1. The Hidden Fortress (隠し砦の三悪人)
In feudal Japan, during a bloody war between clans, two cowardly and greedy peasants, soldiers of a defeated army, stumble upon a mysterious man who guides them to a fortress hidden in the mountains.
It has an average vote of 8 on TMDB.
2. Kagemusha (影武者)
Akira Kurosawa's lauded feudal epic presents the tale of a petty thief who is recruited to impersonate Shingen, an aging warlord, in order to avoid attacks by competing clans. When Shingen dies, his generals reluctantly agree to have the impostor take over as the powerful ruler. He soon begins to appreciate life as Shingen, but his commitment to the role is tested when he must lead his troops into battle against the forces of a rival warlord.
It has an average vote of 7.819 on TMDB.
3. The Bad Sleep Well (悪い奴ほどよく眠る)
In this loose adaptation of "Hamlet," illegitimate son Kôichi Nishi climbs to a high position within a Japanese corporation and marries the crippled daughter of company vice president Iwabuchi. At the reception, the wedding cake is a replica of their corporate headquarters, but an aspect of the design reminds the party of the hushed-up death of Nishi's father. It is then that Nishi unleashes his plan to avenge his father's death.
It has an average vote of 7.693 on TMDB.
4. Ikiru (生きる)
Kanji Watanabe is a middle-aged man who has worked in the same monotonous bureaucratic position for decades. Learning he has cancer, he starts to look for the meaning of his life.
It has an average vote of 8.303 on TMDB.
5. Tokyo Story (東京物語)
The elderly Shukishi and his wife, Tomi, take the long journey from their small seaside village to visit their adult children in Tokyo. Their elder son, Koichi, a doctor, and their daughter, Shige, a hairdresser, don't have much time to spend with their aged parents, and so it falls to Noriko, the widow of their younger son who was killed in the war, to keep her in-laws company.
It has an average vote of 8.17 on TMDB.
6. The Mouse That Roared
The Duchy of Grand Fenwick decides that the only way to get out of their economic woes is to declare war on the United States, lose and accept foreign aid. They send an invasion force to New York and they arrive during a nuclear drill that has cleared the streets.
It has an average vote of 6.338 on TMDB.
7. All the Boys Are Called Patrick (Charlotte et Véronique, ou Tous les garçons s'appellent Patrick)
A pickup artist/womanizer named Patrick inadvertently pursues two young women who happen to be roommates.
It has an average vote of 6.6 on TMDB.
8. Lisa, Lisa
A group of three criminals on the run from the law, go about terrorizing the local townsfolk of a small community, before descending on an isolated farm which is home to a young girl named Lisa and her paralyzed grandfather. After being sexually assaulted by two of the gangsters, she retaliates using an axe and a razor blade.
It has an average vote of 5.5 on TMDB.
9. Long Day's Journey Into Night
Over the course of one foggy day in August 1912, a retired Irish theater actor grapples with the morphine addiction of his unbalanced wife, debauchery of his older son, and sickness of the youngest son as past guilts, repressed anger, and deep-seated regrets slowly come boiling out, threatening to destroy the family.
It has an average vote of 6.8 on TMDB.
10. Zatoichi the Fugitive (座頭市兇状旅)
After arriving in the town of Shimonita, Ichi finds that a price has been put on his head by a local yakuza boss. He's drawn into a trap, but after hearing of the slaying of a former love, Ichi furiously fights his way through the entire clan to face the killer, a hired ronin.
It has an average vote of 6.862 on TMDB.
11. Softie (Petite nature)
Ten-year-old Johnny stands out from his family and his tough neighborhood in Eastern France. He's sensitive, intelligent and interested in all kinds of things way beyond his years. With curiosity, he observes the ups and downs of his young single mother's turbulent love life. Things change when a new teacher, fresh from the big city, takes over Johnny's class. Mr. Adamski believes in Johnny and wants to open a new world to him. The sophisticated young teacher also intrigues the boy.
It has an average vote of 7.082 on TMDB.
12. Cremaster 3
CREMASTER 3 is set in New York City and narrates the construction of the Chrysler Building, which is in itself a character - host to inner, antagonistic forces at play for access to the process of transcendence. These factions find form in the struggle between Hiram Abiff or the Architect ...
It has an average vote of 6.5 on TMDB.
13. Kill! (斬る)
A pair of down-on-their-luck swordsmen arrive in a dusty, windblown town, where they become involved in a local clan dispute. One, previously a farmer, longs to become a noble samurai. The other, a former samurai haunted by his past, prefers living anonymously with gangsters. But when both men discover the wrongdoings of the nefarious clan leader, they side with a band of rebels who are under siege at a remote mountain cabin.
It has an average vote of 7.014 on TMDB.
14. Bataan
During Japan's invasion of the Philippines in 1942, Capt. Henry Lassiter, Sgt. Bill Dane and a diverse group of American soldiers are ordered to destroy and hold a strategic bridge in order to delay the Japanese forces and allow Gen. MacArthur time to secure Bataan. When the Japanese soldiers begin to rebuild the bridge and advance, the group struggles with not only hunger, sickness and gunfire, but also the knowledge that there is likely no relief on the way.
It has an average vote of 6.5 on TMDB.
15. Lesson of the Evil: Prologue (悪の教典 序章)
Follows high school teacher Seiji Hasumi's background history and in the process depicts the horror inherent in daily life.
It has an average vote of 5.4 on TMDB.
16. Three Faces East
The action takes place during the Great War in the home of the First Lord of the Admiralty.
It has an average vote of 4.6 on TMDB.
17. Habit
Manchester, the present. Michael divides his time between the job center and the pub. A chance meeting with Lee, an introduction to her Uncle Ian and a heavy night on the lash lead to a job working the door at a Northern Quarter massage parlor. After witnessing the violent death of one of the punters, Michael experiences blood-drenched flashbacks and feels himself being sucked into a twilight world that he doesn't understand but that is irresistibly attractive. When he eventually finds out what goes on in the room below Cloud 9, Michaels' life will never be the same again.
It has an average vote of 5.3 on TMDB.
18. The Lower Depths (どん底)
Residents of a rundown boardinghouse in 19th-century Japan, including a mysterious old man and an aging actor, get drawn into a love triangle that turns violent. When amoral thief Sutekichi breaks off his affair with landlady Osugi to romance her younger sister, Okayo, Osugi extracts her revenge by revealing her infidelity to her jealous husband.
It has an average vote of 7.102 on TMDB.
19. Blacker Than the Night (Más negro que la noche)
When four women move into an old house left by one woman's aunt, strange things begin to happen. Bizarre voices, visions of ghosts, and mysterious noises lead them to discover the darkest powers of evil and a horror and agony beyond terror.
It has an average vote of 6.9 on TMDB.
20. High and Low (天国と地獄)
A shoe company executive who has mortgaged everything he has becomes a victim of extortion when his chauffeur's son is kidnapped and is conflicted over whether he should pay the ransom.
It has an average vote of 8.314 on TMDB.
