Movies Books

This is an extremely well researched book regarding the African-American film industry, which is a very neglected area of the business. I highly recommend it.

This book chronicles the evolution of Black Film and Black people in films from the racist depiction of Blacks in Griffith's Birth of a Nation through the Black Diaspora to Spike Lee.

A great read

Geoffrey O'Brien. Now here's a truly fabbalicious writer despite the faggy-pretentious Brit-git spelling of his first name. I recently saw his piece about the Christopher Plummer/Jonathan Miller production of KING LEAR. And I'm here to berate Geoff for not mentioning a certain ultra-mentionable thing. Namely, the mere fact that stage-actors are capable of memorizing all of that dialog. A capability that strikes me as being far more miraculous than the play itself (which is pretty corny).

CASTAWAYS contains a piece about a movie called LAURA. And LAURA contains a policeman played by Dana Andrews. And I love what Geoff said about him: "In the dead center of the movie, at its witching hour, he sits up all night looking at her picture, smoking cigarettes, pouring himself one drink after another."

Memo to Geoff: That scenario also happens to be *my* scenario. That's *me*, Geoff. That's me vis-a-vis you. In the dead center of my afterlife, at its witching hour, I sit up all night looking at your book-jacket pics and guzzling Thunderbird in your haunted wine cellar.

I once had the great, albeit far too brief, pleasure of working for Geoffrey O'Brien. I say this not only to reveal subjectivity on my part, when it comes to his work, but to proclaim that, in addition to his being a keen critic, a lapidary-sublime-limpid writer of prose, an accomplished poet, and a man with more than encyclopedic knowledge of everything from Beach Boys lyrics to Shape-Note singers to the work of obscure naturalist painters, I know that he is, as F. Scott Fitzgerald would say, "fun on a party."

Paraphrasing the man himself on the subject of Preston Sturges, to find so immediately, in _Castaways of the Image Planet_, "yodeling, bubble dancers, corsets, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 'My Indiana Home,' hypnotic catalepsy, and the remark 'in China they eat dogs," establishes that we are indeed in O'Brien territory. Since it is impossible to discuss his work without the use of eclectic compendia, allow me to add that only O'Brien could have penned this double-fistful of essays on topics as far-ranging as Japanese _Manga_, Orson Welles, the cinematography of Hong Kong and the PRC, Shakespeare, _Mad_, Brando, and the photography of Edward S. Curtis, and have the collective effort rise to such an exquisite acme above mere paean, homage, or pastiche.

Most importantly, though, this collection goes beyond critique in that it strikes a blow for thinking audience members everywhere against the static presumptions of our existing meta-culture. As O'Brien remarks in "Free Spirits," a meditation on the work of film critic James Harvey and the Golden Age of Hollywood romantic comedy, "film books these days, with their emphasis on semiotic codes and quantitative analysis, tend to reduce moviegoing to a rather impersonal experience, as if we brought nothing to our encounters with the screen and emerged from the dark imprinted with precisely identical patterns."

O'Brien lets the light and the air and the sheer pleasure of surrender to the screen, the page, the image--the spectacle--come romping back into the equation. He makes reading about these phenomena as moving and profound an experience as imbibing them first-hand. He lets you know that not only does someone else sitting in a library wing-chair or a plush seat in the darkened post-modern arena get it, he gets it in an incredibly cool and funny and enlightening way. Having this book of essays is like having sixteen great late-night café conversations with an effervescently witty and erudite friend on tap. My advice? Buy 'em, collect 'em, trade 'em with your friends. Once again, O'Brien is kiss-the-hem-of-his-garment good.

Basically the subtitle says it all. This beautifully illustrated book consists entirely of photos and captions. But, oh my god, what an incredible collection of mind-expanding work. Each piece is perfectly crafted, fresh, and often whimsical. My eyes just got bigger and bigger with amazement as I flipped through this book for the first time. Covering the full range of the best in modern ceramics, this book has hundreds of full color photos to inspire beginners and professionals alike. There are large architectural pieces, thrown pots, handbuilt functional and decorative wares, low fired, pit fired, high fired and raku wonders - something to delight everyone.

This is a beautiful book with many unique & imaginative ceramic designs that will provide inspiration for ceramic artists of all levels. It also makes a great gift or a delightful coffee table book for any art lover

The book is in full-color displaying one to three art pieces per page. Both handbuilt & wheel-thrown ceramics are shown. Captions provide the artist's name, date completed, & size as well as materials & techniques used.

Some of my favorite pieces includes a raku crackle jar & carved tree tiles. I love both the plate with waves & a teapot, and another with egrets on it. I also enjoyed a hand-built multi-colored teapot.

Several eclectic figures, a humorous bird sculpture, & a huge mosaic-style dragonfly screen also caught my eye. This is an indispensable reference tool packed with great ideas & a must-have book for any serious ceramic artist.

A compilation of the entire run of Cinema Sewer (now defunct) covering movies and opinions done with flair and comic art. May be for fans of this author but it is edifying nontheless.

Freakin' awesome,over-the-top,sleeaazy,vomitous,raunchy and TOTALLY worth every stinkin' cent you can claw out of yer couch,car or what ever!!!
There's somthing fer every deviant in this RAG(I mean that with the utmost respect!)If you don't like this pub,then you "BLOW DEAD DOG"!Anal retents
and straight laces need not apply.Tree-huggers and granola eaters are just as bad,and so are NOW-Bitches!Pick this up everyone else and wallow around in slimy,sewer bliss!!!

I've never heard of Cinema Sewer before, so I was curious about this compilation of the best of 12 out-of-print issues from this underground Canadian 'zine. I was pleasantly surprised. Cinema Sewer focuses mainly on horror, exploitation and "classic" 70's porn rarities, of which I also have a keen interest. In addition to the well written, humorous reviews, there's lots of spectacular artwork on display from Cinema Sewer's founder, Robin Bougie, as well as from his wife Rebecca Dart (a side note: I was happy to find that I'm not the only woman interested in this stuff).

An important word of warning: this book is for ADULTS ONLY! Some of the very detailed drawings are EXTREMELY graphic, and the language used is pretty graphic too. If you have a sensitive disposition, and are easily offended, DON'T by this book. However, if your into old 70's porn rarities, exploitation and horror films, and enjoy writing that will make you laugh and art that'll make you gasp, you owe it to yourself to check this book out. Have fun!

This most impressive volume of movie facts, anecdotes, trivia, and gossip will keep film lovers enthralled for hours. Mr. Haun knows movies inside out and he shares his vast knowledge of film history in the format of a year long day to day diary. Wonderful pictures of the stars illustrate the work. Did you know that Bette Davis kept Vivien Leigh From being cast in "Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte" because she was still mad at her 26 years later for beating her out to be Scarlett O'Hara? You will know all sorts of fun facts when you read Haun's amazing book! A movie lover's dream come true!

I love to go to the movies. Frankly who does't, and even though one thinks that there are many books out there that talk about the movies, but this book gives the reader a lot more. Each page is filled with tid bits and gossip, and dates with information that you normally would not find somewhere in a book. I recommend this book for the people who truely are movie buffs and love to see what happened on a day at the movies.

Yet again, Bruce has excelled in his great colour reproductions of the movie posters. I collect only comedy posters, so I find this book additonally helpful and informative. Answering questions and clarifying others. I am amazed at the detail and research spent in reproducing a book of such quality. If you enjoy collecting movie posters or at least reading Bruce's books you will find this one as informative as the rest.

Couldnt ask for a better book.This book has posters you can only dream about having hanging on your walls. CHAPLIN,LLOYD and KEATON.Teams like LAUREL AND HARDY and ABBOTT AND COSTELLO.GARY COOPER in A CAPRA movie and even ERROL FLYNN In one of his rare comedys.Bruce doesnt foget that we also have great comedians of today and covers all the way to JIM CAREY. If you love comedies buy this book and you cant go wrong

This book has everything you want to know about TV Movies, Miniseries and 2 hour pilots. Very, very comprehensive. Has rating/share data as well as airdates,credits, full synopsis and detailed subject matter catagories. It is easy to find the information you are looking for because of the excellent cross-referenced sections.I reccommend this book to Film and Telivision Professional as well as to TV buffs.

This is the only book on the subject of Made for Television Movies that I have found. Very comprehensive.The credits are correct and the log lines (synopsis) of the TV Movies or Miniseries are very detailed. This is only the first edition. There are two other volumes--1994-2000 and 2000-2001....

I recommend Crime Movies for readers interested in movies.This book includes a big time from Griffith to 1994.

My copy of Carlos Clarens' original "Crime Movies" is a book I have treasured since the early 80s. It is very well researched, covering films from the silent era to the present. Not only did Clarens cover the movies, but he also covered the censorship controversies around them, particulary in the mid-Thirties.

In short, this is film genre history as it should be: giving the reader an idea of the breadth of a genre, but focusing on the major films, as well as showing how individual writers and directors could make differences in the genre.

Strongly recommended for people interested in the issue of movie violence, "film noir" and how films have changed over time.

This was an impulse buy as a holiday gift for an old friend. I wasn't expecting much. But I was most impressed when it arrived. This is a very thoughtful piece. The cover leads you to believe it's going to be about memorable scenes in films. It's considerably more than that. It's often about how film effects popular culture, and vice-versa. After giving the first copy away, I bought one for myself.

Rarely does a book lover find a book that he or she has simply not heard / read / seen somewhere before. Even more so, it is rare to find such a book written on a subject that is loved just as much as books. Confused yet? Well this is an amazing book about amazing movies. Two of my greatest loves are books and movies, in no particular order. I already own several "movie guides," and subscribe to several magazines written about and reviewing books. However, this book is so much more than a film review or a compendium of film reviews. This is because the editors have taken it upon themselves to follow a theme other than than "movie you have gotta see!!" or "the BEST film of 199_, 200_."

The theme of this book is: "movies whose defining moments literally made movie magic." Of course, a more cynical person could easily find vast amusement in tearing this book apart and my review in the process, arguing that I had be "taken in" by the books easily candied ideas and was simply swept away by its flashing lights and colors. Perhaps it is true, but I don't think so. Here's why.

There have been thousands and thousands of movies made. So many times we are alerted to "the movie of the year," or "one of the greatest movies of our generation." What this book attempts to do, and in my opinion, greatly succeeds at, is getting passed this hyperbole and actually giving the true reason(s) why the movie is that good. Of course there are many, many movies that are really good, but would never be considered as one that has made movie magic. I often find myself switching through my cable guide and looking to see whether the movie I am watching is considered a one, two, three or four star movie, The intrepid enthusiasts at Comcast continuously keep my attention. Nonetheless, I am constantly intrigued by the idea of what marks the space between two and three stars. A four star, most agree, was a special movie. A one star usually has either Pauly Shore or Steven Baldwin or on a lucky night, both in the film. But why is one movie rated two stars and another three? And what really goes into a four star film?

Therein lies the magic, the kind of magic that this book calls "movie magic." If used as I do, , one could employ this book as a roadmap to movie magic made easy. There are hundreds, if not more, movies in this book that most, film fans, including myself, have never heard of. Yet every time (almost every time) I watch one of these recommended films, I am brightened by the fact that not only did I see a great movie I probably never would have been exposed to, but I immediately find myself mysteriously transported here to Amazon,where I, like a sleepwalker, search for the movie, buy it, and then follow the dangerous path that leads to the "one-touch" instant purchase. From there it is nocturnal credit card bliss. There is no pain until the morning after.

The greatest complement I can give this book is that when all is said and done, the movie I was alerted is now sitting comfortable within my DVD collection, nestled along others with the same director, a similar producer, or even sometimes the exact same art or photography editor. To view my DVD collection after one of these book recommendations and the ensuing shopping spree, there would be no doubt whatsoever, that all my life, I was the world's biggest fan of "Dies Irae" a Check film from 1972 directed by Petr Skala, believed by many to be "a powerful example of how a low budget picture can achieve metaphysical power." God Bless Skala fans everywhere!

An outstanding collection of today's Hollywood directors and their personal stories. It's one of those books for which you are glad somebody told you about it since its fascinating lessons will stick with you a lifetime. The approach of this book is not so on the nose as interview volumes often are but original and intriguing: it lets the directors (almost half of which are foreign-born) explain their colorful backgrounds, working their way up from either inside or outside of Hollywood - what they did in the past has now entered their very filmmaking and, boy, it shows: listen to Bryan Singer's crazy story of how he co-founded a Nazi club as a boy and his Jewish mother had to rip the swastika armband off him. Or David Fincher on how the studio messed up his Alien3 movie. Or Barry Levinson (Rainman, Good Morning Vietnam) being motivated about pretty much nothing as a kid - until he discovered that this was his strength... A truly remarkable read until the very last page.

...if only I could give 6 STARS... Movie directors Inarritu of "Babel", Frears of "The Queen", or Fincher of "Zodiac", Mangold of "Walk the Line", Pollack of "Out of Africa" - the list of great names goes on and on - when I saw the 21 star directors featuring in the table of contents I was surprised I hadn't heard of the interview book yet when a friend recommended it to me - also that I am the first reviewer here. I am a great fan of Director volumes such as "My First Movie" or "Breaking In" and this is just as informative as these two - and even better in my opinion. It presents directors from all different backgrounds and you get a real understanding of where these directors are coming from and what makes them tick.
I am a second year film school student and this book really blew me away - I just couldn't put it down. The interviewer does an outstanding job in making the directors explain their lives and the Hollywood fortress from the inside. Great anecdotes, great storytelling! Of course luck was sometimes involved in their careers, but only ever after hard work and never giving up even in the face of countless struggles. I really recommend this book to everone who is afraid the system doesn't have a place for them and loves to learn from the very finest storytellers of today's Hollywood - the best film school education you can get for your money! Thanks for putting this book out there.