Japanese Cinema: An Introduction (Images of Asia)

A very cursorary introduction to Japanese cinema, this focusses more on its origins. Most of the films featured are pre-1950, and very little is written about the Nikkatsu studios, or the Godzilla movies or less respectable 'genre films'. Instead this is useful as an introduction to serious film students , but it is hampered by its academic bias towards 'culturally important' film makers such as Ozu and Mizugochi, and is a little dry. For its size.

Donald Richie, whose earlier works have done so much to introduce Japanese cinema to the West, has here written the first introduction to Japanese film. Written in a highly accessible style, this up-to-date history offers a study of those qualities which make a film distinctly Japanese. It will be an invaluable resource to students of film appreciation, as well as to readers with an interest in Japan.