Showing titles in History & Criticism

In The Wicked Witch of the West: The Enduring Legacy of a Feminist Icon, Lona Bailey explores the radical feministic undertones of one of the most enduring characters in popular culture. This book traces her transformation over the past century, highlighting how she has evolved through countless adaptations from The Wizard of Oz to the film adaptation of Wicked while maintaining her core identity as a powerful, defiant figure.

単なる見世物だった明滅する光の束は、いかにして人間の感情を深く揺さぶる最高峰の文化芸術へと進化したのか、映画史と映像技術の交差点を鮮やかに描き出します。静かな週末の夜や毎日の通勤のひととき、イヤホン...

Explora la fascinante historia del cine y entiende cómo inventos técnicos forjaron un lenguaje audiovisual universal. Perfecto para enriquecer tus trayectos diarios o tus tardes de descanso, este relato sonoro revela la magia creativa detrás de la gran pantalla. Sin necesidad de conocimientos...

Entdecke die faszinierende Filmgeschichte, wie aus simplen Lichtillusionen eine einflussreiche visuelle Kunst erwuchs. Ob auf dem täglichen Arbeitsweg oder beim entspannten Zuhören am Abend, diese atmosphärische Reise durch die Kulturgeschichte öffnet dir die Augen für die wahre Magie der...

Découvrez comment l'illusion du mouvement s'est transformée en l'art visuel le plus influent de notre histoire. Idéal pour enrichir votre trajet quotidien ou vos moments d'apprentissage, ce documentaire immersif retrace une épopée fascinante, des premières projections rudimentaires...

Bloomsbury Presents The Night of the Hunter, read and written by Simon Callow The Night of the Hunter (1955) was Charles Laughton's only film as director. Part expressionist horror movie, part luminous fairy tale, it contains some of the most haunting images in cinema. Willa (Shelley Winters)...

NARRATED BY THE AUTHORS A fond and nostalgic cultural history of It's a Wonderful Life, celebrating the beloved holiday film's actors and creators, its unexpected journey from public domain to holiday classic, and what its enduring legacy reveals about America. An indelible time capsule into the...

The definitive history of Peter Jackson’s Middle-earth saga, Anything You Can Imagine takes us on a cinematic journey across all six films, featuring brand-new interviews with Peter, his cast & crew. From the early days of daring to dream it could be done, through the highs and lows of making...

मैं आज भी फेके हुए पैसे नही उठाता'.. असं म्हणणारा अमिताभ बच्चन हा 'दीवार'चा पहिला चॉइस नव्हताच! मग राजेश खन्नाच्या...

"Everything about me is in my films," Steven Spielberg has said. Taking this as a key to understanding the hugely successful moviemaker, Molly Haskell explores the full range of Spielberg's works for the light they shine upon the man himself. Through such powerhouse hits as E.T., Jurassic Park, and Indiana Jones, to less-appreciated movies like the haunting Schindler's List, Haskell shows how Spielberg's uniquely evocative filmmaking and story-telling reveal the many ways in which his life, work, and times are entwined.

'I relished every page … This is the best book on Jane Austen I have ever read’ Spectator 'Compelling … a delightful and engrossing book … Byrne’s passion is nothing if not persuasive’ Sunday Times Was Jane Austen a woman of prim manners and genteel calm? Or someone who behaved...

In this wholly original work of film criticism, David Thomson, celebrated author of The Biographical Dictionary of Film, probes the many ways in which sexuality has shaped the movies—and the ways in which the movies have shaped sexuality. Exploring the tangled notions of masculinity...

In The Time of My Life, celebrated music journalist Andrea Warner excavates the layers of Dirty Dancing, from its anachronistic, chart-topping soundtrack, to Baby and Johnny’s chemistry, to Bergstein’s political intentions, to the abortion subplot that is more relevant today than ever. The film’s remarkable longevity would never have been possible if it was just a throwaway summer fling story. It is precisely because of its themes—deeply feminist, sensitively written—that we, over 30 years later, are still holding our breath during that last, exhilarating lift.

Named a best book of the year by Kirkus Reviews Named a Notable Book of 2025 by the Washington Post A personal and cultural exploration of the struggles between art and business at the heart of modern Hollywood, through the eyes of the talent that shaped it Matthew Specktor grew up in the film...

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.

‘Funny, enlightening and incredibly well-researched’ Emerald Street Over twenty years since its low-profile debut and Friends is the most streamed show on UK Netflix. But has it stood the test of time? Are some parts of it more problematic than we remember? And who was the cast’s least...

The Sound of Music is a classic film cherished in the hearts of millions. It won five Oscars, including Best Picture, upon its release in 1965. This tribute to a Hollywood classic is sure to thrill everyone who's ever sung along to "My Favorite Things" at one of the many screenings that still take place today. Through interviews with the cast and crew, in-depth access to memorabilia and personal scrapbooks, and archival research at Fox Studios, author Julia Antopol Hirsch reveals the lively human story behind the making of the von Trapp family film.

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The untold stories behind The Office, one of the most iconic television shows of the twenty-first century, told by its creators, writers, and actors When did you last hang out with Jim, Pam, Dwight, Michael, and the rest of Dunder Mifflin? It might have...

"Why don't you come up and see me sometime?" Mae West invited and promptly captured the imagination of generations. Even today, years after her death, the actress and author is still regarded as the pop archetype of sexual wantonness and ribald humor. But who was this saucy starlet, a woman who...

In 1993, Fox debuted a strange new television show called The X-Files. Little did anyone suspect that the series would become one of the network's biggest hits - and change the landscape of television in the process. Now, on the occasion of the show's 25th anniversary, TV critics Zack Handlen and Todd VanDerWerff unpack exactly what made this haunting show so groundbreaking. Witty and insightful reviews of every episode of the series, revised and updated from the authors' popular A.V. Club recaps, leave no mystery unsolved and no monster unexplained.