A Critical Handbook of Japanese Film Directors

[Alexander Jacoby]

Dear All,

First, just to thank those who responded to my queries about Jun Ichikawa's life and career.

Secondly, if I may be permitted to do a little self-publicity, I heard earlier this week from my publisher at Stone Bridge Press that my new book, A Critical Handbook of Japanese Film Directors, is now published and available for purchase. It should be in North American bookstores imminently; it will take a little longer to filter into British bookshops or English-language sections in Japan. 

The book is a guide to 150 directors working in live-action Japanese film from the silent era to the present day, including short factual and critical profiles of their output and as-complete-as-available-information-allows filmographies in Romanised Japanese and English translation. I hope it will be useful to many of those who subscribe to this list.

Like all books it ended up being a more collaborative endeavour than I ever imagined, and this is perhaps the time and place to say thankyou to everyone on this list who has helped with the project. Some of you have done a lot and are thanked individually in the acknowledgements; but many more of you have contributed in small ways, and of course discussions on this list have generally shaped my thoughts about Japanese film.

There are at least two people and two institutions in particular that really deserve to be acknowledged publicly on this list. The book would not exist without Donald Richie, who helped in so many ways throughout, and wrote the foreword. My PHD supervisor, Alastair Phillips, was amazingly understanding about the time and energy it consumed instead of my studies. The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation provided sponsorship for a vital research trip to Japan, and the Japan Foundation gave me amazingly regular access to their library at some inconvenience to their staff.

Anyway, I really hope the book proves useful to KineJapanners!

ALEX



       
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