Movies Books

I completely agree with the previous reviews. I read this book 25 years ago and was captivated by it. It is taut, well-plotted, and full of telling moments that shed light on human nature. When it was first published, it ought to have been made into a movie starring a young Christopher Walken. Instead, sadly, it was turned into a clunker, around 1984, with Charles Bronson, an actor who was talented in some ways but was never meant to play the hero of this book. If the movie were made today, it might star Christian Bale.

Holland is an ex-soldier of 28 who has faked his own death in Vietnam and disappeared to a Caribbean island. He can be reached only by trusted friends and is available for "righteous" contract killings--e.g., corrupt officials, terrorists, and the like. He is hired to kill a British citizen who is a master of torture for corrupt regimes but protected by the CIA. Using a wealthy young widow and her child as cover, Holland enters Guatemala and seeks to flush the torturer out of hiding. First, he must eliminate the man's two sadistic lieutenants.

The book has some marvelous scenes, including a late-night confrontation in a bar in a slum, between wealthy tourists and a field laborer whose rage is fueled by drugs; another confrontation in a small rural tavern between men who are armed and who know that if anyone pulls a trigger, they could all die in that small space; and a brief but horrifying scene in which a woman who doesn't even understand why she is being questioned, realizes she may meet a hideous death.

Read this if you can find it; leave the movie alone.

The professional assasin of many, lesser, novels is a shallow man (or freakishly beautiful woman) without much affect, magically appearing at the right time to deftly shoot the victim. Hill's main character is not shallow, not lucky, and not boring. He's also not a good guy, but like other 'bad good' guys (read Richard Stark's "Parker" series, Robert Littell's "The Amateur" or closer- Joe Haldeman's " All My Sins Remembered") Holland is a rarity in modern novels -- a complete character. Holland, the hard man, meets up with a broken woman ... I won't ruin the plot points here. This is an amazingly good book.

One warning: In Hollywood Murphy's Law often meets The Peter Principle turning great books into bad movies. Well, this book was made into a truly horrible movie in the 1980s. Don't confuse the two.

Very well written account of a professional assassin at work. I found it to be very entertaining and well thought out. The main character, Holland, is what I imagine the best of the professional assassins would be like. Not a book filled with unrealistic stunts or plot lines. I have recommended it many times and would have really appreciated a sequel. Made into a movie starring Charles Bronson - what a mistake! Charles Bronson is NOT a Holland. Don't be put off by the movie.

All in all, a great summertime read. It's sad that's it out of print.

I read this book nearly twenty years ago the first time and can't say how much I enjoyed it. Since then I have read it possibly another ten times. Lost track of it about ten years ago through lending it out and recommending it to others. Been trying to get hold of a hardback copy for 10 years now and having no luck. Can't even find a paperback copy now, but this book has stayed in my mind throughout all of the great novels I have read, and, is still one of my all time favorites.

Richard Schickel's collection of essays is both well written and extremely informative. Schickel knows more about the subjects he's reviewing then the authors' themselves. His point about being given more space to write reviews on film books, than actual films, is bitterly ironic. To his credit Schickel doesn't look down on the cinema, nor serious film criticism.
There are some issues that should be raised with a few of the essays. Schickel is too dismissive of Douglas Sirk in his review of Harvey's book, but most unforgivable is his Welles review essay. He is far too dismissive of Welles's latter work, or basicially everything after Citizen Kane, and he doesn't even mention Welles's late masterpiece, F for Fake. I assume recognizing a film made 30 years after Citizen Kane defeats his argument against Welles. Also, the dismissal of Othello is the first I've ever read, and not suprisingly, its the most absurd digression in an otherwise sound collection.

To begin with, who'd a thunk that a collection of book reviews of old and new movie books would be this good? Well, I would if only because I've never been disappointed in ANYTHING Schickel writes since the days of "The Disny Version" back when he and I were young (maggie, dear). So, it's not the money for this book that he owes me. Rather, well let me come at it in a roundabout way: The mark of a really good critic is that you will either NOT NEED to read/see/hear what he reviews because he has saved you from wasting precious time or you will be so caught up in his (or, yes, her) enthusiasm that you MUST partake of the object of same. Since Mr Schickel is one of our best critics... and documentarians... and historians... and biographers, I found far too many books I had to have within this one. Sadly (but, for one on a fixed income, fortunately) many of the best reviewed books are out of print. But, yes, weak vessel that I am, I have ordered several (from Amazon, of course) that are not. Hence the title. After all, it isn't MY fault that Schickel writes as well as he does!... is it?

Schickel is an excellent film critic and reviewer, deeply versed in film history and criticism (although he explicitly disavows any belief in a universal theory of film aesthetics or history, holding that movies are too diverse to suport any such systems). This book collects most (2/3) of his monthly reviews of "new books on film" written for the "LA Times Book Review," beginning in 2001, as well as a handful of essays published elsewhere. The pieces are short, those for the "Times" being 1200 to 1400 words. This limits the breadth and depth of any discussion; but, within the limits imposed, the essays are well and neatly written, are liberally laced with film history and contain penetrating critical judgments. The language is plain and direct, mercifully free of jargon.

Schickel does frequently repeat his views on a number of subjects, but this is inevitable given the sort of essay that they are. Someone writing a monthly newspaper feature must assume that some readers of each essay have never read him before and that others read only occasionally. Among the recurring themes, for example, are that movies are a collaborative art, that they are inescapably commercial and, with rare exception, not intended to upset the status quo. When they do rise to the level of art, it is, according to Schickel, an "accidental art."

Schickel obviously loves movies and their history and is delighted when he finds a book praiseworthy. This is somewhat uncommon since he believes that most film books are trash, either written by dry academics (who merely amass facts without any sense of context or critical sensibility) or by hack journalists (who are often merely muckraking and have no sense of film or its history). He is passionate about his own high crititical standards but he is not afraid to praise. His unfavorable judgments can be fiery but are never merciless. In this he is unlike (for example) John Simon in his prime or the late movie and cultural critic Dwight Macdonald, both of whom were merciless and personal to boot.

This is an excellent book, but it has a bit of sadness too since the author believes that informed film criticism and knowledge of film history are both dying out. This book shows what we will lose if this is so.

College-level libraries strong in film studies courses will find moving this collection of short essays on books about film, coming from a critic who not only reviews these books but offers uses them to discuss movie content, actor approaches, director and producer influences, and how the film industry operates as a whole. His different approach provides plenty of detail perfect for any college-level collection strong in film studies - and many a general interest lending library as well.

it's very inspirational for designers to keep this handy. these posters are as good or better than the films.

This is a wonderful book in the series with wonderful reproductions of the posters of the decade. Makes a wonderful gift for someone who loves movies as well as a great coffee table book. Highly recommended

Like the other decade books in this series Film Posters of the 60's is a sensational buy. You could either keep it intact as a collection of posters in a book to show and discuss with friends, or cut the book up and actually have a vast number of posters up on your wall. This book is about a third the size of your standard film poster and most movies are full page colour. Any of them would look great up on the wall.

The 60's bought Sean Connery as James Bond to the screens. Rock stars like The Beatles also made movies. Films like Cool Hand Luke, The Graduate, Dracula, Night of the Living Dead, The Endless Summer, 2001 a Space Odyssey, Ocean?s 11 along with a heap of Westerns and World War movies like The Dirty Dozen and The Great Escape have stood the test of time. Clint Eastwood, Steve McQueen, Dustin Hoffman and others went up on walls for the first time in the 60's and you can put them up again today.

I wasn't born in the 60's but I still know most of these great movies. Buy this book.

Tony Nourmand's "Film posters of the 60's" is a wonderful and colorful coffee table style book that is a great treat to look through. There are many of the classic film poster images of the French New wave, the films of Stanley Kubrick and the classic 007 posters, just to name a few. Film poster collecting is a great adventure and this book reflects that enthusiasm. This book was lovingly organized with great detail. A superb value! Looking forward to future editions.

I received this book in better condition than expected. The shipping charges were so reasonable also{ to Canada}.

Calling all Barbra Joan Streisand fans! Now is the time to support the would be publication of a comprehensive resource guide to Barbra's extraordinary film career. If Citadel is unable to publish such a nifty volume, then we should let other publishers know that such a book would be of significant interest. I hope that it won't be long until Ms. Swenson and Mr. Nickens find a home for their work (and on a more personal note, I hope that the somewhat overlooked "On A Clear Day You Can See Forever" (1970) and the sadly neglected "Up The Sandbox" (1972) receive the glowing credit these two glorious films deserve.) I encourage other Streisand partisans to compose "reviews" of the book they'd most like to add to their library shelves.

Barbara Streisand isn't given her due for Her Films.this Book covers alot of Her Film Career! good Pictures&Reflections.

This book is an excellent insight into Barbra's film career. Lots of detail to the behind the screen stories. Many Classic picture's and hard to find shot's of Barbra. A must have for any Barbra Fan!!!

Nice book, with a lot of photos I had never seen before. The explanations on the films are quite detailed and extended, the biography is also quite complete. However, I was expecting a larger book, as I have many Citadel books from the 80's and 90's related to "The films of..." (i.e. Cary Grant, Robert Taylor, Humphrey Bogart, etc) and they were heavier, with more pages and higher quality photos.

"The Films of Randolph Scott" by Robert Nott. Excellent study on the life and films of Randolph Scott, that must be given prestige for the fans of this unforgettable actor/cowboy and who likes western movies as well. Other publications on Randy Scott that I recommend are the excellent " Last of The Cowboys Heroes" of the same author" as well as "Randolph Scott, a Film Biography" by J.B Crow and "Whatever Happened to Randolph Scott" by Chistopher Scott.

Mario Peixoto ALves

This is an exceptional and definitive reference work dealing with the West's greatest cowboy. Any fan of Western films or `Oaters' as they are affectionately called here will eventually be treated to a picture featuring a character played by Randolph Scott. This book presents a comprehensive look at his career and includes excellent quotes and much commentary on his filmography. It provides a balanced examination of his work and indicates that some film reviewers occasionally criticized Mr. Scott, indicating his acting range was "limited." While this may be a valid criticism, a more comprehensive analysis of his work clearly shows that when given a tightly written script, focused direction, and the help of good ensemble supporting characters, Randolph Scott always turned in a performance that was guaranteed to entertain. This was particularly true as Mr. Scott grew older; gradually perfecting the non-verbal communication skills (the set of his jaw and steely-eyed glare) which made him the `silent man of action' archetype which set this genre apart and made him so uniquely and classically an American hero. Excellent reading for the cowboy in all of us.

This book is a thoughtful look at Randolph Scott's films. The author offers many personal comments, as well as comments from people involved with the films. Evans interviewed people who worked with Randolph Scott and provides many interesting insights.

The bulk of Scott's film oeuvre was the Western and the author brings out the qualities that made Scott such an icon. Scott had
a certain Southern gentleman quality that imbued his roles with a dignity that many other Western actors lacked.

There are some good photographs in the book and there are cast listing for each film.

I host a small group and have for about a year, coincedentially I called it Finding God in The Movies. I had a hard time coming up with questions for the small group and this book has great questions right inside. Eventually more people started showing up and everyone has amazing insights! I couldn't have asked for more!

The book really helped me with me class that I used it for. Even though we weren't required to read it.

Can we find God in the movies? Yes! In this outstanding cultural book, Johnston leads us to find God in the popculture. He mentions the movie as a story teller in which people communicate their values and worldviews. He, also, teaches us what the christian movies are and how christians can watch the films; the christian movies are what deal with the real human stories and what show the reality afresh. And, when we watch the movies, we, as chrsitians, have to see the christian values such as humanity, friendship, forgiveness, reconciliation, etc. In addition to these strengths, the most wonderful character of this book is the excellent complete film study guide. I enthusiastically recommend this book for all people who are interested in popculture and its application to their real lives.

Catherine Barsotti and Robert Johnston --- husband and wife --- give thoughtful Christians a book full of tools to help them view select movies (33 in all; the oldest released in 1982) through a theological or philosophical lens.

FINDING GOD IN THE MOVIES starts with an informative introduction that discusses the film genre and theological approaches to film. What makes a good film? "Head, gut, and heart. The best movies will engage the whole person." How does a viewer find God in the movies? "Unpack the story.... What is more primary in the way the story is shaped? (1) Is it the plot...? (2) Is it the characters...? (3) Is it the point of view, where a story is given value by the perspective of the narrator(s)...? Or (4) is it the atmosphere...?...Concentrate your critical attention on where the filmmakers have centered their attention. By doing this, you will prove a more receptive viewer of the story and perhaps the Story."

Each of the 33 movie-chapters starts with a two- or three-page "synopsis and theological reflection" --- a review. This is followed by "dialogue texts" (relevant biblical passages), "discussion questions," "clip conversations" (more discussion questions but about specific scenes), and several pages of "bonus material," which includes interesting behind-the-scenes information about the making and makers of the film. Movies also are clearly linked to two helpful appendices: one listing (Genesis to Revelation) relevant biblical references; one listing (A to Z) topics covered in or themes of the movies (for example, Abuse; Affirming the Human Spirit; Anger; Arguing with God; Balance in Life).

The movie-chapters are presented in 13 categories, the more blatantly religious ("Living Our Faith"; "Images of the Savior"; "Renewing the Church") placed toward the end of the book. You might want to start your exploration in these later categories or simply bounce around. The second of the 13 categories, "Beauty, Imagination, and Creativity," discusses two Pacific Rim movies, Spirited Away and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, that celebrate imagination and creativity but may be hard for the neophyte to discuss theologically.

This is a book for Christians who have an understanding of common grace, "the wider work of God's Spirit throughout and within all creatures and creation," and for those who are open to dialogue with the secular world. What are some of the films discussed? Life Is Beautiful. Ulee's Gold. The Hurricane. Simon Birch. Chocolat. We Were Soldiers.

By using this guide you might get the hang of facilitating a movie-discussion group and then move on to films you wish the authors had included. We'd all have our own list. Mine? The Trip to Bountiful. Cinema Paradiso. Babette's Feast. The Quarrel. Smoke. Maybe I should check out Johnston's earlier book REEL SPIRITUALITY: Theology and Film in Dialogue (Baker, 2000).

--- Reviewed by Evelyn Bence

Amazingly well done. I just wish they had the it on DVD. I first saw it on PBS many years ago and it was not only educational but it clarifies the subject where textbooks were not able to cover.

This book is a great resource about the history of the Mediterranean. Attenborouh does a good job in telling about the geological as well as human history. He has to lose the accent though. Get it if you get a chance. Only...

David Attenborouh does not have an accent, though I can understand that a colonial might think he does. It was a truly great TV series for those interested in history.

Whether or not Sir David has an accent is missing the point (in reference to previous reviews). David Attenborough is one of the most unique individuals and does exemplary performances on his productions no matter if it's a television documentary or publishing a book. He surely is an inspiration to any naturalist, or any person interested in life itself. His passion for the natural world is evident in any of his work and it surely does not fail to guide him in this book, which focuses on the natural history of the Mediterranean. It may be hard to recommend any resource simply assuming its quality based on the reputation of its particual producer or author, but David Attenborough is an exeption.

When is Ms Bachman going to write a sequel? I throughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it especially during this election year.

"The First Gentleman" is one of the best books I have ever read. I sat in my backyard and finished the book in two days. I could not put it down. The plot twists kept me hooked from the start. I have since passed the book onto my husband, mom, family, and friends...everyone loved it. I can not wait for the sequel!!

"The First Gentleman" is a book that hooks you in the first chapters, and then makes it hard to put down until you finish the last chapter. The plot twists and turns in all the right places, keeping you wondering what is going to happen next. I can't wait for the sequel.

Kristina Bachman couldn't have picked better timing for the release of her debut novel, THE FIRST GENTLEMAN, a romantic thriller about the first female President of the United States, and her scientist-husband, the First Gentleman. The characters are well-drawn, the plot timely and intriguing, the conclusion, despite knowing the outcome from the beginning, exciting. You will be left wondering when the sequel will be released, and perhaps, who will be starring in the movie version!

This book is one of those few that is so hard to put down. It was a fasinating look at the Bond movies,and the faces behind them. I had no idea that the budgets of the movies were so low.(as compared to other action films) This book took me in,and I would recommend it to any fan of film,especially James Bond films!

John Glen directed the five 007 films which basically span the entire decade of the 1980s: For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy, A View to a Kill, The Living Daylights, and License to Kill. He was also involved with previous 007 films such as Moonraker, The Spy Who Loved Me, and numerous other British films going back to the 60s. This book is a collection of behind the scenes stories from the making of Glen's films, but with special emphasis on the Bond films. Most Bond fans know the plot details inside and out, so what makes this book interesting is the story and script development, shooting location stories, and cast and crew details. The only downside to the book is I wish there was MORE of everything...more stories, more photos, etc. This is a highly entertaining book if you are a 007 fan, particularly from the Roger Moore - Timothy Dalton era.

This is a valuable book for the inside track on the Bond films. Director John Glen did a good job. His services will be greatly missed unless they get him back. After reading this book perhaps the producers should get John Glen back.

Director John Glen tells of his experience with the James Bond film series strait up. At the helm of five of the films as director Glen pulls no punches and offers great insight into the creative efforts of the whole Bond film team. This is a great book and even more so if you are a James Bond fan. I really like this book. There is really no gloss here. This is really about what went into making these films while Albert R. Broccoli was still alive and producing them. I highly recommend this book.

I bought this book after I saw Mr. Palance on the Regis & Kathie Lee program. I have read it and reread it so many times I think I have memorized it. The writing is absolutely beautiful and the emotions it elicits are exquisite. It is my hope that Mr. Palance will write again and again. It is so refreshing to read and experience the emotions he bares for the reader. Thank you, Mr. Palance. I wish he would have a web site so that we could personally write to him about his book and other endeavors. I think he is one of our treasures.

I received this book from my very special friend for my birthday. I had heard an interview with Mr. Palance and just knew I would love the poetry. It touches a part of my heart in a special way. Bravo Mr. Palance...please give us more.

The text was written beautifully, with so much emotion. It was given to me as a xmas gift from my husband of 20 years. I enjoyed it and the meaning, words just flowing so tenderly.

I had the pleasure of hearing Mr. Palance read a portion of the book on the Roseanne Show just a few minutes ago. His reading allowed me to see his thoughts something I have only experienced previously in the reading and writing by Rod McKuen.