|
Book Review by Diana Saenger
As a film critic, I'm always asked what's a good movie to see. Thanks to the mega-book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die I now have many answers. One or two films are detailed per page with insightful comments that include more than cast, crew and awards.
INTRODUCTION
The alphabetical index can be searched by Film Index or by Director. In addition there is an additional listing divided into categories, such as Fantasy or Crime. The data of each of the 1001 films is not particularly a review, more a synopsis with in-depth information about the director, the genre, how it plays out in the film or maybe how it affects the political, social and cultural climate during the date the film ran.
CONTENT
Statements such as the one in the segment on Chinatown, "Faye Dunaway, whose neurasthenic quality has never been explored to better advantage, is the cool, elegant Evelyn, whose birthmark - 'a flaw in the iris' - represents the film's heart of darkness," are a sample of the high quality of writing in the book, and clearly paints a better picture of the subject than a mere review.
Each film contains one or more quality photos of the film or actors. The listings begin by year, so Classic Films are easy to find with more than 600 entries. Although a few of the contributors are actual film critics, most are professors of film studies.
1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die is an insightful and must-own book for film aficionados is also great for film buffs and movie fans who want to know more about a movie than what the major critics say.
DATA ABOUT THE BOOK
● 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
● Barrows Educational Series, Nov. 8, 2005
● ISBN: 0-7641-5701-9
● Hardcover
● 960 pages
● $35.00
|
