Arrow Video, the British distribution label responsible for bringing a number of our favorite genre films to Blu-ray, is about to expand their scope and tackle the book market. This isn’t an entirely new development as they previously released the wonderful Cult Cinema: An Arrow Video Companion, but it does appear as if they company is going to start diving more into the world of the written word beginning with two new releases on August 15th — Unchained Melody: The Films of Meiko Kaji and Ghost in the Shell.
Cult Cinema is the ultimate coffee table book for genre fans so I’m eager to see Arrow Books pump out more. Plus anytime Meiko Kaji is getting love, well that’s reason to celebrate.
Unchained Melody: The Films Of Meiko Kaji by Tom Mes
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 or on Amazon
Ghost In The Shell by Andrew Osmond
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
