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 or on Amazon.
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.