Film history, theory or criticism Books

Book SynopsisA NEW YORK TIMES CRITICS'' TOP BOOK OF THE YEAR • BOOKLISTS'' EDITOR''S CHOICE • ONE OF NPR''S BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR“At once a film book, a history book, and a civil rights book.… Without a doubt, not only the very best film book [but] also one of the best books of the year in any genre. An absolutely essential read.” —ShondalandThis unprecedented history of Black cinema examines 100 years of Black movies—from Gone with the Wind to Blaxploitation films to Black Panther—using the struggles and triumphs of the artists, and the films themselves, as a prism to explore Black culture, civil rights, and racism in America. From the acclaimed author of The Butler and Showdown.Beginning in 1915 with D. W. Griffith''s The Birth of a Nation—which glorified the Ku Klux Klan and became Hollywood''s fi

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Book SynopsisFeaturing a new Afterword by the author.Illuminating the dark side of the American century, The Monster Show uncovers the surprising links between horror entertainment and the great social crises of our time, as well as horror''s function as a pop analogue to surrealism and other artistic movements. With penetrating analyses and revealing anecdotes, David J. Skal chronicles one of our most popular and pervasive modes of cultural expression. He explores the disguised form in which Hollywood''s classic horror movies played out the traumas of two world wars and the Depression; the nightmare visions of invasion and mind control catalyzed by the Cold War; the preoccupation with demon children that took hold as thalidomide, birth control, and abortion changed the reproductive landscape; the vogue in visceral, transformative special effects that paralleled the development of the plastic surgery industry; the link between the AIDS epidemic and the current fascination with vampires; and much more. Now with a new Afterword by the author that looks at horror''s popular renaissance in the last decades, The Monster Show is a compulsively readable, thought-provoking inquiry into America''s obsession with the macabre.

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Book SynopsisFrom the celebrated film critic and author of The Biographical Dictionary of Film--an essential work on the preeminent, indispensable movie directors and the ways in which their work has forged, and continues to forge, the landscape of modern film.Directors operate behind the scenes, managing actors, establishing a cohesive creative vision, at times literally guiding our eyes with the eye of the camera. But we are often so dazzled by the visions on-screen that it is easy to forget the individual who is off-screen orchestrating the entire production--to say nothing of their having marshaled a script, a studio, and other people's money. David Thomson, in his usual brilliantly insightful way, shines a light on the visionary directors who have shaped modern cinema and, through their work, studies the very nature of film direction. With his customary candor about his own delights and disappointments, Thomson analyzes both landmark works and forgotten films from classic

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Book SynopsisOnce upon a time, if you wanted to know if a movie was worth seeing, you didn’t check out Rotten Tomatoes or IMDB.You asked whether Siskel & Ebert had given it “two thumbs up.”On a cold Saturday afternoon in 1975, two men (who had known each other for eight years before they’d ever exchanged a word) met for lunch in a Chicago pub. Gene Siskel was the film critic for the Chicago Tribune. Roger Ebert had recently won the Pulitzer Prize—the first ever awarded to a film critic—for his work at the Chicago Sun-Times. To say they despised each other was an understatement.When they reluctantly agreed to collaborate on a new movie review show with PBS, there was at least as much sparring off-camera as on. No decision—from which films to cover to who would read the lead review to how to pronounce foreign titles—was made without conflict, but their often-antagonistic partnership (which later transformed into genuine friendship) made for great television. In the years that followed, their signature “Two thumbs up!” would become the most trusted critical brand in Hollywood.In Opposable Thumbs, award-winning editor and film critic Matt Singer eavesdrops on their iconic balcony set, detailing their rise from making a few hundred dollars a week on local Chicago PBS to securing multimillion-dollar contracts for a syndicated series (a move that convinced a young local host named Oprah Winfrey to do the same). Their partnership was cut short when Gene Siskel passed away in February of 1999 after a battle with brain cancer that he’d kept secret from everyone outside his immediate family—including Roger Ebert, who never got to say goodbye to his longtime partner. But their influence on in the way we talk about (and think about) movies continues to this day.

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Book SynopsisCelebrate more than 100 years of magical Disney storytelling.The ideal gift for Disney, animation, and movie fans! From Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to Wish, Mary Poppins to The Little Mermaid, Disneyland to Tokyo DisneySea, and fireworks to fan clubs, explore the captivating worlds and creations of Disney and Pixar.Now including more than 50 new pages and updated with ten more years of magic for Disney’s special 100th anniversary, The Disney Book: New Edition features groundbreaking and record-breaking creations—including Encanto, Moana, and Turning Red—and explores theme parks, experiences, memorabilia, and more. Marvel at beautiful art and artefacts from The Walt Disney Company’s vast historical collections, and discover live-action and animated movie-making, enchanting parks, and fascinating collectibles. Follow Disney's history using the timeline, and delve into t

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Book SynopsisEveryone loves the movies, and the movie posters in this book provide a colorful visual history of the movies, from the early silent days to the big blockbusters of recent years. The evolution of the dream factory is charted through spectacular graphics used by individual studios to advertise their movies. Posters, like the films they represent, demonstrate stylistic developments, in response to changing social and political conditions, throughout the 20th century. The glamour, pathos and sheer drama of Hollywood through the decades is colorfully brought to life in over 400 illustrations of rare and collectible movie posters. This book provides an entertaining appreciation of the evolution of Hollywood and cinematic poster art, as well as a guide to the value of this advertising material. This collectors guide enables instant understanding and identification in one volume. Essential to the novice buyer and an invaluable visual reference for experienced collectors, this book is a celebr

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Book SynopsisRare promotional photos of stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood posing for holiday-themed images Marvelously illustrated with more than 200 rare images from the silent era through the 1970s, this joyous treasure trove features film and television's most famous actors and actresses celebrating the holidays, big and small, in lavishly produced photographs ranging from high art to kitsch. Join the stars for festive fun in celebrating a variety of holidays, from New Year's to Saint Patrick's Day to Christmas and everything in between. Legends such as Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Crawford, Judy Garland, and Audrey Hepburn spread holiday cheer throughout the calendar year in iconic, ironic, and illustrious style. These images, taken by legendary stills photographers, hearken back to the Golden Age of Hollywood, when motion picture studios devised elaborate publicity campaigns to promote their stars and to keep their names and faces in front of the movie-going public all year round.Trade ReviewKultguys Keep website featured an extensive review of this title in February 2016. "A nostalgic treasure trove from cinemas Golden Age... The books authors, Mary Mallory and Karie Bible, have given each picture a lively caption that evokes the advertorial style that was commonplace in vintage magazines like Photoplay and Modern Screen. Its makes for a fun read, while the short bios provide some valuable trivia that movie buffs will lap up."Each page of the book is crammed with glossy black and white and colour photographs with more stars than in the heavens as the old MGM adage goes, each page celebrating holidays beginning with New Year through to Christmas and everything in between including St. Patricks Day and 4th July, each represented by a separate chapter. What is clear is how twisted, bizarre and surreal some of these images are such as the smiling but sadistic Thanksgiving images silent star Mary Philbin sharpening her blade in front of a giant turkey. Few of these pictures, no matter how beautifully composed or shot are anything short of disturbed and at the very least kitsch. Rich in imagery but less in text this perfect coffee table is a nice soak to the brain. - Chris Hick Filmwerk.co.uk March 2016

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Book SynopsisThe perfect small-format, one-stop resource to appreciating and understanding films from Hollywood to Bollywood. Following the success of Isms: Understanding Art and Isms: Understanding Architectural Styles, this guide sorts the great classic films and directors according to the significant movements that have shaped the development of cinema. Beginning with the early silent era, it spans the entire range of movie history up to the present wave of indie films and the growing fascination with international cinema. Each spread is devoted to a distinct movement and explains when it first emerged, the principal directors, themes, and representative films, and is illustrated with film stills, posters, and photos. Important international cinematic breakthroughs are also highlighted, as well as the careers of international auteurs like Kurosawa, Fellini, and Almodóvar. From prewar Expressionism to twenty-first-century Dystopianism, Film Isms… offers an engaging, new way of understaTrade Review“For your favorite film buff: a handy little resource guide about movie history.” ~LAmag

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Book SynopsisHumanities, film studies, and social science scholars will find this book a valuable contribution to the philosophical literature on cinema and its pertinence in contemporary life.Trade ReviewMarrati's slender but incisive treatment of Deleuze's unification of philosophy with the art of cinema is an indispensable work for new and advanced Deleuze scholars grappling with the thick weave of film analyses cum philosophical expositions... Essential. Choice Beautifully written and expertly translated, Paola Marrati's Gilles Deleuze: Cinema and Philosophy brings much needed clarity to Deleuze's two monumental works on cinema. -- Joe Hughes Rain Taxi Review of Books Readers looking for an introduction to Deleuze's work on cinema will find it in Marrati's evident commitment to precision and her remarkable clarity in the face of a series of notoriously complex texts. -- Alexander Thimons Scope A surprising, rewarding, and insightful text that breaks new ground, Cinema and Philosophy does a great service: it helps us believe in a 'new' and compelling future for Deleuzian studies of film and philosophy. -- Meredith C. Ward MLN Marrati's highly informative and carefully argued book touches on significant elements of the link between cinema and philosophy in Deleuze's work. This is a stimulating, sharp and keenly argued book. Analysis and MetaphysicsTable of ContentsPreface to the English-language EditionAcknowledgmentsFrequently Cited TextsIntroduction1. Images in Movement and Movement-Images2. Cinema and Perception3. The Montage of the Whole4. Postwar Cinema5. The Time0Image6. Images and Immanence: The Problem of the WorldConclusionAppendix: A Lost Everyday: Deleuze and Cavell on HollywoodNotesWorks CitedIndex

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Book SynopsisLike the majority of Dixon's films, The Fall of a Nation has been lost, but had it survived, it might well have taken its place alongside The Birth of a Nation as a masterwork of silent film.

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Book SynopsisIn the postwar era, producers and consumers of cinema began to demand more freedom to make and view movies that accurately portrayed the complexities of real life.Trade ReviewA splendid consideration of the paradox of cultural freedom in a society where the buck matters most. - David Steigerwald, author of Culture's Vanities: The Paradox of Cultural Diversity in a Globalized World

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Book SynopsisCombined film study, studio history, and cultural analysis, Hollywood Under Siege closely examines the film that jeopardized and reenergized Martin Scorsese's career and served as flash point for the ongoing ideological conflicts between Hollywood and the religious right.

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Book SynopsisMankiewicz ( All About Eve [1950], Guys and Dolls [1955], Cleopatra [1963]) and the nephew of Citizen Kane screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz, Tom Mankiewicz was genuine Hollywood royalty.Trade Review“…a treasure trove of observations and anecdotes about Hollywood from the 1960s to the 1980s and the people who made movies back then.” Associated Press

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Book SynopsisFirst study to focus on the work of the Ten: their short stories, plays, novels, criticism, poems, memoirs, and, of course, their films.

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Book SynopsisTelling portrait of the filmmaker who revolutionised the musical and changed the world of choreography.Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Prologue Actress and Son In Formation The Show Fixer A Cyclopean Vision The Cinematerpsichorean The Cancerous Tire Post-Traumatic Inspiration Buzz's Babes Art and Audacity The Stage Debacle Inconsolable One Last at Bat Jumping, Tapping, Diving Out of Sight The Ringmaster Remember My Forgotten Director The Figurehead The Palmy Days Epilogue On Busby Berkeley's Memoirs Appendix Notes Index

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Book SynopsisClarence Brown (1890-1987) worked with some of Hollywood's greatest stars. In a career spanning five decades, Brown was nominated for five Academy Awards and directed ten different actors in Oscar-nominated performances. Clarence Brownexplores the forces that shaped a complex man who left an indelible mark on cinema.

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Book SynopsisUses films and television shows to guide readers to a deeper understanding of enduring issues in international politics. In this unique and insightful volume, author Mark Sachleben demonstrates that popular culture reflects societal beliefs about the world, and that the messages captured on television and film transcend time and place.Trade ReviewSachleben argues that television and films can be very useful instruments for helping us learn about world politics, and he gives us insights into the popular culture that surrounds these media and is perhaps also driven by them. He provides a process for 'reading' films and countless examples of how to do this in a thoughtful and reasoned way. A very polished, thorough, thoughtful, and insightful volume."" - Patrick J. Haney, coeditor of American Foreign Policy in a New Era""World Politics on Screen addresses a subject that has been neglected in the literature, yet is of significant importance and increasing interest. With its interdisciplinary approach, integrating the literatures of political science, history, and even sociology with a wide selection of films, the volume will be an excellent text in the growing number of undergraduate courses devoted to politics and film."" - Bruce Altschuler, author of Acting Presidents: 100 Years of Plays about the Presidency""It has taken our discipline decades to come up with an global politics text book that meets students where they are. World Politics on Screen is thoughtful, deep, and relevant. Students will like World Politics on Screen because of the popular culture aspect which is fun but also a great way to learn the discipline. Faculty will like it because it keeps the students engaged (which makes our job easier) and it treats the content with respect. Both sides win."" - Koop Berry, Professor of Government and Foreign Affairs and Director of the Honors Program at Walsh University""Casablanca. Star Wars. Slum Dog Millionaire. The Godfather. Men in Black. Escape in Mark Sachleben's book weaving film and history. He offers a lively and panoramic discussion of how film has reflected, and continues to mirror, global political issues. He seamlessly blends the major ideas and currents of international politics with movies from around the world since the early 20th century. Sachleben gives us reason to enjoy the classics all over again, but this time with a deeper appreciation of their connection to time, place, and purpose. And Simpsons' fans will not be disappointed!"" - Joan Serafin Andorfer, Frostburg State University""Exceptional, insightful and accessible to undergraduate students and advanced scholars alike, this superb foray into international relations, cinema and popular culture adroitly mines the messages of a diverse array of films, connecting the theory and practice of world politics. Encouraging critical thinking and engaged citizenship, the topical chapters consider intransigent and evolving dilemmas facing the planet by employing films that provide crucial context and alternative perspectives, thus illuminating the roots of the tragedy and terror, evolution and enlightenment, hope and progress that define the human condition."" - Kevan M. Yenerall, Professor of Political Science, Clarion University

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Book SynopsisHighlights the director's theories of suspense as well as his magician-like touch when negotiating with code officials.Table of ContentsOrigin of the Code Censors at Work The British Board of Film Censors The British Gaumont Thrillers Hitchcock and Selznick Rebecca (1940) Foreign Correspondent (1940) Mr. and Mrs. Smith (1941) Suspicion (1941) Saboteur (1942) Shadow of a Doubt (1943) Lifeboat (1944) Spellbound (1945) Notorious (1946) The Paradine Case (1947) Hitchcock and Transatlantic Rope (1948) Under Capricorn (1949) Hitchcock and Warner Bros. Stage Fright (1950) Strangers on a Train (1951) I Confess (1953) Dial M for Murder (1954) Hitchcock in Ascendance Rear Window (1954) To Catch a Thief (1955) The Trouble with Harry (1955) The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) The Wrong Man (1956) Vertigo (1958) North by Northwest (1959) Psycho (1960) The Birds (1963) Marnie (1964) Torn Curtain (1966) Television Censorship Alfred Hitchcock Presents The Decline of the Code The Rise of the Rating System Topaz (1969) Frenzy (1972) Family Plot (1976) Conclusion

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Book SynopsisReconstructing American Historical Cinema explores Hollywood's pivotal interpretations of national history during the height of the studio system.

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Book SynopsisThe American World War II film depicted a united America, a mythic America in which the average guy, the girl next door, the 4-F patriot, and the grieving mother were suddenly transformed into heroes and heroines, warriors and goddesses. The Star-Spangled Screen examines the historical accuracy - or lack thereof - of films about the Third Reich, the Resistance, and major military campaigns. Concerned primarily with the films of the war years, it also includes discussions of such postwar movies as Battleground (1949), Attack! (1956), The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), and Patton (1970). This revised edition includes new material covering recent films such as Saving Private Ryan (1998), JoJo Rabbit (2019), Pearl Harbor (2001), and Dunkirk (2017), and their place in the war movie tradition. The Star-Spangled Screen makes a major contribution to popular culture by recreating an era that, for all its tragedy, was one of the most creative in the history of American film.

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Book SynopsisWhen one thinks of the quintessential Frenchman, one likely pictures Jean Gabin (1904-1976). The son of music hall performers, the Paris-born actor grew up in the entertainment business. His onscreen debut in the 1930''s marked the beginning of many memorable roles in films such as La Grande Illusion (1937) and Émile Zola''s La Bête Humaine (1938). His performances would earn him international recognition and establish his reputation as one of the greatest stars of film noir.Pausing his performances on screen, Gabin joined the Allied struggle of WWII. Serving under General Charles De Gaulle in the Free French Forces as a tank commander, Gabin was awarded several medals for his service. Upon his return to acting after the war, he became the embodiment of the uniquely French spirit - a persona that would define his future roles. In Jean Gabin: The Actor Who Was France, Joseph Harriss tells the story of this French icon. This well-researched biography documents Gabin''s life from his star

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Book SynopsisA celebration of a timeless classic, this companion volume, timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the release of the iconic film, is the perfect book for any fan of Audrey Hepburn or the cinema. This gorgeously illustrated tribute to Breakfast at Tiffany's is the only official companion to be published in association with Paramount Pictures and the Audrey Hepburn estate. It celebrates the film's ongoing popularity:complete with candid behind-the-scenes photos, facsimiles of the shooting script, full-color reproductions of the poster art, a special section on the costumes, the score for Moon River, and much more. Many of the illustrations included have never been published before.Breakfast at Tiffany's features a top-notch cast, including George Peppard, Mickey Rooney, and Patricia Neal, yet Holly Golightly was the role that transformed Audrey Hepburn into a movie icon. Dressed by Hubert de Givenchy, directed by the infamous Blake Edwards, and brandishing the trTrade Review"Rizzoli has released an exquisite tribute to Truman Capote's magical vision of Manhattan with Breakfast at Tiffany's The Official 50th Anniversary Companion." ~The New York Times"One of the great moments in a movie classic and to mark its 50th anniversary a handsome book has been published It is as elegant to behold as the late Hepburn herself. Even the cover with silver lettering on Tiffany blue paper looks like a gift from the famous Fifth Avenue jewelry store. Breakfast at Tiffany's was a wonderful movie and this is a fine tribute to it." ~Courier Journal"This (along with the DVD) is a perfect gift for movie buffs." ~JoyHog.com

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Book SynopsisAn NPR Books We Love 2022Age of Cage might be the closest we will get to understanding the singular beauty of each of Nic Cage's always electric performances. You are holding the Rosetta Stone for Cage. Enjoy it.Paul Scheer, actor, writer and host of the How Did This Get Made? and Unspooled podcastsIcon. Celebrity. Artist. Madman. Genius. Nicolas Cage is many things, but love him, or laugh at him, there''s no denying two things: you've seen one of his many films, and you certainly know his name. But who is he, really, and why has his career endured for over forty years, with more than a hundred films, and birthed a million memes?Age of Cage is a smart, beguiling book about the films of Nicolas Cage and the actor himself, as well as a sharp-eyed examination of the changes that have taken place in Hollywood over the course of his career. Critic and journalist Keith Phipps draws a

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