's finest, and a spine chiller to boot. I must say that this guy is severely unappreciated when it comes to listing the 'biggies' of Japanese cinema- Ozu, Kurosawa, Naruse, etc. Watch his The Face of Another for another one of his masterpieces, which certainly laid the foundation to Vanilla Sky, and was an honest inspiration from Franju's Les yeux sans Visages.
Vengeance is Mine - 9/10
In my opinion, this is Imamura's magnum opus. You almost forget that you're watching a Japanese film here, as everything is stylistically pulled from Western films of the same period. There's certainly a Camusian l'etranger theme running through it.
Youth of the Beast - 8.5/10
Seijun Suzuki, best known for his 1960's cheese and b-movies, delivers hard in this light-hearted Yakuza film. I was never a fan of his editing style (I still can't figure out whether that was due to budget, personal choice, or whatever else), though this film is so brilliant, even the most ardent detractor would enjoy it.
Also check out Tokyo Drifter.
Drunken Angel - 9/10
A kick-arse Kurosawa noir. Nothing else needs to be said.