Behind the Kaiju Curtain

Behind the Kaiju Curtain PDF Author: Norman England
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781937220105
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 250

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Book Description
Norman England's gutsy and insightful stories will do more than just entertain. This is the first and only book in English to take you on a deep dive into the Japanese film industry. You will join well-known directors, cast, and staff for tales of backroom set dealings. The author's own unlikely story starts with joining the Japanese crew on a George Romero-directed TV commercial shot in Los Angeles. Afterward, in Tokyo, Norman England learns to navigate the sets of giant monster icons Gamera and Godzilla. The book concludes with the premiere of Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack. This diary from the front lines is essential reading for Japanese cinema enthusiasts and filmmakers everywhere.

Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters

Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters PDF Author: August Ragone
Publisher: Chronicle Books
ISBN: 9780811860789
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 216

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Book Description
Behind-the-scenes hero to anyone who's thrilled by giant monsters duking it out over Tokyo, Eiji Tsuburaya was the visual effects mastermind behind Godzilla, Ultraman, and numerous Japanese science fiction movies and TV showsbeloved around the world. The first book on this legendary film figure in English, this highly visual biography details his fascinating life and career, featuring hundreds of film stills, posters, concept art, and delightful on-set photos of Tsuburaya prompting monsters to crush landmark buildings. A must-have for fans, this towering tribute also features profiles of Tsuburaya's film collaborators, details on his key films and shows (most available on DVD), and features on the enduring popularity of the characters he helped create.

Japan's Favorite Mon-star

Japan's Favorite Mon-star PDF Author: Steve Ryfle
Publisher: ECW Press
ISBN: 1550223488
Category : Godzilla (Fictitious character)
Languages : en
Pages : 376

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Book Description
Bigger, badder, and more durable than Hollywood's greatest action heroes, Godzilla emerged from the mushroom cloud of an H-bomb test in 1954 to trample Tokyo. More than 40 years later, he reigns as the undisputed monarch of movie monsters, with legions of fans spanning several generations and countless international boundaries.

Giant Creatures in Our World

Giant Creatures in Our World PDF Author: Camille D.G. Mustachio
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476668361
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 213

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Book Description
Dismissed as camp by critics but revered by fans, the kaiju or "strange creature" film has become an iconic element of both Japanese and American pop culture. From homage to parody to advertising, references to Godzilla--and to a lesser extent Gamera, Rodan, Ultraman and others--abound in entertainment media. Godzilla in particular is so ubiquitous, his name is synonymous with immensity and destruction. In this collection of new essays, contributors examine kaiju representations in a range of contexts and attempt to define this at times ambiguous genre.

The Kaiju Film

The Kaiju Film PDF Author: Jason Barr
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 078649963X
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 213

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Book Description
The Kaiju (strange monster or strange beast) film genre has a number of themes that go well beyond the "big monsters stomping on cities" motif. Since the seminal King Kong 1933) and the archetypal Godzilla (1954), kaiju has mined the subject matter of science run amok, militarism, capitalism, colonialism, consumerism and pollution. This critical examination of kaiju considers the entirety of the genre--the major franchises, along with less well known films like Kronos (1957), Monsters (2010) and Pacific Rim (2013). The author examines how kaiju has crossed cultures from its original folkloric inspirations in both the U.S. and Japan and how the genre continues to reflect national values to audiences.

Monsters are Attacking Tokyo!

Monsters are Attacking Tokyo! PDF Author: Stuart Galbraith
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780922915477
Category : Films fantastiques
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The Incredible World of Japanese Fantasy Films Godzilla, Mothra, Rodan: these manifestations of Japanese postwar psyche are among the most amazing creations of modern cinema. These heavily illustrated work takes an inside look at the story of these movies which is supplemented with interviews with Toho actors, directors, screenwriters and the all important special effects men.

Japan's Green Monsters

Japan's Green Monsters PDF Author: Sean Rhoads
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476631344
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 227

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Book Description
In 1954, a massive irradiated dinosaur emerged from Tokyo Bay and rained death and destruction on the Japanese capital. Since then Godzilla and other monsters, such as Mothra and Gamera, have gained cult status around the world. This book provides a new interpretation of these monsters, or kaiju-ū, and their respective movies. Analyzing Japanese history, society and film, the authors show the ways in which this monster cinema take on environmental and ecological issues--from nuclear power and industrial pollution to biodiversity and climate change.

Ishiro Honda

Ishiro Honda PDF Author: Steve Ryfle
Publisher: Wesleyan University Press
ISBN: 0819577413
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 368

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Book Description
“An appreciation of Japanese fantasy-film history through the eyes of a filmmaker whose name is obscure but populism remains influential.” —Chicago Tribune Ishiro Honda, arguably the most internationally successful Japanese director of his generation, made an unmatched succession of science fiction films that were commercial hits worldwide. From the atomic allegory of Godzilla and the beguiling charms of Mothra to the tragic mystery of Matango and the disaster and spectacle of Rodan, The Mysterians, King Kong vs. Godzilla, Honda’s films reflected postwar Japan’s anxieties and incorporated fantastical special effects, a formula that created an enduring pop culture phenomenon. Now, in the first full account of this overlooked director’s life and career, Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski shed new light on Honda’s work and the experiences that shaped it—including his days as a reluctant Japanese soldier, witnessing the aftermath of Hiroshima, and his lifelong friendship with Akira Kurosawa. The book features close analysis of Honda’s films (including, for the first time, his rarely seen dramas, comedies, and war films) and draws on previously untapped documents and interviews to explore how creative, economic, and industrial factors impacted his career. Fans of Godzilla and tokusatsu (special effects) film, and of Japanese film in general, will welcome this in-depth study of a highly influential director who occupies a uniquely important position in science fiction and fantasy cinema, as well as world cinema. “Provides the reader with a lasting sense of the man—his temperament, values, philosophies, dreams, and disappointments?behind some of cinema’s most beloved characters.” —Film Comment

Raising the Past

Raising the Past PDF Author: Jeremy Robinson
Publisher: Variance LLC
ISBN: 0978655117
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 312

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Book Description
Arctic adventure that explores origins of the human species. It starts with the excavation of a frozen mammoth in the wilds of the Candian tundra and ends with a pitched battle for the future of mankind.

Writing Japanese Monsters: From the Files of The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies

Writing Japanese Monsters: From the Files of The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies PDF Author: John Lemay
Publisher: Bicep Books
ISBN: 9781734154665
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 432

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Book Description
Learn the secret histories behind Japanese movie monsters like Godzilla, Mothra, Gamera, and Ultraman and how talented screenwriters breathed creative life into the monsters well before the special effects technicians could!