Download or read book The Gangster and the Samurai written by Katsura and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2014-01-27 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fate is a fickle thing, fortune a double edged sword. "Being born into wealth and privilege may be the dream of most, but a fat, friendless child with no company but his books will find that money brings no real comfort. I was such a child and came quickly to the conclusion that to endure the mundane is not compulsory when one can retreat to one's thoughts and live the life of a samurai. I chose my own path. An existence of honour and adventure which I shared with my beloved fellow warrior, Hyung. Even I, at times, thought him to be a figment of my imagination, so when he appeared as a flesh and blood man in the offices of the Yakuza organisation, the Tatakai-gumi, my world was turned upside down." Kanno Sakamoto is a renaissance man. Homosexual, archer, swordsman, gardener, chef, pianist, gangster and fantasist - here he tells his own story. A dark, often humorous and sometimes challenging tale of love, lust and murder which is not for the faint of heart.
Download or read book The Gangster Film Reader written by Alain Silver and published by Hal Leonard Corporation. This book was released on 2007 with total page 428 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the 1930s the gangster film in the United States coincided with a very real and very sensational gangsterism at large in American society. Little Caesar (1931), The Public Enemy (1931), and Scarface (1932) borrowed liberally from the newspapers and books of the era. With the release of just these three motion pictures in barely more than a year's time, Hollywood quintessentially defined the genre. The characters, the situations, and the icons-from fast cars and tommy-guns to fancy fedoras and fancier molls-established the audience expectations associated with the gangster film that remain in force to this day. As with their Film Noir Reader series, using both reprints of seminal articles and new pieces, editors Silver and Ursini have assembled a group of essays that presents an exhaustive overview of this still vital genre. Reprints of work by such well-known film historians as Robin Wood, Andrew Sarris, Carlos Clarens, Paul Schrader, and Stuart Kaminsky explore the evolution of the gangster film through the 1970s and The Godfather. Parts 2 and 3 comprise two dozen newer articles, most of them written expressly for this volume by Ursini and Silver. These case studies and thematic analyses, from White Heat to the remake of Scarface to "The Sopranos," complete the anthology.
Download or read book The Soldier and the Samurai written by Katsura and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2015-10-04 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When dreams come true, they often herald the start of a nightmare. Kanno Sakamoto, billionaire, yakuza and fantasist, returns in a tale of murder, revenge and political skullduggery. Having been released from the institution on the orders of Oishi Noburu, the leader of one of Tokyo's most notorious clans, Kanno finds himself at the mercy of the Oyabun, his devious son, Katashi - and the brutal enforcer, Kawai. Not only is he expected to marry the boss's daughter, he is press-ganged into running for the post of governor in the prefectural elections. Initially viewing the plot as an opportunity to get back at his former brotherhood, the Tatakai-gumi and their charismatic leader, Kazuo Kurosawa, he soon realises that his life is heading dangerously out of control. Can he escape the clutches of the Noburu-ya men? And will the return of his beloved Hyung mean salvation - or a descent into further insanity? In this, the sequel to both The Gangster and the Samurai and Money, Bullets and Swag, Katsura and Yuramei present one of their most popular, yet challenging characters, in another dark, but often humorous story. Peppered with a healthy amount of passion and intrigue, The Soldier and the Samurai is a must for fans of Kanno's unique narrative style. Contains explicit sex and graphic violence.
Download or read book Samurai Code written by Don Easton and published by Dundurn. This book was released on 2010-07-26 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After a cheap handgun sets Jack on the trail of a heroin importer, he winds up in the lair of one of the largest Yakuza crime families, caught in a deadly clash of criminal cultures. This intriguing, suspense-packed novel is the fourth in the Jack Taggart Mystery series, continuing the story of Loose Ends, Above Ground, and Angel in the Full Moon. This time, the implacable Mountie Jack Taggart goes undercover to follow the trail of a cheap “Saturday-night special” handgun found at the scene of a murder. He traces the gun from the manufacturer to the person it was stolen from, and through several criminals, until the trail leads him to a suspected heroin importer. Posing as an Irish gangster to penetrate the criminal organization, Taggart discovers that the real crime boss is a mysterious figure out of Asia. Alone and without backup in the lair of one of the largest Yakuza organized crime families in Japan, Taggart finds himself caught in a deadly clash of criminal cultures.
Download or read book A Companion to the Gangster Film written by George S. Larke-Walsh and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2018-11-12 with total page 552 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A companion to the study of the gangster film’s international appeal spanning the Americas, Europe, and Asia A Companion to the Gangster Film presents a comprehensive overview of the newest scholarship on the contemporary gangster film genre as a global phenomenon. While gangster films are one of America’s most popular genres, gangster movies appear in every film industry across the world. With contributions from an international panel of experts, A Companion to the Gangster Film explores the popularity of gangster films across three major continents, the Americas, Europe, and Asia. The authors acknowledge the gangster genre’s popularity and examine the reasons supporting its appeal to twenty-first century audiences across the globe. The book examines common themes across all three continents such as production histories and reception, gender race and sexuality, mafia mythologies, and politics. In addition, the companion clearly shows that no national cinema develops in isolation and that cinema is a truly global popular art form. This important guide to the gangster film genre: Reveals how the gangster film engages in complex and contradictory themes Examines the changing face of the gangster film in America Explores the ideas of gangsterism and migration in the Hispanic USA, Latin America and the Caribbean Discusses the wide variety of gangster types to appear in European cinema Contains a review of a wide-range of gangster films from the Americans, Europe, and Asia Written for academics and students of film, A Companion to the Gangster Film offers a scholarly and authoritative guide exploring the various aspects and international appeal of the gangster film genre.
Download or read book Yakuza written by David E. Kaplan and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2003-02 with total page 438 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A fascinating study of how criminal enterprise can infect the very heart of modern capitalism. Here is the backstage world of political influence and organized crime in the world's second largest economy... by far the most detailed and even-handed study of this important and neglected subject."—John W. Dower, author of Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II Reviews of original edition: "A superb study of Japan's underworld that is both entertaining and revealing. The authors miss none of the color and curious detail of the yakuza style, but at the same time go far beyond surface observations."—Far Eastern Economic Review "The book is laden with fascinating information, some of it heretofore unavailable in English."—Washington Post "Blend the Mafia with the Masons. Let them simmer a while, then fold in the Ku Klux Klan and you'll have the yakuza…. Important and timely…Yakuza will serve for years as the source document on Japanese organized crime."—San Jose Mercury News "State-of-the-art investigative reporting…must reading for those who consider themselves already highly conversant with yakuza activities…disturbing."—Journal of Asian Studies
Download or read book Musui s Story written by Katsu Kokichi and published by University of Arizona Press. This book was released on 2023-02-21 with total page 202 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A series of picaresque adventures set against the backdrop of a Japan still closed off from the rest of the world, Musui's Story recounts the escapades of samurai Katsu Kokichi. As it depicts Katsu stealing, brawling, indulging in the pleasure quarters, and getting the better of authorities, it also provides a refreshing perspective on Japanese society, customs, economy, and human relationships. From childhood, Katsu was given to mischief. He ran away from home, once at thirteen, making his way as a beggar on the great trunk road between Edo and Kyoto, and again at twenty, posing as the emissary of a feudal lord. He eventually married and had children but never obtained official preferment and was forced to supplement a meager stipend by dealing in swords, selling protection to shopkeepers, and generally using his muscle and wits. Katsu's descriptions of loyalty and kindness, greed and deception, vanity and superstition offer an intimate view of daily life in nineteenth-century Japan unavailable in standard history books. Musui's Story will delight not only students of Japan's past but also general readers who will be entranced by Katsu's candor and boundless zest for life.
Download or read book French Cinema written by Rémi Fournier Lanzoni and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2015-10-22 with total page 633 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To a large extent, the story of French filmmaking is the story of moviemaking. From the earliest flickering images of the late nineteenth century through the silent era, Surrealist influences, the Nazi Occupation, the glories of the New Wave, the rebirth of the industry in the 1990s with the exception culturelle, and the present, Rémi Lanzoni examines a considerable number of the world's most beloved films. Building upon his 2004 best-selling edition, the second edition of French Cinema maintains the chronological analysis, factual reliability, ease of use, and accessible prose, while at once concentrating more on the current generation of female directors, mainstream productions such as The Artist and The Intouchables, and the emergence of minority filmmakers (Beur cinema).
Download or read book Executive Samurai written by John Dur and published by . This book was released on 2013-08 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bill is a young manager working in Japan on a fast track up the corporate ladder. Doubts emerge when he discovers a rampant case of industrial espionage involving a chain of players on both sides of the Pacific, including the Japanese mafia. Who will survive the long and ruthless arm of the mafia, amidst the chaos of fledgling relationships, personal vendettas, fraud and exploitation? "A gangster-filled debut business drama about an American fast-food company in 1970s Japan. When Bill Sanford, an up-and-coming financial analyst, visits his company s Japanese subsidiary, it sets off a fast-paced series of betrayals, seductions and corporate upheaval. Executives turn out to be involved in illegal and unethical activities, including insider trading and yakuza alliances and as betrayals mount, the body count climbs, in graphic detail. The omniscient narration moves smoothly from one set of scheming characters to another and closely entwines its American and Japanese storylines. Overall, the book is a quick, highly engaging read; even the frequent bursts of financial projections and retail strategy keep the story moving." "A solid thriller that s just right for those looking for some corner-office downtime reading."- Kirkus book reviews"
Download or read book American Gangster Cinema written by F. Mason and published by Springer. This book was released on 2002-11-28 with total page 203 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Much analysis of gangster movies has been based upon a study of the gangster as a malign figuration of the American Dream, originally set in the era of the Depression. This text extends previous analysis of the genre by examining the evolution of gangster movies from the 1930s to the contemporary period and by placing them in the context of cultural and cinematic issues such as masculinity, consumerism and technology. With a close examination of many films from Scarface and Public Enemy to Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction , this book provides a fascinating insight into a topical and popular subject.
Download or read book The Samurai s Wife written by Laura Joh Rowland and published by Minotaur Books. This book was released on 2000-04-25 with total page 565 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A compelling murder mystery set in seventeenth-century Japan, filled with finely drawn characters and suspenseful plot twists, Laura Joh Rowland's The Samurai's Wife is a novel as complex, vivid, and artful as the glorious, lost world it portrays. Far from the Shogun's court at Edo, Most Honorable Investigator Sano Ichiro begins the most challenging case of his career. Upon the insistence of his strong-willed and beautiful wife Reiko, Sano arrives with her at the emperor's palace to unmask the murderer--who possesses the secret of kiai, "the spirit city," a powerful scream that can kill instantly. A high Kyoto official is the victim. Treading carefully through a web of spies, political intrigue, forbidden passions, and intricate plots, Sano and Reiko must struggle to stay ahead of the palace storm--and outwit a cunning killer. But as they soon discover, solving the case means more than their survival. For if they fail, Japan could be consumed in the bloodiest war it has ever seen...
Download or read book The Dreams of Interpretation written by Catherine Liu and published by U of Minnesota Press. This book was released on with total page 407 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rethinking the importance of Sigmund Freud’s landmark book The Interpretation of Dreams a century after its publication in 1900, this work brings together psychoanalysts, philosophers, cultural theorists, film and visual theorists, and literary critics from several continents in a compilation of the best clinical and theoretical work being done in psychoanalysis today. It is unique in convening both theory and practice in productive dialogue, reflecting on the encounter between psychoanalysis and the tradition of hermeneutics. Collectively the essays argue that Freud’s legacy has shaped the way we think about not only psychology and the nature of the self but also our understanding of politics, culture, and even thought itself. Contributors: Willy Apollon, Gifric; Karyn Ball, U of Alberta, Edmonton; Raymond Bellour, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Patricia Gherovici, Philadelphia Lacan Study Group and Seminar; Judith Feher-Gurewich, New York U; Jonathan Kahana, New York U; A. Kiarina Kordela, Macalester College; Pablo Kovalovsky, Clinica de Borde; Jean Laplanche, U of Lausanne; Laura Marcus, U of Sussex; Andrew McNamara, Queensland U of Technology; Claire Nahon; Yun Peng, U of Minnesota; Gerard Pommier, Nantes U; Jean-Michel Rabat, Princeton U; Laurence A. Rickels, U of California, Santa Barbara; Avital Ronell, New York U; Elke Siegel, Yale U; Rei Terada, U of California, Irvine; Klaus Theweleit, U of Freiburg-im-Breisgau; Paul Verhaege, U of Ghent, Belgium; Silke-Maria Weineck, U of Michigan. Catherine Liu is associate professor of comparative literature and film and media studies at the University of California, Irvine. John Mowitt is professor and chair of cultural studies and comparative literature at the University of Minnesota. Thomas Pepper is associate professor of cultural studies and comparative literature at the University of Minnesota. Jakki Spicer received her Ph.D. in cultural studies and comparative literature from the University of Minnesota.
Download or read book Sayonara Gangsters written by Genichiro Takahashi and published by Vertical. This book was released on 2004-04 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Here is an awesomely inventive novel about language, expression, and the creative process that courageously refuses to take refuge in pretentious inaccessibility. No literal description of Sayonara, Gagsters' plot could ever do it justice--you gotta read it to understand it.
Download or read book Jim Jarmusch written by Sara Piazza and published by Reaktion Books. This book was released on 2015-05-15 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jim Jarmusch: Music, Words and Noise is the first book to examine the films of Jim Jarmusch from a sound-oriented perspective. The three essential acoustic elements that structure a film— music, words and noise—propel this book’s fascinating journey through his work. Exploring the director’s extensive back catalogue, including Stranger Than Paradise, Down By Law, Dead Man, and Only Lovers Left Alive, Sara Piazza’s unique reading reveals how Jarmusch created a form of “sound democracy” in film, in which all acoustic layers are capable of infiltrating each other and in which sound is not subordinate to the visual. In his cultural melting pot, hierarchies are irrelevant: Schubert and Japanese noise-bands, Marlowe and Betty Boop, can coexist easily side-by-side. Developing the innovative idea of a “silent-sound film,” Piazza identifies prefiguring elements from pre-sound-era film in Jarmusch’s work. Highlighting the importance of Jarmusch’s treatment of sound, Piazza investigates how the director’s distinctive reputation consolidated itself over the course of a thirty-year career. Based in New York, Jarmusch was able to develop a fiercely personal vision far from the commercial pressures of Hollywood. The book uses wide-ranging examples from music, film, literature, and visual art, and features interviews with many prominent figures, including Ennio Morricone, Luc Sante, Roberto Benigni, John Lurie, and Jarmusch himself. An innovative account of a much-admired body of work, Jim Jarmusch will appeal not only to the many fans of the director but all those interested in the connections between sound and film. Visit the author's page for this book: http://jimjarmusch-musicwordsandnoise.com
Download or read book Fools and Jesters in Literature Art and History written by Vicki K. Janik and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 1998-05-21 with total page 571 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jesters and fools have existed as important and consistent figures in nearly all cultures. Sometimes referred to as clowns, they are typological characters who have conventional roles in the arts, often using nonsense to subvert existing order. But fools are also a part of social and religious history, and they frequently play key roles in the rituals that support and shape a society's system of beliefs. This reference book includes alphabetically arranged entries for approximately 60 fools and jesters from a wide range of cultures. Included are entries for performers from American popular culture, such as Woody Allen, Mae West, Charlie Chaplin, and the Marx Brothers; literary characters, such as Shakespeare's Falstaff, Rabelais' Gargantua and Pantagruel, and Singer's Gimpel; and cultural and mythological figures, such as India's Birbal, the American circus clown, the Native American Coyote, Taishu Engeki of Japan, Hephaestus, Loki the Norse fool, schlimiels and schlimazels, and the drag queen. The entries, written by expert contributors, are critical as well as informative. Each begins with a biographical, artistic, religious, or historical background section, which places the subject within a larger cultural and historical context. A description and analysis follow. This section may include a discussion of the fool's appearance, gender role, ethical and moral roles, social function, and relationship to such themes as nature, time, and mortality. The entry then discusses the critical reception of the subject and concludes with an extensive bibliography of general works.
Download or read book The Dynamics of Cultural Counterpoint in Asian Studies written by David Jones and published by SUNY Press. This book was released on 2014-03-01 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Essays on a wide range of areas and topics in Asian studies for scholars looking to incorporate Asia into their worldview and teaching. Contributors give contemporary presence to Asian studies through a variety of themes and topics in this multidisciplined and interdisciplinary volume. In an era of globalization, scholars trained in Western traditions increasingly see the need to add materials and perspectives that have been lacking in the past. Accessibly written and void of jargon, this work provides an adaptable entrée to Asia for the integration of topics into courses in the humanities, social sciences, cultural studies, and global studies. Guiding principles, developed at the East-West Center, include noting uncommon differences, the interplay among Asian societies and traditions, the erosion of authenticity and cultural tradition as an Asian phenomenon as well as a Western one, and the possibilities Asian concepts offer for conceiving culture outside Asian contexts. The work ranges from South to Southeast to East Asia. Essays deal with art, aesthetics, popular culture, religion, geopolitical realities, geography, history, and contemporary times. This volume truly lies at the intersection of scholarship and teaching. Each essay has the potential to help rethink approaches to scholarly issues, and there is a great deal of material for classroom discussion and examples. The books breadthcovering India, China, Korea, the Sea of Malay, Bhutan, and other locationsis impressive. Robert André LaFleur, Beloit College
Download or read book The Gangster s Wife written by David Leslie and published by Random House. This book was released on 2011-01-18 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For almost four decades, Margaret 'Mags' McGraw was a keeper of secrets. Her husband, Tam, the notorious 'Licensee', amassed a fortune by leading a safe-cracking gang before masterminding a spectacular £50-million drugs racket. Mags was a devotee of Tarot cards and fortune telling, so when Tam and his associates wondered whether luck would be with them, it was to her that they turned. But Mags discovered that the cards warned of much more than years in prison cells: they predicted death. She learned that her own husband was also doomed to a fate that was unexpected by everyone but her: Tam died in the arms of the wife he called his 'rock' while her secret lover frantically tried to save him. In The Gangster's Wife, Mags reveals her gripping life story, from being a London clippie through often hilarious days running an ice-cream van during the infamous Glasgow Ice Cream Wars to managing a notorious bar, being agony aunt to the toughest criminals around, hiding a secret love and sharing a life with The Licensee.
