Apocalypse Then: American and Japanese Atomic Cinema, 1951-1967 Paperback – August 31, 2017

The second-best thing I can say about a book about the movies is that it makes me want to see those movies. The best thing that I can say is that it makes me want to see some movies again that I didn’t like the last time. Mike Bogue’s APOCALYPSE THEN: AMERICAN & JAPANESE ATOMIC CINEMA, 1951-1967 passes both tests.I lived through the dread of nuclear war through the 1950s and 1960s. Mike’s book deals that the movies exploiting those fears. The bomb, nuclear war, radiation, and the aftermath of an atomic holocaust might today seem odd topics for entertainment targeting adolescent and teen audiences but the cinemas and then television were full of them. Mike’s book does include not-aimed-at-the-kids movies like ON THE BEACH, FAIL SAFE, and DR. STRANGELOVE. These are among his best essays, but my heart and interest belongs to the sci-fi genre.Mike conjures what are for me both pleasant and unpleasant memories. Among the pleasant memories are the films that I saw at Saturday matinees and late night television. APOCALYPSE THEN deals with the popular classics (THEM!, THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN, etc.) and some low-to-zero budget films that no one would have imagined being well-remembered today (PHANTOM FROM 10,000 LEAGUES, ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS, etc.)The movies are well-remembered. So much so, that a book on them risks treading familiar ground. Mike handles that by focusing on the real-life threats that each movie addresses (not always obvious) and by contrasting by films from the only country that dropped the Bomb (America) and from the only country that it landed on (Japan). The vast majority of movies on radiation and atomic warfare come from those two nations. But for the endless procession of GODZILLA and its family of monsters, the number of America movies might overwhelm those from the Land of the Rising Sun. Mike sums up the contrasts as “American optimism versus Japanese realism.” I might say “pessimism” rather than “realism,” since the Japanese monsters are no less outlandish. Neither I nor many other people have seen two Japanese movies that give harrowing depictions of nuclear war (1960’s THE FINAL WAR, 1961’s THE LAST WAR). Both sound pretty grim, but Mike’s accounts make me want to see them.,APOCALYPSE THEN is filled with the author’s opinions on the quality of the films and the politics of then and now. I disagree with him a lot. I suspect we are on opposite sides of the never ending Should-American-Have-Dropped-The-Bomb-On-Japan debate, and I would not rank THEM! as highly as Mike does (though I will go along with rating it as the best of the giant-bug movies). I would have preferred that Mike confine his social analyses to the last two chapters, where he gives full vent to his thoughts. These are the best in the book.I learned much from this book, dredged from my memory movies that I had almost forgotten, and learned of few films that I have not seen, but now can’t wait to.

A unique and interesting combination of a film review book and parallel analysis of the differing perspectives between American and Japanese science fiction films of the period in regards to their view of the Bomb and nuclear threat. The book takes a very specific approach and this "atomic" analysis is the best aspect and recommended to anyone interested in the subjects of either the Bomb or the contrasting American and Japanese worldviews about it. The author writes this volume in a causal and personal style which is rather different than other review volumes but appealing. At times the reviews may get off topic, but overall this is a worthy approach that may broaden the perspectives of any genre fan or "atomic scholar" not already intimately familiar regarding how two different nations and cultures viewed the Bomb and how it reflected in their cinema.

Great book by Mike Bouge that focuses on the differences between how American movies and Japanese Movies dealt with the threat of Atomic Devastation. Mike's book not only covers the history of the movie but how and why the different cultures represented perceived them the way that they did. Highly recommend for anyone who is fan of the Atomic Monster Genre!

I have been reading Mike Bogue's articles in G-Fan for years and am very happy to see him finally author a whole book. And on the plus, unlike many authors, Mike didn't simply compile all of his articles into a book but wrote an all new, all original work!This non-fiction tome covers the fascinating parallels between how atomic testing was portrayed in American and Japanese sci-fi movies, and naturally there are differences between the two countries. Fans of the Godzilla films will enjoy the book as most of the films are covered (up to 1967 of course). So whether you are a fan of Japanese monsters or American ones, you will find much to enjoy in this book!PS-Makes a great companion volume to Keep Watching the Skies!

Having read and enjoyed Mike Bogue's first book of fiction, "Atomic Drive-In and Five Other Tales", I was curious to see how he would approach a non-fictional, fact based, book. "Blown away" (not in the Atomic sense) is the only way to describe my reaction! I was carried back to my childhood of the 1960's as Mr. Bogue described in detail so many of the wonderful sci-fi movies I had enjoyed as a boy. But, I also learned a great deal about the world and movies of the mid-twentieth century. To be clear, this in not a book I would have looked for, I bought it simply because of the author and was not disappointed. It held my attention from beginning to end. Highly recommend.

This book was a lot of fun to read! Fun screenshots and mini descriptions of films actually got me to find and view some of them after reading it. The author is strict about making sure the films he reviews have direct correlation to atomic power and energy in some way. Easy to read but not lacking in interesting history and views on the Atomic Age. As a fan of classic cinema (especially giant monsters) I would recommend this for any vintage monster movie fan looking to learn more about how film makers treated and used atomic energy in their various depictions.

This book is a must have for anyone who is a fan of the atomic movies made by the U.S. and Japan during the 50s and 60s. Mike Bogue does an excellent job at chronicling the sci-fi and horror films that thrilled the atomic generation with it's mutants, scenes of nuclear war , and giant monster attacks.This book is a must have for anyone who is a fan of the atomic films of the 50s and 60s.

As always, Mr. Bogue has done his homework! This book has been well-researched and documented. I would consider this to be the definitive source on the differences between Japanese and American cinematic depiction of our entrance into the atomic age of nuclear destructiveness. It is a thought provoking work that should be the topic of many discussions on the potential for nuclear destruction. Well done!