Ingrid Bergman was not only an incomparable beauty but one of the finest actresses of cinema’s Golden Age. She made her start in modest productions in Sweden before Hollywood beckoned and soon became one of filmdom’s brightest stars. She appeared in many acclaimed films including Casablanca, For Whom the Bell Tolls, and Gaslight. While her personal life was briefly tainted by an affair and a consequent falling out with the American public, Bergman was eventually able to return to Hollywood...

Soon after film came into existence, the term epic was used to describe productions that were lengthy, spectacular, live with action, and often filmed in exotic locales with large casts and staggering budgets. The effort and extravagance needed to mount an epic film paid off handsomely at the box office, for the genre became an immediate favorite with audiences. Epic films survived the tribulations of two world wars and the Depression and have retained the basic characteristics of size and...

Widely regarded as one of cinema's most accomplished directors, David Lean helmed such classics as Brief Encounter, Great Expectations, and Oliver Twist. He twice received the Academy Award for best director, and two of his films, The Bridge on the River Kwai and Lawrence of Arabia won the Oscar for best picture. Both are featured on the American Film Institute's Top 100, with Lawrence of Arabia at number seven. Despite the awards and a...

Many film fans consider Humphrey Bogart the ultimate star of Hollywood’s golden era. He rose from supporting roles in the early 1930s to become a superstar by the end of the decade. Bogart appeared in more classic films than just about any other actor in American cinema. In addition to The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca, The Big Sleep, The Treasure of Sierra Madre, and The African Queen, Bogart starred in dozens of other highly regarded films until his death in 1956.In The Essential Hu...

Constantine Santas encourages us to wonder why film critics have so routinely dismissed the epic film. In The Epic in Film, he argues that "blockbuster" and "artistic" are not mutually exclusive terms, and, perhaps more importantly, epic film is an inherently profound genre in its ability to tap into a nation's, and sometimes humanity's, dreams and fears. Why do we see dozens and dozens of films based on the King Arthur legend? Why would a presidential-hopeful borrow a phrase, "Re...

America’s most trusted and best-known film critic Roger Ebert presents one hundred brilliant essays on some of the best movies ever made.Roger Ebert, the famed film writer and critic, wrote biweekly essays for a feature called "The Great Movies," in which he offered a fresh and fervent appreciation of a great film. The Great Movies collects one hundred of these essays, each one of them a gem of critical appreciation and an amalgam of love, analysis, and hi...

There are so many fantastic authors and great books out there that sometimes it’s hard to know where to begin. Start Here solves that problem; it tells you how to read your way into 25 amazing authors from a wide range of genres--from classics to contemporary fiction to comics. Each chapter presents an author, explains why you might want to try them, and lays out a 3- or 4-book reading sequence designed to help you experience fully what they have to offer. It’s a fun, accessible, and infor...

The most riveting reads in history meet today's biggest thriller writers in Thrillers: 100 Must-Reads.Edited by David Morrell and Hank Wagner, Thrillers: 100 Must-Reads examines 100 seminal works of suspense through essays contributed by such esteemed modern thriller writers as: David Baldacci, Steve Berry, Sandra Brown, Lee Child, Jeffery Deaver, Tess Gerritsen, Heather Graham, John Lescroart, Gayle Lynds, Katherine Neville, Michael Palmer, James Rollins, R. L. Stine, and many more.Thrill...

A brilliantly insightful and witty examination of beloved and little-known films, directors, and stars by one of America’s most esteemed critics.In his illuminating new work, Gary Giddins explores the evolution of film, from the first moving pictures and peepshows to the digital era of DVDs and online video-streaming. New technologies have changed our experience of cinema forever; we have peeled away from the crowded theater to be home alone with classic cinema. Re...

Are you tired of bland, overly earnest reading guides that discuss the same old books? Read This Next by Sandra Newman and Howard Mittlemark is the answer. A smart, irreverent, honest, and truly hilarious guide to your 500 new favorite books, Read This Next is aimed at those readers and book groups that are looking for great reading suggestions with more variety and spice than the usual book club picks—while offering food for thought and laughter in equal measure.Ready to discover ...

Discover the revelatory and illuminating interviews with literary luminaries that have graced the pages of The Paris Review for over half a century.This critically acclaimed series continues with another eclectic lineup, featuring intimate conversations with renowned authors such as Philip Roth, Ezra Pound, Haruki Murakami, Marilynne Robinson, Stephen Sondheim, E. B. White, Maya Angelou, and William Styron. In these remarkable extended interviews, the authors delve...

What if you asked 125 top writers to pick their favorite books? Which titles would come out on top?You'll find the answer in The Top Ten: Writers Pick Their Favorite Books: the ultimate guide to the world's greatest books. As writers such as Norman Mailer, Annie Proulx, Stephen King, Jonathan Franzen, Claire Messud, Margaret Drabble, Michael Chabon and Peter Carey name the ten books that have meant the most to them, you'll be reminded of books you have always loved and int...