Presented in Cooperation with the Japan Film Library Council and the American Film Institute
Tonight begins a major series comprised of films which have won first place in the annual balloting of Japanese film critics conducted by Kinema Junpo, one of the world's oldest and most distinguished film periodicals. Of the forty-five films named as “Best One” during the period covered (1931-1978), fifteen have been chosen with an eye to presenting the broadest possible range of directors and themes. A special effort was made to select films relatively unfamiliar outside Japan.