Classical Japanese Cinema Revisited

Catherine Russell's highly accessible book approaches Japanese cinema as an industry closely modeled on Hollywood, focusing on the classical period - those years in which the studio system dominated all film production in Japan, from roughly 1930 to 1960.

Respectful & thoroughly informed about the aesthetics & critical values of the Japanese canon, Russell is also critical of some of its ideological tendencies, & her analyses provide new insights on class & gender dynamics. Russell locates Japanese cinema within a global system of reception, & she highlights the importance of the industrial production context of these films.

Including studies of landmark films by Ozu, Kurosawa & other directors, this book provides a perfect introduction to a crucial & often misunderstood area of Japanese cultural output. With a critical approach that highlights the "everydayness" of Japanese studio-era cinema, Catherine Russell demystifies the canon of great Japanese cinema, treating it with fewer auteurist & Orientalist assumptions than many other scholars & critics.