1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die by
With over 1.75 million copies sold worldwide, this book is a must-have for all movie lovers. This brand-new edition of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die covers more than a century of movie history. Selected and authored by a team of international film critics, every profile is packed with details, plot summaries and production notes, and little-known facts relating to the film's history. Each entry offers a fresh look at some the greatest films of all time. This all-new edition has been updated with: New films that span the globe Detailed, full-color images Key quotations from the movies More movie posters than ever Up-to-date facts and movie trivia Learn the complete history of filmmaking, from silent-era sensations such as D.W. Griffith's controversial The Birth of a Nation to recent Oscar nominees like Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Mad Max: Fury Road. Discover little-known facts about Hollywood's most memorable musicals, greatest dramas, noteworthy documentaries, screwball comedies, classic westerns, action and adventure films, and more. Movie lovers of all stripes will thoroughly enjoy this must-have compilation.
Opposable Thumbs by
Once upon a time, if you wanted to know if a movie was worth seeing, you didn't check out Rotten Tomatoes or IMDB. You asked whether Siskel & Ebert had given it "two thumbs up." On a cold Saturday afternoon in 1975, two men (who had known each other for eight years before they'd ever exchanged a word) met for lunch in a Chicago pub. Gene Siskel was the film critic for the Chicago Tribune. Roger Ebert had recently won the Pulitzer Prize--the first ever awarded to a film critic--for his work at the Chicago Sun-Times. To say they despised each other was an understatement. When they reluctantly agreed to collaborate on a new movie review show with PBS, there was at least as much sparring off-camera as on. No decision--from which films to cover to who would read the lead review to how to pronounce foreign titles--was made without conflict, but their often-antagonistic partnership (which later transformed into genuine friendship) made for great television. In the years that followed, their signature "Two thumbs up!" would become the most trusted critical brand in Hollywood. In Opposable Thumbs, award-winning editor and film critic Matt Singer eavesdrops on their iconic balcony set, detailing their rise from making a few hundred dollars a week on local Chicago PBS to securing multimillion-dollar contracts for a syndicated series (a move that convinced a young local host named Oprah Winfrey to do the same). Their partnership was cut short when Gene Siskel passed away in February of 1999 after a battle with brain cancer that he'd kept secret from everyone outside his immediate family--including Roger Ebert, who never got to say goodbye to his longtime partner. But their influence on in the way we talk about (and think about) movies continues to this day.
It Came from the Closet by
Through the lens of horror--from Halloween to Hereditary--queer and trans writers consider the films that deepened, amplified, and illuminated their own experiences. Horror movies hold a complicated space in the hearts of the queer community: historically misogynist, and often homo- and transphobic, the genre has also been inadvertently feminist and open to subversive readings. Common tropes--such as the circumspect and resilient "final girl," body possession, costumed villains, secret identities, and things that lurk in the closet--spark moments of eerie familiarity and affective connection. Still, viewers often remain tasked with reading themselves into beloved films, seeking out characters and set pieces that speak to, mirror, and parallel the unique ways queerness encounters the world. It Came from the Closet features twenty-five essays by writers speaking to this relationship, through connections both empowering and oppressive. From Carmen Maria Machado on Jennifer's Body, Jude Ellison S. Doyle on In My Skin, Addie Tsai on Dead Ringers, and many more, these conversations convey the rich reciprocity between queerness and horror.
