Movies
Country: Japan
The Hidden Fortress
The Rio Theatre‘s series of classic films continues on Sunday, August 27 at 6:00 pm with another monumental masterpiece from iconic director Akira Kurosawa, THE HIDDEN FORTRESS. (If you’re a fan of George Lucas‘ STAR WARS series – and really, who isn’t? – you will definitely want to check this
Rashomon
Long before Quentin Tarantino was filing away endless VHS tapes as a video store clerk while dreaming up his signature approach to unconventional cinematic story logic that twists narrative structure and messes with an audience’s response to time – there was Akira Kurosawa‘s indelibly awesome (not to mention monumentally influential)
Grave of the Fireflies (2025 Restoration)
Studio Ghibli co-founder Isao Takahata‘s poignant animated drama GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES is a devastating meditation on the human cost of war, a tale of survival as heartbreaking as it is true to life. Based on the re-tellings of survivor Nosaka Akiyuki, the film has been universally hailed as an
Battle Royale (25th Anniversary Screening)
The highly stylized and über-violent BATTLE ROYALE was a fitting swan song for director Kinji Fukasaku, whose mastery of the exploitation genre is on full display in this hugely influential cult-classic. Adapted from novel ‘Battle Royale’ by Japanese writer Koushun Takami, Fukasaku’s BATTLE ROYALE
Tokyo Story
“One of cinema’s greatest masterpieces.” (Film Comment) Loosely based it on the relatively obscure 1937 American film MAKE WAY FOR TOMORROW, director Yasujirō Ozu‘s TOKYO STORY was initially released in Japan in 1953, to little attention. It was initially considered “too Japanese” to be marketable abroad, but in the
Akira Kurosawa’s ‘Ran’ (40th Anniversary Screening)
When one of the greatest filmmakers of all time adapts one of the greatest literary works of all time, the result can only be described as epic. In 1985, iconic director Akira Kurosawa adapted William Shakespeare‘s ‘King Lear’ and crafted one of – if not the – best cinematic representations
Endless Poetry
Through renowned “father of the midnight movies” Alejandro Jodorowsky‘s intensely personal lens, ENDLESS POETRY tells the story of his years spent as an aspiring poet in Chile in the 1940’s. Against the wishes of his authoritarian father, the 20 year-old Jodorowsky (played here by Adan Jodorowsky, Alejandro’s real-life son), leaves
Pom Poko
There is no better way to appreciate the magic of Studio Ghibli than on the big screen! Movie-lovers of all ages will adore this double-bill pairing of two beloved classics from Japan’s famed Studio Ghibli’s master storytellers Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata – PONYO and POM POKO.
Ponyo
There is no better way to appreciate the magic of Studio Ghibli than on the big screen! Movie-lovers of all ages will adore this double-bill pairing of two beloved classics from Japan’s famed Studio Ghibli’s master storytellers Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata – PONYO and POM POKO.
Your Name.
Makoto Shinkai’s animated blockbuster and global pop culture hit YOUR NAME. (Kimi no Na wa.) is headed to the Rio Theatre – in both Japanese with English subs (May 1) and with the remastered English dub (May 3). Written and