Reading a Japanese Film : : Cinema in Context / / Keiko I. McDonald.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Asian Studies Backlist (2000-2014) eBook Package
• VerfasserIn: McDonald, Keiko I.,
• Place / Publishing House: Honolulu : : University of Hawaii Press, , [2005]; ©2005
• Year of Publication: 2005
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (308 p.)

Reading a Japanese Film, written by a pioneer of Japanese film studies in the United States, provides viewers new to Japanese cinema with the necessary tools to construct a deeper understanding of some of the most critically acclaimed and thoroughly entertaining films ever made. In her introduction, Keiko McDonald presents a historical overview and outlines a unified approach to film analysis. Sixteen "readings" of films currently available on DVD with English subtitles put theory into practice as she considers a wide range of work, from familiar classics by Ozu and Kurosawa to the films of a younger generation of directors.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1. Synergy of Theme, Style, and Dialogue: Kenji Mizoguchi's Sisters of the Gion (1936) -- 3. A Meiji Novel for the Screen: Shirö Toyoda's The Mistress (1954) -- 4. Period Film Par Excellence: Hiroshi Inagaki's Samurai Trilogy (1954-1956) -- 5. Simple Means for Complex Ends: Yasujirö Ozu's Floating Weeds (1959) -- 6. Eros, Politics, and Folk Religion: Kaneto Shindö's Onibaba (1963 -- 7. The Age-Old Paradox of Innocence and Experience: Köhei Oguri's Muddy River (1981 -- 8. Satire on the Family and Education in Postwar Japan: Yoshimitsu Morita's The Family Game (1983) -- 9. Defeat Revisited: Masahiro Shinoda's MacArthur's Children (1984) -- 10. Satire on Contemporary Japan: Jüzö Itami's A Taxing Woman (1987) -- 11. Animation Seminal and Influential: Hayao Miyazaki's My Neighbor Totoro (1988) -- 12. Cultural Responses to Simplicity: Akira Kurosawa's Madadayo (1993) -- 13. The Danger and Allure of Phantom Light: Hirokazu Koreeda's Maboroshi (1995) -- 14. Stressed-Out Nineties Youth in Laid-Back Sixties Dress: Takeshi Kitano's Kids Return (1995) -- 15. Bittersweet Childhood: Yöichi Higashi's Village of Dreams (1996) -- 16. A Woman Director's Approach to the Country Family: Naomi Kawase's Suzaku (1997) -- Notes -- Selected Bibliography -- Index -- About the Author