Film Life

Mr Punch Presents: It’s a Wonderful Life, the irresistibly heart-warming story of George Bailey, who is prevented from committing suicide by the elderly angel Clarence, who takes him on a journey back through his life to show him how the town of Bedford Falls would have been had he never lived. Originally directed by the celebrated Frank Capra, it is performed here for radio with James Stewart, Victor Moore and Donna Reed recreating their original roles.

Charlie Chaplin made an amazing 71 films by the time he was only 33 years old. He was not only known as the world’s first international movie star, but as a comedian, film director, and a man ripe with scandal, accused of plagiarism, communism, pacifism, liberalism, and anti-Americanism. He seduced young women, marrying four different times, each time to a woman younger than the next. In this animated biography of Chaplin, Joyce Milton reveals to us a life riddled with gossip and a struggle to rise from an impoverished London childhood to the life of a successful American film star.

From Oscar-winners and cult favorites, big budget blockbusters and indie darlings, this captivating series takes you on a deep dive into the pivotal projects that defined the careers of six extraordinary filmmakers—Cameron Crowe, Natasha Lyonne, Ron Howard, Amy Heckerling, Richard Linklater, and Chloé Zhao. Through candid anecdotes and behind-the-scenes stories, these artists reflect on the formative experiences, creative breakthroughs, and personal inspirations that gave rise to their most iconic work.

Stephen King’s “The Life of Chuck” is a “phenomenal” (USA TODAY) tale of life and legacy—now a feature film directed by Mike Flanagan and starring Tom Hiddleston, Mark Hamill, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Karen Gillan—available for the first time in a beautiful stand-alone edition with a...

Jon Landau, the Academy Award–winning film producer behind Titanic, Avatar, Alita: Battle Angel, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, and Dick Tracy, knew two things well: how to tell an unforgettable story, and how to find solutions. So, when he found himself confronting his fate, a diagnosis of improbable odds, he began to problem solve, ensuring that everything he learned behind the camera would live on after he was gone.

One of The Hollywood Reporter’s 100 Greatest Film Books of All Time A National Book Critics Circle finalist One of People's top 10 books of 2021 An instant New York Times bestseller Named a best book of the year by NPR and Time A magnificent biography of one of the most...

Acclaimed biographer Donald Spoto explores the roots of Hitchcock’s obsessions - with food, murder, and idealized love, among others - and traces the origins of his incomparable, bizarre genius, from his childhood and education to the golden years of his career. Based on interviews with his writers, actors, and longtime associates, and on exhaustive research, The Dark Side of Genius is the definitive biography of Alfred Hitchcock.

Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life is one of the best-loved films of Classical Hollywood cinema, a story of despair and redemption in the aftermath of war that is one of the central movies of the 1940s, and a key text in America's understanding of itself. This is a film that remains relevant to our own anxieties and yearnings, to all the contradictions of ordinary life, while also enacting for us the quintessence of the classic Hollywood aesthetic.

From Marion Davies's humble days in Brooklyn to her rise to fame alongside press baron William Randolph Hearst, the public life story of the film star plays like a modern fairy tale shaped by gossip columnists, fan magazines, biopics, and documentaries. Yet the real Marion Davies remained largely hidden from view, as she trusted few with her true life story. In Captain of Her Soul, Lara Gabrielle pulls back layers of myth to show a complex and fiercely independent woman, ahead of her time, who carved her own path.

Has your child lived before? In this fascinating, controversial, and groundbreaking book, Carol Bowman reveals overwhelming evidence of past-life memories in children. Not only are such experiences real, they are far more common than most people realize. Bowman’s extraordinary investigation was sparked when her young son, Chase, described his own past-life death on a Civil War battlefield - an account so accurate it was authenticated by an expert historian. Even more astonishing, Chase’s chronic eczema and phobia of loud noises disappeared after he had recalled the memory.

With intimate detail, author Maria Riva reveals the rich life of her mother, Marlene Dietrich, the charismatic star of stage and screen whose career spanned much of the 20th century. Opening with Dietrich's childhood in Schöneberg, Riva's biography introduces us to an energetic, disciplined, and ambitious young actress whose own mother equated show business with a world of vagabonds and thieves.

Lust For Life is Irving Stone's biographical novel about the life of the Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh...

An uncensored look at aspects of the private lives (and deaths) of the stars of Hollywood's Golden Age and beyond. Hollywood minus the hype and hokum.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER WINNER OF THE NAACP IMAGE AWARD A “gripping, revelatory” (NPR) memoir of hard-won success, struggles with addiction, and a lifelong mission to give back—from the late iconic actor beloved for his roles in The Wire, Boardwalk Empire, and Lovecraft Country...

In this “celebration of a life fully lived” (Reyna Grande, author of The Distance Between Us), discover the full, fascinating, and inspirational true story of Danny Trejo’s journey from crime, prison, addiction, and loss—it’s “enough to make you believe in the possibility of a...

Discover the extraordinary life and legendary films of John Ford, the director who defined American cinema. John Ford: A Complete Guide to the Life, Films, and Legacy of One of America’s Greatest Directors explores the career of the four-time Academy Award winner whose iconic works shaped how the world sees the American West, family, community, and national identity. From his Irish immigrant roots to his rise in Hollywood, Ford’s journey reflects the story of America itself, captured through unforgettable films like Stagecoach, The Grapes of Wrath, The Searchers, and The Quiet Man. This...

She is one of the most recognizable women of our time. America knows Jane Fonda as an actress and an activist, a feminist and a wife, a workout guru and a role model. Now, in this extraordinary memoir, Fonda reveals that she is so much more. From her youth among Hollywood’s elite and her early...

Academy Award-winning actress and New York Times bestselling author Shirley MacLaine shares a dazzling memoir in photographs, chronicling her extraordinary life with 150+ images from her personal archive With more than seventy years on the silver screen, Shirley MacLaine has, as she says, seen...

"The best thing Mr. Ebert has ever written." - Janet Maslin, New York Times "To make ourselves unhappy is where all crime starts. We must try to contribute joy to the world. That is true no matter what our problems, our health, our circumstances. We must try. I didn't always know this, and am...

*AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER* Actor-dancer Alyson Stoner narrates their revelatory and incisive memoir—from family violence and betrayal, to eating disorders and religious trauma—may begin in Hollywood, but its chilling relatability will resonate with anyone navigating...