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Summary: ATTENTION DAIKAIJU EIGA FANS: You Need This Book !
Review: As a kid, I remember walking with my brother down to the Saturday matinee to see King Kong getting whupped by Godzilla, Rodan buzzing over the streets of Tokyo and the tiny twin fairy ladies singing their praise of Mothra. I didn't know it then but these kinds of movies were part of the "Daikaiju eiga" genre (Japanese giant monster movies) that Mr. Stuart Galbraith writes about so eloquently in his marvelous reference book "Japanese Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films".Absolutely ANY Daikaiju eiga film released in the U.S. that you can remember (...and some that you no doubt have forgotten about! ) are described in this book. From the studios of Toho and Daiei, you will find ALL of the 20+ Godzilla and 7+ Gamera films as well as EVERY other sci-fi movie made by the incredible team of Tomoyuki Tanaka, Ishiro Honda and Eiji Tsuburaya (producer, director and SFX master of the original Godzilla films). Some of the lesser known but still wonderful films discussed include The Mysterians; Attack of the Mushroom People; Kwaidan; Onibaba; The Magic Serpent; Majin Trilogy; Atragon; The H-Man; War of the Gargantuas and Frankenstein Conquers the World. With 424 pages laid out chronologically, Mr. Galbraith provides in-depth detail on more than 103 films including storyline, actors and their roles, production background, release notes and comments from contemporary reviews. Also included is a filmography of the genre from all Japanese studios including cast, crew and Japan/U.S. release information. A rather large bibliography and index complete this masterful work. This book was obviously written with great love and affection for the films at hand - I am quite sure that Daikaiju eiga fans will not be disappointed with their purchase of this book!
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Summary: Informative Overview Of Japanese Fantastic Cinema
Review: Ghosts and monsters of various breeds have haunted Japanese cinemas for decades, recently culminating in the spectacular worldwide success of RINGU and its sequels/remakes. Anyone remotely interested in this strange and hypnotically fascinating sub-genre absolutely needs to read Stuart Galbraith's remarkably entertaining and informative JAPANESE SCIENCE FICTION, FANTASY AND HORROR FILMS, easily the definitive work to date on the subject. Galbraith writes in a breezy and humorous fashion, providing detailed , often witty synopses and brief critical examinations of over one hundred titles, covering any/all films released in the U.S. during the period 1950 - 1992. As such, it affords an excellent historical background to the current and much heralded renaissance of Japanese cinematic horror. Of particular interest is Galbraith's refusal to instantly demean any of the films on hand. He takes the films cultural and artistic differences from the U.S. norm at face value and attempts to succinctly explain any appeal each individual movie might have. This is not say that some of the titles don't get mercilessly slammed--they do, deservedly so. Its just that Galbraith tends to provide a much more thoughtful critique than the usual "Bad Special Effects, Terrible Dubbing" mantra so often spewed out by xenophobic American-based reviewers. The book's final one hundred pages are devoted to a remarkably detailed filmography, with full cast and technical crew credits to every film discussed in the main text. As the author notes, this is easily the most extensive such listing of Japanese fantasy films ever put into print. The filmography in itself makes the book an unqualified necessity for fans of the genre.
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