Ever read the booklet included in a deluxe edition home video release and wish they were bigger? While we’re a culture that has embraced digital, there’s still a good feeling in opening a book and seeing the stills from the set of a movie. They just never seem right in the bonus features on the disc. The fine folks at Arrow Video are now going beyond their booklets with Arrow Books. The next two installments should appeal to fans of tough female action heroes. Unchained Melody: The Films Of Meiko Kaji explores the cinema impact of the actress behind Lady Snowblood and Female Prisoner Scorpion. Ghost In The Shell covers the cult anime film. Both should prove pleasing to fans who enjoy touching pages. Here’s the press release from Arrow Books:
Arrow Books
Summer 2017 Release Schedule
Unchained Melody: The Films Of Meiko Kaji by Tom Mes (August 15)
Ghost In The Shell by Andrew Osmond (August 15)
Following the success of their lavish debut book last year, Cult Cinema: An Arrow Video Companion, in August Arrow Books are releasing two brand new film books: Asian cinema expert Tom Mes explores the extraordinary world of the queen of Japanese action cinema in Unchained Melody: The Films Of Meiko Kaji, while Anime authority Andrew Osmond examines the the story behind the visionary 1995 classic Ghost In The Shell.
With specially commissioned cover artwork, and jam-packed with new interviews and illustrated with colour stills and promotional materials, the books are a genuinely exciting and highly collectable addition to any self-respecting film fan’s bookshelves.
Unchained Melody: The Films Of Meiko Kaji by Tom Mes (August 15)
MEIKO KAJI – QUEEN OF THE JAPANESE ACTION FILM!
The first ever book devoted to the iconic Japanese actress, star of Lady Snowblood and Female Prisoner Scorpion, who defined a decade of cult cinema, creating an archetype of female strength that was equal parts ferocious and mysterious.
Written by Japanese cinema expert, Tom Mes, one of the founders of Midnighteye.com, and author of books on cult filmmakers Takashi Miike and Shinya Tsukamoto, the book traces Kaji’s extraordinary career from teen model to critically-lauded and versatile actress for master directors including Kinji Fukasaku and Kon Ichikawa; as well as looking at a singing career that would introduce her to an international audience as the musical cornerstone to Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill.
It can be pre-ordered at the MVD Shop
Ghost In The Shell by Andrew Osmond (August 15)
A visionary science fiction classic that was largely overlooked on release, Ghost In The Shell has grown in stature with the support of such Hollywood fans as James Cameron and the Wachowskis, and in 2017 was controversially remade as a live-action blockbuster, starring Scarlett Johansson.
Anime authority Andrew Osmond traces the paths of the Japanese talents who came together to make the original 1995 film, including maverick director Mamoru Oshii, as well as the original manga creator, Masamune Shirow; explores the figure of Kusanagi, the film’s iconic cyborg heroine who’s both a James Bond-style killer and a contemplative philosopher; and examines Ghost In The Shell’s debts to Blade Runner and Japan’s intriguing tradition of robot fantasies.
It can be pre-ordered at the MVD Shop or on Amazon
Editor’s Notes
Part of Arrow Films, one of the UK’s leading distributors of independent, arthouse and world cinema, Arrow Books brings you the best in film writing, covering iconic films, filmmakers and actors. Arrow Books launched in 2016 with Cult Cinema: An Arrow Video Companion a lavishly illustrated hardback book with contributions from the world’s top genre film writers and a foreword by director Ben Wheatley.
Arrow Academy Official Channels
https://www.facebook.com/ArrowAcademy
https://twitter.com/Academy_Arrow
https://www.instagram.com/ArrowAcademy
