Showing titles in History & Criticism

If Hollywood had a superhero throne, Spider-Man would be perched upon it. As the most popular superhero in the world, the web-slinger plays a pivotal role in three of the six highest-grossing film franchises in history: the Marvel Cinematic Universe; the Avengers quadrilogy; and the Spider-Man movies themselves. Spidey has come a long way since Marvel guru Stan Lee first concocted him in 1962, but until now his cinematic journey has not been fully documented.

The untold stories of seven revolutionary teen shows (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, My So-Called Life, Dawson’s Creek, Freaks and Geeks, The O.C., Friday Night Lights, and Glee) that shaped the course of modern television and our pop cultural landscape forever. The modern television landscape...

Grandes temas a través de la historia y el cine es un libro dirigido a todo aquel interesado en conocer en profundidad algunos de los problemas más relevantes de nuestra historia pasada y presente. Analizado con gran rigor histórico y redactado de forma didáctica y amena, la autora aborda cuestiones claves como los nacionalismos, las represiones políticas, el enfrentamiento entre la ciencia y la fe, las grandes plagas de la historia o las minorías religiosas y étnicas. Cada uno de estos temas se entreteje en torno a una serie de películas seleccionadas.

From the triumphant “Main Title” in Star Wars to the ominous bass line of Jaws, John Williams has penned some of the most unforgettable film scores—while netting more than fifty Academy Award nominations. This updated and revised edition of Emilio Audissino’s groundbreaking volume takes stock of Williams’s creative process and achievements in music composition, including the most recent sequels in the film franchises that made him famous. Audissino details his lasting impact and cements his legacy as one of the most important composers in movie history.

Un repaso concienzudo a una época que algunos llaman dorada en el cine español, una época de agudeza, de ingenio y de esfuerzo por sacar adelante proyectos enmarcados entre dos crisis mundiales: la bursátil de 2008 y la sanitaria del covid en 2020. Un interesantísimo análisis a través de entrevistas y recuerdos de la década de 2010, los impedimentos y los escollos para hacer cine de calidad, de la mano de quienes los superaron.

This book is the first anthology to explore the connection between race and the suburbs in American cinema from the end of World War II to the present. It builds upon the explosion of interest in the suburbs in film, television, and fiction in the last fifteen years, concentrating exclusively on the relationship of race to the built environment. Race and the Suburbs in American Film is a stimulating resource for considering the manner in which race is foundational to architecture and urban geography, which is reflected, promoted, and challenged in cinematic representations.

The world loves Sheriff Andy Taylor. Yet the actor who played him was intensely private. Here, for the first time, is the real Andy Griffith, his career and life defined by the island that made him in the years soon after World War II. He achieved his artistic breakthrough while acting in The Lost Colony drama on Roanoke Island, then spent the rest of his life repaying the island for giving him that start. Here, in unique closeup, is Andy of Manteo, reveling in wild, watery and loving ways with his fellow islanders.

I was a “Monster Kid” and “The Weird Kid, The Horror Movie Kid.” I found out early…horror is always personal. Now I make horror for a living. It shouldn’t just be WATCHED. Horror should be ENJOYED. This isn’t some stuffy analysis telling you what’s good or bad. Instead, it’s a tour of the 1930s through the 1980s—a personal account of how the best and worst of this era gave us so many memories and experiences that impacted our own lives. It’s fun…just how horror should always be.

Myths are usually seen as stories from the depths of time—fun and fantastical, but no longer believed by anyone. Yet, as Philip Ball shows, we are still writing them—and still living them—today. From Robinson Crusoe and Frankenstein to Batman, many stories written in the past few centuries are commonly, perhaps glibly, called "modern myths." But Ball argues that we should take that idea seriously. Our stories of Dracula, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Sherlock Holmes are doing the kind of cultural work that the ancient myths once did.

For all the near-fanatic attention brought each year to the Academy Awards, the organization that dispenses those awards—the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences—has yet to be understood. To date, no one has ever produced a thorough account of the Academy’s birth and its awkward adolescence, and the few reports on those periods from outside have always had a glancing, cursory quality. Yet the story of the Academy’s creation and development is a critical piece of Hollywood’s history. Now that story is finally being told.

Raconter une histoire ne s'improvise pas. La narration est un artisanat qui, avant de pouvoir prétendre à l'art, exige le respect de règles que John Truby a rassemblées dans cette Anatomie du scénario. Sa méthode unique nous fait entrer dans les secrets de fabrication de ce qui constitue la condition première de la réussite d'un film - une bonne histoire - et nous guide pas à pas dans la construction des personnages, de l'intrigue, de l'univers du récit, des dialogues, en détaillant les vingt-deux étapes incontournables dans l'écriture d'un scénario réussi.

What makes Buffy the Vampire Slayer a "brave dame" but Ally McBeal a "wimpette"? In this witty, incisive look at the role of women on screen and page, Susan Isaacs argues that assertive, ethical women characters are losing ground to wounded, shallow sisters who are driven by what she calls, "the articles of wimpette philosophy."

Tan grandiosa es la gesta del cine que solo una bilogía freak pudo hacerle justicia. En el primer tomo encontrarán los orígenes de la técnica, además del asentamiento definitivo del sistema de estudio y la constelación de estrellas de la técnica, además del asentamiento definitivo del sistema de estudio y la constelación de estrellas de la época dorada de Hollywood.

Black Panther is one of the most financially successful and culturally impactful films to emerge from the American film industry in recent years. When it was released in 2018 it broke numerous records and resonated with audiences all around the world. In Black Panther: Interrogating a Cultural Phenomenon, author Terence McSweeney explores the film from a diverse range of perspectives, seeing it as not only a comic book adaptation and a superhero film, but also a dynamic contribution to the discourse of both African and African American studies.

Whether it is a director insisting on a final cut, a star demanding a bigger motor home, a producer holding the line on a budget, or a grip with a gripe, it seems that the world of moviemaking is nothing but Sturm und Drang. Shoot Out presents a raucous look at how movies get made and the players involved, from writers, producers, directors, and stars to agents and marketers. For film buffs, aspiring filmmakers, students, and anyone else intrigued by the inner workings of Hollywood, this is the quintessential take on the how, who, what, and why of the film business.

Rodando El padrino, ninguno de sus implicados pensó que se convertiría en el primer blockbusrer y en la película más taquillera de la historia en su estreno. Ni Mario Puzo pretendía escribir sobre la mafia, ni la mafia quería que se rodase, ni Francis Ford Coppola dirigirla, ni Paramount hacer otra película de mafiosos. Tampoco a Marlon Brando, ni a Al Pacino. Narrado como una trepidante película y basado en una rigurosa documentación histórica, este audiolibro nos muestra el poder empresarial en Hollywood, las luchas de poder en los pasillos de Paramount.

This is the first full-length biography of this mid-twentieth century multi-faceted star. One of the central tensions of Dale's life revolved around chasing the elusive work/family balance, making her story instantly relatable to women today. In addition to fame, Dale longed for a happy, stable, family life. Her roles of wife and mother became the foundation for her public persona: the smart, smiling, cheerful cowgirl. Unusual for the time were Dale Evans's attempts to control the trajectory of her career at a time when men dominated decision-making in the entertainment fields.

A history about the invention of the motion picture and the mysterious man behind it—detailing his life, work, disappearance and legacy. The year is 1888, and Louis Le Prince is finally testing his 'taker' or 'receiver' device for his family on their front lawn. The device is meant to capture 10 to 12 images per second on film, creating a reproduction of reality that can be replayed as many times as desired. In an otherwise separate and detached world, occurrences from one end of the globe could now be viewable with only a few days delay on the other side of the world.

"Anatomía del crimen: Guía de la novela y el cine negros" es una completa guía del escritor de novela negra y, al mismo tiempo, teórico del género Mariano Sánchez Soler, quien ha diseccionado la narrativa criminal, sus orígenes, el salto a la literatura española y su relación con el cine nacional e internacional. Subjetivo, apasionado y visceral, su visión compone una guía completa de este tipo de novelas y películas.

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.