Film History

The Towering Inferno (1974) was the crowning achievement of über-producer Irwin Allen, the self-proclaimed “Master of disaster.” Crafted from two best-selling books and with a budget-busting cast headed by two mega-stars, it took two studios to bring it to the screen. In celebration of the 50th anniversary of The Towering Inferno, biographer-historian Nat Segaloff (who was a member of the film’s special publicity unit) writes about the production, its innovative marketing campaign, and the goings-on before, during, and after its box office success.

El pueblo de Chinchero -a 28 kilómetros del Cusco- estaba, en 1970, en un territorio hermoso, todavía intocado por la maquinaria aplastante del turismo masivo. Hasta ahí llegó el joven y conflictivo Dennis Hopper para rodar la que vislumbraba como una obra maestra de la contracultura hippie: The Last Movie.

Эльдар Александрович Рязанов—советский и российский кинорежиссёр, сценарист, актёр, поэт, драматург, телеведущий, педагог, продюсер. На страницах книги раскрывается внутренний мир известного режиссера. Эльдар Рязанов рассказывает о сути комедийного жанра, поднимает важные проблемы современного кинематографа и ТВ.

Ever wonder what the people who bring us our TV entertainment are thinking? Television and pop culture historian and author Herbie J Pilato has, and now takes listeners on a provocative and entertaining look into the agenda behind TV shows and the resulting trends. Even when it seemed television programming was primarily mindless, there was serious thought behind what audiences were presented. The networks, after all, believe in giving the people what they want, even when the people should have known better.

Between 1936 and 1963, Judy Garland performed in thirty-three major motion pictures. That period marked a sea change in American history in which the United States was transformed from a sovereign nation in relative isolation in the Western hemisphere to a superpower on the world stage. As the cinema was changing dramatically during that quarter of a century, Garland was successfully adapting her performing style to new conventions.

Malta 1565 - die Insel Malta wird von den Türken belagert. Nur ein Mann, so scheint es, kann den Christen noch helfen: Der Deutsche Mattias Tannhäuser wurde als Zwölfjähriger von den Türken entführt und ist bei ihnen aufgewachsen. Er kennt ihre Kultur und ihre Waffen. Um ihn auf die Insel zu locken, schickt der Großmeister des Malteser Ordens die schöne Contessa Clara nach Sizilien, wo Tannhäuser mit einem jüdischen Freund erfolgreich Handel treibt.

In the first full biography of actor Sidney Poitier, Aram Goudsouzian analyzes the life and career of a Hollywood legend, from his childhood in the Bahamas to his 2002 Oscar for lifetime achievement. Poitier is a gifted actor, a great American success story, an intriguing personality, and a political symbol; his life and career illuminate America's racial history.

Animators work within a strictly defined, limited space that requires difficult artistic decisions. The blank frame presents a dilemma for all animators, and the decision of what to include and leave out raises important questions about artistry, authorship, and cultural influence. In Animating Space: From Mickey to WALL-E, renowned scholar J. P. Telotte explores how animation has confronted the blank template, and how responses to that confrontation have changed.

As author Ethan Mordden looks back at Chicago's various moving parts - including the original 1926 play that started it all, a sexy silent film directed by Cecil B. DeMille, a talkie remake with Ginger Rogers, the musical itself, and at last the movie of the musical - we learn how the American theater serves as a kind of alternative news medium, a town crier warning the public about the racy, devious interior contradictions of American society. Opinionated, witty, and rich in backstage anecdotes, All That Jazz brings the American musical to life in all its artistry and excitement.

When Anna Broinowski learned that fracking had invaded downtown Sydney, she had a brilliant idea: she would seek guidance for a kryptonite-powerful, anti-fracking movie from the world's greatest propaganda factory - apart from Hollywood. After two years of trying, she was allowed to make her case in Pyongyang and was granted full permission to film. She worked closely with the leading lights of North Korean cinema, even playing an American in a military thriller.

Rollyson fully explores Brennan's work with Hollywood's greatest directors, such as Howard Hawks, John Ford, and Fritz Lang. As a father and grandfather, Brennan instilled generations of his family with an outlook on the American Dream that remains a sustaining feature of their lives today. His conservative politics, which grew out of his New England upbringing and his devout Catholicism, receive meticulous attention and a balanced assessment in A Real American Character.

The incomparable Simone Signoret (1921 - 1985), one of the grand actresses of the twentieth century and one of France's most notable stars, considered herself the "oldest discovery" in Hollywood. After years of blacklisting during the McCarthy era, she was 38 years old when she entered Hollywood through the back door in the 1959 British blockbuster Room at the Top. Her portrayal of the endearing Alice Aisgill earned her the Academy Award in 1960, the first French actor to win a coveted Oscar.

The Camera Lies unpacks Hitchcock's legacy both as a director who continuously taught audiences to distrust appearance and as a man with an uncanny insight into the human capacity for deceit and misinterpretation.

Dana Andrews (1909-1992) worked with distinguished directors such as John Ford, Lewis Milestone, Otto Preminger, Fritz Lang, William Wyler, William A. Wellman, Mervyn Le Roy, Jean Renoir, and Elia Kazan. He played romantic leads alongside the great beauties of the modern screen, including Joan Crawford, Elizabeth Taylor, Greer Garson, Merle Oberon, Linda Darnell, Susan Hayward, Maureen O'Hara, and most important of all, Gene Tierney, with whom he did five films.

From the ashes of World War II, Rome was reborn as the epicenter of film, fashion, creative energy, tabloid media, and bold-faced libertinism that made "Italian" a global synonym for taste, style, and flair. A confluence of cultural contributions created a bright, burning moment in history: it was the heyday of fashion icons such as Pucci and Brioni. Rome's huge movie studio, Cinecitta, attracted a dizzying array of stars, like Charlton Heston, Gregory Peck, Audrey Hepburn, Ava Gardner, and Frank Sinatra.

In this passionate love-hate letter to the film industry, Peter Bart pulls together his best columns from Variety and GQ, outlining in detail the history and inner workings of Hollywood. In story after story, Bart shows how the major studios have diverted their energies away from production of the shrewdly crafted pictures that once made the industry powerful.

As he did in his bestselling biographies of Jimmy Stewart and Clint Eastwood, acclaimed Hollywood biographer Marc Eliot digs deep beneath the myth in this revealing look at the most legendary Western film hero of all time; the man with the distinctive voice, walk, and demeanor who was an inspiration to many and a symbol of American masculinity, power, and patriotism.

Ignoring the systemic racial inequalities in film is losing the industry $10 billion a year. Yet, parity, diversity, and inclusion are fundamental issues that the Oscar Awards are only just beginning to address. In this book, award-winning writer, broadcaster, model, and fashion designer, Ben Arogundade, provides a manual for deconstructing everything you thought you knew about Hollywood - documenting the stories and struggles of black artists within the movie industry that have so far been left out of the canon.

With the success of the Wonder Woman movies and the results following the outcry of the #MeToo movement, now is the time to highlight the female influences in film history previously left unheard!

From the earliest episodes to speculation on the future of the franchise, author Patrick McCray celebrates the grand themes and iconic characters of Dark Shadows with a devout irreverence. Winner of the 2018 Rondo Award for Writer of the Year, Patrick McCray chronicles the unforgettable series by exploring its episodes in articles and asides, all originally written on the anniversary of their filming.