CompleteMartialArts.com - VideoHound's Dragon: Asian Action & Cult Flicks
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List Price: $24.95
Our Price: $10.00
Your Save: $ 14.95 ( 60% )
Availability: N/A
Manufacturer: Visible Ink Press
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 016.7914375095
EAN: 9781578591411
ISBN: 1578591414
Label: Visible Ink Press
Manufacturer: Visible Ink Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 936
Publication Date: 2003-06
Publisher: Visible Ink Press
Studio: Visible Ink Press
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Worth reading over 'n over!
Comment: I've gone through this fun book repeatedly as great guide to remind me of films I want to watch again, unseen films I want to immediately put on my Netflix list and films I want to avoid at all costs. I recommend a copy for each bathroom of your home!
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Essential
Comment: Simply put, if you're a fan of Asian films, or are interested in delving into the wild world of Eartern cinema, this book is a must-own.
To make things clear, this was originally intended solely as a guide to Hong Kong action films. But then the editors made a last-minute decision to include films from all East Asian countries. However, most of the capsules are for HK and Japanese films. There are some Korean, a few Taiwanese and maybe one or two Indian films covered here. The problem with a book like this is that it is virtually impossible to create a comprehensive guide. The world of Asian cinema (especially Hong Kong cinema) is as vast as that of America, meaning, there are tons and tons of titles that aren't covered here, even if they were on DVD at the time this book was written. I can name at least five to ten titles off the top of my head that should be in this book but aren't.
That said, what makes this book invaluable are the capsule reviews themselves. Besides putting to light some of the rarer titles (including some ultra hard-to-find kung fu movies from Taiwan that are nearly impossible to locate on the internet) the writers also provide incredibly detailed plot descriptions. This comes in handy, especially if you're the type of movie-watcher (like myself) who will go to the video store and pick out random titles off the shelf just because the artwork is cool. A lot of times the older kung fu movies are almost impossible to follow plot-wise, and I've spent many times in front of a film with this book on my lap, following along with the description as the actual film played out (this was especially helpful when I accidentally rented PEKING OPERA BLUES without English subtitles!).
So, overall, I'd say this is a great book. It's the only true movie guide to Asian films, and while I would have liked to have seen more Bollywood titles, I really can't complain.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Interesting for it's length...
Comment: but quite often the asides in the book appear to be what is found on the internet.Many of the entries for director and sometimes actors are incorrect. This makes the cross referencing mentioned above useless.
Customer Rating:
Summary: How else could you ever know!
Comment: This amazing book is bursting at the seams with information both insightful and witty about the vast unknown world of asian cinema.
It is great to be able to find a film to fit any wacky mood.
The way you can search so many different criteria and be entertained by informed trivia make this guide indispensible to anyone looking expand their film horizons.
There is a genuine affection for the subject that clearly comes thru in the writing and in the reviews.
I highly recommend this resource.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Strangely lacking
Comment: Though I find the usual Videohound a good referance guide, that cannot be said of this book. Their selection process of what to include seems at best enigmatic and the reviews are often confusing and some down right misleading. I find the book oddly lacking as a guide to Asian cinema purhaps more so given the self-imposed limitation of scope.
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