Japan - S1.E1

Jonathan goes to Tokyo to see if Japanese cinema has gone off the boil, as some critics suggest. He meets directors Ryuhei Kitamura (Versus) and Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell) and surveys the current crop of Japanese films, including the strange tale of a giant squid turned championship wrestler.

FEATURED FILMS

Ryuhei Kitamura

* Versus (2000, Tartan)

* Azumi (2003, Optimum Releasing)

* Godzilla: Final Wars (2004, Toho Film Company, Japan)

Takashi Miike

* Audition (1999, Tartan)

* Happiness of the Katakuris (2001, Tartan)

* Gozu (2003, Tartan)

Mamoru Oshii

* Ghost in the Shell (1995, Manga Entertainment)

* Avalon (2001, Bluelight)

* Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (2004, Manga Entertainment)

Hayao Miyazaki

* Spirited Away (2001, Optimum Releasing)

* Howl's Moving Castle (2004, Optimum Releasing)

Shunji Iwai

* All About Lily Chou-Chou (2001, Optimum Releasing)

'Beat' Takeshi Kitano

* Violent Cop (1989, MIA)

* Boiling Point (1990, MIA)

* Sonatine (1993, MIA)

* Blood and Bones (2005, Tartan)

Katsuhiro Otomo

* Akira (1988, Manga Entertainment)

* Steamboy (2004, Sony/Columbia Pictures)

Jonathan's Other Picks

* Wild Zero (2000, Gaga Communications, Japan)

* Ping Pong (2002, ICA Projects)

* Casshern (2004, Momentum Asia)

* The Calamari Wrestler (2004, Klockworx Company, Japan)