Man’s curious nature that powered the exploration of the seas, jungles, and deserts of the planet finally also led him into extraterrestrial territories. However, long before the first satellite or test probe even got close to the moon, other ways of purely fictional exploration were at work. Prominent in the approach to understand and categorize […]
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Category: B. R. Film
The Giallo Canvas: Art, Excess and Horror Cinema by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas (2021)
The genre of the “yellow” (in Italian: “giallo”) movie, that roughly surfaced in loud colors from the early 1960s, labels generally Italian productions whose plots, as a rule, ended badly for the female protagonists, has attracted many fans worldwide. They all appreciate the genre’s blend of tension, thriller elements, usually excellent and highly experimental soundtracks, […]
The Star Wars Archives. 1999–2005 by Paul Duncan (2020)
The three original parts of the Star Wars saga (later renamed episodes IV, V and VI) were masterfully documented and praised in film historian Paul Duncan’s The Star Wars Archives. 1977–1983 in 2018. The new, second documentary volume on the space opera will enhance the view on the three prequel films. On 600 pages, Duncan’s […]
Excavating Indiana Jones. Essays on the Films and Franchise by Randy Laist (ed.) (2021)
The stories of the fictional archaeologist and adventurer Dr. Henry Walton Jones Jr. drew millions to the movie theaters, as his tales, for one reason or another, satisfied a number of interests altogether. Such as 1930s style heroic high-paced action, stereotypical enemies, mysterious riddles, occult worship, exotic settings, and the unique chance to witness the […]
I Died a Million Times: Gangster Noir in Midcentury America by Robert Miklitsch (2021)
In his current title author Robert Miklitsch goes on a long excursion to introduce several classic 1950s movies to identify and, in a way, separate the gangster films of that period from the films noir. As not every gangster movie automatically was a film noir, neither did all contemporary noirs feature one or more gangsters. […]
Star Trek and the British Age of Sail: The Maritime Influence … by Stefan Rabitsch (2019)
The overwhelming success of Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek stories to a large part is based on his good instincts to tell adventure stories in ways familiar to audiences, in this case man against nature (or the incalculable risks) while cruising uncharted regions not of the Pacific, but space. Author Stefan Rabitsch in eight chapters advocates […]
British Thrillers, 1950–1979 … by Franz Antony Clinton (2020)
The era from the early 1950s to the mid-1960s probably was the busiest period of the British film industry. Many thrillers were shot in those years, including a great number of movies (and B movies) that often featured American actors; this arrangement would draw audiences to cinemas in England and simultaneously ensure interest for moviegoers […]
Law Enforcement in American Cinema, 1894-1952 by George Beck (2020)
In this short title, author George Beck takes a close look at some movies of the first half of the twentieth century that employed representations of American law enforcement, starting with silent era productions and chronologically end with films noir. Five sections altogether and a final coda chapter on roughly 130 pages consider stereotypes, good […]
Hillbilly Maidens, Okies, and Cowgirls: Women’s Country Music, 1930-1960 by Stephanie Vander Wel (20
Going back to the early days of medicine shows, vaudeville and traveling entertainment troupes, female performers they already had their regular part in the entertainment industry; and country music, or hillbilly music as it was first named, played a role in building up that reputation. For example, what in the 1940s was transported as “parodic […]