A Critical Handbook of Japanese Film Directors: From the Silent Era to the Present Day

By Alexander Jacoby

Published by Stone Bridge Press

‘A Critical Handbook of Japanese Film Directors’, published by Stone Bridge Press, was launched at the Foundation with a presentation by Alexander Jacoby, chaired by David Robinson.

“There is a real need for Alexander Jacoby’s new comprehensive register of Japanese film directors and their works… There has never been in English a more comprehensive compilation than this, and even many Japanese sources are not this complete.” – Donald Richie

‘A Critical Handbook of Japanese Film Directors’ is an authoritative examination of the work of major directors in the history of Japanese live-action film. It contains profiles of over 150 filmmakers, from Yutaka Abe to Takahisa Zeze, including established masters such as Akira Kurosawa, Kenji Mizoguchi and Yasujiro Ozu and cult names like Kinji Fukasaku, Juzo Itami and Takashi Miike, along with emerging younger talents. Each entry includes a critical summary that discusses the director’s work and its importance, followed by a year-by-year filmography with titles in Romanised Japanese and English. The book also includes an introduction charting the history of the development of film in Japan and an overview of Japanese film companies.

About the contributors