Where can I find classic Japanese movies with Japanese subtitles?

Lately, I have been trying to find classic Japanese movies with Japanese subtitles so that I can analyze the Japanese in the films. However, I have not been able to find any with Japanese subtitles. When I say classic Japanese films, I mean films like “Seven Samurai” and “Harakiri”. I tried using a VPN to rent them on Amazon Japan, but then it asked for a Japanese address or credit card. Then other places like Criterion Channel have classic Japanese movies, but they all just have English subtitles. Does anyone know where I can find movies like this with Japanese subtitles or at least the Japanese scripts of these movies?

3 comments
  1. I use an IP TV service called “ForJoyTV” — it basically has every Japanese TV channel you could want. *Some* of which have subtitles you can enable (and of course, it’s for Japanese people, so they’re JP subs). There are at least a handful of old movie channels, jidai-geki, etc. That said, you only get a week or two of backlog at a time, and I’m not sure how you’d be able to rip/record from that.

    I wonder if there are good Japanese streaming services? Netflix has a lot of JP content with JP subs, but the selection isn’t great, esp wrt classic stuff. Is there a Japanese equivalent to Criterion, I wonder?

    Anyway, barring that, your best bet is probably ripping them yourself. Amazon JP, kinokuniya, rakuten, some place like that. (Or, depending on your proficiency, you could potentially find Japanese torrent sites or something. Only for movies you already own! Legal disclaimers and finger-wagging here, etc etc etc.)

    Oh! Actually, I just found [Project-Modelino](https://project-modelino.com/index.php?site_language=english) (via [this fluento article](https://www.fluentu.com/blog/japanese/learn-japanese-subtitles/)). Seems like it might fit the bill. For example, [here’s the JP subs](https://project-modelino.com/movie-review.php?site_language=english&learn_language=japanese&movie=474#original_subtitles) for *7 Samurai*.

  2. id say to just read manga or visual novels if you want VA.

    It’s annoying to have to pause for a kanji you’re wanting to grab, vns are the perfect medium

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