Cold Mountain Penitentiary houses convicted killers awaiting their turn to walk the Green Mile to the electric chair. But there's never been anyone like John Coffey, with the body of a giant and the mind of a child.

    Full color.

    Even Trevor himself begins to doubt when his "pay it forward" plan seems to founder on a combination of bad luck and the worst of human nature.In the end, Pay It Forward is the story of seemingly ordinary people made extraordinary by the simple faith of a child. In the tradition of the successful and inspirational television show Touched by an Angel, and the phenomenally successful novel and film Forrest Gump, Pay It Forward is a work of charm, wit, and remarkable inspiration, a story of hope for today and for many tomorrows to come.

    In his distinct voice we hear Wilder's inside view on his collaborations with such stars as Barbara Stanwyck, Gary Cooper, Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, William Holden, Audrey Hepburn, and Greta Garbo (he was a writer at MGM during the making of Ninotchka. Here are Wilder's sharp and funny behind-the-scenes stories about the making of A Foreign Affair, Double Indemnity, Sunset Boulevard, Love in the Afternoon, Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, and Ace in the Hole, among many others. Wilder is ever mysterious, but Crowe gets him to speak candidly on Stanwyck: "She knew the script, everybody's lines, never a fault, never a mistake"; on Cary Grant: "I had Cary Grant in mind for four of my pictures . . . slipped through my net every time"; on the "Lubitsch Touch": "It was the elegant use of the super-joke." Wilder also remembers his early years in Vienna, working as a journalist in Berlin, rooming with Peter Lorre at the Chateau Marmont -- always with the same dry wit, tough-minded romanticism, and elegance that are the hallmarks of Wilder's films. This book is a classic of Hollywood history and lore.

    A romantic comedy based on the classic Shakespeare play, The Taming of the Shrew, this book is a tie-in to the new teen movie starring Larisa Oleynik, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and teen idol Andrew Keegan.

    In New York City, young Constable Ichabod Crane is eager to use his latest scientific methods and his powers of deduction to solve the most brutal of crimes. But nothing can prepare him for the shocking murders that take him far from the city's cobblestones to the eerie town of Sleepy Hollow.Awaiting him are three beheaded bodies, all apparently victims of a legendary Headless Horseman returned from the grave to exact revenge. With the help of an orphaned child and a beautiful young woman, Ichabod uses reason to confront the horrors of the unexplained.But the reality of Sleepy Hollow's waking nightmare is always before him. A reality where witches cast spells in the darkened woods...trees bleed...and a demon rides at night.

    Mark Vieira documents the infamous power struggle between Hollywood producers and the censors, who sought to forbid profanity, excessive violence, illegal drugs, sexual perversion and explicitness, white slavery, racial mingling, suggestive dancing, lustful kissing and the like. visual artistry of the era's controversial films and highlights the careers of screen luminaries such as Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo, Jean Harlow, James Cagney, Mae West, Clara Bow, Joan Crawford, Claudette Colbert, Norma Shearer, Gary Cooper and Clark Gable.

    His discovery of the Lost City of the Dead is a fluke—but to British librarian Evelyn Carnahan it's the archaeological find of the century. The city contains all the treasures of Egypt and possibly the secrets of life and death. Leading Evelyn's expedition deep into the Sahara isn't exactly easy money, though, as Rick must dodge death traps, escape the jaws of man-eating beetles, and even duel a hook-handed mercenary. And just when he's caught his breath, a long ago evil returns from the grave—with a taste for human flesh...

    It is a refreshingly offbeat comedy about young Max Fish, a precocious pupil at a conservative private school. He is a live wire, a teenager full of madcap entrepreneurial schemes that usually in failure. His personal life becomes similarly complicated when he falls for his elegant teacher, Rosemary Cross, and finds himself vying for her favor with Herman Blume-who is portrayed in the film by Bill Murray-the wealthy father of two of his classmates. Max ultimately proves himself a figure of some tenacity as he negotiates the minefield of love, desire, and adolescence.At the Toronto Film Festival, Screen International called Rushmore "a real charmer filled with surprise twists and emotions that avoid sentimentality . . . A little gem."

    From horror masterpieces like The Beyond and Zombie Flesh-Eaters to erotic thrillers like One On Top of the Other and A Lizard in a Woman's Skin; from his earliest days as director of manic Italian comedies to his notoriety as purveyor of extreme violence in the terrifying slasher epic The New York Ripper, his whole career is explored. Supernatural themes and weird logic collide with flesh-ripping gore to breathtaking effect. Bleak horrors are transformed into bloody poetry - Fulci's loving camera technique, and the decayed splendour of his art design, make the films more than just a gross endurance test. Lucio Fulci built up a fanatical following, who at last will have the chance to own this book - five years in the making - which is the ultimate testament to 'The Godfather of Gore'. Featuring a foreword by Fulci's devoted daughter Antonella, and produced with her blessing and full co-operation. This book is quite simply the last word on Fulci. His whole career is studied in obsessive depth. Huge supplementary appendices make this volume essential for all serious students of the Italian horror movie scene. Featuring COMPLETE FILMOGRAPHIES for ALL the major actors and actresses ever to appear in Fulci films, the appendices alone are a unique, breathtakingly detailed reference source in their own right. Without doubt, by far and away the largest collection of Fulci posters, stills, press-books and lobby cards ever seen together in print. We have scoured the Earth to find the most stunning, rare and eye-catching Fulci images. Everything worth seeing is here. This is a truly beautiful book.

    In this lavish tribute to Pickford (1892-1979), her enormous and wide-ranging body of work is illustrated with fabulous film stills, rare production shots, and personal photographs -- most never before published -- from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Margaret Herrick Library.Today's audiences have little knowledge of Pickford's films, let alone of her enormous behind-the-scenes power as one of Hollywood's pioneering producers and cofounder of United Artists. This first illustrated filmography of Pickford's career accords her achievements the recognition they deserve. Noted film historian Kevin Brownlow draws on interviews with Pickford and her circle to provide entertaining film-by-film commentaries full of wonderful anecdotes about the silent era.

    Part time-machine, part detective story, it presents a fresh look at the matchless Keaton at work, as well as a captivating glimpse of Hollywood's most romantic era. More than a book for film, comedy, or history buffs, this book will appeal to anyone fascinated with solving puzzles or witnessing the awesome passage of time.

    Through a career that spanned decades and 140 films -- among them such American masterpieces as The Searchers, The Grapes of Wrath, Stagecoach, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance -- John Ford left a cinematic legacy that few filmmakers will ever equal. Yet Ford himself was famously reticent about his personal life, often fabricating details and events. In this definitive look at the life and career of one of America's greatest directors, Scott Eyman offers a remarkable portrait of the man behind the legend that reveals how a saloon keeper's son from Maine helped to shape Hollywood's idea of America.

    Marc Norman and renowned dramatist, Tom Stoppard have created the best screenplay of the year according to the Golden Globes and the New York Film Critics Circle.

    But look closer. Lester Burnham's wife, Carolyn, regards him with contempt, his daughter, Jane, thinks he's a loser, and his boss is positioning him for the ax.Captivated by Jane's sultry high school friend Angela, Lester decides to make a few changes in his mere existence—changes that are less mid-life crisis than a life reclaimed. The freer he gets, the happier he gets, which is even more maddening to his wife and daughter. Complicating matters, Lester finds an unexpected ally in Ricky, the teenage son of the new next-door neighbors, who sees life through a camera lens that has lately focused on Jane Burnham.In pursuit of his new vision of the American dream, Lester is about to learn that the ultimate freedom comes at the ultimate price.The 1999 winner of five Academy Awards®, including Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay, American Beauty boasts an accomplished cast led by two-time Academy Award® Best Actor winner Kevin Spacey (The Usual Suspects) and Oscar® nominee Annette Bening (The Grifters). The ensemble cast also includes Thora Birch (Ghost World), Wes Bentley (The Claim), Mena Suvari (American Pie), Peter Gallagher (Mr. Deeds), Allison Janney (NBC's The West Wing), Scott Bakula (NBC's Quantum Leap), Sam Robards (A.I.: Artificial Intelligence), and Chris Cooper (Adaptation).American Beauty marks the feature film directorial debut of award-winning theater director Sam Mendes (The Blue Room, Cabaret). The film is produced by Dan Jinks (Nothing to Lose) and Bruce Cohen (The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas) from an original screenplay by Alan Ball (HBO's Six Feet Under). Stan Wlodkowski (One Hour Photo) and Alan Ball are the co-producers.

    It is fitting, then, that the companion book to his movie Sleepy Hollow is a big and beautiful hardback, full of images that range from quietly eerie to eye-popping. The book contains Burton's sketches, paintings from production designer Rick Heinrichs and costume designer Colleen Atwood, and dozens of stills from the film itself. All of this is juxtaposed with Andrew Kevin Walker's screenplay of Washington Irving's story. The result is a unique opportunity to see how a film comes together. Bare words on a page result in Burton's quirky roughs, which are fleshed out into more detailed paintings by Burton and the production team. Finally it all comes together in photographs of the end product. In addition to an engrossing screenplay (Careful! It's far from a direct cribbing of the original story, so see the movie before reading too far if you don't want the plot spoiled), the reader gets to see the evolution of Ichabod's binocular glasses and creepy yet strangely charming autopsy instruments. The book as a whole illustrates one of the most interesting aspects of Burton's vision--frightening images are clearly meant to be seen as beautiful at the same time. The Art of Sleepy Hollow is entertaining on several levels: as a good story, as a step-by-step tour of the way a film's design comes together, and as a fascinating picture book for grownups. --Ali Davis

    A behind-the-scenes look at the making of Disney's animated film Tarzan chronicles the life and times of a young man raised by apes in the African jungle and discusses the actors lending their voices to the feature, the animation process, and the musicby Phil Collins.

    Essays include discussion of the psychological implications in the novel as well as themes and character analysis.

    From the medieval mock-epic Monty Python and the Holy Grail to the mythic, paranoid worlds of The Fisher King, Twelve Monkeys and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Gilliam has pursued a totally personal, uncompromising vision. This has led to legendary battles with studios and financiers, notably over The Adventures of Baron Munchausen and Brazil, which is now widely considered a classic. Gilliam is a famously candid commentator on his own work, and in these specially recorded interviews he reflects on how his Midwestern childhood and early career as an animator prepared him to undertake his extraordinary adventures in cinema.

    Here are the great divas, Pola Negri and Gloria Swanson; the great flappers, Colleen Moore and Clara Bow; the great cowboys, William S. Hart and Tom Mix; and the great lover, John Gilbert. Basinger also includes the quintessential slapstick comedienne, Mabel Normand, with her Keystone Kops; the quintessential all-American hero, Douglas Fairbanks; and, of course, the quintessential all-American dog, Rin-Tin-Tin.

    

    Two fallen angels (Matt Damon and Ben Affleck), sentenced to eternal exile in Wisconsin, are trying to get back into heaven. A renegade cardinal in New Jersey (George Carlin), as part of his "Catholicism Wow!" campaign, has opened a loophole in Catholic doctrine that would give them their opportunity-and, in proving God's judgment wrong, destroy the universe. An abortion clinic counselor (Linda Fiorentino) who may or may not be of holy bloodlines is tapped as the very reluctant savior-and, accompanied by the thirteenth apostle (Chris Rock), a wayward muse (Salma Hayek), and two very questionable prophets (Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith, AKA Jay and Silent Bob), she sets off on a mission to save the world.

    His body of work was small — thirteen features and one short film, made over five decades — but it established him as one of the greatest artists of the twentieth century.Though Bresson's subjects and sources ranged widely — his films are derived from Diderot, Dostoevsky, Bernanos, and Tolstoy, from the transcripts of the trial of Joan of Arc and the Arthurian legends — his severe style remained constant. Awed, inspired, and sometimes mystified by the beauty and austere perfectionism of Bresson's style, critics and directors have been moved to passionate debate about his singular ideas on the use of sound, actors, editing, and music.Despite, or perhaps of, his rejection of the core tenets of traditional filmmaking, Bresson exerted a profound influence on many directors, from the French New Wave and American independents to countless contemporary Asian and European auteurs. Robert Bresson (Revised) , as its title suggests, updates and amends the original volume, which accompanied a major retrospective of the director's films and was the first English-language collection of essays on Bresson in many decades. Greatly expanded and richly illustrated, this examination of Bresson's vision and style draws together over two dozen important articles by leading critics and scholars, including classics studies by Susan Sontag and André Bazin, and commentaries by Roland Barthes and Alberto Moravia. Provocative new analyses by such august film historians as David Bordwell, Jean-Michel Frodon, and Shigehiko Hasumi join a selection of articles by emerging scholars that break new ground in relating Bresson's cinema to hitherto unexamined intellectual, aesthetic, and philosophical currents. The book is rounded out by four essential interviews with Bresson; the illuminating testimony of L. H. Burel, the cinematographer of four of his greatest films; and several essays by leading directors, from Michael Haneke tot the Dardenne brothers, which reveal why Bresson is considered first and foremost "a film-maker's filmmaker.

    This book is a retelling of one of Pokemons most popular episode.

    A perfect example of Hollywood cinema at its best, it is an engaging piece of entertainment as well as a fascinating meditation on the nature of the film itself. A suspense thriller about a chair-bound observer who suspects his neighbor of murdering his wife, the narrative becomes the vehicle for Hitchcock's exploration of the basic ingredients of cinema, from voyeurism and dreamlike fantasy, to the process of narration itself. This volume provides a fresh analysis of Rear Window, which is examined from a variety of perspectives in a series of essays published here for the first time.

    Both an indispensable reference guide and an irresistible treat for film buffs, "The Noir Style" is an engaging and informative addition to the literature of film.

    Disney's Read-Aloud Storybooks celebrate the essence of Disney magic--great storytelling! Lively text and vibrant child-friendly design, combined with the timeless appeal of beloved Disney characters ensure that these new storybooks will introduce a while new generation of children to the wonders of reading.

    But if you're only watching for a Genie in a lamp or a Fairy Godmother with a magic wand, you're probably missing a whole lot of magic. Just look to your favorite Disney characters. They know that there's more to magic than a sprinkle of pixie dust or a "Bibbidi-bobbi-di-boo." There's a special kind of magic in living your life the very best way you can -- staying true to yourself, being good to others, and simply enjoying the world around you.This charming gift book collects favorite quotes from beloved Disney animated films and presents them in categories that delight and inspire. Starting with "Say the Magic Words" and "Attitude Counts" and building up to "Surprises Are Around Every Corner, " Add a Little Magic captures the wonder of memorable Disney movie moments -- and illuminates a bit of everyday magic, too!

    The talent agent who worked with the likes of John Belushi, Jim Henson, Phil Hartman, and Dennis Miller reveals how he began at the mail room at the William Morris Agency, working his way to the top.

    This lavishly illustrated volume tells the story behind the making of the film, and reveals the secrets behind anime, the popular Japanese animation technique. Set in the remote forests of northern Japan, The Princess Mononoke is an eco-fable of medieval times in which industry and civilization struggle against nature and humanity. Hailed as one of the best animated features ever made, The Princess Mononoke is certain to enthrall audiences across the country.

    The result is a decade's worth of truly monumental cinema, from Hitchcock masterpieces (Vertigo, Psycho, Rear Window) to comedy classics (Tati's Mr. Hulot's Holiday, Billy Wilder's Some Like it Hot) to groundbreaking nouvelle vague films (Godard's Breathless, Truffaut's The Four Hundred Blows) and profound, innovative dramas such as Antonioni's L?Avventura, Fellini's La Strada, John Huston's Misfits, and Kubrick's Paths of Glory. Though censorship kept sex safely off-screen, sexy stars such as James Dean, Marlon Brando, and Marilyn Monroe provided plenty of heat in Rebel Without a Cause, A Streetcar Named Desire, and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes respectively. A survey of the most important films of the 1950s

    Published in the Daily Mail on the 24th, 27th and 28th December 1999.

    His dialogue--abrasive, rhythmic--illuminates a modern aesthetic evocative of Samuel Beckett. His plots--surprising, comic, topical--have evoked comparisons to masters from Alfred Hitchcock to Arthur Miller. Here are two screenplays demonstrating the astounding range of Mamet's talents.         The Spanish Prisoner, a neo-noir thriller about a research-and-development cog hoodwinked out of his own brilliant discovery, demonstrates Mamet's incomparable use of character in a dizzying tale of twists and mistaken identity. The Winslow Boy, Mamet's revisitation of Terence Rattigan's  classic 1946 play, tells of a thirteen-year-old boy accused of stealing a five-shilling postal order and the tug of war for truth that ensues between his middle-class family and the Royal Navy. Crackling with wit, intelligent and surprising, The Spanish Prisoner and The Winslow Boy celebrate Mamet's unique genius and our eternal fascination with the extraordinary predicaments of the common man.

    Now, more than twenty years later, the visionary writer-director, his brilliant crew of special-effects wizards, and an exciting cast of talented stars have united to make the long-awaited and eagerly anticipated Episode I of the Star Wars epic.Star Wars: The Making of Episode I is your exclusive entrée backstage where the wonders of the newest chapter in the Star Wars saga are brought to life, including - A series of exclusive interviews with George Lucas as he discusses the genesis of the Star Wars story, from themes to scenes to dialogue- The development of such classic characters as young Jedi student Obi-Wan Kenobi and R2-D2--plus intriguing newcomers Anakin Skywalker, Qui-Gon Jinn, Queen Amidala, and Jar Jar Binks- The creation of new state-of-the-art creatures and special effects by the legendary Industrial Light & Magic team- Pre-production: from storyboarding, set-building, and model-making to costume design and the casting of pivotal roles - Post-production: Including editing, scoring, and combining computer generated effects with live-action footage- Shooting in England, Italy, and Tunisia, with stars Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, and Natalie Portman- Hundreds of drawings and photographsWitness all the movie-making magic behind the sensational Star Wars saga's newest episode!

    These filmmakers are each given a single film still that exemplifies their work; the accompanying text explores how they exploit the cinematic arts—composition, color, camera angle and movement, lighting, sound, sets, and action—to convey their thematic obsessions and artistic visions. This simple premise builds into one of the most fascinating, visually arresting, and insightful of all film books. Never have the images of cinema and the words written about it been so expertly tied together. The result is an entertaining and genuinely enlightening film reference.

    It examines all of the director's career, from the early films made in the UK in the 1920s and 1930s, to his move to Hollywood where he became co-producer as well as director of his films.

    Annie and her high-spirited brother Max experience her illness and recovery in very different ways. Max is in denial and Annie is in a state of sad acceptance. It isn't until they meet Samantha, a three legged Golden Retriever, that they both begin to heal. This is a book about love, loss, friendship and optimism that is appropriate for children of all ages and the young in spirit.

    This McFarland Classic brings together over fifty interviews with the directors, producers, actors, and make-up artists of science fiction and horror films of the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. From B movies to classics, Samuel Z. Arkoff to Acquanetta, these veteran vampire baits, swamp monsters, and flying saucers attackees share their memories. This classic volume represents the union of two previous volumes: Interviews with B Science Fiction and Horror Movie Makers ("more fun than the lovably cheap movies that inspired it"--Booklist/RBB); and Science Fiction Stars and Horror Heroes ("candid...a must" --ARBA). Together at last, this combined collection of interviews offers a candid and delightful perspective on the movies that still make audiences squeal with fear, and occasionally, howl with laughter.

    Table of ContentsPink Generation: a brief history of japanese pornoPop Avant-Garde Violence: the films of koji wakamatsuSadomania: the joys of tortureAi No Corrida: in the realm of the sensesAbnormal Ward: the secret cinema of hisayasu satoUltraviolence: sex, slaughter, sacrificeGarbage Man: the wild world of takao nakanoPunk Generation: notes on the japanese underground

    200 photos.

    Set in the German prison camps, the story revolves around two French aviators who were shot down and spent most of their time escaping from German prison camps while they do what they can to amuse themselves between escapes. One of the French officers, Captain de Boieldieu, finds greater commonality with his captor, Captain von Rauffenstein, than with his own fellow countrymen and soon the disparity between the two social classes emerge. Grand Illusion is examines the futile nature of war and the optimism of those forced to wage it and in recalling his own experiences as an aviator in WWI as well as those of his comrades, Jean Renoir's calls for a farewell to the class constrictions of European society and for the unity of humankind across class and national boundaries.

    For more than fifty years she has appeared in classic films (The Manchurian Candidate), in musicals (Gypsy, Sweeney Todd), and, of course, on television for twelve seasons in Murder, She Wrote. She has won five Tonys and has been nominated for three Oscars and twelve Emmys.Balancing Act is Lansbury's triumphant story, in which she has cooperated with noted theater writer and critic Martin Gottfried. Lansbury became established by her late teens in films like The Picture of Dorian Gray. While her career flourished, she was frustrated by continually playing supporting roles, until the musical Mame made her a major star. A string of stage successes followed, and she went on to conquer television in Murder, She Wrote.In Balancing Act Lansbury appears frequently in her own wry voice, sharing thoughts on everything from acting to gardening to her difficulties with raising her children. Here in all its color and drama is the inspiring story of a woman who has truly become a national institution.

    Among the genre included are classics, dramas, Westerns, light comedies, documentaries and even poorly produced early pornography. Masterpieces such as Joan the Woman (1916), Intolerance (1916) and Faust (1926) can be found, as well as rare titles that have not received coverage since their original releases.

    With Robert DeNiro, one of the most talented young actors from this film, Scorsese went on to make some of the greatest American films of the postwar period, including Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980), and Goodfellas (1990). A Scorsese film seldom fails to stir controversy, for his devotion to realism has led him to forthrightly depict violence and its frightening randomness in the modern world. His biblical film also created quite a stir. This adaptation of Kazantzakis's The Last Temptation of Christ generated outrage among conservative religious leaders.Scorsese, however, has not limited himself to contemporary, violent urban dramas or new interpretations of biblical subjects. Other widely heralded Scorsese films include Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974), New York, New York (1977), The Last Waltz (1978), The King of Comedy (1983), After Hours (1985), The Color of Money (1986), Cape Fear (1991), The Age of Innocence (1993), Casino (1995), and Kundun (1998).These interviews begin with conversations about the highly autobiographical Mean Streets (1973), which first brought Scorsese serious attention, and end with conversations about Kundun, an overtly political biography of the Dalai Lama of Tibet, released in early 1998."I look for a thematic idea running through my movies, he says, and I see that it's the outsider struggling for recognition. I realize that all my life I've been an outsider, and above all, being lonely but never realizing it."

    He has acted in films and on stage and even directed a music video for Bruce Springsteen. In making movies, Sayles has handled subjects as diverse as seventies activists in The Return of the Secaucus Seven (1980); a 1920s Appalachian miners' strike in Matewan (1987); the 1919 Black Sox scandal in Eight Men Out (1988); the Selkies of Ireland in The Secret of Roan Inish (1994); and Latin American guerilla warfare in Men with Guns (1997). Conducted over a period of twenty years, these interviews span Sayles's career as a writer, director, and sometimes actor. Whether he is interviewed in The Progressive, Film Comment, Sight and Sound, or Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone Magazine, Sayles is always direct and candid. In each conversation, he cuts to the core of the film business and to the meat of what he is trying to accomplish as an artist. Known for his fiercely independent vision, his authentic characters, and his provocative observations on the human condition, Sayles demonstrates in these interviews what an endurably original director and artist he is. As he tells Sight and Sound, "First of all, I'm not afraid of failure. I don't get upset if people don't like it. I'm doing it because I'm interested. . . [Return of the Secaucus Seven] was the start, because even if I hadn't got it released, at least I've made a movie I wanted to make."

    Though more unbridled, salacious, subversive, and just plain bizarre than what came afterwards, the films of the period do indeed have the look of Hollywood cinema--but the moral terrain is so off-kilter that they seem imported from a parallel universe.In a sense, Doherty avers, the films of pre-Code Hollywood are from another universe. They lay bare what Hollywood under the Production Code attempted to cover up and push offscreen: sexual liaisons unsanctified by the laws of God or man, marriage ridiculed and redefined, ethnic lines crossed and racial barriers ignored, economic injustice exposed and political corruption assumed, vice unpunished and virtue unrewarded--in sum, pretty much the raw stuff of American culture, unvarnished and unveiled.No other book has yet sought to interpret the films and film-related meanings of the pre-Code era--what defined the period, why it ended, and what its relationship was to the country as a whole during the darkest years of the Great Depression... and afterward.

    Opinionated, witty, and packed with more information per square inch than any other film guide, Halliwell's Who's Who in the Movies is as wonderfully unclassifiable as it is impossible to put down.Who's Who remains a treasure trove of information on who's who and what's what in the movies. Its more than 11,000 entries illuminate the stars of yesterday and today, as well as the bit players and character actors, directors, producers, writers, cinematographers, composers, and all the other talent involved in making movies. You'll find sections on movie sequels, series, and remakes; themes and genres; technical terms; studios and production companies; cinema around the world; year-by-year listings of Oscar winners and other major awards; a brief history of the movies from their beginnings until today; and much more.This thoroughly revised and updated edition features hundreds of new entries, and once again spices up the proceedings with scores of "quotable quotes," ranging from the revealing to the revolting, which, in addition to being exceedingly entertaining, add a human dimension missing from every other guide to the facts and figures. Upholding the outstanding tradition of Leslie Halliwell, editor John Walker delivers the lively humor and keen insight that have always been the hallmarks of Halliwell's.

    Jekyll, Mr. Hyde, King Kong, the Wolf Man, or any of the other legendary Hollywood monsters. Some were even monsters themselves, such as Elsa Lanchester as the Bride, and Gloria Holden as Dracula's Daughter. And while evading the Strangler of the Swamp, former Miss America Rosemary La Planche is allowed to rescue her leading man. This book provides details about the lives and careers of 21 of these cinematic leading ladies, femmes fatales, monsters, and misfits, putting into perspective their contributions to the films and folklore of Hollywood terror--and also the sexual harassment, exploitation, and genuine danger they faced on the job. Veteran actress Virginia Christine recalls Universal burying her alive in a backlot swamp in full mummy makeup for the resurrection scene in The Mummy's Curse--and how the studio saved that scene for the last day in case she suffocated. Filled with anecdotes and recollections, many of the entries are based on original interviews, and there are numerous old photographs and movie stills.

    

    The saga of Britain's best-loved martini hound (who we all know prefers his favorite drink "shaken, not stirred") has adapted to changing times for four decades without ever abandoning its tried-and-true formula of diabolical international conspiracy, sexual intrigue, and incredible gadgetry.James Chapman expertly traces the annals of celluloid Bond from its inauguration with 1962's Dr. No through its progression beyond Ian Fleming's spy novels to the action-adventure spectaculars of GoldenEye and Tomorrow Never Dies. He argues that the enormous popularity of the series represents more than just the sum total of the films' box-office receipts and involves questions of film culture in a wider sense.Licence to Thrill chronicles how Bond, a representative of a British Empire that no longer existed in his generation, became a symbol of his nation's might in a Cold War world where Britain was no longer a primary actor. Chapman describes the protean nature of Bond villains in a volatile global political scene--from Soviet scoundrels and Chinese rogues in the 1960s to a brief flirtation with Latin American drug kingpins in the 1980s and back to the Chinese in the 1990s. The book explores how the movies struggle with changing societal ethics--notably, in the evolution in the portrayal of women, showing how Bond's encounters with the opposite sex have evolved into trysts with leading ladies as sexually liberated as Bond himself.The Bond formula has proved remarkably durable and consistently successful for roughly a third of cinema's history--half the period since the introduction of talking pictures in the late 1920s. Moreover, Licence to Thrill argues that, for the foreseeable future, the James Bond films are likely to go on being what they have always been, a unique and very special kind of popular cinema.

    The 200 quizzes in And You Thought You Knew Classic Movies will test your recall of every aspect of Hollywood's Golden Age (1930-70). None of these tests is easy, but their match-'em format makes them as irresistible as crossword puzzles--and the toughest ones will make even lifelong buffs quiver. Are you crazy for "Gun Crazy"? Can't help loving "The Girl Can't Help It"? Or is "Breakfast at Tiffany's" more your cup of tea? Whatever your taste, And You Thought You Knew Classic Movies will send you reeling to the video store in ecstasy.