I'm happy to at long last report that I've two new books finally being published this spring, and both are now available for pre-order through Amazon:
The Toho Studios Story is, well - here's what publisher Scarecrow says:
Since its inception in 1933, Toho Co., Ltd., Japan's most famous movie production company and distributor, has produced and/or distributed some of the most notable films ever to come out of Asia, including Seven Samurai, Godzilla, When a Woman Ascends the Stairs, Kwaidan, Woman in the Dunes, Ran, Shall We Dance?, Ringu, and Spirited Away. While the western world often defines Toho by its iconic classics, which include the Godzilla franchise and many of the greatest films of the legendary director Akira Kurosawa and actor Toshiro Mifune, these pictures represent but a tiny fraction of Toho's rich history.
The Toho Studios Story: A History and Complete Filmography provides a complete picture of every Toho feature the Japanese studio produced and released-as well as foreign films that it distributed-during its first 75 years. Presented chronologically, each entry in the filmography includes, where applicable, the original Japanese title, a direct translation of that title, the film's international, U.S. release and alternate titles; production credits including each film's producers, director, screenwriters, cinematographers, art directors, and composers, among others; casts with character names; production companies, technical specs, running times, and release dates; U.S. release data including distributor, whether the film was released subtitled or dubbed, and alternate versions; domestic and international awards; and plot synopses.
Containing information not available on the Internet, The Toho Studios Story also contains a decade-by-decade history of the studio, making it an indispensable reference for conducting research on Japanese cinema and cultural history.
Here a link to Scarecrow's site.
* * * *
Japanese Cinema
In contrast to the dense reference value of The Toho Studios Story, Taschen's Japanese Cinema is in keeping with the publisher's familiar line of photo-heavy coffee table books. I've devoted an entire chapter to Japanese fantastic cinema, and there are chapters on jidai-geki and chanbara, virtually unknown comedies with sci-fi/fantasy elements, etc. I've only seen sample pages so far, but editor Paul Duncan's layouts look great.
Here's a link to the book's page on Amazon.
The Toho Studios Story is, well - here's what publisher Scarecrow says:
Since its inception in 1933, Toho Co., Ltd., Japan's most famous movie production company and distributor, has produced and/or distributed some of the most notable films ever to come out of Asia, including Seven Samurai, Godzilla, When a Woman Ascends the Stairs, Kwaidan, Woman in the Dunes, Ran, Shall We Dance?, Ringu, and Spirited Away. While the western world often defines Toho by its iconic classics, which include the Godzilla franchise and many of the greatest films of the legendary director Akira Kurosawa and actor Toshiro Mifune, these pictures represent but a tiny fraction of Toho's rich history.
The Toho Studios Story: A History and Complete Filmography provides a complete picture of every Toho feature the Japanese studio produced and released-as well as foreign films that it distributed-during its first 75 years. Presented chronologically, each entry in the filmography includes, where applicable, the original Japanese title, a direct translation of that title, the film's international, U.S. release and alternate titles; production credits including each film's producers, director, screenwriters, cinematographers, art directors, and composers, among others; casts with character names; production companies, technical specs, running times, and release dates; U.S. release data including distributor, whether the film was released subtitled or dubbed, and alternate versions; domestic and international awards; and plot synopses.
Containing information not available on the Internet, The Toho Studios Story also contains a decade-by-decade history of the studio, making it an indispensable reference for conducting research on Japanese cinema and cultural history.
Here a link to Scarecrow's site.
* * * *
Japanese Cinema
In contrast to the dense reference value of The Toho Studios Story, Taschen's Japanese Cinema is in keeping with the publisher's familiar line of photo-heavy coffee table books. I've devoted an entire chapter to Japanese fantastic cinema, and there are chapters on jidai-geki and chanbara, virtually unknown comedies with sci-fi/fantasy elements, etc. I've only seen sample pages so far, but editor Paul Duncan's layouts look great.
Here's a link to the book's page on Amazon.
