Great Films

America’s most trusted and best-known film critic Roger Ebert presents two hundred brilliant essays on some of the best movies ever made in this two-book collection containing THE GREAT MOVIES and THE GREAT MOVIES II. Roger Ebert, the famed film writer and critic, wrote biweekly essays for a...

The story behind the making of one of the greatest films ever created. Elia Kazan, was the genius behind On the Waterfront, one of Hollywood’s most timeless and unforgettable films. Less than 108 minutes long, Waterfront would win ten Academy Awards, gross over $100 million dollars and define Kazan’s career. But he was a causality of his time and a victim by his own design. And s a result, it all happened in less then 48 minutes. It happened at the worst possible time. It always does. Elia Kazan, an artist who had always sought greatness and approval, was riding higher than he had ever ...

Some 2,000 quotes from more than 100 of the top film noirs: snappy, insightful, memorable. Plus several essays on the meaning of film noir.

We have entered an age where we now have instant, unlimited, free access to the history of recorded music. We have the ability to listen across genres and eras. This is a world-wide phenomenon. This book is a guide to taking advantage of this astonishing new power. This book is also a way to appreciate one of our great cultural legacies; one that is very alive today. It is about American popular song and the body of work referred to as the Great American Songbook. These tunes are appreciated and treasured by listeners all over the world. This book is an effort to introduce you to the songs,...

Nineteen-year-old Greg Sestero met Tommy Wiseau at an acting school in San Francisco. Wiseau's scenes were rivetingly wrong, yet Sestero, hypnotized by such uninhibited acting, thought, "I have to do a scene with this guy." That impulse changed both of their lives. The Disaster Artist is Greg Sestero's laugh-out-loud funny account of how Tommy Wiseau defied every law of artistry, business, and friendship to make "the Citizen Kane of bad movies" ( Entertainment Weekly), which is now an international phenomenon.

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...

In this thrilling, no-holds-barred memoir that shows why he is “an inspiration to millions of WWE fans around the world” (Triple H), WWE Champion Drew McIntyre tells the incredible roller-coaster story of his life, from a small village in Ayrshire, Scotland, to the bright lights of WWE. From...

Abridged for audio. Read by the author, Clive James. With fascinating essays on towering figures from Anna Akhmatova to Stefan Zweig, via Charles de Gaulle, Hitler, Thomas Mann and Wittgenstein, Cultural Amnesia is one of the crowning achievements in Clive James's illustrious career as a critic...

The official celebration of All Creatures Great & Small and its incredible setting: the Yorkshire Dales. Featuring an in-depth look at the characters and real-life inspiration for the show, this book tells the fascinating story of the program’s main character: the Yorkshire Dales.

Whether it’s the high-stakes pressure of solving a last-minute problem on set or the joy of pulling off a perfect shot by the skin of your teeth, Attias brings you right into the director’s chair, sharing his knowledge and taking you through the process one challenging episode at a time.

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...

Comedian and musician Reggie Watts shares his story of growing up in Montana as a biracial oddball struggling to navigate life, girls, drugs, and his own identity in America’s heartland—and having a blast doing it. Reggie Watts is weird. But you knew that. Anyone who’s seen his...

Lights! Camera! Action! The latest book in the Big Book Series takes us behind the curtain to uncover the stories that became some of the greatest films of the silver screen. Among these are Robert Louis Stevenson's horrifying tale that was later turned into the iconic movie The Body Snatcher, starring Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff; and "Cyclists' Raid", the short story that formed the basis for the legendary Brando film The Wild One.

“Look for the contradictions in every character, especially in your heroes and villains.”– Elia Kazan “When we tell a story in cinema, we should resort to dialogue only when it’s impossible to do otherwise.”– Alfred Hitchcock “Often the personalities in my scripts don’t want the same thing I want. If I try to force them to do what I want them to do, it will always be an artistic catastrophe.”– Ingmar Bergman How do the great filmmakers approach writing for the screen? How were the best screenplays written? Where did the spark of creation come from? What makes a great ...

In the early 20th century, World War I was the most devastating event humanity had yet experienced. New machines of war left tens of millions killed or wounded in the most grotesque of ways. The Great War remade the world's map, created new global powers, and brought forth some of the biggest problems still facing us today. But it also birthed a new art form: the horror film, made from the fears of a generation ruined by war. From Nosferatu to Frankenstein's monster and the Wolf Man, the touchstones of horror can all trace their roots to the bloodshed of the First World War.

Eric Edson has developed a new tool for bringing depth and passion to any screenplay or novel - the 23 Actions All Great Heroes Must Take. It's an easy-to-understand paradigm that provides writers and filmmakers the interconnecting, powerful storytelling elements they need. With true insight, this accomplished screenwriter and university professor pinpoints the story structure reasons most new spec scripts don't sell.

From the award-winning author of Five, Six, Seven, Nate! and Better Nate Than Ever comes “a Holden Caulfield for a new generation” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review). Quinn Roberts is a sixteen-year-old smart aleck and Hollywood hopeful whose only worry used to be writing convincing dialogue...

I can hardly believe that it is more than half a century since I first stepped on to the stage of the Old Vic Theatre and into a way of life that has brought me the most rewarding professional relationships and friendships. I cannot imagine now ever doing anything else with my life except...

Animation has created films that can range from family entertainment to challenging adult narratives. "The Great Animated Movies" is a collection of 37 essays by film critic Mark McPherson on the best of theatrical animation. Covering more than just the usual family-friendly classics, you'll discover animated movies that cover so much more including... -Science Fiction: Fantastic Planet, Ghost in the Shell, Metropolis -Human Drama: Grave of the Fireflies, Barefoot Gen, Persepolis -Social Commentary: Heavy Traffic, When the Wind Blows, Coonskin And much more!

Mike Medavoy is a Hollywood rarity: a studio executive who, though never far from controversy, remained loved and respected through four decades of moviemaking. He helped bring to the screen some of the most acclaimed Oscar-winning films of our time, including Apocalypse Now, One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, Amadeus, The Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia, and Sleepless in Seattle.