Stray Dogs & Lone Wolves: The Samurai Film Handbook

by Patrick Galloway

Finally, a book about the ever-popular genre of samurai film. Stray Dogs & Lone Wolves provides essential background on the samurai warrior in Japanese culture to help explain what makes these tales of loyalty, revenge and explosive swordsmanship so watchable. It covers top directors and stars and has over 50 original reviews of a wide variety of films, from classics like Samurai Trilogy and Yojimbo to influential films like Lady Snowblood , plus newly released hits like Takeshi Kitano’s Zatoichi . With American directors like Quentin Tarentino increasingly influenced by Japanese films, this book is as much a guide to style as it is a solid film reference. "Galloway's thoughtful and personal touches make this book much more than just a vital reference for samurai film fans." -- The Asian Reporter "Galloway's contextualization of the genre is masterly, one of the clearest and most succinct explanations I have read on teh whole historical samurai phenomenon." -- The Daily Yomiuri "Without a doubt, Galloway knows his stuff." -- Yellow Menace From the Check out Patrick Galloway's latest book, Asian Horror and Dark Cinema from Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, & Thailand

Genres: Japan, Film, Nonfiction, Media Tie In, Reference

235 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2005

Reviews

[Kieran · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent introduction to the samurai film genre, but lacking depth. The first section of the book is the strongest, providing an excellent overview of the genre and the Japanese film scene. As the book moves forward, Galloway covers an excellent assortment of films. However, these are primarily just casual reviews - the book would be stronger if it was less about plot and more about the making of the films or genre conventions. Still, it is a solid introduction.

[David Wilentz]

Useful for the novice I suppose but a little dissapointing in it's lack of depth, exhibiting laymanship as opposed to revelatory insights.

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating account of Japanese samurai movies (of which I am a fan).

[Dan Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

First in two Samurai Film Handbooks by Patrick Galloway. Personally I love this book! I have read his second volume titled Warring Clans and Flashing Blades, which I also loved. Stray Dogs and Lone Wolves is a great introduction to many classic Japanese sword movies, that includes Yakuza and Ninja movies known as Chambara. The introduction is top notch and full of fun and interesting information.
Let it be known that the movies reviewed in this book are classics and many are masterpieces. The Japanese directors that make these masterpieces are on par with Orson Welles, Ingmar Bergman, Stanley Kubrick, and Alfred Hitchcock and the like. Akira Kurosawa is the most famous and is a genius in my opinion. Yet others like Masaki Kobayashi, Kenji Mizoguchi, and Kaneto Shindo are all amazing and brilliant directors and can give any western film maker a run for their money any day. There are no cheesy action flicks reviewed, all are quality cinema. You can't go wrong by following Patrick's advice and start with Yojimbo. If you've seen these movies, the book is a great reference to have on hand for the film enthusiast to go back and read interesting details about each movie. For instance he tells about the camera focus in Yojimbo being clear in the foreground as well as the background to tell visual stories inside each dwelling when the shutters open and close as Sanjuro walks down the seemingly deserted town that is in turmoil due to a feud between Yakuza bosses.

This book is sadly out of print. You may be able to write Stone Bridge Press and request them to reprint it, or may find the author in social media. If not, get Warring Clans and Flashing Blades for an even more in depth introduction to Chambara.

[Patrick McCoy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stray Dogs & Lone Wolves (2005) is a good introduction to the samurai film genre, but it is not complete and it is not an academic foray into the subject. That being said, there's lots of good information and it has inspired me to search out some of the titles that I was previously unfamiliar with. However, I would liked to have had more commentary about the authenticity and tradition per se. Since this book was published in 2005, there have been several samurai films made by the likes of Yoji Yamada and Takashi Miike-so the tradition hasn't completely much like the western equivalent, the western. It is a good reference book, but it is far from being the definitive samurai film book.

[Marsha Altman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, funny at times, but not entirely complete. He misses some good films. Still, a very good book, with lots of explanations about the films and samurai traditions.

[CountZeroOr · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd definitely consider this a very good book to have in your collection if you're interested in samurai film, whether casually or seriously.