THE TOPMAN'S GUIDE: JAPANESE CINEMA

Everything You Need To Know To Sound Like A True Expert
By Fred Paginton

Ever since we watched the ultra-ultra-violent splatter-fest Shogun Assassin (much sampled by Wu-Tang) at a tender twelve years old we been obsessed with Japanese movies. Sure, to many, this may not be the first port of call when finding a film to settle into for the evening due to that age-old "lost in translation" problem. Sure, Japanese cinema may have bypassed your movie back catalogue, but as one of the world's oldest, not to mention largest film industries, we feel it is imperative that you embrace all of the mystifying elements it brings, allowing yourself to become an overnight sensationalist of this art form. For instance, how can you sleep at night knowing that the Hollywood silver screen depiction of a giant plastic mutant dinosaur (Godzilla) terrifically butchered a 20th century classic featuring, yep, a giant plastic mutant dinosaur? Furthermore, in failure and sheer ignorance of not recognising the multi-faceted director Takeshi Kitano being up there with the true filmmaking greats we all adhere to, will undoubtedly cause a profound dent on your trivial film knowledge at the pub quiz. Okay, this is not a five-step guide of the Far East, nor do we promise to teach you the complexities of the language and cultural aspects of the form. We merely provide you with this Topman's guide to Japanese cinema in the hope that you become a more rounded and clever-seeming individual.

1. As mentioned earlier, Takeshi Kitano is one of Japanese cinema's most respected filmmakers. Creating exquisite works for over twenty years, Kitano quickly became a cultural figure through his dark poetic storytelling and his ability to transition seamlessly between seriousness, violence, beauty and comedy. When referencing Kitano use his film Hana-bi (Fireworks) as the prime example. And when asked to describe what it is about simply say, "It is a gangster movie rendered with the soul of a painter." Excellent.

2. Any guide, especially a Topman one, concerning this subject simply has to include an anime and there is, in our mind, none more thrilling than the twisted world of Akira. Anime is often the first windows into understanding the larger world of Japanese culture. Akira expresses a profound disillusionment with the rapid technological growth of the country and its youth culture, while at the same time worshipping them both. It's gruelling and gripping animation at its finest - and it's very, very violent.

3. When commenting on the "golden age" of Japanese Cinema, you should refer to the 50s as a defining era, harnessing gems such as the incredibly long Seven Samurai (on which The Magnificent Seven was based), Rashomon and Tokyo Story.

4. If you are asked to pick your favourite Japanese actor, look to the Clint Eastwood (of the East) Ken Takakura, punk.

5. If you want to look like a true aficionado of the cult films in the catalogue of Japanese cinema there is nothing better to mention than Shogun Assassin. Based on an old proverbial tale entitled Wolf & Cub, it tells the story of a father and an infant who go on a revenge rampage slicing off heads aplenty. Not to mention feet, with the wheels of the infant's pram.

Fred Paginton is editor of The Topman Guide for Topman GENERATION and writes for Dazed & Confused, Dazed Digital and Bomb Magazine