Tokyo Stories

May 23, 2023

1h 30m

★ 5.0

Overview

Based on a major exhibition at the Ashmolean in Oxford, Tokyo Stories spans 400 years of incredibly dynamic art – ranging from the delicate woodblock prints of Hokusai and Hiroshige, to Pop Art posters, contemporary photography, Manga, film, and brand-new artworks that were created on the streets. The exhibition was a smash-hit five-star success and brought a younger and more diverse audience to the museum. The film uses the exhibition as a launchpad to travel to Tokyo itself, and explore the art and artists of the city more fully. A beautifully illustrated and richly detailed film, looking at a city which has undergone constant destruction and renewal over its 400-year history, resulting in one of the most vibrant and interesting cities on the planet…

Genres

Documentary

Production Companies

Seventh Art Productions

Tokyo Stories Trailers

No Trailers found.

Cast

Narrator

David Bickerstaff

Self

Clare Pollard

Self

Lena Fritsch

Self

Daido Moriyama

Self

Yuko Mohri

Self

Michael Hoppen

Self

Enrico Isamu Oyama

Self

Alexander Sturgis

Self

Keiichi Tanaami

Self

Mika Ninagawa

Just after midnight on 10 March 1945, the US launched an air-based attack on eastern Tokyo; continuing until morning, the raid left more than 100,000 people dead and a quarter of the city eradicated. Unlike their loved ones, Hiroshi Hoshino, Michiko Kiyooka and Minoru Tsukiyama managed to emerge from the bombings. Now in their twilight years, they wish for nothing more than recognition and reparations for those who, like them, had been indelibly harmed by the war – but the Japanese government and even their fellow citizens seem disinclined to acknowledge the past.

7.0

Tenório and the Dreams of Judo

Jul 8, 2021

Antônio Tenório and the Brazilian Paralympic Team are invited to a rare training camp in Japan. Passing through the main temples of Judo, our visually impaired athletes face the many challenges of training in an unknown country. The encounter with their Japanese hosts generates strangeness and difficulties, but also discoveries and joys. Step by step, these situations strengthen our athletes, who find themselves increasingly united. Led by the charisma and sensitivity of champion Tenório, a new generation of judo is revealed and inspired.

0.0

Tokyo Reverse

Mar 3, 2014

A nine-hour program that shows a man walking backwards through Tokyo – and nothing else – it appears. Ludovic Zuili, walking backwards through the capital of Japan. The video is shown back to front so that Zuili seems to be walking normally through a world moving back in time.

0.0

Tokyo 2020 Olympic Closing Ceremony

Aug 8, 2021

The Closing Ceremony of the Games of the XXXII Olympiad in the New National Stadium in Tokyo

No Image Available

6.5

Violated Paradise

Jun 7, 1963

A modern geisha travels through Japan trying to find a job as entertainer, and ends up by finding love and a job as ama, a pearl diver.

5.2

Tokyo 2020 Olympic Opening Ceremony: United by Emotion

Jul 23, 2021

Coverage of the glorious Olympic Opening Ceremony of the Games in Tokyo. The 2020 Summer Olympics opening ceremony took place on 23 July 2021 at Olympic Stadium, Tokyo. As mandated by the Olympic Charter, the proceedings combined the formal and ceremonial opening of this international sporting event, including welcoming speeches, hoisting of the flags and the parade of athletes, with an artistic spectacle to showcase the host nation's culture and history.

7.0

Mr. Smith Goes to Tokyo

Jan 1, 2009

When Tomoko finds some messages for a 'Mr Smith' on a lost mobile phone, she finds herself on an 'Alice in Wonderland' journey through Tokyo's boulevards and back alleys. From the tyranny of symmetry in soaring office blocks - to buildings that look like space-ships, this creative documentary shows us the city's soul.

5.8

Appointment in Tokyo

Dec 7, 1945

Produced by the Army Pictorial Service, Signal Corps, with the cooperation of the Army Air Forces and the United States Navy, and released by Warner Bros. for the War Activities Committee shortly after the surrender of Japan. Follow General Douglas MacArthur and his men from their exile from the Philippines in early 1942, through the signing of the instrument of surrender on the USS Missouri on September 1, 1945. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2013.

7.5

Tokyo Phoenix

May 20, 2017

In 150 years, twice marked by total destruction —a terrible earthquake in 1923 and incendiary bombings in 1945— followed by a spectacular rebirth, Tokyo, the old city of Edo, has become the largest and most futuristic capital in the world in a transformation process fueled by the exceptional resilience of its inhabitants, and nourished by a unique phenomenon of cultural hybridization.

5.0

Made in Japan

Mar 17, 2015

Made in Japan is the remarkable story of Tomi Fujiyama, the ﬁrst female Japanese country music star. From playing the USO circuit throughout Asia to headlining in Las Vegas and recording 7 albums for Columbia records, Tomi’s career culminates in a 1964 performance at The Grand Ole Opry where she followed Johnny Cash and received the only standing ovation of the night. Forty years later, Tomi and her husband set out on a journey through Japan and across the United States to fulﬁll a dream of performing at The Opry one more time. Made in Japan is a funny yet poignant multi-cultural journey through music, marriage, and the impact of the corporate world on the dreams of one woman.

7.8

Koi

Sep 3, 2019

There's no definitive separation as long as there is memory'. Since the Tsunami hit the northern part of Japan's coast in 2011, more than 20 thousand people lost their lives, and many others are still missing. As time went by the families of the victims abandoned all hope and stopped looking for their loved ones. However, this is the story of two men that are still fully committed to their respective searching activities. Even though their backgrounds are extremely different, both share a strong force of will and firmly wish to keep alive the memories of the ones that went missing. Perseverance is what pushed an ex-convict to look for redemption by helping the victims' families to find the remains of their loved ones, and perseverance is what brought a bus driver to start to dive in order to search for his wife.

0.0

Tokyo Uber Blues

Jul 10, 2021

Director Taku Aoyagi, who has lost his job in his hometown of Yamanashi, goes to Tokyo without knowing right or left and starts delivering goods on his bicycle. What gradually came to light under the state of emergency was the real problem of modern Japan that was revealed by the corona wreck. The people he met in the city where the director himself ran around as a bicycle deliveryman. What does it mean to work? What does it mean to live a new life? A documentary film that "delivers" from a realistic experience and perspective is born.

0.0

No Packers, No Life

Oct 16, 2025

Suh, whose favorite Packer will always be Mason Crosby; Omi and Ayaka, whose infant daughter already sports a green and gold onesie, and Ryuta aka “fatdragon08” who briefly lived in Milwaukee in 1990, studying English, where he was teased for wearing a San Fancisco 49ers jacket, and subsequently converted to the Pack Life. Benzine’s film lets us spend quality time with these super fans, and then follows them as they make plans to cross the sea to see their beloved Packers in-person at Lambeau! As director Benzine says, “No Packers, No Life is a story about a sports team and their fans, but more than that it illustrates how people from all over the world can come together and unite over a common passion. Also, the Japanese fans arrive in Green Bay and get to ride the Zippin Pippin and party a lot. It’s a very good time.”

6.7

Stalin's James Bond

Dec 30, 2017

An account of the troubled life of Richard Sorge (1895-1944), a Soviet spy of German origin who played a decisive role in the outcome of World War II.

7.8

Tokyo Olympiad

Mar 20, 1965

This impressionistic portrait of the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics pays as much attention to the crowds and workers as it does to the actual competitive events. Highlights include an epic pole-vaulting match between West Germany and America, and the final marathon race through Tokyo's streets. Two athletes are highlighted: Ethiopian marathon runner Abebe Bikila, who receives his second gold medal, and runner Ahamed Isa from Chad, representing a country younger than he is.

0.0

The Re-Up

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A backstage and on-stage look at Nicki Minaj's career during the Pink Friday Tour, festivals, and more.

9.3

Tokyo Ride

Sep 3, 2020

Revisiting the genre of the road movie in a very diaristic and personal way, the film takes us on board architect Ryue Nishizawa’s vintage Alfa Romeo (Giulia) for a day long wandering in the streets of Tokyo.

7.0

Hail to the King: 60 Years of Destruction

Jul 11, 2015

An independent crowd-funded documentary that celebrates the sixty-year legacy of the world's greatest monster, Godzilla. Filmed on location in Tokyo to document kaiju-related events, locations and to interview cast, crew and fans of the Godzilla series about their passion and experiences with the King of the Monsters.

6.0

Yasukuni

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The film looks at the history of Yasukuni Shrine in Chiyoda, Tokyo, where more than 2 million of Japan's war dead are enshrined. More than 1,000 of them are war criminals convicted at the 1946–48 Tokyo tribunal, including 14 Class-A war criminals, Hideki Tōjō among them. The film shows not only the widely reported political incidents associated with the shrine, but also takes an in-depth look at the shrine's sword-making tradition, the Yasukuni sword being the film's underlying motif.