Best of
Film

1982

My Last Sigh


Luis Buñuel - 1982
    This long out-of-paint autobiography provides insight into the genesis of Bunuel's films and conveys his frank opinions on dwarves, Catholicism, the Marquis de Sade, food, and smoking, not to mention his recipe for a good dry martini!

The Twilight Zone Companion


Marc Scott Zicree - 1982
    Zicree's account of the series from inception to cancellation, through syndications and sunbsequent offshoots and remakes, is fascinating reading for even the mosts casual fan. Coverage of each episode includes a plot synopsis, Rod Serling's narrations, critical commentary, behind-the-scenes stories and anecdotes from the original artist who created the series, a complete list of cast and credits, and over 200 production photographs.This second edition also has an addendum covering the Twilight Zone movie and the CBS program from the 1980s.

Four Films: Annie Hall/Interiors/Manhattan/Stardust Memories


Woody Allen - 1982
    Hilariously funny, with all actions included.

Keep Watching the Skies!: American Science Fiction Movies of the Fifties


Bill Warren - 1982
    With new entries on several films, it also revisits, revises and expands the commentary on every film in the 1982 and 1986 two-volume edition. In addition to a detailed plot synopsis, cast and credit listings, and an overview of each film's critical reception, Warren delivers richly informative assessments of the films and a wealth of insights and anecdotes about their making, often drawing on remarks by the filmmakers that have emerged in the quarter century since the original edition. The book is arranged by film title, contains 273 photographs (many rare, some in color), has seven useful appendices, and concludes with an enormous index.

Speaking of Films


Satyajit Ray - 1982
    Over the next forty years, Satyajit Ray came to be regarded as one of the world's finest film-makers ever. Today, more than a decade after his death, he continues to be India's most respected name in international film circles. Apart from his achievements as a director, Ray was also a prolific writer of novels, short stories, and essays on cinema. Speaking of Films brings together some of Ray's most memorable writings on film and film-making. With the masterly precision and clarity that characterize his films, Ray discusses a wide array of subjects: the structure and language of cinema with special reference to his adaptations of Tagore and Bibhuti Bhushan Bandopadhyay, the appropriate use of background music and dialogue in films, the relationship between a film-maker and a film critic, and important developments in cinema like the advent of sound and colour. He also writes about his own experiences, the challenges of working with rank amateurs, and the innovations called for when making a film in the face of technological, financial and logistical constraints. In the process, Ray provides fascinating behind-the-scenes glimpses of the people who worked with him - the intricacies of getting Chhabi Biswas, who had no ear for music, to play a patron of classical music in Jalsaghar; the incredible memory of the seventy-five-year-old Chunibala Devi, the Indir Thakrun of Pather Panchali, and her remarkable attention to details. This first-ever translation of Bishay Chalachitra, a seminal collection of essays on cinema, Speaking of Films retains the lucidity and simplicity that is a hallmark of Ray's writing, and gives an invaluable insight into the mind of a genius.

Something Like an Autobiography


Akira Kurosawa - 1982
    "A first rate book and a joy to read...It's doubtful that a complete understanding of the director's artistry can be obtained without reading this book...Also indispensable for budding directors are the addenda, in which Kurosawa lays out his beliefs on the primacy of a good script, on scriptwriting as an essential tool for directors, on directing actors, on camera placement, and on the value of steeping oneself in literature, from great novels to detective fiction."—Variety"For the lover of Kurosawa's movies...this is nothing short of must reading...a fitting companion piece to his many dynamic and absorbing screen entertainments."—Washington Post Book World

The Bare Bones Camera Course for Film and Video


Tom Schroeppel - 1982
    If you are, or plan to be, a cameraperson, I suggest you read your camera's operator's manual in addition to this book. When you understand both, you should be able to go out and shoot footage that works. If you're not interested in becoming a cameraperson, but simply want to better understand how the camera is used, no additional reading is required. Just relax and enjoy the book."

Napoleon


Kevin Brownlow - 1982
    The film was more daring, both technically and artistically, than anything he had ever seen. How could it have been forgotten? Brownlow got in touch with the film's director and tracked down members of its cast and crew. He discovered that the making of the film was as much of an epic as the film itself. In 1967, he began an attempt to restore Napoleon. The work took years, but eventually Napoleon was presented, with live orchestra, to a new generation, and, as one critic put it, it became "the measure for all other films, forever." This book tells the dramatic story of Napoleon's incredible revival and also serves as a wonderful introduction and companion to the film. * Contains free CD of Carl Davis' original score

James Whale: A New World of Gods and Monsters


James Curtis - 1982
    James Curtis is the author of a well-received biography on Preston Sturges and a new book, W.C. FIELDS, just published by Knopf and favorably reviewed in the NYTBR.

Hawks on Hawks


Joseph McBride - 1982
    The distinguished director, Howard Hawks, discusses his techniques of filmmaking, analyzes the artistry of his movies, and portrays his experiences working in Hollywood.

The RKO Story


Richard B. Jewell - 1982
    Surveys the history of the motion picture studio, RKO Radio Pictures, from its beginnings in 1928 to its collapse in 1960 and discusses a variety of its films

Scenarios: Aguirre, the Wrath of God / Every Man for Himself and God Against All / Land of Silence and Darkness / Fitzcarraldo


Werner Herzog - 1982
    Harnessing his vision and transcendent reality, these four pieces of long-form prose earmark a renowned filmmaker at the dawn of his career.

The Three Stooges Scrapbook


Jeff Lenburg - 1982
    A look at the wild and wacky world of the Three Stooges includes biographical sketches, interviews with the Stooges and their associates, a comprehensive filmography, and numerous illustrations

The Blob


Ian Thorne - 1982
    When a meteor crashes to earth, it carries a mysterious destructive blob inside.

Midnight Movies


J. Hoberman - 1982
    Here is the complete history of cult films, their makers, and their audience; an examination of how films become "midnight movies," and what keeps audiences coming back to see them over and over; an exploration of the connections between subversive film and the subcultures from which it emerges. Supplemented with a new afterward detailing the accommodation of midnight movies into the mainstream and speculating on the future of the genre, Midnight Movies is essential reading for anyone interested in the history and future of American cinema.

M-G-M's Greatest Musicals: The Arthur Freed Unit


Hugh Fordin - 1982
    From 1940 to 1970, under the auspices of M-G-M's celebrated Freed Unit, Hollywood's master actors, writers, directors, choreographers, composers, and set designers created The Wizard of Oz, Girl Crazy, Meet Me in St. Louis, Annie Get Your Gun, An American in Paris, Show Boat, Singin' in the Rain, Gigi, and nearly forty others. The author brings to vivid life the unexpected crises and everyday magic of the Freed Unit. Richly detailed, profusely illustrated with hundreds of rare photos, this book describes the lives and careers Freed touched and often shaped—Judy Garland, Vincente Minnelli, Gene Kelly, Ginger Rogers, and others like Saroyan, Berlin, Kern, Gershwin—and in the process reveals how a romantic, sentimental man became the uncontested master of the movie musical.

Abstract Film and Beyond


Malcolm Legrice - 1982
    gives us a lucid account, both historical and theoretical, of the main preoccupations of abstract filmmakers...."Le Grice begins with a painter, Cezanne, to show how his preoccupation with pictorial space is a key to any understanding of the notion of abstraction. He goes on to discuss the Futurists' cinema, the early abstract film experiments by Eggeling, Duchamp and others in Germany and France of the '20s, the West Coast filmmakers of the '40s, and a stimulating view of the experimental film movement after WW II, including the works of Brakhage, Snow, Gidal and Sharits."- "Art Direction""Whether or not one agrees with Le Grice's valuation of an alternate cinema, "Abstract Film and Beyond "clearly demonstrates that the cinema, that great twentieth-century art, is no mere entertainment, but an event of tremendous importance and implication."- "The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism"

The Deadly Mantis


Ian Thorne - 1982
    A giant insect frozen for millions of years thaws out in Alaska and makes its way to New York City.

The Story Of Cinema: A Complete Narrative History, From The Beginnings To The Present


David Shipman - 1982
    

The History Of Movie Photography


Brian Coe - 1982
    

Halliwell's Hundred: A Nostalgic Choice of Films from the Golden Age


Leslie Halliwell - 1982
    

Films-Clint Eastwood-Revised


Boris Zmijewsky - 1982
    The Clint Eastwood Scrapbook takes a comprehensive and entertaining look at all aspects of this remarkable man's achievement.Tracing Eastwood's entire career, from his early days on the legendary television series Rawhide, through his latest hit Absolute Power, this fan's guide lists all of Eastwood's films by genre and offers insightful critiques about each in the context of Clint's entire body of work. There are sections relating to Eastwood's work as a director, politician, and -- we kid you not -- singer. The Clint Eastwood Scrapbook also lists every award Eastwood's films have won throughout the years, and recounts Clint's triumph at the Oscars for The Unforgiven. Peppered throughout the text are notable quotes from Clint's films, the star's own opinions of his work, and what friends and colleagues have said about him. Enhancing these pages are hundreds of rare photos, many in color, depicting Eastwood in his films and behind the camera. There are also rare international advertising posters and collectibles, a trivia facts section, and a complete listing of where Clint can be found on the Web.When he first entered American films, critics scoffed that he had been trained in the Mount Rushmore Academy of Acting. Today, he is recognized as one of the most respected filmmakers in the world-- a man Norman Mailer called "an American icon". The Clint Eastwood Scrapbook is a fitting tribute to an accomplished actor -- a necessity for Eastwood fans everywhere.