Icons of Film: The 20th Century [Hardcover]

Film historian Peter W. Engelmeier (Fashion in Film) celebrates a select few in Icons of Film: The 20th Century, a dramatically illustrated tome (with more than 300 color and black-and-white photos) on 84 films most of them blockbusters with broad appeal (High Noon, Apocalypse Now, From Here to Eternity, Titanic) and a few distinguished movies favored by sophisticated film buffs (Nosferatu, Broken Silence, A bout de souffle). Arranged chronologically (from The Kid to American Beauty), Engelmeier's selections represent, he believes, the breadth and best of cinema from silent films to talkies, from westerns to dramatic epics and science fiction. ( Feb.)
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Adult/High School-The contributors have selected 84 masterpieces and lesser-known films that they believe have helped define the cinema in the 20th century. After beginning with a nine-page exposition tracing the first full century of film, this fascinating book then chronologically presents double-page spreads for films beginning with Charlie Chaplin's The Kid, traveling through the decades, and concluding with the 2000 Best Picture Award winner, American Beauty. Each spread provides the title, release date, credits, director (with chronology, selected filmography, and picture), photographs from the film, and a synopsis and critique of each one. Some foreign selections for which information is difficult to locate elsewhere are also included. Unfortunately, there are none by D. W. Griffith, Buster Keaton, John Ford, William Wellman, or any female directors. Some also might question the choice of films by such directors as Frank Capra (Arsenic and Old Lace) and Roman Polanski (The Fearless Vampire Killers). Film noir is represented only by Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard. The layout, print, and the conciseness of the commentary make this book a valuable and easily accessible resource. Each entry is a mini lesson in itself, and the wealth of pictures accentuates the best a print source can bring to an analysis of an art form. An eclectic treasure and a valuable resource for students or teachers.
William Byrd, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.