1.	View Larger Image	Princess Mononoke Actors: Yôji Matsuda, Yuriko Ishida, Yûko Tanaka Director: Hayao Miyazaki
		From Amazon.com essential video This epic, animated 1997 fantasy has already made history as the top-grossing domestic feature ever released in Japan, where its combination of mythic themes, mystical forces, and ravishing visuals tapped deeply into cultural identity and contemporary, ecological anxieties. For international animation and anime fans, Princess Mononoke represents an auspicious next step for its revered creator, Hayao Miyazaki (My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's ... more Buy from Amazon

2.	View Larger Image	Spirited Away Actor: Miyu Irino Director: Hayao Miyazaki
		From Amazon.com The highest grossing film in Japanese box-office history (more than $234 million), Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away (Sen To Chihiro Kamikakushi) is a dazzling film that reasserts the power of drawn animation to create fantasy worlds. Like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz and Lewis Carroll's Alice, Chihiro (voice by Daveigh Chase--Lilo in Disney's Lilo & Stitch) plunges into an alternate reality. ... more Buy from Amazon

3.	View Larger Image	Castle in the Sky Director: Hayao Miyazaki
		From Amazon.com Inspired by "Gulliver's Travels," the fantasy-adventure Castle in the Sky (1986) was Hayao Miyazaki's third feature, and helped to establish his reputation as a visionary in both Japan and America. The orphan Sheeta inherited a mysterious crystal that links her to the legendary sky-kingdom of Laputa. With the help of resourceful Pazu and a rollicking band of sky pirates, she makes ... more Buy from Amazon

4.	View Larger Image	Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography Actors: Conrad L. Hall, John Bailey, Vilmos Zsigmond, Charles Lang, Sven Nykvist, Robert Wise, László Kovács Directors: Arnold Glassman, Todd McCarthy, Stuart Samuels
		From Amazon.com Visions of Light is not just for film buffs. In fact, if the presentation of the Oscar for Best Cinematography is your cue to take a bathroom break from the Academy Awards, then this exhilarating documentary will help you see movies in a whole new light. Named Best Documentary by the National Society of Film Critics as well as several film-critic ... more Buy from Amazon

5.	View Larger Image	Ghost in the Shell Actors: Atsuko Tanaka, Iemasa Kayumi Director: Mamoru Oshii
		From Amazon.com essential video The skillful blending of drawn animation and computer-generated imagery excited anime fans when this science fiction mystery was released in 1995: many enthusiasts believe Ghost suggests what the future of anime will be, at least in the short term. The film is set in the not-too-distant future, when an unnamed government uses lifelike cyborgs or "enhanced" humans for undercover work. One ... more Buy from Amazon

6.	View Larger Image	Seven Samurai - Criterion Collection Actor: Toshirô Mifune Director: Akira Kurosawa
		From Amazon.com essential video Unanimously hailed as one of the greatest masterpieces in the history of the motion picture, Seven Samurai has inspired countless films modeled after its basic premise. But Akira Kurosawa's classic 1954 action drama has never been surpassed in terms of sheer power of emotion, kinetic energy, and dynamic character development. The story is set in the 1600s, when the residents of ... more Buy from Amazon

7.	View Larger Image	Akira Kurosawa - 4 Samurai Classics (Seven Samurai / The Hidden Fortress / Yojimbo / Sanjuro) - Criterion Collection Actor: Toshiro Mifune
		From Amazon.com Leading off the set of four Akira Kurosawa classics is Seven Samurai (1954), unanimously hailed as one of the greatest masterpieces in the history of the motion picture. It was the inspiration for countless films modeled after its basic premise, but has never been surpassed in terms of sheer power of emotion, kinetic energy, and dynamic character development. The story is ... more Buy from Amazon

8.	View Larger Image	Ichi the Killer (Unrated Edition) Director: Takashi Miike
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9.	View Larger Image	Kiki's Delivery Service Actor: Minami Takayama Director: Hayao Miyazaki
		From Amazon.com In Hayao Miyazaki's magical Kiki's Delivery Service, a 13-year-old girl meets the world head on as she spends her first year soloing as an apprentice witch. Kiki (Kirsten Dunst) is still a little green and plenty headstrong, but also resourceful, imaginative, and determined. With her trusty wisp of a cat Jiji (a gently subdued Phil Hartman) by her side she's ready ... more Buy from Amazon

10.	View Larger Image	Inu-Yasha - The Movie 3 - Swords of an Honorable Ruler Directors: Megumi Yamamoto, Yasunao Aoki, Masashi Ikeda, Naoya Aoki
		From Amazon.com Swords of an Honorable Ruler is darker and more dramatic than the two previous Inu-Yasha features--or the broadcast series. Inu-Yasha's father Inu no Taisho, the Great Dog Demon, possessed not two but three swords: Tetsusaiga, Tenseiga, and Sounga, which are linked to Earth, Heaven, and Hell, respectively. After the human princess Izayoi gave birth to Inu-Yasha, she was killed by Takemaru, ... more Buy from Amazon