A book
project that began in the mid 1990s, this publication
was released in May 2008 and was written by Stuart
Galbraith IV, who is a well known film commentator
of Japanese films, including the Godzilla productions.
This book is an exhaustive list of Toho's releases
from its very beginnings in 1933 to the end of 2007.
Essentially, this publication is a list of all
of the films produced by Toho and includes well
known productions such as: the Godzilla entries,
the movies done by Akira
Kurosawa, and anime films. Many of the movies
listed have never been seen in America, and many
created by directors that have, for the large part,
remained unknown outside of Japan. For the listings,
each film has its title (in many different forms),
production crew and then actor crew (Japanese then
American if needed) for the movie being covered,
information about the studios involved and finally
additional notes, which include a small summary
of the movie. A large number of the films also have
information about their releases in America. This
includes the year it was released in the states
as well as English actors who were involved.
Before the book turns to dealing with Toho's filmography,
it first talks about acknowledgements to all that
had worked to put the book together. One of the
key points is that the book states that Toho did
not participate in its creation. Next, it provides
an overview of the history of the studio from its
conception in 1933 to the present day in the 21st
century. The next part of the publication then explains
how the information was gathered and organized.
After the filmography, there are several appendixes
and indexes, which cover different things related
to the films. These include a list of important
events in the history of the studio, theaters Toho
owned overseas, important movie series, bibliography,
a list of the films in their official English titles
with another list (similar to the previous list)
again (this time in the Japanese titles as well
their English translation). Finally, the personnel
index covers those that worked on Toho films whether
they were actors or part of the production crew.
Although undoubtedly a well-researched book, its
purpose as mostly a filmography coupled with its
hefty price may persuade customers to think hard
before buying it.
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