Oh gosh, you should ALL rent "Rikkyu."

They made a movie about him?

Oh yeah, it's good too. I think I bought it at Amazon. "Rikyu" is spelled with one "k."

A few more I recommend:

Kwaidan, from the "Criterion Collection", a series of short stories kind of like the twighlight zone.

Double Suicide - again from Criterion.

I agree, Zatoichi is an excellent film as is Kwaidan, which I was lucky enough to catch on television recently - without commercials, no less. I'd also recommend almost anything by Kurosawa, especially Dreams. If you want to step out a bit further, try Chungking Express, In the Mood for Love, or Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring (Korea)... all are in the native language with subtitles, but most dvd's now let you choose between that and overdubs... Several reviews of Rikyu praise the material while speaking to the low quality of the film's transfer...

So I rented Rikyu, and I am curious what you liked about it. I didn't actively dislike it, but I can't say I enjoyed it. I didn't care for the portrayal of Hideyoshi. Perhaps it was accurate, but I'd like to think he was better than that. Mostly I think I felt let down; I didn't learn anything that I didn't already know.

Since we are on the subject of Asian cinema, can someone explain to me the appeal of Kurosawa. I have netflixed several of his movies, and the only one I have enjoyed is Dreams. I think I am just more of Takashi Miike kind of guy.

Surprised no one has brought up too many Takeshi Kitano movies. He was in a bunch of campy cop and gangster movies. He does have a few good newer movies like "Brother", "Dolls", and "Kikujiro". As noted before, He was in the new remake of "Zatoichi", stared in "Battle Royale", and you may also reconize him from Takeshi's Castle or as it's known MXC on Spike TV LOL

If you're looking for a hollywood formula action movie one should check out "Returner". Or for campy zombie slashing "Versus".

I've seen almost all of Takashi Miike's movies and I'm convinced he's Japan's anwser to David Lynch +1. I dare to you watch Gozu and explain that one.

Edit:

Oops. forgot one of my favorite movies after checking my shelf. "Tampopo". A wonderful look into the quest to create the perfect bowl of ramen and the appreciation of food in culture and life. From the gangster who lives large and lavish with sexual food encounters, the old lady molesting food at a supermarket, the vagrants who can make the best rice omlet from waste, the dedication a housewife provides to her family in the kitchen as she is on her death bed, to the miracle of milk and the life a mother can give.

I think I have never seen a bad Kurosawa movie like I have not seen a bad movie directed by Kubrick either. I specially like those old black&white samurai movies (Mifune is a great actor).

Audition (Takashi Miike) was also quite suprising movie, the change of style is so sudden.

I just watched Visitor Q the other night; that was something else.

Does anyone have any other suggestions for Japanese movies? I've watched a lot of the horror, and that's fun and all, and I've thoroughly explored Takashi Miike at this poing. Kurosawa doesn't exactly bake my cookies. What else is out there? I have all of Netflix at my disposal.

"Double Suicide" (Shinju Ten no Amijima)

How about "Kamikaze taxi"?

I saw it on finnish tv lately and I did like it.

Kamikaze taxi is a great one too

I think one of the problems is that Westerners think Kurosawa IS Japanese cinema. I personally find the majority of his films to be over-rated and boring. I just can't get into three hour films with poor action sequences. Others see something else in them and don't find them bad at all. Like all things, taste varies tremendously. Anyone interested in Japanese film should remember that Kurosaw is part of it, not all of it. If his films do not suit your taste, there are many others to choose from. Kurosawa has the most name recognition in the West, but this does not necessarily equate to superior films.

Seven Samurai is an example of a famous Kurosawa film and Three Outlaw Samurai is a lesser known film by Hideo Gosha that I consider to be a superior alternative. To me, Seven Samurai is a three hour nap. I found that Gosha's Three Outlaw Samurai told the same basic story in half the time, with much better action sequences. In my opinion it eclipsed Seven Samurai in all respects. It is a good choice for those who find Kurosawa to be too tedious but like the general storyline of Seven Samurai. The point is, there is probably something in Japanese film to satisfy everyone's taste, but the offerings and the approach used by the directors are diverse and can be confusing.

Japanese cinema is certainly an aquired taste, but there are gems worth seeking out. I can say the same thing about Hollywood and Hong Kong films. There are good, great, awesome and bad in each, with bad being predominant. For those who prefer quicker moving story, more frequent and better choreographed fighting, while retaining high production values, I suggest Hideo Gosha as a good starting point.

Kurosawa doesn't float my boat either. If you've watched Seven Samurai and it put you to sleep, Hideo Gosha's Three Outlaw Samurai is the same basic story told in half the time, with superior but traditional action sequences. It is still more of a drama than an action movie, but I really like this one.

Lady Snowblood is a traditional Samurai revenge flick with a female lead. It is very dark and grim, but is also very popular. I never saw Kill Bill, but from what I've heard about it, Tarantino must have based at least part of it on Lady Snowblood. Once again, this is a combination of action and drama but I like it. There's nothing more entertaining to me than a 90 pound Kimono clad, parasol toting female refusing to yield to a male superior and his body guards on a walkway during a snowstorm. Instead, she quickly disposes of them leaving the white snow splattered with red, hence the film's title.

A quick-moving Samurai flick that is very much action oriented is Sonny Chiba's "Shogun's Shadow." Ken Ogata is his main opponent. It is based on a true story about delivering the Shogun's son to Edo by a certain date. The Shogun's assasins (Chiba) try to prevent him from reaching Edo by attempting to take out the son and his bodyguards (Ogata). My mother actually liked this one when I brought it over to her house to watch with my nephew. The main fight literally had her on the edge of her seat. My nephew loves this one as well. Although there are a few quirks in the film, like using modern music in one scene that is completely out of place for the era in which the story takes place, this is not your typical Sonny Chiba B-film. It is definitely on my top ten list of action films.

If your taste runs more to comic book Samurai, the Lone Wolf and Cub series may do the trick. This series is also known in the West as the Baby Cart series, because the lead character, previously the Shogun's executioner, was framed, his wife killed, and he fled with his young son in tow, transporting him in a fully armed baby carriage. This series of 6 films has several different directors and the action and story range from traditional to bizarre, but overall I find it to be a very entertaining series.

I think you should watch Kurosawa´s Yojimbo or especially "Ran."
Seven Samurai is not the only good Kurosawa´s film you know.