The Japanese Film: Art and Industry

Rutland VT/Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle Company. Very Good in Near Fine dj. 1959. First Edition. Hardcover. (price-clipped; in original slipcase) [good sound copy with no significant shelfwear, although the lower right-hand corner of the text block has suffered some staining which affects about half the book (but is mostly confined to the page edges); the jacket is bright and clean, with just some minor wear at the extremities, no doubt as a result of its being protected by the original slipcase, although the slipcase itself is in poor condition, with heavy dampstaining (see 2nd image posted with this listing)]. (B&W photographs) Classic account, the first in English, of the films and film industry of Japan. Both authors had extensive experience working and/or living in Japan, in particular Richie (1924-2013), who spent the better part of the last sixty years of his life in the country, working as a film critic, filmmaker, journalist, and cultural commentator. Director/screenwriter Paul Schrader once wrote of him: "Whatever we in the West know about Japanese film, and how we know it, we most likely owe to Donald Richie." To supplement its comprehensive overview of Japanese cinema (from both an artistic and industrial standpoint, as the title suggests), the book includes two fold-out charts: one a kind of "genealogy" of the Japanese cinema, delineating "the rigid teacher-pupil relationships among Japanese motion-picture directors, the 'closed system' of recruiting and training directorial talent discussed in Chapter 15"; the other a timeline charting the development of the major Japanese film companies. The Foreword is by Akira Kurosawa, who is pictured in a photograph with the two authors on the rear jacket panel. This is a review copy, with the original publisher's slip laid in; although not indicated anywhere in the book itself, it comes from the collection of longtime New York Times film critic Bosley Crowther; also included is an original Charles E. Tuttle Company bookmark. Too bad the slipcase isn't in better condition, but for what it's worth this is the only slipcased copy I've ever seen. ****NOTE that additional postage charges will be assessed for international shipping of this heavy book; if this concerns you, please contact us for a shipping quote before placing your order. As always at ReadInk, domestic Media Mail shipping is free.**** .