A list of films released in Japan in 1978 (see 1978 in film).
Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker and painter who directed 30 films in a career spanning over five decades. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. Kurosawa displayed a bold, dynamic style, strongly influenced by Western cinema yet distinct from it; he was involved with all aspects of film production.
Kon Ichikawa was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. His work displays a vast range in genre and style, from the anti-war films The Burmese Harp (1956) and Fires on the Plain (1959), to the documentary Tokyo Olympiad (1965), which won two BAFTA Film Awards, and the 19th-century revenge drama An Actor's Revenge (1963). His film Odd Obsession (1959) won the Jury Prize at the 1960 Cannes Film Festival.
Ryuichi Sakamoto was a Japanese composer, pianist, record producer, and actor who pursued a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO). With his bandmates Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi, Sakamoto influenced and pioneered a number of electronic music genres.
Kaiju is a Japanese term that is commonly associated with media involving giant monsters. A subgenre of science fiction, it was created by Eiji Tsuburaya and Ishirō Honda. The term can also refer to the giant monsters themselves, which are usually depicted attacking major cities and battling either the military or other monsters.
The year 1978 in film involved some significant events.
Kinji Fukasaku was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. Known for his "broad range and innovative filmmaking", Fukasaku worked in many different genres and styles, but was best known for his gritty yakuza films, typified by the Battles Without Honor and Humanity series (1973–1976). According to the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, "his turbulent energy and at times extreme violence express a cynical critique of social conditions and genuine sympathy for those left out of Japan's postwar prosperity." He used a cinema verite-inspired shaky camera technique in many of his films from the early 1970s.
Nagisa Ōshima was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. One of the foremost directors within the Japanese New Wave, his films include In the Realm of the Senses (1976), a sexually explicit film set in 1930s Japan, and Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983), about World War II prisoners of war held by the Japanese.
Tetsurō Tamba was a Japanese actor with a career spanning five decades. He appeared in nearly 300 film and television productions, both in leading and supporting roles, and was the winner of two Japan Academy Film Prizes.
Pink film in its broadest sense includes almost any Japanese theatrical film that includes nudity or deals with sexual content. This encompasses everything from dramas to action thrillers and exploitation film features. The Western equivalent of pink films would essentially be erotic thrillers, e.g. Fatal Attraction, Fifty Shades of Grey, Basic Instinct, 9½ Weeks, as well as the works of directors Russ Meyer and Andy Sidaris.
Spider-Man is a Marvel Comics superhero.
Nunsploitation is a subgenre of exploitation film which had its peak in Europe in the 1970s. These films typically involve Christian nuns living in convents during the Middle Ages.
Yoshio Harada was a Japanese actor best known for playing rebels in a career that spanned six decades.
The following are lists of films produced in Japan in the 1970s:
Shūsuke Kaneko is a Japanese filmmaker.
Empire of Passion is a 1978 French-Japanese film produced, written and directed by Nagisa Ōshima, based on a novel by Itoko Nakamura. The film was a co-production between Oshima Prods. and Argos Films.
The Incident 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. The film is based on the novel by Shōhei Ōoka.
Third Base (サード) is a 1978 Japanese sports film directed by Yōichi Higashi.
Sachiko Hidari was a Japanese actress and film director.
The Love Suicides at Sonezaki is a 1978 Japanese historical romance film directed by Yasuzo Masumura starring Ryudo Uzaki and Meiko Kaji based on the Chikamatsu play of the same name.
Spider-Man, also referred to as Japanese Spider-Man, is a 1978 Japanese superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man and also a spin-off from the Japanese Spider-Man television series. The film was directed by Kōichi Takimoto, written by Susumu Takahisa, and produced and distributed by Toei Company.