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Movies that feature or take place in Tokyo?

Movies that feature or take place in Tokyo?

Old Jun 3, 2007, 1:04 pm
  #31  
 
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When I travel to Japan, I try to "get in the mood", in advance. One method is to watch film.
One of my favorite films is Ikiru or To Live. In this film, I saw that the culture of 1952 Japanese bureaucracy parallels closely 2007 US bureaucracy.

A recent film that touches on Japan is Babel. A Japanese friend of mine recently watched it and wrote:

I went out with my friend to see babel yesterday.
I didn't feel good after I saw it.
Many poeple didn't feel well after the scene that Rinko was on the swing.
It was about 1 hr. 20 minutes from the beginning.
My friends and I were closing our eyes for about 3, 4 minutes.






Originally Posted by railroadtycoon
I think this should be merged with this ongoing thread:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=684043

edit there was news on a lot of people not feeling well after some flashy scenes in babel, movie theatres had to release some warnings to movie goers.
Yes, my bad, I'll bring my comments over to this thread.
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Old Jun 8, 2007, 7:48 am
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There's an excellent feature in Kansai Time Out magazine called Hollywood Japan File. Some articles are featured here and here.
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Old Jun 9, 2007, 9:43 pm
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Last edited by jib71; Jun 9, 2007 at 10:14 pm
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Old Oct 4, 2008, 6:23 am
  #34  
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Originally Posted by kcvt750
Personally, I'd recommend Death Note and the sequel Death Note II - The Last Name.

Especially if you're a fan of the original manga.
I finally got around to seeing both of these quite recently. Best of all I saw them both within a relatively short time-frame at a cinema. I understand that Death Note 3 will be released in London very shortly.

Not great films, but hugely enjoyable nonetheless. I'm looking forward to the next installment.


I recently saw Sakuran which has a story based in the Yoshiwara district (just to the North of Asakusa, Tokyo). A sumptuous, saturated assault on the senses by photographer Mika Ninagawa. FABULOUS! As long as one doesn't expect deep meaning. But with all that glorious surface detail, who's scratching?
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Old Oct 4, 2008, 6:55 am
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Originally Posted by LapLap
INot great films, but hugely enjoyable nonetheless. I'm looking forward to the next installment.
Glad you liked them! There was a spin-off movie released last year named L Change the World. I didn't see it but it's pre-Desu Noto, IIRC.

But L is still cool!
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Old Oct 4, 2008, 7:18 am
  #36  
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Originally Posted by kcvt750
Glad you liked them! There was a spin-off movie released last year named L Change the World. I didn't see it but it's pre-Desu Noto, IIRC.

But L is still cool!
Ah, that's the film I meant by Death Note 3. (Looks like it's actually Death Note 0) Thanks!
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Old Oct 13, 2008, 12:16 pm
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Originally Posted by railroadtycoon
...Railroadtycoon watches a lot of PBS lol, there's another online program here from "FRONTLINE/WORLD"
This story features an Austrailian adopting to live as a farmer in Shikoku.
Japan: The Slow Life

You can watch the entire video there.
Thanks for the recommendation! The short film has an inspirational story line (for me). My brother's wife was raised on an Okayama farm, where her elderly parents still live. When my brother and his wife started long distance courtship, I took pictures of my brother on his (now) 60+ year old old tractor. I didn't think it wise to send that sort of photo to a potential spouse, but it worked. She and her two teenage daughters moved to rural Wisconsin the next year. In the spring, my brother plowed a field for her. She planted an ambitious one acre garden. Not too long after, it was gobbled up by critters. I'm sure she was heartbroken. She never planted again
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Old Jul 1, 2009, 11:02 am
  #38  
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Movies that feature Tokyo?

After seeing several mentions of "Lost in Translation" (great movie, BTW), I'm wondering if readers can recommend other recent movies that feature modern Tokyo.
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Old Jul 1, 2009, 11:26 am
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from wikipedia

Some Hollywood directors have turned to Tokyo as a filming location for movies set in Tokyo. Well-known examples from the postwar era include Tokyo Joe, My Geisha, and the James Bond film You Only Live Twice; well-known contemporary examples include Kill Bill, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift and Lost in Translation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo#T..._popular_media

there might be more. No idea if any of those movies are actually any good

Also Babel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babel_(film)
Tokyo!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo!
Into the sun
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Into_the_Sun_(2005_film)

Last edited by closetasfan; Jul 1, 2009 at 11:30 am Reason: add a few
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Old Jul 1, 2009, 4:41 pm
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Originally Posted by closetasfan
Some Hollywood directors have turned to Tokyo as a filming location for movies set in Tokyo. Well-known examples from the postwar era include Tokyo Joe, My Geisha, and the James Bond film You Only Live Twice; well-known contemporary examples include Kill Bill, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift and Lost in Translation.
Let's not forget Austin Powers in Goldmember. The scene where Mini Me and Austin Powers get into a fight in a hotel room is worth it for the view of the Park Tower building alone.
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Old Jul 1, 2009, 4:45 pm
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Godzilla vs Megalon has some great Tokyo street scenes.
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Old Jul 1, 2009, 6:32 pm
  #42  
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Or when the pull up to the super secret place which is in fact Zojoji Temple in Shiba Park. And then there is the easily identifiable shot of Atago Green Hills (Office Tower).

Originally Posted by Pickles
Let's not forget Austin Powers in Goldmember. The scene where Mini Me and Austin Powers get into a fight in a hotel room is worth it for the view of the Park Tower building alone.
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Old Jul 1, 2009, 6:34 pm
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Another one, and very recent, is Rain Fall. It is an adaptation of the book by Barry Eisler who is a huge fan of this city.
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Old Jul 1, 2009, 7:07 pm
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Bayside Shakedown has some good Tokyo scenes. Alas, I suspect the OP is not interested in Japanese movies in Japanese.
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Old Jul 2, 2009, 8:33 am
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Originally Posted by abmj-jr
Bayside Shakedown has some good Tokyo scenes. Alas, I suspect the OP is not interested in Japanese movies in Japanese.
Well, I might be. I was sort of thinking in terems of films that give one a good impression of the city - culture, architecture, general ambiance, etc. For that reason I had pretty much ruled out things like the action movies where Tokyo is really only used as a backdrop for an exciting car chase.

And, apolgies for not finding the original thread - search seems to be pretty much toast again this week (a basic search of this forum for "tokyo" turned up nothing!).
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