Film History

Since premiering in the summer of 2016, Stranger Things has become a global phenomenon. It also restored in vivid detail the pulse and feel of a decade: the 1980s. Indeed, the show's creators - the Duffer brothers - describe the series as "a love letter to the '80s". From its synth soundtrack, to its retro fonts, to its nostalgic nods to Spielberg and Stephen King, Stranger Things is populated with references, homages, and artifacts from the Reagan era. This audiobook dives deep into that world, revealing everything you wanted to know about the series and its influences.

Discover the science behind the most popular sci-fi franchise of all time. Capturing the imagination and hearts of crowds worldwide, Star Wars is a fantastic feat of science fiction and fantasy. We marvel at the variety of creatures and technology and the mystery behind the force. But how much of the Star Wars world is rooted in reality? Could we see some of the extraordinary inventions materialize in our world?

Broadsword Calling Danny Boy is Geoff Dyer's hilarious tribute to a film he has loved since childhood: It's a scene-by-scene analysis - or should that be send-up? - taking us from it's snowy, Teutonic opening credits to its vertigo-inducing climax.

When movies cost hundreds of millions to make and market, the magnitude of the wagers is astonishing. Vast riches rain down on those who gamble wisely, and careers are made and lost in one weekend. But never is this box-office race more feverish than during the summer blockbuster season, when the studios roll out their most expensive, effects-laden pictures in a feverish race to win the box-office derby. Peter Bart here brings us a marvelously entertaining behind-the-scenes portrait of moviemaking.

Scarface is a powerful, stylized commentary on violence, materialism, excess, corruption and crime in America. Set during the drug-driven decadence of Miami in the 1980s, it is a rags to riches story about the rise and fall of an illegal immigrant from dishwasher to narcotics kingpin who is undone by greed and delusions of grandeur triggered by cocaine psychosis. It is both thrilling entertainment and a wicked, nightmarish parody of the American dream.

Japanese animation—or anime—holds a special place in the hearts of countless fans around the globe. Since the early days of Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy to Makoto Shinkai’s astounding success with Your Name, anime has left an undeniable impact on our culture. Anime Impact explores the impression the medium has left on various fans with detailed discussions on television shows and movies from the 1960s all the way to the present.

Some Like It Hot occupies a unique place in American culture. This beloved classic showcases five comic geniuses: Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, I. A. L. Diamond, Billy Wilder, and Marilyn Monroe. It has been honored by the American Film Institute as the funniest film of all time. It has contributed quotes, styles, and stories to film lore. Yet the full story of its making has never been told - until now.

Alternating between personal anecdote, hilarious insight, and smart analysis, Luke Skywalker Can't Read contends that Barbarella is good for you, that monster movies are just romantic comedies with commitment issues, and that Dracula and Sherlock Holmes are total hipsters and, most shockingly, shows how virtually everyone in the Star Wars universe is functionally illiterate.

It's one of the greatest movie romances of all time. Yet the friction and controversy surrounding The Way We Were was so enormous, the movie was nearly never made at all. Drawing on Laurents's and Pollack's unpublished writings, as well as interviews with Streisand, Redford, and other key players, this is the definitive account of a film that changed the rules of moviemaking and defined romance ever since.

The relationship between Hollywood and feminism is a complicated one, historically characterized by simultaneous repression and surprising breakthroughs. From Hitchcock and Marilyn to femme fatales and lush melodramas, the classical Hollywood era is a unique cultural moment that provides rich insight into both gender and film in America. This book looks beyond the glitz and glamour to explore how the history and legacy of this period have reflected, shaped, and at times even challenged expectations of women in society. As the film industry has changed, so too have its depictions of gender, ...

Ride Lonesome, the fifth film in the "Ranown cycle," is both the best and most representative of the whole series, which has been called "the most remarkable convergence of artistic achievement in the history of low-budget moviemaking." Director Bud Boetticher captures the alienation and loneliness of an America faced with the Cold War and the daily threat of nuclear annihilation. Shot in seventeen days for under a half-million dollars, Ride Lonesome is a masterpiece of cinematic minimalism.

Every so often, an inspiring book comes along that helps the reader reform their approach to art and life, and A TREASURY OF ART (Part 2)--UNDISCOVERED WORKS 1966-2022 is one of those. The author, Rick Schmidt, was graced by ACTOR VIN DIESEL reading and utilizing his earlier "Feature filmmaking at Used-Car Prices" Viking Penguin how-to, so the superstar could kick-start his career. WRITER/DIRECTOR KEVIN SMITH also made his breakthrough feature, CLERKS, with Schmidt's book. So, somehow, the contents of Schmidt's tomes seem to generate positive energy to the reader, to help them get busy on ...

Every so often, an inspiring book comes along that helps the reader reform their approach to art and life, and A TREASURY OF ART (Part 3)--UNDISCOVERED WORKS 1966-2022 is one of those. The author, Rick Schmidt, was graced by ACTOR VIN DIESEL reading and utilizing his earlier "Feature filmmaking at Used-Car Prices" Viking Penguin how-to, so the superstar could kick-start his career. WRITER/DIRECTOR KEVIN SMITH also made his breakthrough feature, CLERKS, with Schmidt's book. So, somehow, the contents of Schmidt's tomes seem to generate positive energy to the reader, to help them get busy on ...

Sex scandals have rocked Hollywood since the industry began, but Once More With Feeling: You'll Never Make Love in This Town Again, Again is a brand new collection of stories that this town will never recover from - again.

Operation Chastise was one of the most extraordinary episodes of the Second World War, yet it has also become one of the most misunderstood. Max Hastings tells the gripping story of the Dambusters raid, from the invention of the bouncing bomb to the moonlit cockpits of young pilots flying at treetop height through lethal enemy fire. But Hastings also challenges what we think we know about the Dambusters, bringing to light the difficult truths that have often been left out of the legend.

This is a collection of twenty-three original interviews with stars of the silent screen, with biographical information and a filmography included for each. Interviewed are Lew Ayres, William Bakewell, Lina Basquette, Madge Bellamy, Eleanor Boardman, Ethlyne Clair, Junior Coghlan, Joyce Compton, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Dorothy Gulliver, Maxine Elliott Hicks, Dorothy Janis, George Lewis, Marion Mack, Patsy Ruth Miller, Lois Moran, Baby Marie Osborne, Muriel Ostriche, Eddie Quillan, Esther Ralston, Dorothy Revier, David Rollins, and Gladys Walton.

Charming and classically handsome, John Gilbert (1897-1936) was among the world's most recognizable actors during the silent era. He was a wild, swashbuckling figure on screen and off, and accounts of his life have focused on his high-profile romances with Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich, his legendary conflicts with Louis B. Mayer, his four tumultuous marriages, and his swift decline after the introduction of talkies.

Mike Medavoy is a Hollywood rarity: a studio executive who, though never far from controversy, remained loved and respected through four decades of moviemaking. He helped bring to the screen some of the most acclaimed Oscar-winning films of our time, including Apocalypse Now, One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, Amadeus, The Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia, and Sleepless in Seattle.

From the Baillie Gifford and Orwell Prize longlisted author of The Ministry of Truth comes an equally original and revealing exploration of one of the central concerns of our times: fantasies and nightmares of the end of the world, from Mary Shelley’s The Last Man to the Manic Street Preachers’ Everything Must Go.

A Companion to Martin Scorsese is a comprehensive collection of original essays assessing the career of one of America's most prominent contemporary filmmakers....