Best of
Film

2004

Instant Light: Tarkovsky Polaroids


Andrei Tarkovsky - 2004
    The melancholy of seeing things for the last time is the highly mysterious and poetic essence that these images leave with us. It is as though Andrei wanted to transmit his own enjoyment quickly to others. And they feel like a fond farewell."Tonino Guerra, from the IntroductionThis beautifully produced book comprises sixty Polaroid photographs of Andrei Tarkovsky's friends and family, taken between 1979 and 1984 in his native Russia and in Italy, where he spent time in political exile.The size of the Polaroids is exactly as presented in the book, including the frame. The book may therefore be viewed as a facsimile edition. 60 color illustrations.

On Film-making: An Introduction to the Craft of the Director


Alexander Mackendrick - 2004
    Alexander 'Sandy' Mackendrick directed classic Ealing comedies plus a Hollywood masterpiece, Sweet Smell of Success. But after retiring from film-making in 1969, he then spent nearly 25 years teaching his craft at the California Institute of the Arts in Los Angeles.Mackendrick produced hundreds of pages of masterly handouts and sketches, designed to guide his students to a finer understanding of how to write a story, and then use those devices peculiar to cinema in order to tell that story as effectively as possible. Gathered and edited in this collection, Mackendrick's teachings reveal that he had the talent not only to make great films, but also to articulate the process with a clarity and insight that will still inspire any aspirant film-maker.

The Story of Film


Mark Cousins - 2004
    Mark Cousins’s chronological journey through the worldwide history of film is told from the point of view of filmmakers and moviegoers. Weaving personalities, film technology, and production with engaging descriptions of groundbreaking scenes, Cousins uses his experience as film historian, producer, and director to capture the shifting trends of movie history. We learn how filmmakers influenced each other; how contemporary events influenced them; how they challenged established techniques and developed new technologies to enhance their medium. Striking images reinforce the reader’s understanding of cinematic innovation, both stylistic and technical. The images reveal astonishing parallels in global filmmaking, thus introducing the less familiar worlds of African, Asian, and Middle Eastern cinema, as well as documenting the fortunes of the best Western directors. The Story of Film presents Silent (1885-1928), Sound (1928-1990), and Digital (1990-present), spanning the birth of the moving image; the establishment of Hollywood; the European avant-garde movements, personal filmmaking; world cinema; and recent phenomena like Computer Generated Imagery and the ever-more “real” realizations of the wildest of imaginations. The Story of Film explores what has today become the world’s most popular artistic medium.

The Matrix


Joshua Clover - 2004
    Starring Keanu Reeves as Neo, a computer programmer transformed into a messianic freedom fighter, The Matrix blends science fiction with conspiracy thriller conventions and outlandish martial arts created with groundbreaking digital techniques. A box-office triumph, the film was no populist confection: its blatant allusions to highbrow contemporary philosophy added to its appeal as a mystery to be decoded.Joshua Clover undertakes the task of decoding the film. Examining The Matrix's digital effects and how they were achieved, he shows how the film represents a melding of cinema and video games (the greatest commercial threat to have faced Hollywood since the advent of television) and achieves a hybrid kind of immersive entertainment. He also unpacks the movie's references to philosophy, showing how The Matrix ultimately expresses the crisis American culture faced at the end of the 1990s.

Ray Harryhausen: An Animated Life


Ray Harryhausen - 2004
    In the animator's own words, accompanied by hundreds of previously unpublished photographs, sketches, and storyboards from his personal archive, this book details Harryhausen's entire film career, from 20 Million Miles to Earth and Earth vs. The Flying Saucers to Clash of the Titans and Jason and the Argonauts. In words and images, this book explains the basics of special effects and stop-motion animation, along the way telling entertaining tales of working with the film stars of the day, such as Laurence Olivier, Maggie Smith, and Lionel Jeffries. Film buffs will relish such revelations as how Raquel Welch was picked up by a flying dinosaur in One Million Years B.C., why the octopus in Mysterious Island was really only a sixtopus, and what Medusa's blood was made from in Clash of the Titans.

Essential Deren: Collected Writings on Film


Maya Deren - 2004
    Essential Deren: Collected Writings on Film contains all of Deren's essays on her own films as well as more general essays on film theory, the relation of film to dance, various technical aspects of film production, the distinction between amateur and professional filmmaking, and the famous 1946 chapbook titled "An Anagram of Ideas on Art, Form and Film," which has been reset here for the first time. There are hard-to-find articles written for magazines and art journals, as well as lectures, Q&A sessions, program notes, and manifestoes. This book will be particularly welcomed by the large audience that saw Martina Kudlacek's documentary, "In the Mirror of Maya Deren," during its theatrical release in the U.S. and Europe in 2002. The importance of Maya Deren's films and writings is further evidenced by the American Film Institute having named its highest award for independent filmmaking the "Maya Deren."

'Tis Herself


Maureen O'Hara - 2004
    I'm Maureen O'Hara and this is my life story.-- From Chapter One of 'Tis HerselfIn language that is blunt, straightforward, and totally lacking in artifice, Maureen O'Hara, one of the greatest and most enduring stars of Hollywood's "Golden Era," for the first time tells the story of how she succeeded in the world's most competitive business.Known for her remarkable beauty and her fiery screen persona, Maureen O'Hara came to Hollywood when she was still a teenager, taken there by her mentor, the great actor Charles Laughton. Almost immediately she clashed with the men who ran the movie business -- the moguls who treated actors like chattel, the directors who viewed every actress as a potential bedmate.Determined to hold her own and to remain true to herself, she fought for roles that she wanted and resisted the advances of some of Hollywood's most powerful and attractive men. It was in the great director John Ford that she first found someone willing to give her a chance to prove herself as an important actress. Beginning with the Academy Award-winning How Green Was My Valley, she went on to make five films with Ford and through him first met the great John Wayne, with whom she also made five films.In O'Hara, Ford had found his ideal Irish heroine, a role that achieved its greatest realization in The Quiet Man. And in O'Hara, John Wayne found his ideal leading lady, for she was perhaps the only actress who could hold her own when on screen with "The Duke." Ford, however, was not without his quirks, and his relationship with his favorite actress became more and more complex and ultimately deeply troubled. The on-screen relationship between Wayne and O'Hara, on the other hand, was transformed into a close friendship built on mutual respect, creating a bond that endured until his death.Writing with complete frankness, O'Hara talks for the first time about these remarkable men, about their great strengths and their very human failings. She writes as well about many of the other actors and actresses -- Lucille Ball, Tyrone Power, Errol Flynn, John Candy, Natalie Wood, to name a few -- with whom she worked, but ultimately it is about herself that she is most revealing. With great candor and a mixture of pride and regret, she reflects on just how this young girl from Ireland made it to America and onto movie screens all around the world. There were missteps, of course -- a troubled and deeply destructive marriage, a willingness to trust too readily in others -- but there were triumphs and great happiness as well, including her marriage to the aviation pioneer Brigadier General Charles F. Blair, who tragically died in a mysterious plane crash ten years after their marriage.Throughout, 'Tis Herself is informed by the warmth and charm and intelligence that defined Maureen O'Hara's performances in some sixty films, from The Hunchback of Notre Dame to Miracle on 34th Street to The Parent Trap to McLintock! to Only the Lonely. 'Tis Herself is Maureen O'Hara's story as only she can tell it, the tale of an Irish lass who believed in herself with the strength and determination to make her own dreams come true.

New Cinematographers


Alex Ballinger - 2004
    Extended studies of each cinemotagrapher's work -- fully illustrated with stills, lighting charts and storyboards -- help show the how each translates their aesthetic vision into the actual filmed work. The book includes a detailed resource section, an annotated bibliography and detailed technical glossary.

Sideways: The Shooting Script


Alexander Payne - 2004
    The newest screenplay from the Oscar®-nominated writers of Election and About Schmidt, Sideways is the tale of two men's adventure in California wine country.Based on Rex Pickett's acclaimed first novel, Sideways tells the story of Miles (Paul Giamatti), a failed novelist, and his soon-to-be-married friend Jack (Thomas Haden Church), a washed-up actor.To salute the remains of their youth, the two men take one last road trip in the week before Jack's wedding.A serious wine enthusiast, Miles is determined to educate his friend on the region's beloved Pinot Noir wines before the week is out.Jack indulges his best friend's passion for the grape but is mainly interested in living his last week of bachelorhood to the hilt.Trouble ensues with wine and women (Virginia Madsen and Sandra Oh), and the duo comes to some profound realizations as they come to terms with maturity.

The Hellraiser Chronicles


Clive Barker - 2004
    The Cenobites soon returned, and their leader, the chilling Pinhead (played by Doug Bradley), became an worldwide icon.The Hellraiser Chronicles is a beautifully produced, full colour photographic companion to Hellraiser, Hellbound: Hellraiser II and Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth. It features stunning, specially shot portrait photography unavailable elsewhere, plus script extracts, design sketches, behind-the-scenes stills and interviews. The only official Hellraiser book, it is a must for all fans of the series.Time to play"

Screenwriting: The Sequence Approach


Paul Joseph Gulino - 2004
    Screenwriting: The Sequence Approach expounds on an often-overlooked tool that can be key in solving this problem. A screenplay can be understood as being built of sequences of about fifteen pages each, and by focusing on solving the dramatic aspects of each of these sequences in detail, a writer can more easily conquer the challenges posed by the script as a whole.The sequence approach has its foundation in early Hollywood cinema (until the 1950s, most screenplays were formatted with sequences explicitly identified), and has been rediscovered and used effectively at such film schools as the University of Southern California, Columbia University and Chapman University. This book exposes a wide audience to the approach for the first time, introducing the concept then providing a sequence analysis of eleven significant feature films made between 1940 and 2000:The Shop Around The Corner / Double Indemnity / Nights of Cabiria / North By Northwest / Lawrence of Arabia / The Graduate / One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest / Toy Story / Air Force One / Being John Malkovich / The Fellowship of the Ring

The Scarecrow Video Movie Guide


Scarecrow Video - 2004
    is to bookstores: independent, iconoclastic, and obsessed. With more than 60,000 titles in a single outlet, it's a paradise frequented by serious movie lovers and staffed by movie freaks. Loaded with a deep appreciation and understanding of movies, these fanatics have assembled one of the most eclectic movie lists to date. This is a unique list of essential, cool, funny, laughable, important, fluffy, outrageous, you-just-gotta-see videos for anyone interested in the art (both high and low) of moviemaking. This book easily satisfies every reader's personal penchant. Includes the best of the best and the worst of the worst in biker flicks, documentaries, foreign films, psychotronics, action, experimental, kids, film noir, murder mysteries, gay and lesbian, music, anime, and more.

Kenneth Anger: A Demonic Visionary


Kenneth Anger - 2004
    He has created new genres and techniques in filmmaking: improvisation, pastiche, and through default of lack of funding, the music clip, in films such as Scorpio Rising, 1963, Kustom Kar Kommandos, 1965, and Puce Moment, 1949/70, pioneering the most fertile experimental collaborations with contemporary musicians. Those musicians include Mick Jagger (who created the soundtrack for Invocation of My Demon Brother, 1969; Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, and the infamous Bobby Beausoleil who contributed to Lucifer Rising, 1970-80, which also featured Marianne Faithfull. Anger has provided an elegantly subversive alternative to mass cultural representation, and his extraordinary images also serve to some degree as social documentary of the era.

The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou


Wes Anderson - 2004
    Wes Anderson has assembled a top-notch cast for his new movie, which stars Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Cate Blanchett, Anjelica Huston, Willem Dafoe, and Jeff Goldblum. The official tie-in book to The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, packed with 190 color images, also includes the complete screenplay, a Q&A with Anderson, stills, drawings and storyboards by Anderson, and cast and crew credits.

The Movie Posters of Drew Struzan


Drew Struzan - 2004
    Struzan, “the last of the great poster artists,” according to The Boston Globe, has created the images for some of the biggest and most successful box office hits in cinematic history, including Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Back to the Future, the complete Star Wars series, E.T., Blade Runner, Rambo, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, and Hook. This compilation of his cinematic art, accompanied by text explaining his particular vision of each character, features a foreword by the director George Lucas.

Like a Splinter in Your Mind


Matt Lawrence - 2004
     Offers a way into philosophy through the Matrix films. Covers thirteen of the biggest philosophical questions in thirteen self-sufficient chapters suitable for course use. Demonstrates how each of these questions is illustrated through the events and characters of the films. Considers whether sentient machines are possible, and whether we should expect them to face the same existentialist issues that we do. Familiarises readers with key issues in metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, philosophy of mind, race and gender, existentialism, Taoism and mysticism. Includes a chapter that explains some of the technical elements of the films and confusing aspects of the plot. Also includes a Matrix glossary, and a cast of characters and their related symbolism.

Shock! Horror!


Harvey Fenton - 2004
    From a private collection of rarities, this documents those outlaw years of malevolent art with- 200 of the greatest horror video covers from the British 'video nasty' era- full-page, full-color reproductions- banned or suppressed video covers- cover for "Evil Dead, Last House on the Left, Werewolves on the Wheels, and "Zombie Creeping Flesh

Mulholland Drive


Luca Malavasi - 2004
    

Big Fish: The Shooting Script


John August - 2004
    Bloom’s mythic exploits dart from the delightful to the delirious as he weaves epic tales about giants, blizzards, a witch, and conjoined-twin lounge singers.Bloom charms everyone he encounters except for his estranged son Will (Billy Crudup). When his mother Sandra (Jessica Lange) tries to reunite them, Will must learn how to separate fact from fiction as he comes to terms with his father’s great feats and great failings.In addition to the complete screenplay, this Newmarket Shooting Script book includes a foreword by Daniel Wallace, an introduction by John August, a special color photo insert capturing the film’s vivid visuals, production notes, and complete cast and crew credits.

American Cinematographer Manual


Stephen H. Burum - 2004
    The completely revised 9th edition offers contributions from experts with more than 100 years of motion-picture experience. Its features include: • More than 30 new charts, including lighting intensities for more than 90 fixtures. • A completely revised camera section, rewritten by Jon Fauer, ASC • A new article on digital intermediates by Bill Feightner and Robert L. Eicholz of EFilm • Warner Bros. executive Rob Hummel's update of his classic "pros and cons" chapter, which now includes the latest digital postproduction techniques • A new chapter on hanging miniatures by visual-effects wizard Dan Curry • "Tak's tips" from Panavision lens expert Tak Miyagishima • The most extensive section yet on motion-picture formulas, written by Evans Wetmore, vice president of advanced engineering at 20th Century Fox • A revised chapter on motion-control by visual-effects legend Richard Edlund, ASC, who has included the latest updates on digital technology

L.A. Noir: Nine Dark Visions of the City of Angels


William Hare - 2004
    The largest metropolitan area in the country, home to an ever-changing population of the disillusioned and in close proximity to city, mountains, ocean, and desert, the City of Angels became a center of American film noir. This detailed discussion of nine films explores such topics as why certain settings are appropriate for film noir, why L.A. has been a favorite of authors such as Raymond Chandler, and relevant political developments in the area. The films are also examined in terms of story content as well as how they developed in the project stage. Utilizing a number of quotes from interviews, the work examines actors, directors, and others involved with the films, touching on their careers and details of their time in L.A. The major films covered are The Big Sleep, Criss Cross, D.O.A., In A Lonely Place, The Blue Gardenia, Kiss Me Deadly, The Killing, Chinatown, and L.A. Confidential.

Oscar Night: 75 Years of Hollywood Parties


David Friend - 2004
    More than five hundred black-and-white and full-color photographs, many never before seen, journey behind closed doors into the midst of the exclusive Oscar parties of the past seventy-five years, offering a dramatic visual history of Hollywood, its celebrities, and its celebration of its most glamorous night.

Agitator: The Cinema of Takashi Miike


Tom Mes - 2004
    This edition features a new and expanded colour section, completely updated DVD information, and several brand new reviews of Takashi Miike films that were unavailable for coverage at the time of the book's initial production.

Essential Cinema: On the Necessity of Film Canons


Jonathan Rosenbaum - 2004
    Guided by a personal canon of great films, Rosenbaum sees, in the ongoing hostility toward the idea of a canon shared by many within the field of film studies, a missed opportunity both to shape the discussion about cinema and to help inform and guide casual and serious filmgoers alike.In Essential Cinema, Rosenbaum forcefully argues that canons of great films are more necessary than ever, given that film culture today is dominated by advertising executives, sixty-second film reviewers, and other players in the Hollywood publicity machine who champion mediocre films at the expense of genuinely imaginative and challenging works. He proposes specific definitions of excellence in film art through the creation a personal canon of both well-known and obscure movies from around the world and suggests ways in which other canons might be similarly constructed.Essential Cinema offers in-depth assessments of an astonishing range of films: established classics such as Rear Window, M, and Greed; ambitious but flawed works like The Thin Red Line and Breaking the Waves; eccentric masterpieces from around the world, including Irma Vep and Archangel; and recent films that have bitterly divided critics and viewers, among them Eyes Wide Shut and A.I. He also explores the careers of such diverse filmmakers as Robert Altman, Raúl Ruiz, Frank Tashlin, Elaine May, Sam Fuller, Terrence Davies, Edward Yang, Hou Hsiao-hsien, and Orson Welles. In conclusion, Rosenbaum offers his own film canon of 1,000 key works from the beginning of cinema to the present day. A cogent and provocative argument about the art of film, Essential Cinema is also a fiercely independent reference book of must-see movies for film lovers everywhere.

Heaven and Hell to Play With: The Filming of The Night of the Hunter


Preston Neal Jones - 2004
    Every aspect is revealed of the film's development and production - casting, design, shooting, scoring, and editing - to the profound disappointment upon its release. This book is the result of over a decade of archival research and interviews with a dozen key people associated with the film, including Grubb, Gregory, actors Robert Mitchum and Lillian Gish and cinematographer Stanley Cortez. Their oral histories, along with numerous artifacts and film stills, are here deftly assembled into an account that is as compelling as the movie it celebrates.

Errol Flynn: The Life and Career


Thomas McNulty - 2004
    This biography follows Flynn from his birth in Tasmania, Australia, in 1909, to his death in Vancouver, Canada, in 1959. Included is analysis of his films, discussion of the 1943 rape trial that changed his life, a survey of the FBI's infamous surveillance, and the first detailed account of his television appearances in the 1950s. First-hand interviews with Flynn's friends and colleagues are complemented by research from FBI files, correspondence, Flynn's diary, and other sources. Illustrated with rare and previously unpublished photographs, the study also gives attention to the historical backgrounds and cultural influences that contributed to Flynn's fame; the work takes an objective and analytical look at the actor's adventurous life. The study includes three appendices, the first being a collection of quotations from various celebrities, from memories of his talent and style to anecdotes about his wild pool parties. The second appendix is a list of the films produced in Hollywood in 1939, the year Flynn held a place in the top ten. The third appendix

Hellboy: The Art of the Movie


Mike Mignola - 2004
    Storyboards, sketches of ideas for characters, costumes, sets, and props, and behind-the-scenes accounts accompany the script of the film about a demonic investigator fighting villains who want to loose powerful evil beings.

A Terry Teachout Reader


Terry Teachout - 2004
    This collection gathers the best of Teachout’s writings from the past fifteen years. In each essay he offers lucid and balanced judgments that invariably illuminate, sometimes infuriate, and always spark a response—the mark of a critic whose thoughts, however controversial, cannot be ignored. In a thoughtful introduction to the book, Teachout considers how American culture of the twenty-first century differs from that of the last century and how the information age has altered popular culture. His selected essays chronicle America’s cultural journey over the past decade and a half, and they show us what has been lost—and gained—along the way. With highly informed opinions, an inimitable wit and style, and a genuine devotion to all things cultural, Teachout offers his readers much to delight in and much to ponder.

Profondo Argento: The Man, the Myths & the Magic


Alan Jones - 2004
    Meticulously collated into one unique volume are- every feature, interview, review of Argento's work- new material and never-before-published facts and secrets- exclusive Argento interviews- rare stills, posters and candid behind-the-scenes photos from private collections- full-length interviews with 28 collaborators, including George Romero, Max Von Sydow and Julian Sands

Screenwriting is Storytelling: Creating an A-List Screenplay that Sells!


Kate Wright - 2004
    A compelling story, complete with intriguing characters and situations created with these screenwriting tricks of the trade can become a box office blockbuster film.Screenwriters will learn:- Developing themes within the plot- Using structure to define the story- Creating memorable characters- Establishing moral dilemmas and conflicts - Achieving classic elements of storytelling in a three-act dramatic structure- Mastering different genres

For Ever Godard


Michael Temple - 2004
    This historical moment provides the perfect opportunity for a critical reassessment and redefinition of Godard’s entire corpus and its key role within contemporary culture.With 22 lavishly illustrated chapters, as well as a photo essay and visual filmography, For Ever Godard does justice to the full sweep of Godard’s oeuvre: from early pioneering works such as À bout de souffle (Breathless) and Weekend — to his later engagement with Maoist ideology and revolutionary Marxism — through to his films of the 1980s that returned to more mainstream themes.This book presents material by scholars and practitioners from film and media studies, philosophy, history, aesthetics, feminism and gender studies amongst others, providing a wide-ranging but always engaging analysis of his work. As a significant marker of current methods, research and practice across these different areas, For Ever Godard is an invaluable resource and of major importance to current discourses and debates on cinema and visual culture.

It Came from Horrorwood: Interviews with Moviemakers in the SF and Horror Tradition


Tom Weaver - 2004
    Originally published as It Came from Weaver Five in 1996, this collection goes behind the scenes with 20 of the most talkative people of Hollywood's horror, science fiction and serial films of the 1930s through 1960s. Delores Fuller loaned Ed Wood her angora sweater, but didn't fully realize he was a transvestite until Glen or Glenda was released. Tom Hennesy played the title role in Clint Eastwood's first movie--Revenge of the Creature. The interviewees include Fuller, Hennesy, Junior Coghlan, Charlotte Austin, Les Baxter, John Clifford, Mara Corday, Kathleen Crowley, Michael Fox, Anne Gwynne, Linda Harrison, Michael Pate, Gil Perkins, Walter Reed, Joseph F. Robertson, Aubrey Schenck, Sam Sherman, Gloria Stuart, Gregory Walcott and Robert Wise. Also included is A Salute to Ed Wood, with illustrations by Drew Friedman.

Caught in the Web: Dreaming Up the World of Spider-Man 2


Mark Cotta Vaz - 2004
    Now, in this captivating journey behind the scenes and into the imagination, fans can discover how the myth and magic became real in Spider-Man 2, as they plunge deeper into Spider-Man’s world to meet the characters, explore the environments, and follow the storyline in a stunning visual journey. Packed with hundreds of amazing production illustrations, prepared by many of the most talented illustrators in Hollywood, Caught in the Web features• Original sketches, artwork, and doodles that became the inspirations for characters, sets, and computer–generated imagery• Climactic scenes from the movie as they first appeared in conceptual art• Design work used to develop costumes and visual effects—as well as blueprints and architectural drafts used in the construction of both physical and virtual environments• Unique insights into the genesis of Doc Ock—revealing how he evolved from his comic-book origins• An intimate behind-the-scenes look at the full creative process for Spider-Man 2Enter the amazing realm where dreams come true and discover how the epic adventure was created as you immerse yourself in the action and atmosphere of Spider-Man 2, from the first rough sketches to the final on-screen adventure.

Behind the Seen: How Walter Murch Edited Cold Mountain Using Apple's Final Cut Pro and What This Means for Cinema


Charles Koppelman - 2004
    It includes anecdotes from the director, edit staff, and producers; photos, emails, and journal entries.

The Making of Alexander: The Official Guide to the Epic Film Alexander


Robin Lane Fox - 2004
    Provides behind-the-scenes information on the 2004 film directed by Oliver Stone, looking at the development of the script, the actors, the locations and sets, and the filming.

Mar Adentro. Guion Cinematografico


Alejandro Amenábar - 2004
    Two women try to change his life - Julia (Belen Rueda) is a lawyer who supports his cause, and Rosa (Lola Dueqas) is a neighbor who wants to convince him that life is worth living. The two women's encounters with the charismatic Ramon lead to change in their own lives."

Stanley Kubrick


Hans-Peter Reichmann - 2004
    The book offers interdisciplinary essays while also addressing each of Kubrick's films, which are analyzed from different angles. Interviews as well as pictures and documents from the estate add to the articles, and a detailed filmography and discography complete the publication. With words of greeting from Martin Scorsese und Christiane Kubrick and a preface by Jan Harlan, the catalogue starts with a reflection on the photographic work of young Kubrick followed by a comparative study of the early films. Kubrick's visual handwriting in the "commissioned" work SPARTACUS is assessed, the question "How did they ever make a movie of Lolita?" gets pursued. The War Room in DR. STRANGELOVE OR: HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB is inverstigated and Weegee's photographs from the film's set are represented. Design and branding in 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY are the themes examined furtheron; Kubrick's longtime assistant Anthony Frewin contributes information about a prologue cut out of the film. Another essay presents Kubrick as an "evolutionary engineer of images" with a specific reference to A CLOCKWORK ORANGE. An art historical analysis of BARRY LYNDON precedes two essays on THE SHINING: looking at the different drafts of the screenplay Kubrick's adaptation of Stephen King's novel is reconstructed while attention gets directed to the labyrinthine rooms of the Overlook Hotel. Moreover, the theme of war in FULL METAL JACKET and the "film-theater" in EYES WIDE SHUT get discussed. The never realized projects NAPOLEON and ARYAN PAPERS are presented for the first time. Essays examining Kubrick's innovative use of technical film apparatus and soundtracks round off the catalogue.

Rick Trembles' Motion Picture Purgatory


Rick Trembles - 2004
    Includes- "Naked Lunch- "Touch of Evil- "Grease- "Psycho- "Last Year at Marienbad

Dirk Bogarde: The Authorised Biography


John Coldstream - 2004
    Fiercely protective of his privacy, and that of his partner of 40 years, he left England in the 1960s to live on the continent, where he carved a second career for himself as a bestselling autobiographer and successful novelist. Although Bogarde destroyed many of his papers, his family has made available his personal archive to John Coldstream, who knew him well in his last years.

Animation Art: From Pencil to Pixel, the World of Cartoon, Anime, & CGI


Jerry BeckRay Pointer - 2004
    In recent years, animation has been hugely impacted by the arrival of the computer, seen in films such as Toy Story and Shrek. Computers have pushed animation to the limit by achieving fine, detailed, real-world rendering techniques that challenge the next generation of animators.

The Film Preservation Guide The Basics For Archives, Libraries, And Museums


National Film Preservation Foundation - 2004
    The Film Preservation Guide is designed for these organizations. It introduces film preservation to nonprofit and public institutions that have collections of motion picture film but lack information about how to take care of them. Written and produced by the National Film Preservation Foundation, the book is a primer for “beginners”—professionals trained in archival studies, librarianship, museum work, or history but unschooled in this technical specialty.The guide grew from user workshops at Duke University and the Minnesota Historical Society. At the sessions, beginners talked with technical experts about what they needed to know in order to preserve and make available their film collections. "Keep it simple!" was the watchword of the discussions.Following this advice, the guide describes methods for handling, duplicating, making available, and storing film that are practical for research institutions with limited resources. It is organized in chapters tracing the path of film through the preservation process, from acquisition to exhibition, and includes case studies, photo-illustrations prepared by the staff of George Eastman House, charts, 10-page glossary, bibliography, and index.The Film Preservation Guide was made possible through the support of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the contribution of scores of preservationists. The publication has been translated into Chinese, Farsi, Japanese, Korean, and Thai and is used by film archivists around the world.

Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook 2004


Roger Ebert - 2004
    Presents detailed descriptions and reviews of virtually every movie that has opened nationally over the past year, reports from the major film festivals, interviews with important movie figures, and essays on the movie world.

Flesh & Blood: Compendium


Harvey Fenton - 2004
    Warren and Richard Stanley, plus Fred Williamson, Russ Meyer, Peter Jackson and more! Plus there are in-depth appreciations of everything from slasher movies and contemporary sci-fi epics to RealiTV, Prosthetic Sex films, the British Trash Files and censorship, plus a great many reviews of films that you just can't read about anywhere else. All this and much more for everyone who is interested in sex, death & movies!

Film Posters Horror


Tony Nourmand - 2004
    The films are grouped by categories, such as Universal Studios' uniquely rich hoard of horror, the products of British horror specialists Hammer Films, Japanese horror movies, horror spoofs such as "An American Werewolf in London", or serial killer movies. Also featured is the work of directors who are wholly or partly remembered for their contribution to the genre, like Roman Polanski ("Repulsion" and "Rosemary's Baby"), Alfred Hitchcock ("The Birds" and "Psycho"), David Cronenberg ("The Fly") and Brian de Palma ("Carrie and Sisters"). Horror, perhaps more than any other genre, offers the poster artist the opportunity to create an image that is both disturbing and memorable. This book shows just how rich is the tradition upon which movie-goers can draw for their nightmares.

A Critical Cinema 4: Interviews with Independent Filmmakers


Scott MacDonald - 2004
    In this new set of interviews, MacDonald once again engages filmmakers in detailed discussions of their films and of the personal experiences and political and theoretical currents that have shaped their work. The interviews are arranged to express the remarkable diversity of modern independent cinema and the network of interconnections within the community of filmmakers. A Critical Cinema 4 includes the most extensive interview with the late Stan Brakhage yet published; a conversation with P. Adams Sitney about his arrival on the New York independent film scene; a detailed discussion with Peter Kubelka about the experience of making Our African Journey; a conversation with Jill Godmilow and Harun Farocki on modern political documentary; Jim McBride's first extended published conversation in thirty years; a discussion with Abigail Child about her evolution from television documentarian to master editor; and the first extended interview with Chuck Workman. This volume also contains discussions with Chantal Akerman about her place trilogy; Lawrence Brose on his examination of Oscar Wilde's career; Hungarian Peter Forgács about his transformation of European home movies into video operas; Iranian-born Shirin Neshat on working between two cultures; and Ellen Spiro about exploring America with her video camera and her dog. Each interview is supplemented by an introductory overview of the filmmaker's contributions. A detailed filmography and a selected bibliography complete the volume.

Neo-Baroque Aesthetics and Contemporary Entertainment


Angela Ndalianis - 2004
    In Neo-Baroque Aesthetics and Contemporary Entertainment, she situates today's film, computer games, comic books, and theme-park attractions within an aesthetic-historical context and uses the baroque as a framework to enrich our understanding of contemporary entertainment media.The neo-baroque aesthetics that Ndalianis analyzes are not, she argues, a case of art history repeating or imitating itself; these forms have emerged as a result of recent technological and economic transformations. The neo-baroque forms combine sight and sound and text in ways that parallel such seventeenth-century baroque forms as magic lanterns, automata, painting, sculpture, and theater but use new technology to express the concerns of the late twentieth and early twenty-first century. Moving smoothly from century to century, comparing ceiling paintings to the computer game Doom, a Spiderman theme park adventure to the baroque version of multimedia known as the Bel Composto, and a Medici wedding to Terminator 2:3D, the book demonstrates the logic of media histories. Ndalianis focuses on the complex interrelationships among entertainment media and presents a rigorous cross-genre, cross-historical analysis of media aesthetics.

The Queer Movie Poster Book


Jenni Olson - 2004
    In the first overview of its kind, The Queer Movie Poster Book traces the history of gay film through its posters and promotional art. Sometimes alluring, sometimes lurid, often coded, the posters speak volumes about the social mores of the times and the struggle for queer identity. Historian Jenni Olson includes over 150 posters -- from Wallace Beery drag follies to the latest indy productions -- which showcase the varied spectrum of queer cinema. Fascinating sidebars discuss dykesploitation films (typically made by straight men for straight men), gay porn (an overlooked means to social liberation in its own right), and films with transgender themes (studded with pulled-from-the-headlines movies). From the earnest to the campy, The Queer Movie Poster Book constitutes a vibrant feast of popular art and a valuable document of gay film culture.

Carnal Thoughts: Embodiment and Moving Image Culture


Vivian Sobchack - 2004
    Emphasizing our corporeal rather than our intellectual engagements with film and other media, Carnal Thoughts shows how our experience always emerges through our senses and how our bodies are not just visible objects but also sense-making, visual subjects. Sobchack draws on both phenomenological philosophy and a broad range of popular sources to explore bodily experience in contemporary, moving-image culture. She examines how, through the conflation of cinema and surgery, we've all "had our eyes done"; why we are "moved" by the movies; and the different ways in which we inhabit photographic, cinematic, and electronic space. Carnal Thoughts provides a lively and engaging challenge to the mind/body split by demonstrating that the process of "making sense" requires an irreducible collaboration between our thoughts and our senses.

Hick Flicks: The Rise and Fall of Redneck Cinema


Scott Von Doviak - 2004
    The popularity of these hick flicks grew throughout the '70s, and they attained mass acceptance with the 1977 release of Smokey and the Bandit. It marked the heyday of these regional favorites, but within a few short years, changing economic realities within the movie business and the collapse of the drive-in market would effectively spell the end of the so-called hixploitation genre. This comprehensive study of the hixploitation genre is the first of its kind. Chapters are divided into three major topics. Part One deals with good ol' boys, from redneck sheriffs, to moonshiners, to honky-tonk heroes and beyond. Part Two explores road movies, featuring back-road racers, truckers and everything in between. Part Three, In the Woods, covers movies about all manner of beasts--some of them human--populating the swamps and woodlands of rural America. Film stills are included, and an afterword examines both the decline and metamorphosis of the genre. A filmography, bibliography and index accompany the text.

Kill Bill: An Unofficial Casebook


D.K. Holm - 2004
    Includes: *scene-by-scene analysis of both Kill Bill movies*profiles of all major actors*profiles of films which influenced Kill Bill*details of posters, trailers, teasers, early screenplay drafts, different cuts (e.g. the uncensored Japanese cut), early casting, etc.*critical reviews of the movies from various sources*complete list of cross-references and index.*8-page full-color section and illustrations throughout

Silver City and Other Screenplays


John Sayles - 2004
    Silver City and Other Screenplays is a collection of Sayles's greatest work, something that will delight his legion of fans and also aspiring screenwriters and film students who will regard the book as a master class in the art of screenwriting. Silver City and Other Screenplays includes Sayles's most celebrated work -- including Matewan, Return of the Secaucus Seven, Lone Star, and Passion Fish (for which he received an Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay), and his latest film Silver City, a spirited lampoon and a timely, toxic warning about the present state of American democracy.

Unforgiven


Edward Buscombe - 2004
    William Munny, wonderfully played by Eastwood himself, finds himself confronted not only by the formidable sheriff Little Bill Daggett (Gene Hackman) but also by his own inner demons and the awful realities of violence and death. On its appearance in 1992 the film proved a popular and critical success, securing Academy Awards for Best Picture, for Eastwood as Director, for Gene Hackman as Best Supporting Actor, and for Joel Cox as Editor. Unforgiven is Eastwood's last Western to date, and the film may prove to be his swan song in a genre he has graced for more than forty years. Edward Buscombe explores the ways in which Unforgiven, sticking surprisingly close to the original script by David Webb Peoples, moves between the requirements of the traditional Western, with its generic conventions of revenge and male bravado, and more modern sensitivities.

Experiencing Music Video: Aesthetics and Cultural Context


Carol Vernallis - 2004
    Carol Vernallis describes how musical, visual and verbal codes work together in music video and reveals modes of representing race, class, gender, and sexuality that characterize the music video form.

Nuts and Bolts Filmmaking: Practical Techniques for the Guerilla Filmmaker


Dan Rahmel - 2004
    Containing construction details describing how to replicate expensive tools for under $30 a piece, this book provides quick and inexpensive remedies to both the most common and most difficult production challenges. Nuts and Bolts Filmmaking is an invaluable resource to anyone looking to make a film without a big budget.

Lips Hips Tits Power: The Films of Russ Meyer


Doyle Greene - 2004
    Russ Meyer is the breast-fixated filmmaker who started as a nude pin-up photographer and progressed through his own startling brand of B-cinema to direct probably the most bizarre film ever funded by a major Hollywood -studio-"Beyond the Valley of the Dolls,"Meyer's 1960s films-including "Mudhoney, Motorpsycho!" and the legendary "Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!"-are now venerated as modern classics, and "Lips Hips Tits Power" examines Meyer's entire cinematic oeuvre in -detail, affording it the serious analysis it undeniably warrants.Featuring famous girls from Meyer's repertory company such as Tura Satana, Kitten Natividad, Uschi Digard, Haji and Erica Gavin, "Lips Hips Tits Power" offers a visual feast of buxotic female flesh to offset its critical commentary, resulting in a book which operates on two-equally stimulating-levels.

In the Picture: Production Stills from the TCM Archives


Turner Classic Movies - 2004
    A unique photography book unto itself from the commanding archives of Turner Classic Movies, In the Picture collects 150 of these disarming and fascinating documentary images, imparting the delight of vintage Hollywood as well as a wealth of details for all movie lovers. Stills from beloved classics -- Ben-Hur, Casablanca, Gone with the Wind, and The Wizard of Oz on up to Giant, The Dirty Dozen, and Bullitt -- reveal masterful set compositions and period details as well as images of actors between takes conferring with directors and crew. Capturing beloved movie moments both on- and off-camera from the silent era through the '60s, In the Picture provides a rare behind-the-scenes look at Hollywood at work.

Danny Elfman's Batman: A Film Score Guide


Janet K. Halfyard - 2004
    He came to the fore in the late 1980s in connection with his collaboration with Tim Burton on his films including Pee-Wee's Big Adventure (1985), Beetlejuice (1988), Batman (1989), Edward Scissorhands (1990), The Nightmare before Christmas (1993), and Sleepy Hollow (1999). In addition to this, Elfman has composed music for more than 40 other films, including Somersby (1993), Dolores Claibourne (1995), Good Will Hunting (1997), Men in Black (1997), and Spiderman (2002). Beetlejuice was the first mainstream commercial success of the collaboration, but Batman was the film which marked Tim Burton's arrival as a major figure in Hollywood film direction, and equally established Danny Elfman as a film score composer, particularly in relation to action and fantasy genres. The score for Batman won a Grammy in 1989 and is an outstanding example of his collaboration with Burton as well as admirably demonstrating his particular talents and distinctive compositional voice. In particular, it displays the characteristic "darkness" of his orchestration in this genre and the means he uses to create a full length film score from what is often a relatively small amount of musical material, in this case the famous Batman theme. This book examines Elfman's scoring technique and provides a detailed analysis and commentary on the Batman score. The film is discussed in the context of its comic-book origins and the fantasy-action genre, setting it and its score against the late 1970s and early 1980s equivalents such as Star Wars and Superman, and revealing how Burton and Elfman between them changed the cinematic idea of what a superhero is. The book also explores Elfman's musical background, his place within the film music industry and the controversy that sprang up following the release of B

Horror Film and Psychoanalysis: Freud's Worst Nightmare


Steven Jay Schneider - 2004
    It distinguishes itself from previous work in this area through the self-consciousness with which psychoanalytic concepts are employed and the theorization that coexists with interpretations of particular horror films and subgenres.

VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever 2005


Jim Craddock - 2004
    Describes and rates more than twenty thousand videos, and provides indexes by theme, awards, actors, actresses, and directors.

The Christopher Lee Filmography: All Theatrical Releases, 1948-2003


Tom Johnson - 2004
    He has assumed such diverse roles as the Man With the Golden Gun, Frankenstein's Monster, Fu Manchu, Sherlock Holmes, and Doctor Catheter (from Gremlins 2). From Corridor of Mirrors in 1948 to Star Wars: Episode II-Attack of the Clones in 2002, this reference book covers 166 of Lee's theatrical feature films in detail. Each entry provides all production information (including year of release, studio, running time, and location), full credits for cast and crew, a synopsis of the film, and a critical analysis of the film and Lee's involvement, with a detailed account of its making and commentary drawn from some thirty hours of interviews with Lee himself. Each film is also placed within the context of Lee's career and discusses the director and other significant figures. Two appendices list Lee's television feature films and miniseries and Lee's short films, with brief credits and Lee's role in each. The work concludes with an afterword by Christopher Lee. Photographs from the actor's private collection are included.

Groundhog Day


Ryan Gilbey - 2004
    One of the first films to use a science-fiction premise as the basis for romantic comedy, it tells the story of a splenetic TV weatherman, Phil Connors (Bill Murray at his disreputable best), who finds himself indefinitely repeating one drab day in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. The film is a deeply ambivalent fable: before he finds redemption Phil must plumb the depths of suicidal despair--and even after he has survived this, there are no guarantees that he will live happily ever after. Ryan Gilbey begins his account of Groundhog Day with the long and unlucky gestation of the script by Danny Rubin, who was interviewed for this book. Gilbey celebrates the inspired casting of Murray, Andie MacDowell, and less well-known actors such as Stephen Tobolowsky. In a subtle analysis, he unpacks the film's remarkable blend of humor and melancholy, revealing Groundhog Day to be a rare beast--a mainstream Hollywood comedy that grows richer with each repeat viewing.

Encyclopedia of Early Cinema


Richard Abel - 2004
    These early years of the history of cinema have lately been the subject of resurgent interest and a growing body of scholarship, and have come to be recognized as an extraordinarily diverse period, when moving pictures were quite unlike the kind of cinema that later emerged as the dominant norm.This encyclopedia covers all aspects of scholarship on early cinema, both traditional and revisionist. It contains articles on the technological and industrial developments, the techniques of film production, the actors and filmmakers of the time, and on the changing modes of representation and narration, as well as the social and cultural contexts within which early films circulated, including topics such as distribution, exhibition and audience. Beyond the USA and Europe, attention is also given to the wider international picture, including those regions in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and South and Central America where filmmaking may have been relatively undeveloped but movie-going was significant.More than 950 entries have been commissioned from internationally recognized specialists. Alphabetically organized, the entries range in length from short factual articles to full essays that offer clear and stimulating discussions of the key issues, people, practices, and phenomena of early cinema. A thematic list of entries is a useful guide through the book, and all entries contain detailed cross-references. The longer articles have considered suggestions for further reading, which are complemented by a general bibliography of specialized works on early cinema.The Encyclopedia of Early Cinema is an invaluable and fascinating resource for students and researchers interested in the history of cinema.

Nixon at the Movies: A Book about Belief


Mark Feeney - 2004
    As Mark Feeney relates in this unusual and unusually absorbing book, Nixon and the movies have shared a long and complex history. Some of that history—the president's multiple screenings of Patton before and during the invasion of Cambodia, or Oliver Stone's Nixon—is well known. Yet much more is not. How many are aware, for example, that Nixon was an enthusiastic filmgoer who watched more than five hundred movies during his presidency?Nixon at the Movies takes a new and often revelatory approach to looking at Nixon's career—and Hollywood's. From the obvious (All the President's Men) to the less so (Elvis Presley movies and Nixon's relationship to '60s youth culture) to several onscreen "alternate" Nixons (Fred MacMurray in Double Indemnity, Tony Curtis in The Sweet Smell of Success, Gene Hackman in The Conversation), Feeney sees aspects of Nixon's character, and the nation's, refracted and reimagined in film. Conversely, Feeney argues that Nixon can help us see the movies in a new light, making a strong case for Nixon as the movies' tutelary deity during the early '70s, playing a role in Hollywood's Silver Age comparable to FDR's during its Golden Age.Stylishly written and bracingly eclectic, Nixon at the Movies draws on biography, politics, cultural history, and film criticism to show just how deeply in the twentieth-century American grain lies the pair of seemingly incongruous nouns in its title. As Nixon once remarked to Garry Wills: "Isn't that a hell of a thing, that the fate of a great country can depend on camera angles?"

Modigliani (Movie Tie-in Edition)


Mick Davis - 2004
    The story of Amedeo Modigliani's bitter rivalry with Pablo Picasso, and his tragic romance with Jeanne Hebuterne.

James Dean: Portrait of Cool


Leith Adams - 2004
    The objective artist has always been misunderstood' - James Dean. James Dean is a twentieth century icon. He remains the figure we still associate best with youthful irreverence, with rebellion and with that brand of freedom that travels with the American automobile.

Time Out Film Guide 2005


Time Out Guides - 2004
    These reviews are drawn from the full spectrum of cinema history: Russian silents to Ealing comedies, classic documentaries to Japanese anime, poverty row B-movies to Hollywood blockbusters. Each review is headed by the film's chief technical credits, country of origin, running time, colour code, copyright year and cast list. In addition, icons identify the top 100 films named in both readers' and Cinema Centenary polls. Twenty-one appendices classify by category and country, while comprehensive indices identify the works of every director covered in the guide and those of a selection of significant actors. Features new to the twelfth edition are present here again. These include colour tabs throughout to aid navigation, more colour illustrations, and the inclusion of 100 new cinefile boxes, containing pictures and more in-depth reviews of classic films.'The best guide for cinephiles - 1,500 pages of lively and erudite opinion.' Observer

Creeping Flesh 2


David Kerekes - 2004
    Features overviews of Triad movies, Cheerleader films of the seventies, the Australian "Wizard of Oz," Children's TV horror, a major interview with the director of "They Call Her One Eye"-cut by 22 minutes and a main inspiration for "Kill Bill"-and much more. Reviews, news, interviews.

New Hollywood Violence


Steven Jay Schneider - 2004
    "New Hollywood" refers to the return to genre filmmaking following America's flirtation with European art cinema in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and is characterized by vast production budgets and special effects. Focusing on the motivations, the formal and stylistic qualities and the cultural politics of violence as well as the effects on viewers, the collection is divided into four sections: "Surveys and schemas"; "Spectacle and style"; "Race and gender" and "Politics to ideology". An Afterword by Stephen Prince reflects on the various essays and points the way towards areas of future exploration.

The Making of Rebel Without a Cause


Douglas L. Rathgeb - 2004
    In 1954, troubled director Nicholas Ray chatted at a dinner party about his controversial plan for a film about middle-class juvenile delinquents. He was told of a book, written by a prison psychologist and owned by Warner Bros., called Rebel Without a Cause. Inspired after reading it, Ray began writing his own story. Warner Bros. quickly bought it and hired Ray to direct the film. and post-production of the film, the work covers every aspect of Rebel Without a Cause from its rudiments to the 1955 Oscars: the selection of cast and crew, legal fights, preparatory research, changing screenwriters and the many variations of the story, location scouting, auditions, the writing of the score, script readings, difficulties with the censors, romances and fights, shot-by-shot analyses of the directing, editing, screenings, and, of course, its star's death. Dozens of intimate anecdotes fill the work with every detail from wardrobe decisions to James Dean's pranks to the Air Pollution Control Board's opposition to the final car crashes. musicals, and spin-off attempts, and offers concluding words on the cast and crew. Sources include production records, publicity releases, scripts, newspapers, and discussions with Stewart Stern. An appendix offers two unpublished letters from Stewart Stern to Nicholas Ray and to Marcus and Ortense Winslow.

Closely Watched Films: An Introduction to the Art of Narrative Film Technique


Marilyn Fabe - 2004
    Ranging from D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation to Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing, and ending with an epilogue on digital media, Closely Watched Films focuses on exemplary works of fourteen film directors whose careers together span the history of the narrative film. Lively and down-to-earth, this concise introduction provides a broad, complete, and yet specific picture of visual narrative techniques that will increase readers' excitement about and knowledge of the possibilities of the film medium.Shot-by-shot analyses of short passages from each film ground theory in concrete examples. Fabe includes original and well-informed discussions of Soviet montage, realism and expressionism in film form, classical and modern sound theory, the classic Hollywood film, Italian neorealism, the French New Wave, auteur theory, modernism and postmodernism in film, political cinema, feminist film theory and practice, and narrative experiments in new digital media. Encompassing the earliest silent films as well as those that exploit the most recent technological innovations, this book gives us the particulars of how film—arguably the most influential of contemporary forms of representation—constitutes our pleasure, influences our thoughts, and informs our daily reality.

Special Effects: An Oral History: Interviews with 38 Masters Spanning 100 Years


Pascal Pinteau - 2004
    This detailed look at the history of these great illusions is presented through interviews with 37 international masters of the art and science of special effects and more than 1,000 spectacular illustrations, nearly all in color. The monster spewing flames in "Godzilla, the flying bicycle in "E.T. , the rampaging dinosaurs in "Jurassic Park, these are just a few of the cinematic magic moments that have held audiences spellbound over the years. The inventors of such screen legerdemain reveal the huge variety of techniques they employ, from animation, animatronics, makeup, and model-making to the most astounding computer trickery possible today. The book encompasses not only ?lm and television but also theme parks and attractions. As a bonus, the author includes his selection of DVDs with not-to-be-missed special effects.

Women, Islam and Cinema


Gönül Dönmez-Colin - 2004
    Film critic and author Gönül Dönmez-Colin explores the role of women as spectators, images and image constructors in the cinemas of the countries where Islam is the predominant religion, focusing on Iran and Turkey from the Middle East, drawing parallels from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the two Central Asian Republics of the former Soviet Union, and Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Indonesia, the prominently Muslim Asian countries with a challenging film industry. Some of the relevant films made in India by and for Muslim Indians are also explored.Dönmez-Colin examines prevalent cinematic archetypes, including the naïve country girl who is deceived and dishonored, or the devious seductress who destroys the sanctity of marriage, and looks well at controversial elements such as screen rape, which, feminist film critics claim, caters to male voyeurism. She also discusses recurring themes, such as the myths of femininity, the endorsement of polygamy and the obsession with male children, as well as the most common stereotypes, depicting women as mothers, wives and daughters.Given the diversity of cultures, rather than viewing national cinemas as aspects of a single development, the author focuses on individual histories, traditions and social and economic circumstances as points of reference, which are examined in the context of social and political evolution and the status of women within Islam.Women, Islam and Cinema is a much-needed and timely work that will appeal to the curious reader as well as to the student of film.

Movies and the Mind: Theories of the Great Psychoanalysts Applied to Film


William Indick - 2004
    This work applies to film the psychoanalytic techniques of Sigmund Freud, Erik Erikson, Carl Jung, Alfred Adler, Joseph Campbell, Otto Rank and Rollo May, providing a fundamental understanding of film symbols and structure. It offers a comprehensive and eclectic approach to film analysis, using a broad variety of theories and examples from both classic and contemporary movies, from Dracula (1930) to American Beauty (1999). The final chapter applies all the previously discussed techniques to one film, Malcolm X (1992). The work boasts a filmography and bibliography and is illustrated with film stills.

Forms of Being: Cinema, Aesthetics, Subjectivity


Leo Bersani - 2004
    Or if not proposed, then shown, visually, by stranger and more powerful means than narrative or argument.

Cut/Film as Found Object in Contemporary Video


Lawrence Lessig - 2004
    It is the peculiar power of the moving image that while it may be depicting a fiction, our viewing of it is real and therefore the experience and memory we take away from it is filed away with all the other events and memories that have actually happened to us. The artists in Cut have taken the material of their reality--the movie and the news program--and manipulated it to reveal its power to communicate and shape reality. Clearly indebted to the appropriation strategies of the 1980s and sampling in hip hop and rap music of the 1990s, these artists are united by their gestural use of editing. Whether through looping, repetition, erasure, or compression, their active manipulation of their medium recalls the importance that action was given by Richard Serra in 1968, when he published "Verb List," a list of actions that a sculptor could use to create sculpture: to roll, to crease, to fold, to cut, etc. Cut explores the actions through which artists create videos. Through the physical manipulation of the most familiar of media, they restructure reality, making the familiar unfamiliar and instilling in the viewer the opportunity to comprehend and distinguish a new reality. Included are works by Candice Breitz, Omar Fast, Douglas Gordon, Michael Joaquin Grey, Pierre Huyghe, Christian Marclay, Jennifer & Kevin McCoy and Paul Pfeiffer.

The Searchers: Essays And Reflections On John Ford's Classic Western


Arthur M. Eckstein - 2004
    But John Ford's classic work, in its complexity and ambiguity, was a product of post-World War II American culture and sparked the deconstruction of the western film myth by looking unblinkingly at white racism and violence and suggesting its social and psychological origins. The Searchers tells the story of the kidnapping of the niece of Ethan Edwards (John Wayne) by Comanche Indians, and his long search to find her--ultimately not to rescue her but to kill her, since he finds her racially and sexually violated. The Searchers: Essays and Reflections on John Ford's Classic Western brings historians and film scholars together to cover the major critical issues of this film as seen through a contemporary prism. The book also contains the first published, sustained reaction to the film by Native Americans. The essays explore a wide range of topics: from John Wayne's grim character of Ethan Edwards, to the actual history of Indian captivity on the southern Plains, as well as the role of the film's music, setting, and mythic structure--all of which help the reader to understand what makes The Searchers such an enduring work.

The Original Video Nasties: From Absurd to Zombie Flesh-Eaters


Allan Bryce - 2004
    

Film and Female Consciousness: Irigaray, Cinema and Thinking Women


Lucy Bolton - 2004
    Lucy Bolton compares these films with those which offer more standard — albeit provocative and interesting — treatments of female subjectivity: Klute (1971), The Seven Year Itch (1955), and Marnie (1964). Considering each of the older, well-known films alongside the recent, experimental films illustrates how contemporary filmmaking techniques and critical practices can work together to create complex and provocative depictions of on-screen female consciousness. Drawing on the philosophy of Luce Irigaray in relation to women's cultivation of self-knowledge, this book examines each female character as she goes through a process of transition or transformation. This approach demonstrates how participating in the encounter between Luce Irigaray and cinema can yield greater understanding of both fields.

Documentary Screens: Non-Fiction Film and Television


Keith Beattie - 2004
    How do documentaries achieve their ends? What types of documentaries are there? What factors are implicated in their production? Such questions animate this engaging study. Documentary Screens provides a comprehensive and critical introduction to the formal features and histories of central categories of documentary film and television. Among the categories examined are autobiographical, indigenous and ethnographic documentary, compilation films, direct cinema and cinema verite and television documentary journalism. The book also considers recent so-called popular factual entertainment and the future of documentary film, television and new media. This provocative and accessible analysis situates wide-ranging examples from each category within the larger material forces which impact on documentary form and content. The important connection between form, content, and context explored in the book constitutes a new and lively "documentary studies" approach to documentary representation.

The Midnight Eye Guide to New Japanese Film


Tom Mes - 2004
    Tom Mes and Jasper Sharp explore the astounding resurgence of Japanese cinema, both live action and animated, profiling 19 contemporary Japanese filmmakers, from the well-known (Kitano, Miike, Miyazaki) to the up-and-coming (Naomi Kawase, Satoshi Kon, Shinya Tsukamoto) and reviewing 97 of their recent films. With 100+ images from behind and in front of the camera, this is a book any film lover will savor. Foreword by Hideo Nakata, director of Ring.Tom Mes (in Paris) and Jasper Sharp (in Tokyo) co-edit Midnighteye.com, the premier English-language website on Japanese cinema.

Michelangelo Antonioni


Seymour Chatman - 2004
    With La Notte and L'Eclisse, he mystified audiences and broke hearts. With Red Desert, his first color picture, he blurred all the lines between art, cinema, and still photography. Continuing his creative explosion with Blow-Up, Zabriskie Point, The Passenger, and The Identification of a Woman, Michelangelo Antonioni cemented his reputation as the most innovative and artistic filmmaker of his generation. With a plethora of illustrations, drawn in part from Antonioni's own archives, this book explores his life and career from his earliest documentaries to his latest collaborations.

In the Realm of the Senses


Joan Mellen - 2004
    The unprecedented explicitness with which the film presented sexual acts inevitably caused widespread controversy. But this is not a film which sets out simply to shock. Oshima's account of a couple whose sexual obsession finds its ultimate expression in murder (based on a notorious true-life incident in 1936 Tokyo) was animated by deep political convictions. As Joan Mellen explains, Oshima wished to break with social conventions as well as the film-making culture of the past. He took a revolutionary position. Refusing to follow the lead of the masters who had gone before him (Mizoguchi, Ozu, Naruse, Kurosawa), disdaining costume drama and poignant family portraits, Oshima attacked the sense of victimhood he saw everywhere in his country's psychic make-up. In the Realm of the Senses is the fullest expression of this political intent. Oshima's lovers seek to combat social repression through sexual transgression--but they fail.

Cecil B. DeMille's Hollywood


Robert S. Birchard - 2004
    DeMille was the most successful filmmaker in early Hollywood history. Cecil B. DeMille's Hollywood is a detailed and definitive chronicle of the screen work that changed the course of film history and a fascinating look at how movies were actually made in Hollywood's Golden Age. Drawing extensively on DeMille's personal archives and other primary sources, Robert S. Birchard offers a revealing por

You Have Been Watching - The Autobiography Of David Croft


David Croft - 2004
    David's autobiography reflects on a life that has always revolved around showbusiness his mother was the famous actress Annie Croft and provides a privileged insight into the workings of British TV in what Croft suggests was the golden era of the 60s to 80s. The book also illuminates Croft as a person as he tells of his experiences during the war years and the ups and downs of his family life. Characteristically warm and funny, David Crofts Autobiography is a first-class account of a life surrounded by celebrities. Devotees of his programmes will enjoy a wealth of anecdotes about actors such as Clive Dunn and Wendy Richards and relish the behind-the-scenes insights into the personalities and working styles of some of Britains most famous television actors.

Alternative Europe: Eurotrash and Exploitation Cinema Since 1945


Ernest Mathijs - 2004
    The writers consider such unusual and diverse topics as Russian horror cinema, British exploitation, Belgian alternative cinema, and black "Emmanuelle" films. "Alternative Europe" also includes exclusive interviews with such "trash" film directors as Jess Fano and Brian Yuzna ( "Reanimator," etc.).

Improvisation for Actors and Writers: A Guidebook for Improv Lessons in Comedy


Bill Lynn - 2004
    First, the do's and don'ts of the Comedy Improv Commandments. Next, the concepts that, when understood, hit the student like falling anvils: Anvil #1: Collaboration "€" Working with the "Group Mind," Anvil #2: Agreement "€" "Just Say Yes," Anvil #3: Foundation "€" "Who, What, and Where," Anvil #4 "€" "Finding the Game." There are twenty-nine chapters in five sections: 1. Improv Comedy Schools, 2. Improv Comedy Basics, 3. Comic Character Development, 4. Long Form Improv, and 5. Writing Sketch Comedy. Successful improv requires the skill of the actor, the talent of the comedian, and the ideas of the writer rolled into one. This drama book tells how it can all be done for performers and teachers.

Ayn Rand and Song of Russia: Communism and Anti-Communism in 1940s Hollywood


Robert Mayhew - 2004
    The focus of that testimony was Song of Russia, a 1944 pro-Soviet film that Rand decried for its unrealistic, absurdly flattering portrait of life in the communist country. Ayn Rand scholar Robert Mayhew focuses on this controversial period of American and Hollywood history by examining both the film and the furor surrounding Rand's HUAC testimony. His analysis provides the first detailed history of any of the pro-Soviet films to come out of 1940s Hollywood. Mayhew begins by offering a brief synopsis of the MGM film, followed by an account of its production, as well as its reception. Most significantly, Mayhew analyzes Rand's appearance before HUAC and discusses the response to her much-maligned testimony. By carefully scrutinizing this one episode in the history of communism and anti-communism in 1940s Hollywood, Mayhew presents a more accurate picture of those times and the issues surrounding them. His study allows for a re-evaluation of the role of communism in Hollywood, the nature of the HUAC, and even the Hollywood Ten. This book should be of interest to anyone interested in the life and thought of Ayn Rand, as well as to anyone interested in the history of Hollywood communism and of American film.

Music in Film: Soundtracks and Synergy


Pauline Reay - 2004
    A broad range of films are discussed from Hollywood through to Amerian independents and European art films - including "Pulp Fiction, Trainspotting, " the work of David Lynch and Pedro Almodovar. A brief history of the development of music in film from the days of the silent era to the present day, the book explores how music operates as a narrative device, and also emotionally and culturally. There is an extended case study of "Magnolia" as a film script which developed from a pop song. Emphasis is also placed on the divide between the 'high culture' of the orchestral score and the 'low culture' of the pop song.

More Things Than Are Dreamt of: Masterpieces of Supernatural Horror


Alain Silver - 2004
    From fairy tales to Freddy Krueger, the appeal of the genre rests on the all too human search for something above nature, something unkown and unnameable. This search has produced works as memorable as they are terrifying, and we feel their power once again in More Things Than Are Dreamt Of. The sweep of the book encompasses almost two centuries as it reconsiders in detail such classics of literature as Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, tales of Edgar Allan Poe, Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Henry James' The Turn of the Screw right up to contemporary novels of horror as Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House, William Peter Blatty's The Exorcist andd Stephen King's The Dead Zone. But what sets this book apart is that the authors go on to study the most significant feature films derived from these and many other works of fiction, from the silent era until today.

The Encyclopedia of Underground Movies: Films from the Fringes of Cinema


Phil Hall - 2004
    With micro-budgets that couldn't cover a day's catering on typical Hollywood films, these productions challenge audiences with bold content and audacious visuals that make cineplex fare taste like stale popcorn.

Australian Cinema After Mabo


Felicity Collins - 2004
    Using the 1992 Mabo decision as a starting point, it looks at how the Mabo decision, where the founding doctrine of terra nullius was overruled, has destabilised the way Australians relate to the land. It asks how we think about Australian cinema in the post Mabo era, and what part it plays in the national process of reviewing our colonial past and the ways in which settlers and indigenous cultures can co-exist. Including The Tracker, Kiss or Kill, The Castle, Love Serenade and Yolngu Boy among numerous others, this book highlights turning points in the shaping of the Australian cinema since Mabo. It is essential reading for anyone studying Australian cinema and for those interested in the ways in which land politics has impacted upon the way we imagine ourselves through cinema.

The Cinema of Latin America


Alberto Elena - 2004
    In taking an explicitly text-centered approach, the books in this series offer a unique way of considering the particular concerns, styles and modes of representation of numerous national cinemas around the world. This volume focuses on the vibrant practices that make up Latin American cinema, a historically important regional cinema and one that is increasingly returning to popular and academic appreciation. Through 24 individual concise and insightful essays that each consider one significant film or documentary, the editors of this volume have compiled a unique introduction to the cinematic output of countries as diverse as Brazil, Argentina, Cuba, Mexico, Bolivia, Chile and Venezuala. The work of directors such as Luis Bunuel, Thomas Guiterrez Alea, Walter Salles, and Alfonso Arau is discussed and the collection includes in-depth studies of seminal works as such Los Olvidados, The Hour of the Furnaces, Like Water For Chocolate, Foreign Land, and Amoros Perros.