Japanese Cinema: Film Style and National Character.

This book makes Japanes movies accessible to Western audiences. It is a succinct history of Japanese film through 1970 as well as an exploration of Japanese culture. The book is comprehensive and discusses both well-known classics and popular films. The author does a good job of establishing the historical basis for the important post-war films. The book includes numerous stills from over 75 films, and a great appendix are great tools for building a film buffs must-see list!