The Best of 2001 – Poll Results
- published
- 28 February 2002
The votes are in. The Midnight Eye readers have voted BATTLE ROYALE as their favourite Japanese film of 2001.
Below are the final results of our reader's poll, plus your personal comments and reactions. Thanks a lot to all of you who took the time to cast their vote. Hope to see you again at our next Midnight Eye readers poll.
Find out what Midnight Eye's own favourites of the year were in our Best (and Worst) of 2001 feature.
| Ranking | Title | Original title | Director |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. (19.1%) | BATTLE ROYALE | Kinji Fukasaku | |
| 2. (16.2%) | Dead or Alive 2 | Takashi Miike | |
| 3. (8.1%) | Pulse | Kairo | Kiyoshi Kurosawa |
| 4. (6.4%) | Versus | Ryuhei Kitamura | |
| 5. (5.8%) | Avalon | Mamoru Oshii | |
| Ichi the Killer | Koroshiya Ichi | Takashi Miike | |
| 6. (4.6%) | Visitor Q | Takashi Miike | |
| 7. (4.1%) | Blue Spring | Aoi Haru | Toshiaki Toyoda |
| Eureka | Shinji Aoyama | ||
| 8. (3.5%) | Electric Dragon 80,000 V | Sogo Ishii | |
| Pistol Opera | Seijun Suzuki | ||
| 9. (2.9%) | Brother | Takeshi Kitano | |
| 10. (2.3%) | Spirited Away | Sen To Chichiro No Kamikakushi | Hayao Miyazaki |
| 11. (1.7%) | Bad Company | Mabudachi | Tomoyuki Furumaya |
| Not Forgotten | Wasurerarenu Hitobito | Makoto Shinozaki | |
| 12. (1.2%) | H Story | Nobuhiro Suwa | |
| Inugami | Masato Harada | ||
| Stereo Future | Hiroyuki Nakano | ||
| Warm Water Under a Red Bridge | Akai Hashi no Shita no Nurui Mizu | Shohei Imamura | |
| 13. (0.6%) | Firefly Dreams | Ichiban Utsukushii Natsu | John Williams |
| Gips | Akihiko Shiota | ||
| Go | Isao Yukisada | ||
| Harmful Insect | Gaichu | Akihiko Shiota | |
| Hole in the Sky | Sora No Ana | Kazuyoshi Kumakiri | |
| Nekojiru-so | Tatsuo Sato | ||
| Our Neighbours the Yamadas | Tonari No Yamada-kun | Isao Takahata | |
| Party 7 | Katsuhito Ishii | ||
| Unchain | Toshiaki Toyoda | ||
| 19 | Kazushi Watanabe | ||
| 14. (0.0%) | Acacia Walk | Akashia No Michi | Joji Matsuoka |
| Desert Moon | Shinji Aoyama | ||
| Distance | Hirokazu Kore-Eda | ||
| Family | Takashi Miike | ||
| Final Fantasy | Hironobu Sakaguchi | ||
| The Guys from Paradise | Tengoku Kara Kita Otoko-tachi | Takashi Miike | |
| Hakuchi | Makoto Tezuka | ||
| Hotaru | Naomi Kawase | ||
| Human Trash | Ningen No Kuzu | Takshiko Nakajima | |
| Hush | Ryosuke Hashiguchi | ||
| Limousine Drive | Masashi Yamamoto | ||
| Red Shadow | Akai Kage | Hiroyuki Nakano | |
| Roji-E | Shinji Aoyama | ||
| Rush | Takahisa Zeze | ||
| Seance | Kourei | Kiyoshi Kurosawa | |
| Shojo | Eiji Okuda | ||
| Stake Out | Harikomi | Tetsuo Shinohara | |
| A Tender Place | Yawaraka Na Hoo | Shunichi Nagasaki | |
| Tomie: Re-birth | Hiroshi Shimizu | ||
| Tokyo GP | Takashi Ishii | ||
| Unloved | Kunitoshi Manda | ||
| Uzumaki | Akihiro Higuchi | ||
| White Out | Setsuro Wakamatsu |
25-01-2002
An excellent film on girininjo that is probably difficult for anyone to really appreciate unless they have lived in Japan for at least 10 years.
25-01-2002
Studio Ghibli, nuff' said
25-01-2002
Actually, I was also seriously considering voting for Miike's superlative HAPPINESS OF THE KATAKURIS, but I don't see it listed on the poll. For 2002, maybe?
--Travis Crawford (sasori701@msn.com)
25-01-2002
excellent action packer from the very first minutes.
25-01-2002
miike makes a movie that is competely transgressive but not the least bit self-marginalizing, thanks to the presence of asano, and cast. this actually ties with 'cure' for best of 2001---but only because the latter got to canada just this past year. I love you guys!!
25-01-2002
I only saw two Japanese films this year and "White Out" was boring.
25-01-2002
i WISH i COULD PICK TEN THERE WERE SO many great films but at leaast I can cheer for pulse and hope to see it on a screen in the us some time soon honurable mention to all about lilly chou chou for being just as interesting if not as concentrated
25-01-2002
Pistol Opera is not a movie. It is cinema. Magnificent.
26-01-2002
Because you have the feeling you are able to save everyone when the colours appear in the end.
26-01-2002
Cinema, as it should be
26-01-2002
Another Suzuki gem and another great example of what a director with real vision can pull off. Pure cinamatic entertainment.
26-01-2002
2001 was a great year for japanese film,Its really tough to pick any one film but i vote BATTLE ROYALE (just beating INUGAMI)if anything for giving the film world a much needed kick up the ass!
28-01-2002
It's difficult to choose only one film but I was most impressed by Bad Company. A simple story of a extremely emotional, philosophical and social depth.
Miike Takashi showed with Dead or Alive 2 how talented a director he could be and be more than just a director of violent films who can create one of the mostmoving metaphorically statements against killing I have ever seen. About Ichi the Killer and Visitor Q everything has been said but where can go from now on?
Also surprise that Imamura Shohei is still well in active but maybe his latest film lacks the freshness and challenging edge of his 60s and 70s films (including Narayama Bushiko).
Battle Royale also surprised as a very powerful (rather than violent) and moving film too in some parts even though the characterization of the students is a bit cliched.
Eureka: good film but prefer Nobuhiro Sowa's 2 Duo and M/Other.
28-01-2002
D.O.A.2 :Simply the best film ever!
28-01-2002
Just like to say thank's for running what is undoubtably my personal favorite site on the internet.
Best Regards, Damian Dugdale.
01-02-2002
happiness of the katakuris
05-02-2002
Eureka takes you on a psychological trip. A stunningly shot, comforting masterpiece
07-02-2002
Pulse rocks! There hasn't been an atmospheric horror flick like it since Jacob's Ladder!
08-02-2002
Tough to choose between "Pistol Opera" and "Battle Royale"--but, in the end, Suzuki wins out, in my opinion.
09-02-2002
at least a dozen of sequels needed!!!!Bombastic!
13-02-2002
A prettty original movie, Uzumaki alternately subverted and exceeded my genre expectations. It also "permanently scared" a couple of my friends...
18-02-2002
"Kairo" is one of the most exceptional pieces of filmmaking I've seen in years. I've shown my R2 DVD copy to as many friends as possible, and all agree it's truly something special. I've not seen a picture that works within and transcends genre boundaries so well all at once. I shudder at the thought of the Wes Craven-backed American remake!
A close second for the year: Mamuro Oshii's "Avalon" - not a rock solid narrative, but Oshii shows he has an equally asute eye for live action as he does for animation.
21-02-2002
I 'm quite surprised that Battle Royal had all these votes:it's not bad, but, in my opinion it's not absolutly to be mentioned like THE BEST JAPANESE MOVIE OF THE YEAR!!!!
25-02-2002
Imamura remains true to his long-standing humanism, as ever portraying his characters in the richest detail, which is everything from passion to pettiness
25-02-2002
A great year for Japanese cinema with outstanding efforts Takashi Miike, Seijun Suzuki, Kiyoshi Kurosawa and Hiroyuki Nakano. Ultimately, I had to go for Electric Dragon because it is what any great film should be - an intense audio-visual experience that imprints itself on the subconscious and stirs a few brain cells. This young (save Suzuki) crop of directors have created some sublime movies and some high expectations for their future projects. Bring on 2002!
26-02-2002
Unlike anything else I've ever seen. Miike Takashi has nowhere left to go in terms of sheer gleeful ultraviolence after this movie. I await his kindler, gentler take on 'Zatoichi the Blind Swordsman' with interest!