Showing titles in History & Criticism

From devil child shocker Alice, Sweet Alice (1976) to Z-grade monochrome masterpiece Zombies of Mora Tau (1957), join acclaimed film critic and author Jon Towlson on a tour of 40 great cult movies. Experience afresh cult classics like Freaks (1932) and Night of the Living Dead (1968) and discover Euro art house rarities like Edge of Sanity (1989). From punk classic Suburbia (1984) to Gasper Noe’s phantasmagoric Enter the Void (2009) to slasher oddity The Redeemer: Son of Satan (1978), this book is sure to bring you some of the strangest movies you will ever see. And it will make you ...

It was a pretty radical idea - a channel for teenagers, showing nothing but music videos. It was such a radical idea that almost no one thought it would actually succeed, much less become a force in the worlds of music, television, film, fashion, sports, and even politics. But it did work. MTV became more than anyone had ever imagined. I Want My MTV tells the story of the first decade of MTV, the golden era when MTV's programming was all videos, all the time, and kids watched religiously to see their favorite bands, learn about new music, and have something to talk about at parties.

The “shocking” (The Wall Street Journal), must-read story of Charlie Chaplin’s years of exile from the United States during the postwar Red Scare, and how it ruined his film career, from bestselling biographer Scott Eyman. Bestselling Hollywood biographer and film historian Scott Eyman...

A gripping short biography of the extraordinary Alfred Hitchock, the master of suspense. Alfred Hitchcock was a strange child. Fat, lonely, burning with fear and ambition, his childhood was an isolated one, scented with fish from his father's shop. Afraid to leave his bedroom, he would plan...

This program is read by the authors (David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker), Laura Orrico and Joe Praino, with special appearances by an all-star cast of comedy giants, including the film's stars, Julie Hagerty and Robert Hays, as well as Beau Bridges, Barry Diller, Michael Eisner, Peter...

John Ortved's oral history is the first-ever look behind the scenes at the creation and day-to-day running of the television phenomenon known as The Simpsons, as told by many of the people who produce it.

Now Tom Santopietro has written the ultimate Sound of Music fan audiobook with all the inside dope, from behind-the-scenes stories of the filming in Austria and Hollywood to new interviews with Johannes von Trapp and others. Santopietro looks back at the real-life story of Maria von Trapp, goes on to chronicle the sensational success of the Broadway musical, and recounts the story of the near cancellation of the film when Cleopatra bankrupted 20th Century Fox.

In this mixture of cultural and social history that is both scholarly and vastly entertaining, Eyman dispels the myths and gives us the missing chapter in the history of Hollywood, the ribbon of dreams by which America conquered the world.

A fascinating and hilarious deep dive into 30 Rock, Tina Fey's beloved modern classic comedy. In this combination of narrative and oral history, culture writer and editor Mike Roe brings to life the history of the gloriously goofy show through interviews with the creators, stars, writers, and bit players.

Journey with award-winning filmmaker and author Laurent Bouzereau through acclaimed director Brian De Palma’s renowned—and controversial—horror and thriller films that redefined cinema in the 1970s and early 80s with new interviews and fresh takes. Among a crop of fresh filmmakers...

In this luminous memoir, Rita Moreno shares her remarkable journey from a young girl with simple beginnings in Puerto Rico to Hollywood legend—and one of the few performers, and the only Hispanic, to win an Oscar, Grammy, Tony and two Emmys. Born Rosita Dolores Alverio in the idyll of Puerto...

In 1997, creator Joss Whedon revisited a screenplay that had previously been adapted into a relatively forgotten horror-comedy film: Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Dissatisfied with how the film turned out, Whedon developed his own version of the story as an allegory for the "horrors" of growing up. For seven years, Buffy and her friends (the Scoobies) battled demons, both of the metaphorical and literal kind and, along the way, took part in a series that defines the term "cult classic."

In celebration of the Brady Bunch's 50th anniversary, TV writer Kimberly Potts writes a Seinfeldia-like definitive history of the show that changed the family sitcom and made an indelible impact on pop culture. There isn't a person in this country who hasn't heard of The Brady Bunch. Whether...

"A wild success." — Publishers Weekly "A surefire hit." —Library Journal STARRED review "A brilliant star turn." —Andrew O’Hagan A riotous and revealing story of Hollywood’s most spectacular flops and how they ended careers, bankrupted studios and changed film history. "Failure...

In 1911, famed cartoonist Winsor McCay debuted one of the first animated cartoons, based on his sophisticated newspaper strip Little Nemo in Slumberland, itself inspired by Freud’s recent research on dreams. McCay is largely forgotten today, but he unleashed an art form and the creative energy of artists from Otto Messmer and Max Fleischer to Walt Disney and Warner Bros.’ Chuck Jones. Wild Minds is an ode to our colorful past and to the creative energy that later inspired The Simpsons, South Park, and BoJack Horseman.

Columbo was arguably the most popular and most unique television mystery series ever - even though, within two minutes of the titles, the audience already knew the murderer’s identity. The show captivated tens of millions of viewers for 69 adventures produced over 35 years. Yet if star Peter Falk had gotten his way, it would have run far longer. The “shooting” of Columbo was filled with backstage intrigue and larger-than-life personalities who, through it all, created unforgettable classic television.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER LOS ANGELES TIMES BESTSELLER An NPR Best Book of the Year In this spectacular, newsmaking exposé that has the entertainment industry abuzz and on its heels, Vanity Fair's Maureen Ryan blows the lid off patterns of harassment and bias in Hollywood, the grassroots...

From Entertainment Weekly writer and debut author Samantha Highfill, a definitive and deliciously nostalgic look into the creation and legacy of the hit show The Vampire Diaries, as told by its cast, crew, and creators. In 2009, the CW released a show about grief, love, redemption, and, oh yeah...

From a two-time Academy Award winner widely regarded as the greatest cinematographer of all time—a one-of-a-kind visual memoir, telling his life's story by way of his iconic, beloved films. Cinematography is both an art and science—capturing motion requires a combination of skill, ingenuity...

One of the top box-office draws of the 1960s and '70s with now-classics such as The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape, The Thomas Crown Affair, and Bullit, Steve McQueen is renowned as one of the most exciting actors ever to come out of Hollywood. Now, in Steve McQueen: A Biography, best-selling author Marc Eliot gives unique insight into McQueen's life, from his films to his three marriages, many affairs, and struggles with addictions.