Mainichi Film Award for Best Film
Encyclopedia
A list of the winners of the Award for Best Film at the Mainichi Film Award.
| Year | Film | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 1946 | Aru yo no Tonosama Aru yo no Tonosama is a 1946 Japanese film directed by Teinosuke Kinugasa.-Awards:1st Mainichi Film Award*Won: Best Film-References:... |
Teinosuke Kinugasa Teinosuke Kinugasa -External links:* *... |
| 1947 | Ima Hitotabi no Ima Hitotabi no is a 1947 Japanese film directed by Heinosuke Gosho.-Awards:2nd Mainichi Film Award*Won: Best Film-References:... |
Heinosuke Gosho Heinosuke Gosho was a Japanese film director who directed Japan's first talkie, The Neighbor's Wife and Mine, in 1931. He once served as president of the Directors Guild of Japan.- Selected filmography :* Aiyoku no ki... |
| 1948 | Drunken Angel Drunken Angel is a 1948 Japanese film directed by Akira Kurosawa. It is notable for being the first of sixteen film collaborations between director Kurosawa and actor Toshirō Mifune.- Plot :... |
Akira Kurosawa Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, Kurosawa directed 30 filmsIn 1946, Kurosawa co-directed, with Hideo Sekigawa and Kajiro Yamamoto, the feature Those Who Make Tomorrow ;... |
| 1949 | Late Spring Late Spring is a critically acclaimed black-and-white Japanese film drama, directed by Yasujirō Ozu , first released in Japan in September 1949. Based on the novel Father and Daughter by Kazuo Hirotsu, the story concerns a young woman who lives happily in Kamakura with her kindly professor father, a widower... |
Yasujirō Ozu Yasujiro Ozu was a prominent Japanese film director and script writer. He is known for his distinctive technical style, developed during the silent era. Marriage and family, especially the relationships between the generations, are among the most persistent themes in his body of work... |
| 1950 | Until We Meet Again Until We Meet Again (film) is a 1950 Japanese film directed by Tadashi Imai.-Awards and nominations:1st Blue Ribbon Awards* Won: Best Film* Won: Best Director - Tadashi Imai-External links:... |
Tadashi Imai |
| 1951 | Repast | Mikio Naruse Mikio Naruse was a Japanese filmmaker, screenwriter, and producer who directed some 89 films spanning the period 1930 to 1967.Naruse is known for imbuing his films with a bleak and pessimistic outlook... |
| 1952 | Ikiru Ikiru is a 1952 Japanese film co-written and directed by Akira Kurosawa. The film examines the struggles of a minor Tokyo bureaucrat and his final quest for meaning. The film stars Takashi Shimura as Kanji Watanabe.-Plot:... |
Akira Kurosawa |
| 1953 | An Inlet of Muddy Water An Inlet of Muddy Water An Inlet of Muddy Water is a 1953 Japanese drama film directed by Tadashi Imai. It was entered into the 1954 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Ken Mitsuda - Saito Kanae * Akiko Tamura - Saito Moyo * Hiro Kumon - Saito Inosuke... |
Tadashi Imai |
| 1954 | Twenty-Four Eyes Twenty-Four Eyes , based on the novel by Sakae Tsuboi, is a 1954 Japanese film directed by Keisuke Kinoshita.-Synopsis:The movie follows the career of a schoolteacher named Ōishi in Shōdoshima during the rise and fall of Japanese ultra-nationalism in the beginning of the Shōwa period... |
Keisuke Kinoshita Keisuke Kinoshita was a Japanese film director.Although lesser known internationally than his fellow filmmakers such as Akira Kurosawa , Kenji Mizoguchi and Yasujirō Ozu , Keisuke Kinoshita was nonetheless a household figure at home beloved by audience and critics alike, especially in the forties through the sixties... |
| 1955 | Floating Clouds Floating Clouds is a 1955 black-and-white Japanese film drama directed by Mikio Naruse. It is based on the novel of the same name by Japanese author and poet Fumiko Hayashi.... |
Mikio Naruse |
| 1956 | Mahiru no ankoku Mahiru no ankoku is a 1956 Japanese film directed by Tadashi Imai.-Awards and nominations:7th Blue Ribbon Awards* Won: Best Film* Won: Best Director - Tadashi Imai* Won: Best Screenplay - Shinobu Hashimoto* Won: Best Soundtrack - Akira Ifukube... |
Tadashi Imai |
| 1957 | The Rice People The Rice People The Rice People is a 1957 Japanese drama film directed by Tadashi Imai.-Cast:* Shinjiro Ebara - Tsuguo Tamura* Eijirô Tono - Sakuzo* Yûko Mochizuki - Yone Yasuda* Masako Nakamura - Chiyo Yasuda* Izumi Hara - Ume Tamura* Yoshi Kato - Takezo Yasuda... |
Tadashi Imai |
| 1958 | The Ballad of Narayama | Keisuke Kinoshita |
| 1959 | Kiku to Isamu Kiku to Isamu is a 1959 Japanese film directed by Tadashi Imai.-Awards and nominations:10th Blue Ribbon Awards* Won: Best Film* Won: Best Actress - Tanie Kitabayashi* Won: Best Screenplay - Youko Mizuki-References:... |
Tadashi Imai |
| 1960 | Her Brother Her Brother Her Brother is a 1960 Japanese drama film directed by Kon Ichikawa. It was entered into the 1961 Cannes Film Festival, where it won a prize for Special Distinction.... |
Kon Ichikawa Kon Ichikawa was a Japanese film director.-Early life and career:Ichikawa was born in Ise, Mie Prefecture. In the 1930s Ichikawa attended a technical school in Osaka. Upon graduation, in 1933, he found a job with a local rental film studio, J.O. Studio, in their animation department... |
| 1961 | A Soldier's Prayer A Soldier's Prayer is a 1961 Japanese film directed by Masaki Kobayashi. It's the third part of The Human Condition trilogy.-Awards:16th Mainichi Film Award*Won: Best Film-References:... |
Masaki Kobayashi |
| 1962 | Harakiri | Masaki Kobayashi |
| 1963 | High and Low | Akira Kurosawa |
| 1964 | Woman in the Dunes Woman in the Dunes is a film directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara and based on the novel of the same name by Kōbō Abe. The novel was published in 1962, and the film was released in 1964. Kōbō Abe also wrote the screenplay for the film version.... |
Hiroshi Teshigahara |
| 1965 | Red Beard Red Beard is a 1965 Japanese film directed by Akira Kurosawa about the relationship between a town doctor and his new trainee. The film was based on Shūgorō Yamamoto's short story collection, Akahige shinryotan . Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel The Insulted and the Injured provided the source for a subplot about a... |
Akira Kurosawa |
| 1966 | Shiroi Kyotou | Satsuo Yamamoto Satsuo Yamamoto was a Japanese film director.Yamamoto was born in Kagoshima Prefecture on July 15, 1910. He dropped out of Waseda University to join Shochiku, where he worked as an assistant director to Mikio Naruse and others. He followed Naruse when he moved to PCL, and became a director in his own right after... |
| 1967 | Samurai Rebellion Samurai Rebellion Samurai Rebellion is a 1967 Japanese film directed by Masaki Kobayashi. Its original Japanese title is Jōi-uchi: Hairyō tsuma shimatsu , which translates approximately as "Rebellion: Result of the Wife Bestowed" or "Rebellion: Receive the Wife".-Plot:In the Edo period of Japan, Isaburo Sasahara is... |
Masaki Kobayashi |
| 1968 | The Profound Desire of the Gods The Profound Desire of the Gods is a 1968 Japanese film by director Shōhei Imamura. The culmination of the director's examinations of the fringes of Japanese society throughout the 1960s, the film was an 18-month super-production which failed to make an impression at the time of its release, but has since risen in stature to... |
Shohei Imamura Shohei Imamura was a Japanese film director. Imamura was the first Japanese director to win two Palme d'Or awards.His eldest son Daisuke Tengan is also a script writer and film director, and worked on the screenplays to Imamura's filmsThe Eel , Dr... |
| 1969 | Double Suicide Double Suicide is a 1969 film directed by Masahiro Shinoda. It is based on the 1721 play The Love Suicides at Amijima by Monzaemon Chikamatsu. This play is often performed in the bunraku style... |
Masahiro Shinoda Masahiro Shinoda is a Japanese film director, originally associated with the Shochiku Studio, who came to prominence as part of the Japanese New Wave in the 1960s.-Career:... |
| 1970 | Kazoku Kazoku (film) -Awards:25th Mainichi Film Award*Won: Best Film-References:... |
Yoji Yamada Yoji Yamada is a Japanese film director best known for his Otoko wa Tsurai yo series of films and his Samurai Trilogy .... |
| 1971 | Silence Silence (1971 film) Silence is a 1971 Japanese drama film directed by Masahiro Shinoda based on the novel of the same name by Shusaku Endo on the entry of Jesuit missionaries to seventeenth century Japan. Mainly with Japanese dialogue, it has short sequences in English... |
Masahiro Shinoda |
| 1972 | Shinobu Kawa Shinobu Kawa -Awards:27th Mainichi Film Award*Won: Best Film-References:... |
Kei Kumai Kei Kumai was a Japanese film director from Azumino, Nagano prefecture. After his studies in literature at Shinshu University, he worked as director's assistant.... |
| 1973 | Tsugaru Jongarabushi | Kōichi Saitō Kōichi Saitō (film director) was a Japanese film director and photographer.-Career:Born in Tokyo, Saitō started studying at Rikkyo University but ended up graduating from the Tokyo College of Photography... |
| 1974 | Castle of Sand Castle of Sand Castle of Sand is a 1974 police procedural directed by Yoshitaro Nomura, based on the novel "Inspector Imanishi Investigates" by Seicho Matsumoto, and is largely considered by critics as one of the masterpieces of Japanese cinema.... |
Yoshitaro Nomura Yoshitaro Nomura Yoshitarō Nomura was a prolific Japanese film director, film producer, and screenwriter. His first accredited film was released in 1953; his last in 1985... |
| 1975 | The Fossil The Fossil is a 1974 Japanese film directed by Masaki Kobayashi. It was Japan's submission to the 47th Academy Awards for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but was not accepted as a nominee.-See also:*Cinema of Japan... |
Masaki Kobayashi |
| 1976 | Fumou Chitai | Satsuo Yamamoto |
| 1977 | The Yellow Handkerchief The Yellow Handkerchief is a 1977 Japanese film directed by Yoji Yamada. It was the winner of the first Best Picture award at the Japan Academy Prize.-Cast:* Ken Takakura: Yusaku Shima* Chieko Baisho: Mitsue Shima* Tetsuya Takeda: Kinya Hanada* Kaori Momoi: Akemi Ogawa* Hachirō Tako... |
Yoji Yamada |
| 1978 | The Incident The Incident (1978 film) is a 1978 Japanese film directed by Yoshitaro Nomura. Among many awards, it was chosen as the Best Film at the Japan Academy Prize ceremony.-Cast:* Keiko Matsuzaka: Hatsuko Sakai* Shinobu Ootake: Yoshiko Sakai* Toshiyuki Nagashima: Hiroshi Ueda... |
Yoshitaro Nomura |
| 1979 | Ah! Nomugi Toge Ah! Nomugi Toge is a 1979 Japanese film directed by Satsuo Yamamoto.-Awards:34th Mainichi Film Award*Won: Best Film-References:... |
Satsuo Yamamoto |
| 1980 | Kagemusha Kagemusha is a 1980 film by Akira Kurosawa. The title is a term used for an impersonator. It is set in the Warring States era of Japanese history and tells the story of a lower-class criminal who is taught to impersonate a dying warlord in order to dissuade opposing lords from attacking the newly vulnerable... |
Akira Kurosawa |
| 1981 | Muddy River Muddy River (film) Muddy River is a 1981 Japanese film directed by Kôhei Oguri. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.-External links:... |
Kôhei Oguri Kôhei Oguri is a Japanese film director and screenwriter.-Career:Born in Gunma, Oguri first became a freelance assistant director after graduating from Waseda University. He made his directorial debut in 1981 with Muddy River, which earned him both a Japan Academy Prize for Director of the Year and a citation... |
| 1982 | Fall Guy Fall Guy is a 1982 Japanese film directed by Kinji Fukasaku, art direction by Akira Takahashi. Among many awards, it was chosen as the Best Film at the Japan Academy Prize ceremony.... |
Kinji Fukasaku Kinji Fukasaku was a Japanese film actor, screenwriter, and best known as a celebrated and innovative filmmaker. He was born in Mito, Ibaraki, Japan, and died in Tokyo, from prostate cancer... |
| 1983 | Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence is a 1983 film directed by Nagisa Oshima, produced by Jeremy Thomas and starring Jack Thompson, David Bowie, Tom Conti, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Yuya Uchida, and Takeshi Kitano.It was written by Oshima and Paul Mayersberg and based on Laurens van der Post's experiences... |
Nagisa Oshima Nagisa Oshima is a Japanese film director and screenwriter. After graduating from Kyoto University he was hired by Shochiku Ltd. and quickly progressed to directing his own movies, making his debut feature A Town of Love and Hope in 1959.... |
| 1984 | W's Tragedy W's Tragedy is a 1984 Japanese film directed by Shinichirō Sawai, based on the novel by Shizuko Natsuki... |
Shinichirō Sawai Shinichirō Sawai is a Japanese film director and screenwriter.-Career:Born in Hamamatsu, Sawai studied German at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. Graduating in 1961, he joined the Toei Company as an assistant director and worked under such directors as Masahiro Makino and Noribumi Suzuki. He also collaborated... |
| 1985 | Ran Ran (film) is a 1985 Japanese-French jidaigeki film written and directed by Akira Kurosawa. The film starred Tatsuya Nakadai as Hidetora Ichimonji, an aging Sengoku-era warlord who decides to abdicate as ruler in favor of his three sons. It also stars Mieko Harada as the wife of Ichimonji's eldest son... |
Akira Kurosawa |
| 1986 | Umi to Dokuyaku | Kei Kumai |
| 1987 | A Taxing Woman A Taxing Woman is a 1987 Japanese comedy film written and directed by Juzo Itami. It won numerous awards, including six major Japanese Academy awards.The title character of the film, played by Nobuko Miyamoto, is a government tax investigator who employs various techniques to catch tax evaders.The director... |
Juzo Itami Juzo Itami , born , was an actor and a popular modern Japanese film director. Many critics came to regard him as Japan's greatest director since Akira Kurosawa. His 10 movies, all of which he wrote himself, are comic satires on elements of Japanese culture.... |
| 1988 | My Neighbor Totoro My Neighbor Totoro , is a 1988 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and produced by Studio Ghibli. The film follows the two young daughters of a professor and their interactions with friendly wood spirits in postwar rural Japan... |
Hayao Miyazaki Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese manga artist and prominent film director and animator of many popular anime feature films. Through a career that has spanned nearly fifty years, Miyazaki has attained international acclaim as a maker of animated feature films and, along with Isao Takahata, co-founded Studio Ghibli,... |
| 1989 | Black Rain Black Rain (Japanese film) is a 1989 Japanese film by director Shohei Imamura and based on the novel of the same name by Ibuse Masuji. The events are centered on the aftermath of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.-Plot:... |
Shohei Imamura |
| 1990 | Childhood Days Childhood Days is a 1990 Japanese film directed by Masahiro Shinoda. It was chosen as Best Film at the Japan Academy Prize ceremony.-Synopsis:A story of childhood life during wartime Japan. Takeshi, the intelligent son of a fisherman, is the schoolyard bully. When his cousin comes to stay with his family to avoid... |
Masahiro Shinoda |
| 1991 | My Sons My Sons is a 1991 Japanese film directed by Yōji Yamada. It was chosen as Best Film at the Japan Academy Prize ceremony.-Synopsis:The children of old-fashioned patriarch of a family in Iwate Province gather to observe the first anniversary of their mother's death. Tetsuya, working as a bartender in Tokyo,... |
Yoji Yamada |
| 1992 | Sumo Do, Sumo Don't Sumo Do, Sumo Don't is a 1992 Japanese film directed by Masayuki Suo. It was chosen as Best Film at the Japan Academy Prize ceremony.-Synopsis:In order to graduate from college in a timely manner, and to gain the job waiting for him due to his family connections, Shuhei must join the school's sumo team to please his... |
Masayuki Suo Masayuki Suo is a Japanese film director. He is perhaps best known for his two Japan Academy Prize-winning films, 1992's Sumo Do, Sumo Don't and 1996's Shall We Dance?.According to Suo:- Life and career :... |
| 1993 | All Under the Moon All Under the Moon is a 1993 Japanese film directed by Yoichi Sai.-Awards and nominations:18th Hochi Film Award*Won: Best Film*Won: Best Director - Yoichi Sai*Won: Best Actress - Ruby Moreno17th Japan Academy Prize*Nominated: Best Film... |
Yoichi Sai |
| 1994 | A Dedicated Life A Dedicated Life is a 1994 Japanese documentary directed by Kazuo Hara about the novelist Mitsuharu Inoue.-External links:... |
Kazuo Hara Kazuo Hara is a Japanese documentary film director. He won the award for Best Director at the 12th Hochi Film Award and at the 9th Yokohama Film Festival for The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On... |
| 1995 | A Last Note A Last Note is a 1995 Japanese film directed by Kaneto Shindō. It was chosen as Best Film at the Japan Academy Prize ceremony.-Synopsis:A retired actress whose husband has recently died visits her summer home... |
Kaneto Shindō Kaneto Shindo , Hiroshima, Japan) is a Japanese film director and screenwriter. His best known films include Children of Hiroshima, The Naked Island, Onibaba, Kuroneko and A Last Note.Shindō has often made films dealing with Hiroshima or the atomic bomb... |
| 1996 | Shall We Dance? | Masayuki Suo |
| 1997 | Princess Mononoke Princess Mononoke is a 1997 epic Japanese animated historical fantasy feature film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli. is not a name, but a general term in the Japanese language for a spirit or monster... |
Hayao Miyazaki |
| 1998 | Begging for Love Begging for Love is a 1998 Japanese film directed by Hideyuki Hirayama. It was Japan's submission to the 71st Academy Awards for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but was not accepted as a nominee... |
Hideyuki Hirayama Hideyuki Hirayama is a Japanese film director. He won the Directors Guild of Japan New Directors Award for The Games Teachers Play in 1992. He was given a Best Director award at the 2003 Yokohama Film Festival... |
| 1999 | Poppoya Poppoya is a 1999 Japanese film directed by Yasuo Furuhata. It was Japan's submission to the 72nd Academy Awards for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but was not accepted as a nominee. It was chosen as Best Film at the Japan Academy Prize ceremony.... |
Yasuo Furuhata Yasuo Furuhata Yasuo Furuhata is a Japanese film director. He won the 2000 Japan Academy Prize for Director of the Year for Poppoya.-Filmography:* Eki * Izakaya Chōji... |
| 2000 | Face Face (2000 film) is a 2000 Japanese film directed by Junji Sakamoto. At the 24th Japan Academy Prize it won one award and received four other nominations.- Awards and nominations :24th Japan Academy Prize.*Won: Best Director - Junji Sakamoto*Nominated: Best Picture... |
Junji Sakamoto Junji Sakamoto Junji Sakamoto is a Japanese film director born in Sakai City, Japan. After working as a set assistant or assistant director under such filmmakers as Sogo Ishii and Kazuyuki Izutsu, he made his directorial debut in 1989 with Dotsuitarunen and followed it up with another boxing film,... |
| 2001 | Spirited Away Spirited Away is a 2001 Japanese animated fantasy-adventure film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and produced by Studio Ghibli. The film tells the story of Chihiro Ogino, a sullen ten-year-old girl who, while moving to a new neighborhood and after her parents are transformed into pigs by the witch Yubaba,... |
Hayao Miyazaki |
| 2002 | The Twilight Samurai The Twilight Samurai The Twilight Samurai or is a 2002 Japanese film directed by Yoji Yamada. Set in mid-19th century Japan, a few years before the Meiji Restoration, it follows the life of Seibei Iguchi, a low-ranking samurai employed as a bureaucrat. Poor, but not destitute, he still manages to lead a content and... |
Yoji Yamada |
| 2003 | Akame 48 Waterfalls Akame 48 Waterfalls is a 2003 Japanese film directed by Genjiro Arato.-Awards and nominations:46th Blue Ribbon Awards* Won: Best Film* Won: Best Actress - Shinobu Terajima* Won: Best Supporting Actress - Michiyo Okusu28th Hochi Film Award... |
Genjiro Arato Genjiro Arato is a Japanese film producer, actor and director. In 1980, he produced Zigeunerweisen for director Seijun Suzuki. He was unable to secure exhibitors for the film and famously exhibited it himself in a specially-built, inflatable, mobile tent... |
| 2004 | Blood and Bones Blood and Bones Blood and Bones is a Japanese film, directed by Yoichi Sai and starring Takeshi Kitano. It is based on the semi-autobiographical novel Chi to hone by Zainichi Korean author Yan Sogiru .... |
Yoichi Sai |
| 2005 | Pacchigi! Pacchigi! is a 2005 Japanese film directed by Kazuyuki Izutsu.-Awards:48th Blue Ribbon Awards* Won: Best Film27th Yokohama Film Festival* Won: Best Film* Won: Best Director - Kazuyuki Izutsu... |
Kazuyuki Izutsu Kazuyuki Izutsu is a Japanese film director, screenwriter and film critic. Born in Nara Prefecture, he started making 8mm films in high school, and directed his first 35mm film, a pink film, in 1975. He earned a citation from the Directors Guild of Japan New Directors Award in 1981 for Gaki teikoku, and his Boys... |
| 2006 | Sway Sway (film) is a 2006 film directed by Japanese director Miwa Nishikawa. It was given the Best Film award at the 2007 Yokohama Film Festival. A young woman falls to her death from a bridge while walking in the country with two brothers, one a small town gas station attendant, the other a trendy Tokyo... |
Miwa Nishikawa Miwa Nishikawa is a Japanese director.Hirokazu Koreeda produced her feature film Wild Berries after she worked as an assistant director on his Distance... |
| 2007 | I Just Didn't Do It I Just Didn't Do It is a 2007 Japanese film directed by Masayuki Suo. Based on a true story, the film focuses on the story of a young man charged with groping on a train. Following the events depicted in the film, he was acquitted after a five year legal battle. It was Japan's submission to the 80th Academy Awards... |
Masayuki Suo |
| 2008 | Departures Departures (film) All compositions by Joe Hisaishi.#"Shine of Snow I" 1:12#"Nohkan" 3:10#"Kaisan" 0:53#"Good-Bye Cello" 2:16#"New Road" 1:15#"Model" 0:47#"First Contact" 1:51#"Washing" 0:34#"Kizuna I" 1:57#"Beautiful Dead I" 3:12#"Okuribito " 1:51... |
Yōjirō Takita Yojiro Takita Yōjirō Takita , is a Japanese filmmaker.-Career:Yōjirō Takita entered the film industry throughMukai Productions, where he served as an assistant director... |
| 2009 | Shizumanu Taiyō Shizumanu Taiyō is a 2009 Japanese film directed by Setsurō Wakamatsu. It is also known as The Unbroken in the United States.Shizumanu Taiyō is based on a novel by Toyoko Yamasaki. Set in the 1960s, the story centers on Hajime Onchi, the chairman of the employees' union for a large national airline corporation... |
Setsurō Wakamatsu |
| 2010 | Villain Villain (2010 film) is a 2010 Japanese film directed by Lee Sang-il, based on Shuichi Yoshida's crime noir novel of the same name. It was nominated for numerous awards at the 2011 Japan Academy Prize, including Best Film and Best Director , and won five, which included all four acting awards and for the score by Joe... |
Lee Sang-il Lee Sang-Il Lee Sang-Il is a South Korean football Midfielder, who last played for Changsha Ginde in Chinese Super League. His previous club was Beveren, Germinal Beerschot in Belgium and Daegu FC, Chunnam Dragons at South Korean K-League.- Club career statistics :... |