Hideo Kojima Recommends Japanese Films in New Criterion Closet Video

Hideo Kojima has gone through the Criterion Closet to recommend a number of films. Hideo Kojima is one of the most prolific video game developers out there. Unlike movies, it's rare that movies are credited to a sole leader for its success. Many people broadly credit the studio as a whole for whatever game they're praising, with a few exceptions. This is a good thing as hundreds, sometimes thousands of people are responsible for how a game turns out and it's a major team effort. Nevertheless, Hideo Kojima has a very distinct vision so people don't really talk about Konami or Kojima Productions when talking about his games, they talk almost solely about Hideo Kojima. He has a really strong ability to tell stories that feel cinematic, but don't feel weak in the gameplay department. 

Kojima is a big lover of film and will frequently review movies he has seen on his social media. He is pretty friendly with a lot of directors and movie stars, even recruiting them to star in or help write/collaborate on his games. Guillermo del Toro was in Death Stranding, but he was also set to help Hideo Kojima make Silent Hills in a leadership role. Unfortunately, the project was canceled. Nevertheless, Kojima was invited to go through the Criterion Closet, a special room filled with tons of amazing movies at Criterion's office in New York. Directors and actors are often invited to come pick out their favorite movies and talk about them. In Kojima's video, he picks out 9 Japanese movies from the 50s and 60s, using it as a platform to recommend them to younger viewers. He strongly encourages you to check out his picks, so we'll include a list of links to the films below the video.

• High and Low – Akira Kurosawa
• Late Spring – Yasujiro Ozu
• Eclipse Series 3: Late Ozu (a collection of films, Kojima recommends Tokyo Twilight which is included) – Yasujiro Ozu
• Ugetsu – Kenji Mizoguchi
• Kwaidan – Masaki Kobayashi
• Harakiri – Masaki Kobayashi
• Jigoku – Nobuo Nakagawa
• Onibaba – Kaneto Shindo
• Woman in the Dunes – Hiroshi Teshigahara