Customer Reviews

Asian Pop Cinema: Bombay to Tokyo

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A fast, fact-filled tour of Asian movies from the well known spots like Hong Kong and Japan to the more obscure like the Phil. and Thailand. Lots of interesting information, nice illustrations and good writing style.

The author obviously has a feel for what's hip in pop culture, given his past works (including several books on Film Noir and Pulp Fiction PB Covers) and this Asian cinema primer is no exception. He touches all the correct bases as far as action & sexploitation Hong Kong Cinema (John Woo, Tsui Hark, Ringo Lam, Naked Killer, Sex & Zen), Bollywood (insane musical numbers and over-the-top HK-style action co-exist with incredibly ham-fisted acting and prudish "no-kissing" sexual mores) and Japanese cinema (current flaves of the month: Beat Takeshi Kitano of Fireworks & Sonatine fame and Seijan Suzuki of 60s yakuza art films). But this is just the frosting on the critical cake, scratching the surface of topics that deserve, nay require, more in-depth analysis and reporting. Still, the pix are great and chapters on Korean and Thai and Phillipines cinema are interesting. Fans whose interest is stirred will want to explore more in-depth analyses of the subject matter in Pete Tombs' MONDO MACABRO and Bey Logan's HONG KONG BABYLON.

I'm the author of "Celluloid Mavericks: A History of American Independent Film." I've never met Mr. Server, but I can highly recommend his book. He covers all the COOL STUFF from samurai films to soft-core porn to outrageous pop animation. This is all illustrated with a wealth of truly gorgeous full-color photos. In the past two decades much of the most exciting cinema in the world has come from the East. Let this book be your guide to these amazingly entertaining films.

More than time has passed since Asian Pop Cinema was published in 1999; the knowledge of Asian Cinema has become more ubiquitous with an abundant amount of DVDs and books that have been released since. For example, when writing about Thai movies he completely ignores Panna Rittikrai B action films that were plentiful and popular during the 80s and 90s, but it is hard to fault because they were not well known outside of Thailand until the popularity of Tony Jaa. Only five pages (and one of them a picture) are dedicated to Korean films. This would not happen if this book was written today with the brilliant, disturbing and unique cinema that comes out of South Korea.

Lee Server seems to favor filling too much information on erotica films (such as Japanese pinku or Philippine bomba films) while interesting are a bit disproportionate when considering the thesis of his book is "pop."

Several interviews with John Woo, Tomoaki Hosoyama, Jose Lacaba are the highlights of this book and a good reason to get it if you are an Asian movie fan as long as this book remains inexpensive.

The books works well as a primer glossing over cinema from Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Philippines, Southeast Asia and India. It is weird that he has two specific chapters on Seijun Suzuki and Takeshi Kitano while ignoring most other directors or just barely mentioning them. Though even if you have a good knowledge of Asian cinema you are bound to get some idea of a future cinematic purchase (or rental) and this is where the book succeeds.

If Eros in Hell has whetted the appetite for another cursory glance at Far East films, then Lee Server's book is for you. A well-written and dazzlingly laid-out book, Asian Pop Cinema is chock full of information for someone with little or no knowledge of Asian film. For those who've seen a smattering of Woo, Yimou, or Kurosawa, this book offers little information that isn't common knowledge among Eastern cinema fans. Like the films of Tsui Hark, Asian Pop Cinema looks nice but doesn't offer much entertainment. (ISBN: 0811821196) -

With this passionately researched and skillfully presented book, Lee Server just might open the gate a crack and enable a treasure trove of cinema to enter the English-language cultural milieu. Server approaches films that have often been overlooked or degraded by film critics and historians in the United States and he renders them stunningly in concise descriptions that are aided by bright, exciting visuals. While every chapter leaves me screaming for more information, the book is an immensely accomplished overview, and its sharp and intelligent text gives us just enough information to thoroughly wet my appetite.

In addition to his skill in presenting films to us, Server also proves to be the most accomplished of interviewers. He gets to the core of his interviewees art, and, through interviews with John Woo, Tomoso Hosokai, Eddie Romero, and others he reveals to us the passion and intelligence that makes these filmmakers important.

Who is Mr. Server? He seems to have come from a background of books on animals and pulp novelists. I have never been too interested in Sharks or Lions before, but after Server's performance with this book, I wouldn't be surprised if he made those subjects fascinating, as well. Bravo to Lee Server!

The author obviously has a feel for what's hip in pop culture, given his past works (including several books on Film Noir and Pulp Fiction PB Covers) and this Asian cinema primer is no exception. He touches all the correct bases as far as action & sexploitation Hong Kong Cinema (John Woo, Tsui Hark, Ringo Lam, Naked Killer, Sex & Zen), Bollywood (insane musical numbers and over-the-top HK-style action co-exist with incredibly ham-fisted acting and prudish "no-kissing" sexual mores) and Japanese cinema (current flaves of the month: Beat Takeshi Kitano of Fireworks & Sonatine fame and Seijan Suzuki of 60s yakuza art films). But this is just the frosting on the critical cake, scratching the surface of topics that deserve, nay require, more in-depth analysis and reporting. Still, the pix are great and chapters on Korean and Thai and Fillipino cinema are interesting. Fans whose interest is stirred will want to explore more in-depth analyses of the subject matter in Pete Tombs' MONDO MACABRO and Bey Logan's HONG KONG BABYLON.