Showing titles in History & Criticism

An exclusive look inside the surprising history and contentious future of Hollywood’s most unlikely blockbuster—the Fast & Furious franchise—a series that uncannily anticipated the shifting currents of pop culture while changing the business of global entertainment at the same time. ...

When Barbara Walters launched The View, network executives told her that hosting it would tarnish her reputation. Instead, within 10 years, she’d revolutionized morning TV and made household names of her cohosts: Joy Behar, Star Jones, Meredith Vieira, and Elisabeth Hasselbeck. But the daily chat fest didn’t just comment on the news. It became the news. And the headlines barely scratched the surface. Based on unprecedented access, award-winning journalist Ramin Setoodeh takes you backstage where the stars really spoke their minds.

Hollywood was built on beautiful and complicated matinee idols: James Dean and Marlon Brando are classic examples, but in the 1990s, the actor who embodied that archetype was River Phoenix. As the brightly colored 1980s wound down, a new crew of leading men began to appear on movie screens...

From a veteran culture writer and modern movie expert, a celebration and analysis of the movies of 1999—“a terrifically fun snapshot of American film culture on the brink of the Millennium….An absolute must for any movie-lover or pop-culture nut” (Gillian Flynn). In 1999, Hollywood as we...

We can learn a lot about American history and culture by looking at the horror films of the 1980s. In the 10 lectures of Slash and Grab: Horror of the 1980s, you’ll follow Professor Adam Jortner as he examines how these films were created, why they were made, and what kind of reaction they sparked in American audiences.

On stage and screen, we know a great performance when we see it. But how do actors draw from their bodies and minds to turn their selves into art? What is the craft of being an authentic fake? More than a century ago, amid tsarist Russia’s crushing repression, one of the most talented actors ever, Konstantin Stanislavski, asked these very questions, reached deep into himself and emerged with an answer.

In the six lectures of A Psychologist Goes to the Movies, taught by Dr. Swan, you’ll see what films can tell us about the human mind, from the experience of amnesia to the ethics of psychological research and so much more. Featuring six movies from a variety of genres, styles, and periods, these lectures will give you the opportunity to explore the principles of psychology and consider fascinating neurological theories through the immersive magic of the silver screen.

A playfully critical journey through the Coen brothers' filmography From such cult hits as Raising Arizona (1987) and The Big Lebowski (1998) to major critical darlings Fargo (1996), No Country for Old Men (2007), and Inside Llewyn Davis (2013), Ethan and Joel Coen have cultivated a bleakly...

From a longtime Vanity Fair writer and editor, a delightfully entertaining, intelligent, and illuminating history and tribute to teen movies—from Rebel Without a Cause to Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and on to John Hughes, Mean Girls, The Hunger Games, and more. What influence did Francis...

From Turner Classic Movies and the creators of @precodedotcom, this is the essential film-by-film guide to must-see cinema from the pre-Code era—a wild and wonderful time in Hollywood history before strict enforcement of a censorship code that ruled moviemaking for decades. With...

The Golden Girls: Tales from the Lanai is an accessible collection that explores the cultural, industrial, and historical impact of that beloved American sitcom. Edited by Taylor Cole Miller and Alfred L. Martin, Jr., this anthology brings together a diverse range of voices that model different media studies approaches to researching and critically analyzing television texts.

From its first publication in 1992, Men, Women, and Chain Saws has offered a groundbreaking perspective on the creativity and influence of horror cinema since the mid-1970s. Investigating the popularity of the low-budget tradition, Carol Clover looks in particular at slasher, occult, and rape-revenge films. Although such movies have been traditionally understood as offering only sadistic pleasures to their mostly male audiences, Clover demonstrates that they align spectators not with the male tormentor, but with the females tormented.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER This “wickedly pacey page-turner” (Total Film) unfurls the behind-the-scenes story of the making of The Godfather, fifty years after the classic film’s original release. The story of how The Godfather was made is as dramatic, operatic, and entertaining as the film...

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.

Named a Best Book of 2022 by The New Yorker, Publishers Weekly, and NPR In this genre-defying “new kind of history” (The New Yorker), the chief film critic of Slate places comedy legend and acclaimed filmmaker Buster Keaton’s unique creative genius in the context of his time. Born the same...

When Brian De Palma agreed to allow Julie Salamon unlimited access to the film production of Tom Wolfe's best-selling book The Bonfire of the Vanities, both director and journalist must have felt like they were on to something big. How could it lose? But instead Salamon got a front-row seat at the Hollywood disaster of the decade.

Ted Lasso and Philosophy explores the hidden depths beneath the vibrant veneer of AppleTV's breakout, award-winning sitcom. Blending philosophical sophistication with winsome appreciation of this feel-good comedy, the collection features original essays canvassing the breadth of the series and carefully considering the ideas it presents.

Long before Mary Poppins danced across the rooftops and into the hearts of millions, Robert and Richard Sherman were struggling songwriters in Los Angeles, trying to find their voices—and their futures. In this vivid and deeply researched narrative, author and Disney historian Todd James Pierce traces the unlikely path that brought the Sherman brothers to Walt Disney's attention, and how their personal history, musical genius, and emotional lives shaped the film's unforgettable songs and surprising storyline.

Filmmaker and author Mark Cousins shows how filmmakers are influenced both by the historical events of their times, and by each other. Films are discussed within chapters reflecting both the stylistic concerns of the film-makers and the political and social themes of the time. Film is an international medium, so as well as covering the great American films and film-makers, The Story of Film explores cinema in Europe, Africa, Asia, Australasia and South America, and shows how cinematic ideas and techniques cross national boundaries.

Authors Dustin McNeill and Travis Mullins are back to bring you an inside look at 24 lost Halloween sequels you never saw on the big screen! Learn about these fascinating unmade visions direct from their creators, many of whom have never spoken publicly on the subject before. With a running time of over 24 hours, Taking Shape II is brimming with untold franchise history. The journey begins with an insightful foreword by Halloween: 25 Years of Terror producer Anthony Masi.