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Product Description
Nikkatsu Action - the film genre that taught a generation of Japanese the meaning of cool! This book is Volume 2 of the Cinema Classics Collection from FAB Press. Drawing inspiration from Hollywood and the French New Wave, Nikkatsu Action pictures blended East and West showing the gritty realities of life in postwar Japan, from the hot jazz clubs and glam cabarets of the Ginza to the foggy loneliness - and danger - of the Yokohama docks at midnight. Made by a fresh crop of talented directors in their twenties and early thirties, including the legendary Seijun Suzuki, and featuring young stars like Ishihara, Akira Kobayashi and Keiichiro Akagi, Nikkatsu Action defined the meaning of cool for a whole generation. As the 1950s gave way to the 1960s, Nikkatsu moved with the times, going Pop with a bang in films like Yasuharu Hasebe's Black Tight Killers and Suzuki's Tokyo Drifter and Branded to Kill, while raising a new crop of stars like Tetsuya Watari, Tatsuya Fuji and Meiko Kaji - the fiery, take-no-nonsense star of the Stray Cat Rock series. More than thirty years later the Nikkatsu Action legacy lives on. Recent popular releases of Nikkatsu films such as Stray Cat Rock: Sex Hunter on DVD show the genre's enduring appeal. The first ever book in English devoted entirely to the hugely influential film genre, Nikkatsu Action, No Borders, No Limits is packed with colour illustrations. Includes a history of the studio, profiles of stars and directors, film reviews and career interviews with Joe Shishido, Toshio Masuda and Seijun Suzuki.
About the Author
Mark Schilling has been living in Tokyo since 1975 and reviewing Japanese films for The Japan Times since 1989. He is now the Japan correspondent for Variety. Schilling has written hundreds of articles on Japan, contributing to Newsweek and Time, while writing the books The Encyclopedia of Japanese Pop Culture, Contemporary Japanese Film and The Yakuza Movie Book - A Guide to Japanese Gangster Films. Since 2001, Schilling has also been a program advisor to the Udine Far East Film Festival, Italy, and has placed articles in magazines as diverse as Film Quarterly and Film Threat.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
No borders, no limits - Nikkatsu action cinema - no, it's not referring to maniacal sword flailing Samurai warriors or men-in-suits monster movies! I now know that Nikkatsu was an incredibly prolific Japanese film studio which had been around since 1912 in the silent film days & had an output of some 7000 films up to about 1971, so it would require a volume resembling the Yellow pages to analyse each one !
Instead the author discusses the careers of some essential actors & actresses - Ishihara / Kobayashi / Akagi & Watari for example, Akagi being nicknamed `Tony' because of his resemblance (?!) to a young Tony Curtis ! The girls, Kitahara / Asaoka, Ashikawa & Kaji are discussed and there are plenty of photos of these cuties ! Noteworthy directors are also included - Toshio Masuda / Koneyoshi Kurahara ( love these names !) Seijun Suzuki & Yasuharu Hasebe ! There are also interviews with Masuda & Joe Shishido which are full of amusing and insightful anecdotes !
Loads of colour & black and white photos are peppered throughout the book.
As for the genre, well it can't really be pigeonholed as the films related to gangsters, loners, bikers, nightclub dancers & even the occasional tentative foray into soft porn.
The value of this book is that it highlights movies that are an important part of Japanese culture - the next step would be try to find them...Ebay.japan, perhaps ?!
A highly entertaining & informative book in handy size & an excellent addition to the FABpress library of the unusual !
Instead the author discusses the careers of some essential actors & actresses - Ishihara / Kobayashi / Akagi & Watari for example, Akagi being nicknamed `Tony' because of his resemblance (?!) to a young Tony Curtis ! The girls, Kitahara / Asaoka, Ashikawa & Kaji are discussed and there are plenty of photos of these cuties ! Noteworthy directors are also included - Toshio Masuda / Koneyoshi Kurahara ( love these names !) Seijun Suzuki & Yasuharu Hasebe ! There are also interviews with Masuda & Joe Shishido which are full of amusing and insightful anecdotes !
Loads of colour & black and white photos are peppered throughout the book.
As for the genre, well it can't really be pigeonholed as the films related to gangsters, loners, bikers, nightclub dancers & even the occasional tentative foray into soft porn.
The value of this book is that it highlights movies that are an important part of Japanese culture - the next step would be try to find them...Ebay.japan, perhaps ?!
A highly entertaining & informative book in handy size & an excellent addition to the FABpress library of the unusual !
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is an interesting read and communicates to us western audiences that Japanese cinema is not all Kurosawa and Ozu. Japan loved the action and borderless appeal of Nikkatsu's pictures and stable of stars (my favourites being Tetsuya Watari and Meiko Kaji)more than the classics that we are often force fed. These sun tribe stars provided glamour and escapism for a youth living in the relative aftermath of a crushing war.
The book states that it originated from interviews and notes from a film festival. That is at times obvious. I would have prefered a fuller book, Mark Shilling writes an excellent introduction and I'd be curious to read more of his opinions and knowledge.
4 * because it completes it's task wonderfully. If it was expanded upon for a new edition I'm quite sure it would be 5*
Now all we need is for the films mentioned in the text to be more widely available in the UK.
The book states that it originated from interviews and notes from a film festival. That is at times obvious. I would have prefered a fuller book, Mark Shilling writes an excellent introduction and I'd be curious to read more of his opinions and knowledge.
4 * because it completes it's task wonderfully. If it was expanded upon for a new edition I'm quite sure it would be 5*
Now all we need is for the films mentioned in the text to be more widely available in the UK.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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2 reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Black Tight Killers and Yakuza Graveyards
23 July 2008
Format:Paperback
At some time in the late 1950's, Japanese film got cool. Really cool. The Western influences of cowboy flicks, bop jazz and big American cars imported during the Post-occupation era left a powerful mark, and movie makers discovered how to distill all of these foreign ingredients into their base elements, then mix them together with Japanese style to produce a unique genre known as the "borderless action" film. The term comes from the merging of East and West, creating a world with the best of both, filled with hardboiled hoodlums and beautiful but deadly dance hall girls.
Looking to re-jump their business, which had been put on hold during the War years, Nikkatsu studios was the cutting edge of this new style, pumping out hits and rising stars the likes of which had never been seen before. Starting with Sun Tribe flick Crazed Fruit, which introduced superstar Ishihara Yujio, Nikkatsu dug into the amoral world of Japan's youth. Sex, drugs and jazz & roll. It wasn't the lifestyle everyone was leading, but it was the one everyone wanted to be leading.
Mark Schilling's "No Borders, No Limits" is a history lesson on the Nikkatsu action films. An often underappreciated genre, these films rarely held the West's appreciation in the same way as the Samurai genre, probably due to their lack of "Japanese-ness" with nary a ninja nor geisha in sight. However, due largely to Tarantino bringing things full circle by producing Nikkatsu-influenced Kill Bill and the Grindhouse series, there has been a renewed and deserved interest in the Nikkatsu golden age.
Understanding the relative unfamiliarity, Schilling has put together a guided tour through these borderless territories, introducing you to the major players, the actors and directors whose energy and youth made these dynamic flicks popular. Essentially a series of articles rather than a continuous book, Schilling introduces such powerhouses as the Nikkatsu Diamond Line, the four young men who could bring a nation of women to their knees with a well-placed swagger or snarl of the lip, and Suzuki Seijun, whose sometimes bizarre style would cause him to be fired by his own study, but become legendary overseas.
On top of that, there are a few interviews, including the fabulous Shishido Joe (Youth of the Beast, Tokyo Drifter) and director Masuda Toshio (Girl Boss Revenge). It is great to read the personal stories and opinions of these film giants, and to get a glimpse backstage. Full color reproductions of the posters for the various films are and added treat as well, giving you a taste of the style and flair found in the Nikkatsu of this time.
If there is any problem with "No Borders, No Limits", it is that DVD companies have not kept up. You are going to want to see pretty much every flick that gets showcased, but not all of them are readily available. Some of the famous ones, like Stray Cat Rock: Sex Hunter, will wet your appetite but leave you hungry for gems like "A Colt is my Passport" and "Slaughter Gun". However with the current revival and recognition of Nikkatsu action flicks, these will be likely to be released soon.
Looking to re-jump their business, which had been put on hold during the War years, Nikkatsu studios was the cutting edge of this new style, pumping out hits and rising stars the likes of which had never been seen before. Starting with Sun Tribe flick Crazed Fruit, which introduced superstar Ishihara Yujio, Nikkatsu dug into the amoral world of Japan's youth. Sex, drugs and jazz & roll. It wasn't the lifestyle everyone was leading, but it was the one everyone wanted to be leading.
Mark Schilling's "No Borders, No Limits" is a history lesson on the Nikkatsu action films. An often underappreciated genre, these films rarely held the West's appreciation in the same way as the Samurai genre, probably due to their lack of "Japanese-ness" with nary a ninja nor geisha in sight. However, due largely to Tarantino bringing things full circle by producing Nikkatsu-influenced Kill Bill and the Grindhouse series, there has been a renewed and deserved interest in the Nikkatsu golden age.
Understanding the relative unfamiliarity, Schilling has put together a guided tour through these borderless territories, introducing you to the major players, the actors and directors whose energy and youth made these dynamic flicks popular. Essentially a series of articles rather than a continuous book, Schilling introduces such powerhouses as the Nikkatsu Diamond Line, the four young men who could bring a nation of women to their knees with a well-placed swagger or snarl of the lip, and Suzuki Seijun, whose sometimes bizarre style would cause him to be fired by his own study, but become legendary overseas.
On top of that, there are a few interviews, including the fabulous Shishido Joe (Youth of the Beast, Tokyo Drifter) and director Masuda Toshio (Girl Boss Revenge). It is great to read the personal stories and opinions of these film giants, and to get a glimpse backstage. Full color reproductions of the posters for the various films are and added treat as well, giving you a taste of the style and flair found in the Nikkatsu of this time.
If there is any problem with "No Borders, No Limits", it is that DVD companies have not kept up. You are going to want to see pretty much every flick that gets showcased, but not all of them are readily available. Some of the famous ones, like Stray Cat Rock: Sex Hunter, will wet your appetite but leave you hungry for gems like "A Colt is my Passport" and "Slaughter Gun". However with the current revival and recognition of Nikkatsu action flicks, these will be likely to be released soon.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
First Rate!!!
8 Jan 2008
Format:Paperback
Kudos and accolades are in order for Mr. Schilling's herculean efforts in helping to spread the word regarding the wonderful world of Nikkatsu Action Cinema to English-speaking movie buffs!
This book is an absolutely marvelous introduction to a sadly overlooked body of brilliant, vibrant films that are every bit as exciting and entertaining today as they were in Nikkatsu studio's glory days of the 1950's and 1960's.
The text is as crisp and clean as one of Ishihara Yujiro's suits and reads as smoothly as ace killer, Shishido Jo, can dispatch a contract. And if that isn't reason enough to snag a copy of this book ASAP-- the many photo illustrations are more than worth the price of admission.
Excellent stuff!
Arigato gozaimasu, Mark Schilling-san!!
This book is an absolutely marvelous introduction to a sadly overlooked body of brilliant, vibrant films that are every bit as exciting and entertaining today as they were in Nikkatsu studio's glory days of the 1950's and 1960's.
The text is as crisp and clean as one of Ishihara Yujiro's suits and reads as smoothly as ace killer, Shishido Jo, can dispatch a contract. And if that isn't reason enough to snag a copy of this book ASAP-- the many photo illustrations are more than worth the price of admission.
Excellent stuff!
Arigato gozaimasu, Mark Schilling-san!!
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