Directory of World Cinema: Japan 2

Directory of World Cinema

by John Berra (Editor)

 

Building on and bringing up to date the material presented in the first installment of Directory of World Cinema: Japan, this volume continues the exploration of the enduring classics, cult favorites, and contemporary blockbusters of Japanese cinema with new contributions from leading critics and film scholars. Among the additions to this volume are in-depth treatments of two previously unexplored genres—youth cinema and films depicting lower-class settings—considered alongside discussions of popular narrative forms, including J-Horror, samurai cinema, anime, and the Japanese New Wave. Accompanying the critical essays in this volume are more than 150 new film reviews, complemented by full-color film stills, and significantly expanded references for further study. From the Golden Age to the film festival favorites of today, Directory of World Cinema: Japan 2 completes this comprehensive treatment of a consistently fascinating national cinema. 

Genres: Japan, Film

375 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Patrick McCoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the first volume of the Directory of World Cinema: Japan edited by John Berra a useful resource, so I also decided to read Directory Of World Cinema: Japan 2 (2012) for inspiration as well. After the introduction, there is a feature on the film of the year: Sawako Decides, of which almost makes me want to seek it out-it doesn't really sound essential to me, but the jury is out. This is followed by a Festival Focus on JAPAN CUTS. The Industry Spotlight is an Interview with Director John Williams that inspired me to see his wonderful Firefly Dreams (2001) and put Starfish Hotel on my list. The Cultural Crossover section has two features: "Japanese Cinema and Bunraku Puppertry" and "Japanese Cinema and Photography." Scoring Cinema focuses on Takeshi Kitano's Kikujo. While Stardom and Cinema focuses on the late great Kinuyo Tanaka. Several profiles of Directors follow this: Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Testsuya Nakashima, Naoko Ogigami, Hiroshi Shimizu, Shuji Terayama. In the sections that follow, there is an essay discussing the genre/category listed and a number of independent reviews that first give a synopsis and then a critique of the film mentioned. These categories were: Alternative Japan, Anime/Animation, Chambara/Samurai Classics, Contemporary Blockbusters, J-Horror/Japanese Horror, Jidai-geki/Period dramas, Nuberu bagu/New Wave, Sheishun eiga/Youth Films, Shomin-geki/Lower Clas Life, Yakuza/Gangster. I found these individual reviews most useful for finding new films or films that dropped through the cracks of other studies and forays into Japanese cinema. The book also has Recommended Reading, Japanese Cinema Online directory resource, a Test Your Knowledge quiz, Notes on Contributors, and Filmography.