TokyoScope: The Japanese Cult Film Companion (Paperback)

~ Patrick Macias (Author), Happy Ujihashi (Author), Kinji Fukasaku (Author), Takashi Miike (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Patrick Macias' TokyoScope: The Japanese Cult Film Companion. TokyoScope is the first book of its kind: an elegantly designed, engagingly written introduction to the world of Japanese pop films covering Godzilla, karate, gangster, horror, Japan's infamous "pink" movies, and more.

Did you know that Samuel L. Jackson's Biblical speech in Pulp Fiction was borrowed from the brain-damaged Sonny Chiba karate flick The Bodyguard? Or that the design for the Smog Monster in Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster was based on a bathroom sketch of female anatomy? TokyoScope is a densely packed and illustrated volume full of trivia, biographies, poster art, and reviews of some 100 of the top films to see. It provides an attractive and accessible introduction to the world's most notorious movies and is an indispensable reference that belongs in the library of any true cult film fan.

Battle Royale director Kinji Fukasaku, who penned the Foreword to TokyoScope, writes, "In this book you will find as good an analysis of what we were trying to do as I have ever read. Patrick Macias has written very keenly and with much understanding about Japanese films, mine included."

From the Inside Flap

"Back Jacket copy - blubs"

"In this book you will find as good an analysis of what we were trying to do as I have ever read. Patrick Macias has written very keenly and with much understanding about Japanese films, mine included." ‹Kinji Fukasaku, director of Battle Royale

"When it comes to Japanese cinema, there are quite a few books out there if you want to know a lot about Godzilla or Akira Kurosawa. But if you want to know about yakuza films, or great actors like Sonny Chiba and Bunta Sugawara, or Kinji Fukasaku, one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, then there's really only one book to turn to‹TokyoScope: The Japanese Cult Film Companion. An invaluable treasure chest of information regarding films practically unknown to Western audiences, TokyoScope will open you up to a whole new world of cult cinema. Author Patrick Macias writes with an authority that is both informed and entertaining without ever coming across as stuffy or overly academic. Macias is obviously a film fan writing to other film fans, and the only short coming of his book is that over two hundred pages it just isn't long enough.TokyoScope is the best film book to come along this year." ‹David Walker, Bad Azz Mofo

"This authentic recovery of the previously scorned underside of Japanese exploitation cinema delivers the material the way we enthusiasts like it‹ obsessively researched, breathlessly detailed, and jam-packed with critical insights. The writing fairly ripples with specialized intelligence, subcult savvy, and just the right amount of irony‹irresistibly seducing us into the restless and garishly neon-lit Shinjuku streets. Macias¹ unapologetic embrace of this aggressively outsider cinema bursts with bold graphics and bolder adjectives. At last resituates the works against the true psychic tensions of the time‹a search for a national mythology of honor and identity against the angst of a too rapidly modernizing metropolis."

‹Craig Baldwin, director of Tribulation 99

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: VIZ Media LLC; 1 edition (November 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569316813
• ISBN-13: 978-1569316818
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #389,797 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Macias' Masterpiece, May 18, 2007

By	Pat G. (Berkeley, CA) - See all my reviews

Never mind the haters, this book has the goods. An excellent resource and a joy to read, this is the place to start your exploration of some of the most amazing Japanese films you're likely to see in this lifetime. Hip, funny and oh so knowledgable, Macias has written a film companion that you'll be coming back to again and again.

8 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must have, December 6, 2001

By	Wes Black (sterling heights, mi United States) - See all my reviews

I've read everything from Japanese Cinema:The Essential handbook to Eros in Hell and Tokyo Scope beats them all. Patrick Macias's writing is crisp and his knowledge will have even the most hard-core fan in awe. With chapters on filmmakers and idols like Kinji Fukasaku, Takashi Miike, and Sonny Chiba this book will have you locked in for hours upon hours. It also is packed with chapters on the yakuza, giant monsters, horror, and pink films with each loaded to the kilt with interviews and reviews. All of the above and more make this a must have for everyone from people with just a passing interest in Japanese film to the most jaded of asian film junkies.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars educational even for a Japanese cinemaphile, August 20, 2003

By	Mr. Richard K. Weems "emperor_weems" (Fair Lawn, NJ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I wouldn't call myself an expert on Japanese movies, but I do get to every movie festival I can that has Asian features (a great one--the Philapdelphia film festival and their Action Asia selections). I regularly scan the gray market and grab at whatever tickles my fancy even remotely. But this book still provided me with an education. I quibble sometimes with the author's taste, but his breadth of knowledge is undebatable. I now keep this book on my computer desk as I scan for more titles to fuel my little obsession.