Good books about films

onlyrocknroll

I know that this is a ridiculously broad question but can anybody recommend a few good reads about cinema?

Not really looking for biographies of actors or 'A Million and One Films you must see before you tragically perish' type of things. More like any reasonably intelligent (but not necessarily academic) takes on something like...

the history of certain genres/b movies
film criticism
even film philosophy
or anything else.

Thanks

krudler

Easy Riders, Raging Bulls is a great read: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Easy-Riders-Raging-Bulls-Sex-drugs-/dp/0747544212/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1291399863&sr=8-1

Its about how the studio system changed in the 60s and 70s when independant filmmakers like Coppola and Scorcese and Lucas were making hits without studio help. the author Peter Biskind has a few books about similar subjects as well, worth checking out.

onlyrocknroll

krudler wrote: »

Easy Riders, Raging Bulls is a great read: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Easy-Riders-Raging-Bulls-Sex-drugs-/dp/0747544212/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1291399863&sr=8-1

Its about how the studio system changed in the 60s and 70s when independant filmmakers like Coppola and Scorcese and Lucas were making hits without studio help. the author Peter Biskind has a few books about similar subjects as well, worth checking out.

Cheers I'll check it out.

MiCr0

either of
Adventures in the Screen Trade or Which Lie Did I Tell? by William Goldman are great reads

onlyrocknroll

MiCr0 wrote: »

either of
Adventures in the Screen Trade or Which Lie Did I Tell? by William Goldman are great reads

I'm embarrassed to admit that at first glance I misread that and thought "wow, as well as well as winning the Noble Prize for Literature and writing Lord of the Flies, he was also a film buff!"


Thanks

yabadabado

krudler wrote: »

Easy Riders, Raging Bulls is a great read: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Easy-Riders-Raging-Bulls-Sex-drugs-/dp/0747544212/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1291399863&sr=8-1

Its about how the studio system changed in the 60s and 70s when independant filmmakers like Coppola and Scorcese and Lucas were making hits without studio help. the author Peter Biskind has a few books about similar subjects as well, worth checking out.

Down and Dirty pictues is by the same author.It's about the independant film movement.very good book .

Tomohawk

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kid_Stays_in_the_Picture

"The Kid stays in the Picture" - I saw the documentary a few months ago and I'd say the book it's based on makes good reading too. It covers the rise and fall of one of the main men behind Paramount Pictures and producer of many of the best films of the late 1960s and 1970s. Check out his CV!!

Ardennes1944

Band Of Brothers - Stephen E. Ambrose

BopNiblets

Verns books, he has one about Steven Segal and one about badass cinema in general if you're into those kinds of films!
http://outlawvern.com

niallon

If Chins Could Kill by Bruce Campbell. Technically it's an autobiography but the depth with which he covers the Hollywood system and such others makes it MUST READ material!

jeffreylebowski

Blockbuster by Tom Shone

It's a book about the rise of the blockbuster and it takes an interesting critical perspective by looking at the films on their individual merits and not dismissing them as an entire bundle. The results are interesting, and it's one of my favourite movie books.

Also, I contacted him sometime after my second read of the book and he came on our podcast for an interview and he was an incredibly interesting guy. It only made me appreciate the book more hearing how he came to write the book and came to some of the ideas in it.

Great read, can't recommend it enough.

I also recommend the Biographical Dictionary of Cinema, by David Thomson.
It's by its very nature a bit "listy" but it's an incredible book. Thomson is a great and venerable film critic, he's opinionated and a brilliant writer. You won't always agree with him -you may rarely agree with him- but even if you don't, his work invigorates you about film and makes you want to go out and see more movies. That's really what I look for, ultimately, in any film book.

PS- if you read either or both of these, please send me a forum pm sometime or post here or something, to let me know how you get on!

latenia

The Don Simpson bio 'High Concept' is a salacious and poorly written book but is essential if you want to understand how film was dumbed down and modern blockbusters evolved. The anecdote about how they got Sly Stallone to drop out from Bevery Hills Cop in favour of Eddie Murphy is worth the cover price alone.