Title
 The Toho Studios Story
Author(s)
 Stuart Galbraith IV
Language: English Release: 2008
Publisher: Scarecrow Press Pages: 539
Genre: Non-Fiction ISBN: 081086004X

Preview: Order
(Page previews barred by copyright)
Back Cover
 
Comments
Andrew Nguyen (submission)

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.