One of the greatest film directors America has produced, Sam Peckinpah revolutionized the way movies were made. In this detailed and insightful study, Bernard F. Dukore examines Peckinpah's fourteen feature films as a coherent body of work. He investigates the director's virtuosic editing techniques, thematic preoccupations that persist from his earliest to his last films, and the structure of his dramatic depiction of violence. He also addresses Peckinpah's cognizance of existentialism and the...
The first major English-language study of JarmuschAt a time when gimmicky, action-driven blockbusters ruled Hollywood, Jim Jarmusch spearheaded a boom in independent cinema by making now-classic low-budget films like Stranger than Paradise, Down by Law, and Mystery Train. Jarmusch's films focused on intimacy, character, and new takes on classical narratives. His minimal form, peculiar pacing, wry humor, and blank affect have since been adopted by directors like Sofia Coppola, Hal Hartley, Richar...
A biting, funny, always revealing collection of personal stories from the legendary Kid in the Hall, comedian, writer and director, Bruce McCulloch. Comedian, writer, director and legendary Kid in the Hall Bruce McCulloch chronicles his journey from wild early days as a "young punk" in 1980s Alberta, to his flannel plaid days and futon nights in 1990s Toronto, to becoming a "pajama-clad dad" living in the Hollywood Hills. Taking us from scowling teenager to father of two, this biting, funny col...
This volume offers a new interpretation of one of the most innovative directors in the history of cinema. It is the first book to cover the whole of Godard's career, from the French New Wave to the recent triumphs of Histoire(s) du cinéma and Eloge de l’amour. Drawing on a wide range of literary, filmic and philiosophical texts, the book places Godard's work within its intellectual context, examining how developments in French culture and thought since 1950 have been mirrored in - and sometimes...
Little Book of Marilyn Monroe in the Movies (Little Books)
by Timothy Knight
Quentin Tarantino (born 1963) is considered the enfant terrible of contemporary cinema. From his outstanding debut at the Sundance Film Festival with 'Reservoir Dogs' (1992) to his most recent controversial war film 'Inglourious Basterds' (2009), Tarantino has created a fascinating, violent, and highly personal body of work. A self-taught and crazy director who is a complete cinema buff, Tarantino juxtaposes disparate genres within each of his films, deconstructing the narrative process and buil...
Eliseo Subiela, the Poet of Latin American Cinema
Scorsese Up Close (American Crisis Series: Books on the Civial War Era) (The Scarecrow Filmmakers)
by Ben Nyce
Unlike other books on Martin Scorsese that favor the discussion of broad themes and plot summaries, Scorsese Up Close: A Study of the Films also looks at the cinematic text of the great director's films. With a scrutiny comparable to the detail Scorsese brings to the shooting and editing process, author Ben Nyce examines particular shots or sequences of shots in many of the director's works. By focusing on these key components, Nyce explains how the visual and aural elements of such scenes drama...
Straight from the Horse's Mouth (The Scarecrow Filmmakers)
by Ronald Neame and with Barbara Roisman Cooper
Now in Paperback! Ronald Neame's autobiography takes its title from one of his best-loved films, The Horse's Mouth (1958), starring Alec Guinness. In an informative and entertaining style, Neame discusses the making of that film, along with several others, including In Which We Serve, Blithe Spirit, Brief Encounter, Great Expectations, Tunes of Glory, I Could Go on Singing, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Scrooge, The Poseidon Adventure, and Hopscotch. Straight from the Horse's Mouth provides...
CONVERSATIONS WITH JACK CARDIFF
Jack Cardiff was responsible for some of the most visually stunning films in cinematic history, including The Red Shoes, A Matter of Life of Death, Black Narcissus, Rope, The African Queen, Sons and Lovers, and Girl on a Motorcycle as well as commercially successful and cultish Conan the Destroyer. His work has been hugely influential, inspiring countless filmmakers including Martin Scorsese. This book is an insight into the visual art of cinema by one of its greatest exponents. Entertainingly a...
Who is Soderbergh? Currently Hollywood's hottest hot shot, Soderbergh burst onto the independent scene with his provocative, multi-award winning feature debut sex, lies and videotape in 1989. With the film world seemingly at his feet the guy from Baton Rouge committed critical and commercial hara-kiri, producing a black and white film about the life of writer Franz Kafka that fell foul of studios and audiences alike. The critics liked it though and they were to stay with him through a lean perio...
"I always compare filmmaking to cooking. Shooting is like buying the groceries. You buy all kinds of ingredients and the better ingredients you get, the better chance you have of making the movie you want."-Ang Lee, from Speaking in Images Speaking in Images offers an engaging and rare collection of interviews with the directors who have changed the face of Chinese and international cinema. Michael Berry's discussions with such directors as Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), Zhang Yimou...
William Wyler: The Life and Films of Hollywood's Most Celebrated Director (Screen Classics)
by Gabriel Miller
Fritz Lang, director of films such as "Metropolis", "M" and "The Big Heat", established his reputation in Germany during the silent era. When Hitler rose to power, Lang emigrated to the USA, where he injected his fatalistic Expressionism into the domestic world of Hollywood cinema. This biography presents him as a flawed human being, and includes suggestions that he murdered his first wife and engaged in sado-masochistic practices both on and off the set. Patrick McGilligan has also written biog...
Joe Eszterhas has written some of Hollywood's biggest hits 'Basic Instinct'; 'Flashdance' and walked away with some of the largest writing cheques in the industry's history. In 'The Devil s Guide to Hollywood' he reveals everything he knows about the movies the players, the personalities, the legends and screenwriting itself, revealing all that has inspired, amused and enraged him in Hollywood since his career began. Hilarious, colourful but also practical, this is required reading for anyone wh...
Lindsay Anderson Diaries (Diaries, Letters and Essays)
by Lindsay Anderson
As a director, critic, writer and actor, Lindsay Anderson established a reputation as one of the most innovative, impassioned and fiercely independent British artists of the twentieth century. In directing films such as IF, THIS SPORTING LIFE and O LUCKY MAN he championed a new wave of social responsiveness in British cinema, while as director at the Royal Court he was responsible for establishing the reputation of a number of groundbreaking plays. Throughout his life Anderson stood in oppositio...
One of the most talented and imaginative artists of independent cinema, Gus Van Sant established himself with a number of important movies of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Beginning with Mala Noche, the 1986 gay classic of personal film expression, followed by two key works of the American indie movement, Drugstore Cowboy and My Own Private Idaho, Van Sant films often feature characters on the borders of mainstream society. Subsequent films included hits, misses, and a notorious remake of Psyc...