Movies Books

The wife and I have had the current copy of this movie review book now for the lasr 10 years. It's definitely the best book we have found for accurate movie reviews and information.

This is quite simply: The Bible. The only sourcebook that any film buff would ever need. Just be sure to get the new edition each year.

I bought it for HER, but I couldn't put it down! She loves it. This book left out Jan Clayton who starred in a six movies which are in my library. THIS MAN'S NAVY, for instance. And the LASSIE DVD's and VHS's [of course].

This is the 4th Videohound book that I have purchased over the past 10 years. The information is presented in short, sweet, concise paragraphs that cut straight to the point. The greatest feature of the Videohound books is the cross-reference ability. This book has settled many an argument in my house about the year of a film or who was in it. A must have if you live with a trivia buff. Excellent for finding obscure films that you didn't know were hiding out there somewhere. Well worth the money, an excellent gift for that hard to buy for person.

Video Hound is the best way yet to evaluate a movie before buying or renting it. I am impressed by the multiple ways to search - actors, material content, category, rating, etc. No negative aspects except that many good foreign movies are excluded, and you need a new version every couple of years to keep up with newer films.

Garry Marshall writes like he talks: FUNNY. His tales of happiness, hard work and inspiration are as entertaining as they are informative. This book has no lag, and actually should serve as a textbook to aspiring directors. I loved this book.

Garry Marshall is a true gem in Hollywood. He is a beloved and respected producer/director/writer/actor who never takes himself too seriously to appreciate life and his family and friends. In his own humorous way, Garry tells his story from his humble beginnings to his incredible career in TV and film. He has worked with some of the top actors in Hollywood and it is a total delight to read about the behind the scenes making of HAPPY DAYS, MORK AND MINDY and LAVERNE AND SHIRLEY along with his films BEACHES, FRANKIE AND JOHNNY, NOTHING IN COMMON and PRETTY WOMAN. Garry tells it like it is and doesn't hold back when talking about actors and studio executives. He also admits to his fondness for nepotism. Good timing and luck put Garry in the right place at the right time and he shared his good fortune with his sister Penny Marshall by helping launch her career. The book is filled with insight and revelations. Garry's anecdotes are too humorous to miss. How did they come up with the famous opening for LAVERNE AND SHIRLEY? How did he come to cast Robin Williams and Pam Dawber in MORK & MINDY? Despite budget restraints, Garry was able to create a very memorable opening for Bette Midler in the film BEACHES. It's fascinating to read how Garry created some of our most beloved TV shows and films. When a problem arose with a production, Garry found a solution. He never hestitates to admit to his failures and mistakes and never fails to give credit to others who have supported him. WAKE ME WHEN IT'S FUNNY is inspiring and a great motivator for anyone trying to aspire in any field...not just TV or film. Garry's honest and down to earth insight will leave the reader wanting more.

Pretty Woman has been my favorite movie since I saw in in the theater at the age of fifteen and since then Garry Marshall has been my favorite director. But Garry proved what a great person he is when I attended a book signing for this book back in 1995. I was only twenty, and pretty much the only young woman in line. Most of the people in line were young men giving him treatments, which really disgusted me. But when I finally got up there I just stared at him, the first thing he said to me was that I was very pretty, so I started crying like the girl that I am. He held my hands and just smiled at me, and I told him that Pretty Woman was my favorite movie and thanked him for making it and told him that I wanted to be an actress, so he signed my book "Andrea a very Pretty Woman here's hoping you Happy Days as an actress." that made me cry as well:) His daughter Lori was also very sweet which just proves what a great dad he is as well.

As for the book, of course it's fabulous! You get to learn behind the scenes info on, of course Pretty Woman, but all his other shows and movies as well. His sense of humor cracks me up, especially when he overheard someone talking about Exit To Eden saying "That movie was so bad he doesn't deserve to be Penny Marshalls father!" I laughed SOO hard at that. Not to mention that you can't help but love a director who thanks his wife at the end of every one of his films.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants to know the ends and outs of the entertainment industry from a vetern who knows what he's talking about!:)

This book is a joy! Garry Marshall is a fine writer of jokes for stand-up comedians of yore, sitcoms &, apparently, of full-length show biz autobiographies. He discusses his life in an extremely entertaining way. His asides - about moviemaking, camerawork & tips on the directing/producing process - are enjoyable for everyone, not just aspiring filmmakers. There are (truly) laugh out loud sections as well (Two Words: Kathi Wathi)...this is a man who seems to live his life with passion & decency & drive, ALWAYS with the added bonus of humor. Yes, he dishes the "dirt" about his celeb peers, but in a completely non-malicious way. Best of all, here's a man who accomplishes much but doesn't take himself too seriously. Good-humored, good-hearted, crisply written & hilarious. Can't recommend this book highly enough!

A most amazing book about a most amazing man. Follow Mr. Marshall's assertive and generally hilarious approach to breaking into the world of comedy writing - and beyond. The book is a bit of a family affair (forward by sister Penny Marshall, and co-authored by daughter, Lori) chronicling his often hysterical trek from an allergy-laden childhood to the life of a very successful actor, writer, producer, and director. I've had the unique pleasure of meeting this man in person, and he truly is as determined, grounded and compassionate a man as this book reflects...all with that sparkling sense of humor!

Wonderful fun for Barbie lovers everywhere. My child completed the book the first week!

My daughter just got this book and she keeps it next to her 24/7! Colorful,cute,magic! She loves it, and she's 13 years old! I mean this book has to be pretty good if a girl her age reads it. The pictures are just so pretty, and everyone I know loves it! Please get this book while you can!
YOU KNOW YOU WANT IT!

My mom wouldn't let me get the book,until she read the reviews. When she finally read them, all had 5 stars, and good comments. So, she got it for me... FINALLY. As soon as I read it, i just had to get on and review it too. If you don't get this fairytopia book, no other book is good enough.

It's a nice coloring book, but nothing really different from other coloring books. Unless you really like Fairytopia/fairies.

Is your daughter a fairy lover?
Does she looooove to read?
Well if she is those two things, than this is the book for her. I got this book as a gift and I just keep reading it and reading it. I can't put it down! Come on moms, you have to get this book for your special little girl! ENJOY!
Believe me,
Dina Rollander

James Agee was a great writer (his book about the Dust Bowl is a classic). He continued to be a brilliant writer in his film reviews and his scripts. Thank you, Modern Library, for returning these collections of writing to us. They are wonderful to read and they make you think!

James Agee wrote film criticism in America at a time when the American film industry hardly deserved his attention. His celebrations of silent film comedy, of Preston Sturges, of John Huston [for whom he later wrote the script for The African Queen], and of the handful of worthy foreign films that he managed to see are what make this volume worth reading. Besides Agee's beautiful prose and above all his compassion. Interestingly, Agee was a fan of Frank Capra's comedies (It Happened One Night) and bemoaned the director's decent into serious social films (Mr Smith Goes To Washington, Meet John Doe). His negative review of It's a Wonderful Life, which has never been in print since it appeared in 1946, reveals the extent to which Agee was perhaps too far ahead of his time, and even of ours.

Ever wonder what causes a movie reviewer to *become* a movie reviewer? When I was a ten-year-old kid just getting into classic movie comedies, I went to the library and checked out the book AGEE ON FILM solely because it had references to Charlie Chaplin and W.C. Fields. Thus was my introduction to high-quality film criticism.

James Agee made his reputation writing sterling movie reviews for Time and The Nation magazines in the 1940's. Among other glories, he wrote a much-heralded essay titled "Comedy's Greatest Era" that helped to bring silent-comedy icons (most notably Harry Langdon) out of mothballs and caused them to be re-viewed and discussed seriously among film historians. He later went on to work on the screenplays of a couple of gems titled The African Queen and Night of the Hunter.

Unfortunately, many people who regard the critics Pauline Kael and Stanley Kauffmann have either forgotten Agee's work entirely or have assigned his own work to mothballs. But among the faithful are film director Martin Scorsese, who serves as editor of the "Modern Library: The Movies" series of film books. The series has recently reissued the AGEE ON FILM book, and re-reading Agee's work (or reading it for the first time, if you're lucky enough) proves that film criticism can make for reading material as compelling as any fictional novel.

Agee passes the acid test for any film critic: Even if you don't agree with him, his writing is so lively that you can't help enjoying it. His work ranges from three separate columns (three weeks' worth, in print terms) to Chaplin's much-maligned (at the time) MONSIEUR VERDOUX, to the most concise, funniest review ever: Reviewing a musical potboiler titled YOU WERE MEANT FOR ME, Agee replied in four simple words, "That's what *you* think."

If you want to see what high-caliber movie criticism meant in the pre-Siskel & Ebert days, engross yourself in this sprawling book. It'll make you appreciate the decades before every newspaper, newsletter, and Internet site had its own minor-league deconstructionist of Hollywood blockbusters.

James Agee was short for this world, having died in his mid 40s. In that span of time he wrote a famous book, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, and a couple of classic screenplays, AFRICAN QUEEN and NIGHT OF THE HUNTER. This collection of magazine film reviews and essays is in many ways the leftover part of his work, and yet it feels like enough to make a reputation on. His reviews span just one decade, the 1940s. Many of them tackle foreign films that may be unavailable for all I know.

Interesting to me is that he spends three weeks discussing Chaplin's MONSIEUR VERDOUX, which is a most unusual movie and mostly forgotten today. This might be because he saw it as his only chance to write a poignant piece on the greatest living film artist, or it may be because he identified with the plight of mankind theme that Chaplin was reaching for. You can pick another reason, yourself, but it was a bold decision, because most critics panned the film (according to him) and most readers probably couldn't even see the movie in their small towns. It was as if he knew he would be writing for posterity. Like all critics, he cultivated his darlings. He saw much in the work of John Huston and was very skillful in his sizing up of TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE. I was impressed that he predicted the all-time classic nature of the film, but also understood the studio system gimmicks that took away from the genius.

You don't have to be literary minded like W. H. Auden to enjoy this book. You'll like it, if you like movies.

I still have my first edition copy of Agee on Film.

A production on the stage is seen once and then is gone forever. Curiously, despite the fact that a film can be viewed repeatedly, once upon a time revivals were rare, and most audiences saw a film once, talked about it, then forgot about it.

Even the film studios only half-heartedly treated their products as permanent, allowing many of them to deteriorate irretrievably and others nearly so (eventually giving rise to an entire industry devoted to film restoration).

Films were given a new life with the advent of television. Growing up on old movies on the tube in the 1950s, I found that repeated viewing of the same film could be a rich experience, and nothing enhanced this experience more than the appearance in the early 1960s of Agee on Film.

Agee took film seriously as a cultural experience, a molder of public opinion, a tool that might be useful or dangerous. Just how much he differs from mainstream reviewers who regarded the movies primarily as entertainment can be seen in the two different sets of reviews in this book.

His reviews in the liberal The Nation are extended analyses of the films and the sensibilities of the filmmakers, withering critiques of the limitations of the studio system, and manifestos on how good films could have been made better. Agee interpolates in his reviews his opinions about everything: The War (WWII, of course), politics, race, education, religion, psychology, philosophy ... the list goes on.

In contrast, his reviews for Time, constrained by that magazine's conservatism, are truncated and absent the depth and bite that distinguishes Agee from all other critics. His beautiful use of language keeps him afloat, but were it not for The Nation, I doubt Agee would have the reputation of Greatest Film Critic of All Time.

Agee on Film was originally in two volumes. The first was the current book. The second was a collection of Agee's own screenplays, including the classic The Night of the Hunter; Noa Noa, a fascinating teleplay about Gaugin (very different from Maughams' The Moon and Sixpence); and his magnificent adaptation of the The African Queen. Thus, he was able, unlike most critics, and with admirable results, to put his pen where his critique was.

James Agee almost single-handedly popularized the appreciation of film as an art form. The writing in this book is how he did it.

I first read the book "Alice" when I was about 13 or 14. It remains one of my favorite books of all time. The expression of unconditional love that is shown is something everyone could be reminded of now and again. I hope to read it to my children someday.

Hi my name is Kate and I'm in the 6th grade when my fellow classmates and I went to our school Library to check out books I saw "Alice". When I picked it up I saw the great reviews on the cover. When I started to read the book I thought it was amazing and could'nt put it down! I like the Southern accent that Ellie and Sammy have and how it is so realistict, triumphant and touching. When I heard it was a cable Lifetime movie I wanted to watch it. Now my mom wants to read Alice,and I reccomended Alice to my friends. Now I'm going to try to find "Sudie" at my local Library. I really hope that Sara Flanigan will come out with another wonderful book!

I remember reading this book, and thinking it was the most beautiful book ever written. Im pretty sure I read it at the age of 12 or 13, just picking up it out of the shelf... I didn't expect the book to capture me the way it did. I remember trying to look for the book at a bookstore, and being dissappointed when I didn't find it. I was sure amazon would have it, but im saddened that its currently unavailiable. All I have to say is that this book will not dissapoint.

I discovered Alice through one of those bookclubs my children brought home from school each month. What a treasure. So profound. Such an allegory of Love & sacrifice! I agree with those reviewers who wonder why this and Sudie (also by Sara Flanigan)are out of print. Publisher, reprint them! Market them! They are jewels. Sara Flanigan, I feel a kinship with you. I hope you are deeply engrossed in your next book and that I will soon be reading it!

Ellie Perkins lives a hard life with a drunken father and her confused brother. Her mother is deceased and so her Aunt Bessie takes on the role of both mother and aunt. Then Ellie finds Alice, a beautiful girl who is deaf and locked away in a shed by her ignorant mother and abusive step-father. Ellie and her brother Sammy sneak her out of the tiny shed and teach her to read, play, count, speak, hear, laugh and to cry. This is a wonderful story that will break your heart. A book you'll never forget!

Penelope Taynt amanda bynes's #1 fan tells the story of how she
has loved amanda since she was 1 second old.You will see how much
penelope loves amanda and how she should be amanda's best friend
to why amanda should eat lunch with penelope!Discover what it is like to film a episode of the amanda show to what is in amanda's
garbage to how penelope tries to break up amanda's friend ship
with a girl named Annie.
this book is soo funny and i hope you like it!!

Amanda Bynes is my favorite actress. She rocks in this book. So does Penelope. Although, I wish there were more pictures of Amanda in it.

Hi. I had no idea that there was a book on Amanda but I found this on the web and ordered it. It's really phat! I brought it to school and spent the whole lunch hour doing the games with my friends. We were rolling. I hope there's another book on the way! Penelope is great and Jenny Kilgen must be an Amanda fanatic too to write a whole book togethre. GO AMANDA AND MORE BOOKS----PLEASE!

I love the show but this book was totally awesome. The games and puzzles are really fun but the best is getting all the great information on Amanda. Anyone who loves Amanda MUST get this book. It's like bringing the show with you where ever you go. I would definitely buy this for a great stocking stuffer for anyone who loves Nickelodeon and THE AMANDA SHOW.

i love Amanda! i've totally been looking everywhere to find a book on her. i read this book and think it is 'da bomb, so phat, and really cool!

"Giddy Goodness", as wise Aunt Maude would say! I've find myself frequently using the phrase "Giddy Goodness", that Dave Jeffrey coined through his character Aunt Maude.

This is the second work I've read by Dave Jeffery. Whether you read his novel "Finding Jericho", which delivers an educational and serious message or whether reading his more light-hearted work as with "Beatrice Beecham's Fearsome Feast", he tells his stories with a unique whimsical style. I have yet to get through his novels without laughing out loud at least ten times not including chuckles and smiles in between.

In "Beatrice Beecham's Fearsome Feast", Beatrice and her family move to a small and cliquish coastal town called Dorsal Finn due to her father's job loss. There, they will live with Beatrice's seventy-seven year old and very wise Aunt Maude to help with her Chocolate Emporium.

Beatrice dreads the move but finds unexpected acceptance there with her new found friends the "Newshounds." Together, with Beatrice being the leader, they embark with two hundred year old clues to uncover secrets surrounding the sunken "Charlotte Elizabeth." From there the reader is lead on a journey of clues; I guessed the answers to some of them ahead of time and other times I didn't but the pointing path kept me enthralled throughout the story.

Beatrice is exceptionally intelligent, inquisitive, and forthright. She is also respectful of her family which is a refreshing attribute for a twelve year old protagonist. She is also a gifted cook which leads her to the fearsome feast.

The author, Dave Jeffery, is a gifted story-teller who knows how to develop sensible and quirky characters that we can laugh at without making fun of. The town librarian and historian, Agnes, comes to mind. She has a botched hearing aid and Jeffrey takes her dilemma into a wave of laughter for the reader. You will understand the "wave" pun when you meet Agnes in the story.

I liked this story. It is not only for young adults but for readers of all ages.

I was impressed that there was not one profane word throughout the story. The characters all had something to add and did so without vulgar enhancement. The author's clever wit shines to the last page. I give "Beatrice Beecham's Fearsome Feast" five solid stars.

Kathy Flanary Nelson

When 12-year-old Beatrice Beecham is given an old cookbook that completely comes apart when it falls off her bed, she finds hidden treasures that whisk her and her friends into a dangerous mystery. The oldest and richest family in Dorsal Finn has a murderous secret, and the most powerful people in town are helping them keep it. With the help of adventurous friends and a quick-thinking librarian, Beatrice develops a theory, but the only way to prove her suspicions is to enter the Fearsome Feast contest and win an overnight stay at the mansion.

Can she do it? Not without a bounty of close calls, perilous consequences, and finding the right time and place to use her cookbook treasures, clues from a desperate matriarch long dead.

Beatrice Beecham is delightful, scrappy, and the most exciting thing that has happened in Dorsal Finn for a long time. Dave Jeffery has created a tale that's intelligent and fun from start to finish, and full of surprises. This is one romping adventure!

Like a culinary masterpiece, I found Beatrice Beecham's Fearsome Feast to be extremely palatable indeed. The riddle-solving reminded me of the Three Investigators, while the exploration of secret passages was reminiscent of the Famous Five. And Aunt Maud's house, with its assortment of peculiar rooms, provided a pinch of Roald Dahl.

The story was exciting and certainly kept me gripped. I also greatly enjoyed the imaginary conversations that Beatrice had with Jamie Oliver and some of the other well-known British celebrity chefs. This is despite the fact that I'm not particularly into the cooking show genre or a big follower of any of those guys. The various plotlines (like the Fearsome Feast competition and the mystery of the Charlotte Elizabeth) were cleverly interweaved. Apart from the story, the characters are also engaging, especially Beatrice herself. The secondary characters are also quite well developed.

One of the few down sides for me was that the Epilogue was rather unsatisfactory and made the ending feel slightly untidy. On the whole, I prefer books to end with a sense of proper closure, although there should certainly be some scope for creating anticipation for the next book in a series. Speaking of which, I look forward to sampling Beatrice Beecham's Fete of Fate, which has just come out.

The other thing that bothered me was the somewhat high number of typos, which were a little bit distracting. But I'm sure a good copy-editor can fix that. ;-)

All in all, I found this book to be simply delicious and recommend that everyone put it on their reading menu! Pukka! :-)

This is a great book. Beatrice moves to the coast with her mom, dad, and little brother after her father loses his job. While there her mother's friend, Aunt Maud, gives her an old cookbook. From there the adventure begins. With her new found friends and her active imagination involving famous cooks, she sets off on a mystery that involves a past shipwreck, an interesting cooking contest, and many more twists and turns. This book is filled with colorful characters (you'll especially love Aunt Maud), a great adventure, and a surprise ending. I can't wait for more books from this author.

What a wondrous beginning (after the dreadfully amateurish cover)! There's an exhilarating account of an ancient ship wreck, then we flash forward as an eccentric father who's lost his job, his wife, a younger brother absorbed in sci-fi technology and the brainy narrator who hears voices of--this is too brilliant for words--popular TV chefs make their way to the house of a strange aunt in the costal village of Dorsal Finn. This combination of traditional bedtime-story elements and contemporary references to cell phones, I-Pods, Star Wars and Harry Potter will make children (7 through early teens), their parents and even grandparents feel comfortably at home.

But there's adventure afoot: treasure with anagram clues, villains (including the notorious Chorley brothers), reenactment of an historic masque (shades of Edgar Allan Poe), a past murder uncovered and, last but not least, the "fearsome feast" in which entrants concoct hideous entrees (the one that can't be eaten by the notorious Vladimir Karlof wins). "A tale's not worth tellin' if it's not told right!" proclaims Aunt Maud. And this one abounds in treasures of its own. For example, the Aunt's little comments "...she's as reliable as a one handed alarm clock" and unobtrusive bits of psychological insight-- when Beatrice feels like a stranger in her new bedroom, Aunt Maud tells her about her own experience as a child in a strange bedroom when she was transported into the country during the bombing of London during World War II, "But I think the real reason I didn't want it to be mine. I was scared that if I accepted it then I would never see the world I knew ever again."

There are four very short surreal chapters from a second person point of view that may be confusing to young readers since we don't know who the "you" is and the cinematic ending seems unnecessarily complicated to me. But overall this is a great feast with course after course of satisfying dishes. It is the book as treasure hunt. Or like Aunt Maud would say, a story that "fills the coal scuttle."

Most Oscar-related books offer only limited pictures and focus on winners, not also rans. This excellent reference volume corrects those two oversights. It is filled with pictures representing the best of Hollywood--all contenders for Oscar's Best Picture are featured with a movie poster representation. Includes some rarely seen poster art, foreign posters, and multiple sized images. Excellent reference and enjoyable volume to pick up over and over.

This beautiful collection of colorful poster art provides a history of Hollywood and American popular culture in a volume that's a delight to leaf through. As with all of Bruce Hershenson's poster books, this one is a tremendous value!

All of Bruce's books are full of wonderful images, but this one offers something extra - a history of ALL the films nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award. If you are a film buff, or you just like beautiful images you will love this book. Every year since the inception of the awards is listed and each nominee is displayed in brilliant color. A wonderful refrence source.

A must-have volume for any cine-buff and film historian! This book, along with its companion first volume, "Academy Award Winners' Movie Posters" is part of movie poster maven Bruce Hershenson's exhaustive multi-volume series of books highlighting the history and beauty of what much of mainstream America has only in the last ten years begun to recognize. And that is movie posters are a "popular art" form that can stand proudly next to all other styles of art from gothic to modern, from expressionist to impressionist. Great film art borrows from all of these styles and this volume, which focuses only on posters associated with Academy Award-nominated films, illustrates innumerable examples. A fine book for any collector (get the hardcover edition if you can, it's harder to find; if Amazon doesn't have it, it's available from Mr. Hershenson directly at mail@brucehershenson.com)!

Like all of Mr Hershenson's books of film posters, this one is full of great reproductions of classic film posters. Movie poster collecting is both popular hobby and big business. For dealers and collectors alike, Mr Hershenon's books give all those interested in the hobby and business of movie poster collecting a ready-reference to images of great film posters for great and sometimes not-so-great films.

"Counting with Blue" is one of several books in the series "Baby Blue's Clues." This very basic board book teaches counting - numbers one through five. On one page it shows Blue with a certain number of something, and then on the right it has in text, such as "four little ladybugs crawling on the ground." The illustrations are very soft and cheerful.

A cute little Blues Clues story that rhymes. My daughter has enjoyed this book from the time she was 6 months old to the present (she's now 3).

My daughter, Lucy, really likes this book. She has Blue on her Luvs diapers and she is starting to recognize him now since we always read this book. She hasn't started counting yet, but we will use this book to re-inforce counting when she does start. This book is especially good for new babies because it has very few words. There isn't much of a story, so if you are looking for a story, look into other Blue's Clues books.

Many children like BLUES CLUES and my daughter enjoys counting with Blue. Great board book for early learners.

Our little one loves "Blue", and best of all vocabulary skills
have increased.

Paery has made a complete guide with hightlighted pictures and many information about his favorite cult movies . There was an old edition with the 200 films , but this volume contains just 100 .
Nevertheless the legend and the comentaries are really easy going . As a guide to discover new an unknown tresaures of the story of the cinema .
Recommendable.

From a source that was never revealed I wound up with Mr. Peary's cult movies 2 book as a kid. I read it with great enthusiasm and wound up checking out quite a few movies because of it. The noteworthy ones were A Clockwork Orange and Taxi Driver. After years of looking in the back and seeing the list for the first Cult Movies book, I could stand it no longer. I finally ended up with the book and it is a true treat. Recommended to not read about the films that you have not seen. For those you have this serves as a background check, a detailed analysis and a clarifier. If for nothing else one can appreciate the plot synopsis, cast and credits, and production stills. For the fans of such "classics" as 2001, Forty Second Street, the Searchers, and many others, this is the book for you.

I bought this book when it first came out in the early 80s. I've referred to it so often that it now rests peacefully open on my desk at any given page. It provided me with a "birdwatcher's list" of unique films to seek out and enjoy.

Mr. Peary's approach to cult movies is respectful- this in contrast to other books of the "Bad Movie catalog" bent. At the end of his comments about "Plan 9 From Outer Space", for example, he came to the defense of Ed Wood. He pointed out that Mr. Wood managed to get his message, critical of American nuclear build-up, past the censors and into the theaters. Most other filmmakers at that time just went with the political flow.

Thanks to Mr. Peary's tutelage, I sought out such diverse films as "Aguirre, the Wrath of God" (artsy, passionate), "El Topo" (bizarre, egotistical), "42nd Street" (musical... not my style, but I enjoyed it), "Kiss Me, Deadly" (pure noir), and "Behind the Green Door (`nuff said). If you want to put some excitement in your experience of cinema, this book is a great way to begin.

How much do I love CULT MOVIES by Danny Peary? As I write this my edition of the book (purchased in 1981) has split in two. It's spine severed from years of flipping its pages obessively from front to back. I consider it a trusted friend that I refer to many times as a fellow "film fanatic."

This expose of 100 films was one of the firsts along with Jonathan Rosenbaum and J. Hoberman's MIDNIGHT MADNESS to delve into what makes a movie a "cult movie," and Peary does a spectacular job. Unlike some surveys which focus more on indiscriblable oddities such as David Lynch's ERASERHEAD, Peary wonderfully widens the cult criteria to include a whole array of film-watching experiences. From schlock like PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE to high art like THE RED SHOES, Peary's historical overview and analysis within an ever changing pop cultural landscape is consistantly readable and on the money. Every conceivable genre gets their due -comedies, westerns, horror, musicals, film noir thrillers, kung fu epics, pornography- and, like them or not, all are made to seem wonderfully relevant and alive. Even if you disagree with Peary's opinions, afterwards you're just begging to run to experience these movies from a different angle. This is film criticism at its best.

Danny Peary, a film fanatic himself, in these series of three books (I'm only dealing with the first in this review) gleefully, critically and passionately celebrates what makes film going the sheer pleasure that it is. In a series of well written, insightful, often humourous and always celebratory essays, Peary explores many classic, weird and wonderful films that raise the pulses of fans.

Many film texts are dry treatises that absolutely drain the rollercoaster vicseral joy that a film can bring. Not so with Peary's excellent series. Peary manages to legitimately relate the true art that is cinema while at the same time exploring what makes so many great films live as a part of our very extistances.

I have read and re-read this book several times and each time, I have discovered a new insight into a favorite film or been directed to a new reference point. Peary is very careful to point to other film scholars and film titles that can enhance a film cutlists experience. In deconstructing each film, he also includes fascinating tidbits of information such as interviews with the film makers, insights into the creative process and backstory history.

Especially fine are his explorations on "It's a Wonderful Life", "King Kong", "Singin' in the Rain", "Rio Bravo" and "A Hard Day's Night". He successfully argues in all those cases that superb entertainment does make great art.

Do I agree with every one of Peary's opinions? Do I enjoy every single film included in these three books? Of course not! But Peary does give vallidation to all of us who could be classified as true film geeks. Since these books are as of this writing all out of print, I with the strongest terms possible urge you all to seek them out. You will not be dissapointed!