Japanese Film

by Chao Chen, Humanities Reference Librarian

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Chao Chen

book cover A Short Guide to Writing About Film by Timothy J. Corrigan. (Tisch book stacks: PN1995 .C66 2010)
Both an introduction to film study and a practical writing guide, this brief text introduces the reader to film terms and the major film theories, serving a great purpose for individuals who want to think and write critically about film.
Movie Reviews vs Film Criticism
Review Criticism
Critical Essay Theoretical Essay
Author written by journalist or staff of newspapers, magazines and trade journals from an entertainment, cultural, or artistic perspective. written by a scholar or other expert in the field of film studies written by a scholar, or other expert in the field of film studies

Audience
aims at the broadest possible audience, the general public with no special knowledge of film
for those who are "at least familiar with the film under discussion, although that reader may not have thought extensively about it."
for advanced students or readers who "posses a great deal of knowledge about specific films, film history, and other writings about film."

Contents


summaries of the plot or discussion of the film in another context (the director's other work, films of the same genre, etc.) that might help the reader understand it.

functions to introduce unknown films and to recommend or not recommend them.


a far more specific focus than that of a review in order to reveal subtleties or complexities that may have escaped viewers, for example, a short sequence at the beginning of the film, or on a camera angle that becomes associated with a specific character.
"Its aim is to explain some of the larger and more complex structures of the cinema and how we understand them." An essay, for instance, on the relation of film and reality, on the political or ideological foundations of the movie industry, or on how film narrative is unlike literary narrative.

tip: always check the Library Catalog to see if there is a newer edition of this book.


Recommended:

book cover

Film Art: An Introduction, 8th ed. PN1995 .B617 2008

Film as art: Creativity, technology and business -- The significance of film form -- Narrative as a formal system -- The Shot: Mise-en-scene -- The Shot: Cinematography -- The relation of shot to shot editing -- Sound in the cinema -- Summary: Style as a formal system -- Film genres -- Documentary, experimental and animated films -- Film criticism: sample analyses -- Film art and film history.


A few more titles to get you started:

Dictionary of Film Terms: The Aesthetic Companion to Film Art. PN1993.45 .B33 2006


Cinema Studies: the Key Concepts. PN1993.45 .H36 2006

This is a dictionary format to key theoretical terms, genres, film theory and film history. It includes an extensive bibliography.


Becoming Film Literate: the Art and Craft of Motion Pictures. PN1994 .L595 2005


Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings. PN1994 .M364 2004


Understanding Movies, 9th ed. PN1994 .G47 2002


Critical Dictionary of Film and Television Theory. Ref: PN1993.45 .C75 2001


How to Read a Film: the World of Movies, Media, and Multimedia: Language, History, Theory; 3rd ed. PN1994 .M59 2000


The Oxford Guide to Film Studies. Ref. PN1995 .O93 1998
Short essays on aspects of film (such as the text, acting, music), critical approaches (e.g., semiotics, psychoanalysis, post-structuralism, feminism), and history (American, European, world).


Film Study: an Analytical Bibliography. Ref. PN1994.Z99 M34 1990
A comprehensive four-volume survey of cinema "through a study of representative genres, stereotypes, themes, comparative media, periods, and film history".



Check the Library Catalog for newer editions of these titles.


International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers (online)

1. A Few Titles to Consult

Time Frames: Japanese Cinema and the Unfolding of History. PN1993.5.J3 N94 2007

Reading a Japanese Film: Cinema in Context. PN1993.5.J3 M365 2006

Archetypes in Japanese Film: the Sociopolitical and Religious Significance of the Principal Heroes and Heroines. PN1993.5.J3 B37 1989

A Hundred Years of Japanese Film: a Concise History, with a Selective gGuide to DVDs and Videos. PN1993.5.J3 R47115 2005

A New History of Japanese Cinema: a Century of Narrative Film . PN1993.5.J3 S72 2005

The Japanese Filmography: a Complete Reference to 209 Filmmakers and the over 1250 Films Released in the United States, 1900 through 1994. PN1993.5.J3 G35 1996

2. History and Culture

The Cambridge Companion to Modern Japanese Culture. DS822.5 .C36 2009 .

Living Japan: Essays on Everyday Life in Contemporary Japan. DS821 .L58 2009

Oxford Reference Online

social, political, religous history; history of ideas; all periods.

Search Oxford Reference Online




 

Japanese Cinema: Texts and Contexts. PN1993.5.J3 J27 2007

book cover

The salaryman's panic time: Ozu Yasujiro's I was born, but...(1932) / Alastair Phillips -- All for money: Mizoguchi Kenji's Osaka elegy (1936) / Mori Toshie -- Turning Serious: Yamanaka Sadao's Humanity and paper balloons (1937) / Freda Freiberg -- Country retreat: Shimizu Hiroshi's Ornamental hairpin (1941) / Alexander Jacoby -- The riddle of the vase: Ozu Yasujiro's Late spring (1949) / Abé Mark Nornes -- History through cinema: Mizoguchi Kenji's The life of O-Haru (1952) / Joan Mellen -- The menace from the south seas: Honda Ishiro's Godzilla (1954) / Yomota Inuhiko -- Seven Samurai and six women: Kurosawa Akira's Seven samurai (1954) / D.P. Martinez --Women's stories in post-war Japan: Naruse Mikio's Late chrysanthemums (1954) / Catherine Russell -- A cinematic creation: Ichikawa Kon's Conflagration (1958) / Keiko I. McDonald -- Modernization without modernity: Masumura Yasuzo's Giants and toys (1958) / Michael Raine -- Questions of the new: Oshima Nagisa's Cruel story of youth (1960) / Mitsuhiro Yoshimoto -- Ethnicizing the body and film: Teshigahara Hiroshi's Woman in the dunes (1964) / Mitsuyo Wada-Marciano -- Dark visions of Japanese film noir: Suzuki Seijun's Branded to kill (1967) / Daisuke Miyao -- Eroticism in two dimensions: Shinoda Masahiro's Double suicide (1969) / Carole Cavanaugh -- Transgression and the politics of porn: Oshima Nagisa's In the realm of the senses (1976) / Isolde Standish -- Unsettled visions: Imamura Shohei's Vengeance is mine (1979) / Alastair Phillips -- Playing with postmodernism: Morita Yoshimitsu's The family game (1983) / Aaron Gerow -- Transgression and retribution: Yanagimachi Mitsuo's Fire festival (1985) / Donald Richie -- Community and connection: Itami Juzo's Tampopo (1985) / Linda Ehrlich -- The imagination of the transcendent: Kore-eda Hirokazu's Maborosi (1995) / David Desser -- Therapy for him and her: Kitano Takeshi's Hana-bi (1997) / Darrell William Davis -- The original and the copy: Nakata Hideo's Ring (1998) / Julian Stringer -- The global markets for anime: Miyazaki Hayao's Spirited away (2001) / Rayna Denison.

arrow Readings on Course Reserves.



arrow WorldCat (catalogs of libraries worldwide)


Procedure Note:

1. Verify if Tufts Library has the book you need.

2. Use ILliad (interlibrary loan service) to request non-Tufts books.



Path of Discovery in the Catalogs

1. Find a title/author (assigned readings/Course Reserves);

2. Note the descriptive language of the Catalog record.

3. Use that language in further searches

  1. e.g. Click on subject/author in the record to see further results and related topics.

Author Iles, Timothy, 1961-
Title The Crisis of Identity in Contemporary Japanese Film: Personal, Cultural, National.
Publisher Leiden; Boston: Brill, 2008.
Subject Motion pictures -- Japan.

Subject Browse on the Masters in the Catalog:



keyword Search in the Catalog:



Tips:

1. Or and ( ) to search either or both words;
2. film* searches for all forms of the word, e.g. film, films, ect.

 


An Advanced Keyword Search in the Catalog

The broad search on Japanese film and culture:
Material Type:

Click here to see search results



Tips:

2. Or and ( ) to search any or all of the words;.
3. " " around phrases, e.g. "motion pictures";
4. cultur* searches for all forms of the word, e.g. culture, cultural, ect.


Some Key Sources:

Film & Television Literature Index

Academic OneFile

Project Muse (current years only); JSTOR (earlier years only).

Film Literature Index 1976-200. (2002-04:Ref. [HUM] Z5784.M9 F45)

Film review index (1882-1985.) Ref. [HUM] PN1995 .F467 1986

Index to Critical Film Reviews. (1923-1971) Ref. Z5784.M9 B64

Retrospective Index to Film Periodicals, 1930-1971.


Browse some of the film studies journals here:

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Click on the number to pause the slide.


Additional Sources:


Bibliography of Asian Studies


MLA (literary studies)


Historical Abstracts

Finding Full Texts

1. Click on the FindItAtTufts button to these three options:

  • a. link to the full text of the article when available digitally;
  • b. link to a Library Catalog search for the journal in print that contains your article.
  • c. link to ILliad for requesting the article when the above two options are negative.

2. Search for a journal directly here:


Movie Reviews in Magazines & Newspapers:

  1. Film & Television Literature Index
  1. Academic OneFile
  1. Book, Movie, Music, Play, And Video Reviews in LexisNexis
  1. Factiva
    Many foreign language press.
  1. Time Magazine (1923-Present)
  1. New York Times Historical Archive, (1851-3 yrs before current date; current years in LexisNexis)
  1. Times Digital Archive  (1785 - 1985)
  • Film Statistics
  1. Academic OneFile
    Tip: Search for "Statistics" box office and other keywords.
  1. ABI/INFORM
  2. Tip: search for "statistics" "ticket sales" and other keywords.
  1. JSTOR
    Tip: Search for "Statistics" and other keywords.
  1. Also use sources under the Reviews Tab

Web Sites

  1. BFI Statistics on film and television
    UK film production, academy awards, box office, etc.
  1. The Hollywood Reporter: Charts
    Movie sales, box office, production budgets, etc.
  1. KORDA
    Database on public funding for the film and audiovisual sector in Europe.
  1. Lumiere
    Database on admissions for films released in Europe.
  1. MERLIN
    Database on legal information relevant to the audiovisual Sector in Europe.
  1. Nielsen EDI
    A Web based system that allows our clients to instantly access real-time film performance on a global, nationwide, regional, local or theatre level.
  1. The Numbers
    The largest freely available database of movie industry information on the Web.
  1. World Wide Box Office
    Current international box office numbers.

Sample Searches in the Catalog for Scripts (screenplays):

  • 2. Published radio, television, and film scripts: a bibliography. Ref. Z7223.S3 P68 (only up to 1975)
  • 3. The Drama Scholars' Index to Plays and Filmscripts. Ref. Z5781 .S17 (1974-1980 only.)
  • 4.Search Play Index for radio and television plays.


arrow WorldCat (catalogs of libraries worldwide)



Procedure Note:

1. Verify if Tufts Library has the book you need.

2. Use ILliad (interlibrary loan service) to request non-Tufts books.


Script Writing

Alternative Scriptwriting: Successfully Breaking the Rules. PN1996 .D36 2002

Creating Unforgettable Characters. PN1689 .S44 1990

How Scripts Are Made. PN1996 .K24 1990

Writing Short Scripts. PN1996 .P58 1999

 

Storytelling in the New Hollywood: Understanding Classical Narrative Technique. PN1996 .T46 1999

The Art of the Storyboard: a Filmmaker's Introduction.PN1995.9 .P7 H42 2008

Filmmaking: Narrative & Structural Techniques.PN1995.9.P7 F63 1992

How to Shoot a Movie and Video Story: the Technique of Pictorial Continuity. Oversize: TR850 .G367 1985


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last updated: 27/07/09