Arts / Film & Video / History & Criticism

Through a Screen Darkly: Looking Closer at Beauty, Truth and Evil in the Movies

by Jeffrey Overstreet

In the style of a cinematic travel journal, film columnist and critic Jeffrey Overstreet of Christianity Today and lookingcloser.org leads readers down paths less traveled to explore some of the best films you’ve...

Myth, Media, and Culture in Star Wars: An Anthology

by Douglas Brode & Leah Deyneka

In 1977, Star Wars blazed across the screen to become one of the highest grossing and most beloved movies of all time. In Myth, Media, and Culture in Star Wars: An Anthology, Douglas Brode and Leah Deyneka have...

Redefining Adaptation Studies

by Raw Cutchins

Transcending the literature/film paradigm of typical film adaptation courses, these essays focus on the idea of 'adaptation' and what it means in different socio-political contexts. This volume not only suggests...

Historical Dictionary of Middle Eastern Cinema

by Terri Ginsberg

The Historical Dictionary of Middle Eastern Cinema covers the production and exhibition of cinema in the Middle East and in other communities whose heritage is from the region and whose films commonly reflect...

Soul Searching: Black-Themed Cinema from the March on Washington to the Rise of Blaxploitation

by Christopher Sieving

An engrossing look at black-themed films in pre-blaxploitation Hollywood

What Media Classes Really Want to Discuss

by Greg Smith

What Media Classes Really Want To Discuss focuses on topics that introductory textbooks generally ignore, although they are prominent in students' minds. Using approachable prose, this book provides students...

The Epic Film

by Robert Burgoyne

With the recent release of spectacular blockbuster films from Gladiator to The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the epic has once again become a major form in contemporary cinema. The orginal essays in this volume...

Everyday Pornography

by Karen Boyle

Drawing on the experiences of activists alongside academics, Everyday Pornography offers the opportunity to explore the intellectual and political challenges of anti-pornography feminism and consider its relevance...

Political Communication and Social Theory

by Aeron Davis

Political Communication and Social Theory presents an advanced, challenging text for students and scholars of political communication and the role of media in democracies.

The Philosophy of Stanley Kubrick

by Jerold Abrams

In The Philosophy of Stanley Kubrick, some of our most respected philosophers investigate Kubrick's art to illuminate his view of reality. In films like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Eyes Wide Shut, and Dr. Strangelove,...

The Philosophy of Film Noir

by Mark Conard

From The Maltese Falcon (1941) to Touch of Evil (1958), the classic film noir is easily recognizable for its unusual lighting, sinister plots, and feeling of paranoia. For critics and fans alike, these films...

Animating Space

by J.P. Telotte

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...

American Classic Screen Features

by John C. Tibbetts

In American Classic Screen Features, editors John C. Tibbetts and James M. Welsh have assembled some of the most significant and memorable essays and critical pieces written for the magazine over its ten-year...

American Classic Screen Profiles

by John C. Tibbetts

In American Classic Screen Profiles, editors John C. Tibbetts and James M. Welsh have assembled some of the most significant and memorable profiles written for the magazine over its ten-year history. This collection...

Television Personalities

by James Bennett

Television Personalities offers an exciting, engaging approach to studying and understanding the most prominent and popular performers in television and celebrity culture.

Westerns

by John White

In this guidebook John White discusses the evolution of the Western through history, looking at theoretical and critical approaches to the genre.

Conversations with Scorsese

by Richard Schickel

Now with a new afterword: the history and process of moviemaking in general, and of Martin Scorsese's brilliant and varied films in particular, through the words and wit of the master director.

With Richard Schickel...

The Movies That Changed Us: Reflections on the Screen

by Nick Clooney

Nick Clooney, one of America's most respected film critics and historians, presents a distinctive catalog of movies that have influenced and altered not only the world of cinema, but also the world in which...

Empire of Dreams: The Epic Life of Cecil B. DeMille

by Scott Eyman

BEST KNOWN AS THE DIRECTOR of such spectacular films as The Ten Commandments and King of Kings, Cecil B. DeMille lived a life as epic as any of his cinematic masterpieces.

As a child DeMille learned the Bible...

Inventory: 16 Films Featuring Manic Pixie Dream Girls, 10 Great Songs Nearly Ruined by Saxophone, and 100 More Obsessively Specific Pop-Culture Lists

by A.V. Club & Chuck Klosterman

Each week, the writers of The A.V. Club issue a slightly slanted pop-culture list filled with challenging opinions (Is David Bowie's "Young Americans" nearly ruined by saxophone?) and fascinating facts. Exploring...