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Outlaw Masters of Japanese Film ReviewWhen I originally came to this page, it was to order another copy of this book for a friend. But then I saw two pretty unfair reviews here and felt the need to chime in with a much different take on the subject. Both seem to be upset about what they think is an obsessively encyclopedic bent in the book - a perception that seems unwarranted. This methodical rundown of the films of the directors (and two actors) is exactly why I bought the book - to fill in the gaps in my knowledge of these filmmakers' work. I more than got what I wanted. Brown's complaint in his review laments that there are plenty of other outlaw Japanese directors that are more deserving than those included - the book's author addresses this very subject in the introduction, naming scores of directors, actors and actresses he would have liked to have included but was unable to because of matters of space. I also have to rebut the complaints of "feeling at sea" with the book's approach to the films and Japanese film history and film industry. This book is written for people who already have seen a few Japanese genre movies, have picked up on several of the films of the "masters" included in the book and want to know more. And it delivers. No writer in English, to my knowledge, has ever bothered to investigate or write about the numerous films Seijun Suzuki made before 1963's YOUTH OF THE BEAST. But Chris D. gives descriptions of scores of Suzuki's fifties and early sixties output, and it was greatly illuminating to this reader. Likewise, his chapter (with a nice long interview) on enfant terrible underground filmmaker Koji Wakamatsu is one of the most detailed and in-depth ever to appear in English and covered twice as many of Wakamatsu's films as Jack Hunter's laudable but more scattershot approach in his "Eros In Hell" book. The Wakamatsu chapter - for me - was worth the price of the book alone! Likewise the chapters on such other filmmakers as Kinji Fukasaku (BATTLES WITHOUT HONOR AND HUMANITY series), actress Meiko Kaji and lesser known filmmakers like Teruo Ishii, Junya Sato and Kazuo Ikehiro. When I purchased this book initially, I bought it at a booksigning at the American Cinematheque in Los Angeles where author Chris D. works as a programmer. I met him, and I know from talking to him that night that he was disappointed in the publisher's use of the pictures that he had provided to them, using only a third of the number and reproducing them in a fairly slipshod manner. I've also heard that Chris D. was instrumental in bringing Miike's AUDITION, Shinoda's PALE FLOWER and the first of Meiko Kaji's FEMALE CONVICT films to cult DVD notoriety here in the USA. I bought this book because I wanted to learn more about these filmmakers...and I did! It has its faults, but it is well worth the purchase price - the author's more aesthetics-oriented (although he keeps it from ever getting too intellectual), less-mainstream, more serious approach is preferable (for me anyway) to the goofy fun and chaotic organization of books like Patrick Macias' "Tokyoscope" (which I still like, too). And yes, this Chris D. is the same guy who is singer/songwriter of The Flesh Eaters!Outlaw Masters of Japanese Film OverviewOutlaw Masters of Japanese Film offers an extraordinary close-up of the hitherto overlooked golden age of Japanese cult, action and exploitation cinema from the early 1950s through to the late 1970s, and up to the present day. Having unique access to the top maverick filmmakers and Japanese genre film icons, Chris D. brings together interviews with, and original writings on, the lives and films of such transgressive directors as Kinji Fukasaku (Battles Without Honour and Humanity), Seijun Suzuki (Branded to Kill) and Koji Wakamatsu (Ecstasy of the Angels) as well as performers like Shinichi 'Sonny' Chiba (The Streetfighter, Kill Bill Vol. 1) and glamorous actress Meiko Kaji (Lady Snowblood). Bringing the story up to date with an overview of such Japanese "enfants terrible" as Takashi Miike (Audition) and Kiyoshi Kurasawa (Cure),the book also provides a compendium of facts and extras including filmographies, related bibliographies on genre fiction including Manga, and a section on female yakuzas. Illustrated with fantastic stills and posters from some of Japan's finest cult and action films, this is a veritable bible for fans and newcomers alike.Want to learn more information about Outlaw Masters of Japanese Film?
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