Colin Odell

Michelle Le Blanc

The animations of Japan's Studio Ghibli are amongst the most highly regarded in the movie industry. Their films rank alongside the most popular non-English language films ever made, with each new release a guaranteed box-office smash. Yet this highly profitable studio has remained fiercely independent, with the studio's founders, long-time animators Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki, producing a stream of imaginative and individual animations. Although their films are distinctly Japanese, their themes are universal: humanity, community and a love for the environment.

The Films of Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata

Studio Ghibli

Anime

Tim Burton (Pocket Essentials)

Stüdyo Ghibli - Hayao Miyazaki ve Isao Takahata Filmleri

Successful in both Japan and the West, Akira had a huge impact on the international growth in popularity of manga and anime. Closely analysing the film and its key themes, Colin O'Dell and Michelle Le Blanc assess its historical importance, its impact on the Western perception of anime, and its influence on science fiction cinema.

Akira

Successful in both Japan and the West, Akira had a huge impact on the international growth in popularity of manga and anime. Closely analysing the film and its key themes, Colin Odell and Michelle Le Blanc assess its historical importance, its impact on the Western perception of anime, and its influence on science fiction cinema.

The animations of Japan's Studio Ghibli are amongst the highest regarded in the movie industry. Their delightful films rank alongside the most popular non-English language films ever made, with each new eagerly-anticipated release a guaranteed box-office smash. Yet this highly profitable studio has remained fiercely independent, producing a stream of imaginative and individual animations. The studio's founders, long-time animators Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki, have created timeless masterpieces.

Pocket Essentials is a dynamic series of books that are concise, lively, and easy to read. Packed with facts as well as expert opinions, each book has all the key information you need to know about such popular topics as film, television, cult fiction, history, and more. John Carpenter has been setting trends and exciting audiences for a quarter of a century. His first two features were a double-whammy virtually unparalleled in modern cinema—the urban re-working of Rio Bravo, Assault on Precinct 13, followed by the first and defining slasher movie, Halloween. Since then Carpenter has worked with low and big budgets, directed stars and unknowns, and enjoyed commercial success and suffered critical failure. But he has consistently produced a stream of entertaining, unpretentious movies some of which—particularly Escape from New York and The Thing—are now regarded as modern classics. In their Pocket Essential to John Carpenter, Michelle le Blanc and Colin Odell examine and analyze every film by this prolific director.

John Carpenter

Tension. Fear. Exhilaration. Atmospheric synthesizers. You're in John Carpenter territory. One of the most iconic directors of American cinema John Carpenter has astonished audiences the world over with his tightly crafted horror, thriller and science-fiction films. Not just a director, Carpenter's talents also extend to writing the screenplays and soundtracks to many of his films. From the existential comedy classic Dark Star through to the terrifying smash hit Halloween, the taut siege of Assault on Precinct 13 to the visceral Vampires there's action and tension all around. But it's not all ghosts from The Fog or horrific mutations in The Thing, there's time for romance in the science-fiction road movie Starman and even for The King himself in the superior bio-pic Elvis - The Movie. John Carpenter's films are always memorable, distinctive and unashamed of their genre roots. The John Carpenter Kamera Book explores his films and his work as a director, composer, writer and producer. It examines Carpenter's influences and style and the films that have, in turn, been influenced by him. An indispensable guide to the ultimate cult auteur.

Eser Ulun

David Lynch

This guide to anime offers an overview of the art form, looking at its development in Japan and its export to other cultures. It includes a history of Japanese animation from early examples to the relaunch of animation as a viable commercial entity and its enormous rise in popularity after WWII. Anime explains the difference between manga and anime, offering a brief history of manga including its development from traditional art form (woodblock prints) to massive commercial success with millions of readers in Japan and worldwide. Odell and Le Blanc also consider anime style and genres, its market and importance in Japanese culture, and its perception in the West including controversy, such as criticisms of sex and violence in anime that affect other national markets, including the UK (notably Urotsukidoji) and the USA, where it is considered a 'kids only' market.

This is the new and fully revised edition of this,essential guide to one of Hollywood's most,respected contemporary directors,whose new film Charlie and the Chocolate,Factory is scheduled for release in summer 2005.,All the films Burton has made -,Beetlejuice, Batman, Edward Scissorhands,Ed Wood - are examined, providing an insight,into this cinematic artist whose films are,financially successful and critically acclaimed.

Tim Burton

Vampire movies are almost as old as film itself. Constantly remade and reinvented for each new generation, the films, like the vampires themselves, adopt many shapes - from the faithful adaptation of Francis Coppola's Dracula (1992) to the art movie approach of Werner Herzog's Nosferatu remake (1979] via the high-school horror of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992). This handy book traces the vampire film from its beginnings to the present day, acknowledging on its way all the classics of vampire cinema from the original Nosferatu (1921) right up to 30 Days of Night (2007) and beyond. From saucy French vampires to hopping Chinese ones, from Hammer horrors to Hollywood blockbusters, whatever your favourite bloodsucker you'll find it here.

The Pocket Essential Guide

Vampire Films

Tim Burton is a contradiction - a film-maker who has a unique style and yet remains grounded in the Hollywood studio system. How can someone who has such a distinctive personal vision survive in an aggressive and increasingly bland marketplace? How can he command such large budgets to realise his ideas? The answer is simple - Tim Burton may well be a cinematic artist but his films are also financially successful. Burton's world is one of outsiders on the periphery of society. His heroes are psychologically scarred, perpetually naïve and childlike, misunderstood or unintentionally disruptive. They are all figures who upset conventional society and morality. Even his villains are rarely without merit; circumstance and society blur the divide between moral fortitude and personal action. But most of all his films have an overriding aura of the fairy tale, the fantastic and the magical. The Pocket Essential Tim Burton looks at the man and his films, from his early shorts right through to his latest blockbusters. It covers the films, their making and their merit. This is the essential companion to Hollywood's premiere magician.

Often subject to more cuts at the hands of the censor than a serial killer's razor, the horror film has a fascinating history, not only as film study but also as a look at what has been considered acceptable for the public to view, and what the state will allow its citizens to see. But for the most part horror films are about entertainment—consistently profitable, eminently enjoyable. From horror cinema’s beginnings in the late 19th century to the latest splatter films, from the chills of the ghost film to the terror of the living dead, there is more than enough here to keep fans awake at night. Among the many films discussed are the popular Dracula, Evil Dead, Frankenstein, Halloween, Ringu, Scream, and The Sixth Sense, as well as the more unusual Black Cat, The Living Dead Girl, Nang Nak, Rouge, and Les Yeux sans Visage. The guide also profiles such popular directors as Dario Argento, John Carpenter, Wes Craven, David Cronenberg, Hideo Nakata, and Sam Raimi; as well as cult directors from around the world, including Coffin Joe, Jean Rollin, and Michele Soavi.

Horror Films

Internationally renowned, David Lynch is America's premier purveyor of the surreal, an artist whose work in cinema and television has exposed the world to his highly personalised view of society. This book examines his entire work, from the cult surrealism of his debut feature Eraserhead to his latest mystery, Inland Empire, considering the themes, motifs and stories behind his incredible works. In Lynch's world the mundane and the fantastical collide, often with terrifying consequences. It is a place where the abnormal is normal, where the respectable becomes sinister, where innocence is lost and redemption gained at a terrible price. And there's always music in the air. From the deserts of a distant world to an ordinary backyard, at the breakneck speed of Lost Highway or the sedate determination of The Straight Story, readers will experience amateur sleuths, messiahs, giants and dwarves, chanteuses, psychopaths, cherry pie and damn fine coffee. David Lynch is your guide to this other world... and this is your guide to David Lynch.

Michelle LeBlanc

The animations of Japan's Studio Ghibli are amongst the most respected in the movie industry. Their delightful films rank alongside the most popular non-English language films ever made, with each new eagerly-anticipated release a guaranteed box-office smash. Yet this highly profitable studio has remained fiercely independent, producing a stream of imaginative and individual animations. The studio's founders, long-time animators Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki, have created timeless masterpieces. Although their films are distinctly Japanese their themes are universal: humanity, community and a love for the environment. No other film studio, animation or otherwise, comes close to matching Ghibli for pure cinematic experience. This Kamera Book examines all their major works, as well the early output of Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, exploring the cultural and thematic threads that bind these films together.

Colin Odell

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