Directory of World Cinema: Japan

John Berra is a lecturer in Film and Language Studies at Renmin University of China. He is the author of Declarations of Independence: American Cinema and the Partiality of Independent Production (2008); editor of the Directory of World Cinema: American Independent volumes 1, 2 and 3; editor of the Directory of World Cinema:Japan volumes 1, 2 and 3; co-editor of World Film Locations: Beijing (2012) and World Film Locations: Shanghai (2014); and co-editor of the East Asian Journal of Popular Culture. He has also contributed to Electric Shadows: A Century of Chinese Cinema (2014).

• Introduction by the EditorFilm of the Year Achilles and the TortoiseFestival Focus Nippon ConnectionIndustry Spotlight The Arts Theatre GuildCultural Crossover Art & FilmDirectors Takeshi KitanoSatoshi KonAkira KurosawaAlternative JapanAnime / AnimationChambara / Samurai CinemaContemporary BlockbustersJidaigeki & Gendaigeki / Period & Contemporary DramaJ-Horror / Japanese HorrorKaiju Eiga / Monster MoviesNuberu Bagu / The Japanese New WavePinku Eiga / Pink FilmsYakuza / Gangster

'Editor John Berra announces in the acknowledgments that ‘this volume was never intended to be a conventional film guide’. Rather than the A-Z run through of titles, or a year-by-year account of the highlights, Berra’s Directory offers instead a series of chapters mainly grouped around genres. There is also, though, a section on three key directors (Takeshi Kitano; Satoshi Kon and Akira Kurosawa), a nod to the film of the year (Achilles and the Tortoise) and a chapter on ‘The Art Theatre Guild’.[...] There are also, however, many formal observations and little details of character from the writers that make the book worthwhile, no matter its limitations, none more so than Bob Davis’s astute comments on Oshima’s Boy, with its useful analysis of colour in the film. ' Edinburgh Review'Editor John Berra announces in the acknowledgments that ‘this volume was never intended to be a conventional film guide’. Rather than the A-Z run through of titles, or a year-by-year account of the highlights, Berra’s Directory offers instead a series of chapters mainly grouped around genres. There is also, though, a section on three key directors (Takeshi Kitano; Satoshi Kon and Akira Kurosawa), a nod to the film of the year (Achilles and the Tortoise) and a chapter on ‘The Art Theatre Guild’.[...] There are also, however, many formal observations and little details of character from the writers that make the book worthwhile, no matter its limitations, none more so than Bob Davis’s astute comments on Oshima’s Boy, with its useful analysis of colour in the film. ' – Tony McKibbin, Edinburgh Review'The writing throughout is of a consistently high standard, incorporating a range of analytical approaches (be it social-political, aesthetic, or genre-based) according to the writers’ preferences. By focussing mainly on the cultural import of films within specific genres, the directory presents a very catholic selection. Admirably un-snobbish in its treatment of all the covered films, the articles are always marked by the sense that those writing are genuine fans.'