One Hundred More Poems from the Japanese


Kenneth Rexroth - 1976
    The poems are representative of a large range of classical, medieval, and modern poetry, but the emphasis, as in his companion Chinese collections (1955 and 1970), is on folk songs and love lyrics.

Death 24x a Second: Stillness and the Moving Image


Laura Mulvey - 2006
    Addressing some of the key questions of film theory, spectatorship, and narrative, Laura Mulvey here argues that such technologies, including home DVD players, have fundamentally altered our relationship to the movies. According to Mulvey, new media technologies give viewers the ability to control both image and story, so that movies meant to be seen collectively and followed in a linear fashion may be manipulated to contain unexpected and even unintended pleasures. The individual frame, the projected film’s best-kept secret, can now be revealed by anyone who hits pause. Easy access to repetition, slow motion, and the freeze-frame, Mulvey argues, may shift the spectator’s pleasure to a fetishistic rather than a voyeuristic investment in film. By exploring how technology can give new life to old cinema, Death 24x a Second offers an original reevaluation of film’s history and its historical usefulness.

The Tale of the Heike


Anonymous
    This new translation is not only far more readable than earlier ones, it is also much more faithful to the content and style of the original. Intended for the general audience as well as the specialist, this edition is highly annotated.

The Official Godzilla Compendium: A 40 Year Retrospective (Official Godzilla)


J.D. Lees - 1998
    144 pp. Ages 14 and up. Pub: 3/98.

The Beauty of Everyday Things


Soetsu Yanagi - 2017
    These objects are our constant companions in life. As such, writes Soetsu Yanagi, they should be made with care and built to last, treated with respect and even affection. They should be natural and simple, sturdy and safe - the aesthetic result of wholeheartedly fulfilling utilitarian needs. They should, in short, be things of beauty.In an age of feeble and ugly machine-made things, these essays call for us to deepen and transform our relationship with the objects that surround us. Inspired by the work of the simple, humble craftsmen Yanagi encountered during his lifelong travels through Japan and Korea, they are an earnest defence of modest, honest, handcrafted things - from traditional teacups to jars to cloth and paper. Objects like these exemplify the enduring appeal of simplicity and function: the beauty of everyday things.

Complete Guide to Film Scoring


Richard Davis - 2000
    Interviews with top film scoring professionals add the priceless insight of the wisdom that comes with experience.

Remembering the Kana


James W. Heisig - 2001
    By making use of a method of "imaginative memory," introduced in this book, you will be saved from the order of repetition. Following the method, you will be able to write and read all Japanese Kana in three hours and retain them by means of the incredible mnemonic methods. Instructions at the bottom of each page will ask you to skip backwards and forwards through the book, following the best "learning order." The lessons will guide you step by step through this process. As an added bonus, the book includes a supplement on "Learning How to Remember."

Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Lacan (But Were Afraid to Ask Hitchcock)


Slavoj ŽižekAlenka Zupančič - 1988
    Starting from the premise that ‘everything has meaning’, the films’ ostensible narrative content and formal procedures are analysed to reveal a rich proliferation of ideological and psychical mechanisms at work. But Hitchcock is here to lure the reader into ‘serious’ Marxist and Lacanian considerations on the construction of meaning. Timely, provocative and original, this is sure to become a landmark of Hitchcock studies.

Yippee Ki-Yay Moviegoer: Writings on Bruce Willis, Badass Cinema and Other Important Topics


Vern - 2010
    Now he’s back, and this time he’s got all of ‘the films of badass cinema’ in his sights... From Die Hard to The Discrete Charm of the Bourgeoisie, Transformers to Mary Poppins, Vern has an opinion on everything, and he’s not shy about sharing them...

The Rough Guide to Horror Movies 1


Alan Jones - 2005
    The guide includes all the icons, from Boris Karloff to Wes Craven and Frankenstein to Freddie Kruger, including classics from Argentina, Pakistan, South Africa and the recent chillers from East Asia. The canon of fifty essential horror movies features The Cabinet of Dr Caligari and Switchblade Romance, via Psycho and The Exorcist. Everything you need to know is covered from festivals, adaptations, magazines and merchandise. The guide tells the stories behind the movies that have scared us throughout the twentieth century.

Chinatown


Michael Eaton - 1997
    This study analyzes Chinatown in the context of the figure of the detective in literature and film from Sophocles to Edgar Allan Poe and Alfred Hitchcock.

Musui's Story: The Autobiography of a Tokugawa Samurai


Kokichi Katsu - 1843
    As it depicts Katsu stealing, brawling, indulging in the pleasure quarters, and getting the better of authorities, it also provides a refreshing perspective on Japanese society, customs, economy, and human relationships. From childhood Katsu was given to mischief. He ran away from home, once at thirteen, making his way as a beggar on the great trunk road between Edo and Kyoto, and again at twenty, posing as the emissary of a feudal lord. He eventually married and had children but never obtained official preferment and was forced to supplement a meager stipend by dealing in swords, selling protection to shopkeepers, and generally using his muscle and wits. Katsu's descriptions of loyalty and kindness, greed and deception, vanity and superstition offer an intimate view of daily life in nineteenth-century Japan unavailable in standard history books. Musui's Story will delight not only students of Japan's past but also general readers who will be entranced by Katsu's candor and boundless zest for life.

Rising from the Ashes


Akiko Mikamo - 2013
    He was on top of his house roof with nothing to shield him at only 3/4 of a mile (1,200m) from the epicenter in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 toward the end of the World War II. But what made Shinji stand out from most of the survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, or even of many other man-made disasters in our history, he never hated Americans as aggressors. He somehow saw things from a much bigger perspective even in the very strict Japanese military government's mind control of civilians during the war. As one of his three legacy-carrying daughters, Dr. Akiko Mikamo wrote his story to send out the messages of human love and power of forgiveness to remind the world our worst enemies of yesterday could become the best friends of tomorrow.

Godzilla on My Mind: Fifty Years of the King of Monsters


William M. Tsutsui - 2004
    Ever since Godzilla (or, Gojira, as he is known in Japan) crawled out of his radioactive birthplace to cut a swath of destruction through Tokyo, he has claimed a place alongside King Kong and others in the movie monster pantheon. He is the third most recognizable Japanese celebrity in the United States, and his fan base continues to grow as children today prove his enduring appeal. Now, Bill Tsutsui, a life-long fan and historian, takes a light-hearted look at the big, green, radioactive lizard, revealing how he was born and how he became a megastar. With humorous anecdotes, Godzilla on My Mind explores his lasting cultural impact on the world. This book is sure to be welcomed by pop culture enthusiasts, fans, and historians alike.

Star Wars


Will Brooker - 2009
    Though at first Star Wars seems a simple fairy-tale, it becomes far more complex when we realize that the director is rooting for both sides, creating a tension unsettles the saga as a whole and illuminates new sides of Lucas' masterpiece.