Mike Nichols, Buck Henry, and everyone else involved in The Graduate knew that they were making more than just another romantic comedy. But they didn't know that they were capturing the zeitgeist of their times, creating a cornerstone of film history, and producing one of the biggest box office hits of the decade. Beverly Gray, … Continue reading Seduced by Mrs. Robinson: How The Graduate Changed Everything
Category: Books
To Pixar and Beyond: Animating the business end of filmmaking
You'd expect a book on the history of Pixar to include lots of drawings, models, and frame blowups. But you'll find only words in Lawrence Levy's To Pixar and Beyond: My Unlikely Journey with Steve Jobs to Make Entertainment History. But then, To Pixar and Beyond is not about animation, design, or storytelling. It's not even … Continue reading To Pixar and Beyond: Animating the business end of filmmaking
Revisiting Kevin Brownlow’s The Parade’s Gone By
Anyone who cares about silent films has to read Kevin Brownlow's mammoth oral history survey, The Parade's Gone By. Not a history book in the usual sense, it describes early Hollywood primarily through the recollections of people who were there. Buster Keaton, Mary Pickford, Louise Brooks, and William Wellman were among the many filmmakers who … Continue reading Revisiting Kevin Brownlow’s The Parade’s Gone By
Approaching The End: Imagining Apocalypse in American Film
Film noir led to apocalyptic cinema. When human society has no clear moral boundaries, the end of the world is but a plot twist away. At least that's the argument that Peter Labuza sets out to prove in his new, very short book, Approaching The End: Imagining Apocalypse in American Film. I can't say that … Continue reading Approaching The End: Imagining Apocalypse in American Film
Book vs. Movie: The Shining
I read Stephen King's novel The Shining in the late 1970s, not too long after its publication. It scared and thrilled me like no other work of fiction. I still remember the frustration of not being able to physically turn pages faster. This past Friday night I finally saw Stanley Kubrick's 1980 film adaptation at … Continue reading Book vs. Movie: The Shining
Five Came Back: Great film directors go to war
It's hard to imagine an America so entirely at war that every aspect of the economy is affected. Where GM and Ford stop making cars to concentrate on bomber planes and tanks. Where healthy young men all but disappear from civilian life. And where five of Hollywood's top directors (along with multiple screenwriters, cinematographers, and … Continue reading Five Came Back: Great film directors go to war
Book vs. Film: Red River
When someone turns a mediocre book into a great film, people forget that it ever was a book. Such is the case with Borden Chase's decent but unexceptional novel, Blazing Guns on the Chisholm Trail, and the cinematic masterpiece that Howard Hawks made out of it, Red River. As I mentioned in my Red River … Continue reading Book vs. Film: Red River
Book vs. Movie: Jaws
The cliché tells us that the book is always better than the movie. Except when it isn't. I know. I just read Jaws. Most people associate that title with the blockbuster hit that put Steven Spielberg on the map. But before Spielberg got his hands on it, Peter Benchley's novel was a blockbuster in its … Continue reading Book vs. Movie: Jaws
Leonard Maltin’s 2013 Movie Guide
Is this book even necessary? That's the question I wanted to answer when I agreed to accept a review copy of Leonard Maltin's 2013 Movie Guide: The Modern Era. Once an indispensible reference for every cinephile, Maltin's annual reference seems quant today. After all, if there's anything that the Internet can do better than paper, … Continue reading Leonard Maltin’s 2013 Movie Guide
Pandora’s Digital Box: David Bordwell’s Book on Films, Files, and the Future of Movies
Even cinephiles who embrace the look of digital projection (and I count myself among them) have plenty to worry about. The current digital transition threatens independent theaters, independent distributors, the accessibility of older movies (especially those outside the canon), and the long-term survival of yesterday's, today's, and tomorrow's motion pictures. No one has contributed to … Continue reading Pandora’s Digital Box: David Bordwell’s Book on Films, Files, and the Future of Movies
Bayflicks 