From Publishers Weekly
New York Daily News critic Bernard has selected arousing movies varying wildly in quality, from the classic romantic noir
Laura to the grotesque
Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. What makes the book stimulating is the uniform cleverness of the writing. Jay Carr brings the soft, sensual vividness of
The Fabulous Baker Boys to life, noting, "It's an after-hours nocturne of dead-solid serendipity"; Bernard characterizes
Gilda as a "coyly sadistic exercise where sex is a weapon that's constantly being unsheathed." There's loose, tongue-in-cheek humor from Rob Nelson in his review of
Eyes Wide Shut (he describes Stanley Kubrick as "one seriously perverse dude"). J. Hoberman's witty pan of
Basic Instinct is delightful, and Liza Schwarzbaum's enthusiasm for
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid will create new excitement for the DVD. Best Picture Oscar winners (
Rebecca), European classics (
Belle du Jour), lightweight musicals (
Bye Bye Birdie), thrillers (
Klute) and love stories (
The Long Hot Summer) are spotlighted, and fine film writers—Joe Morgenstern, Richard Schickel, Peter Travers, Michael Wilmington, Kevin Thomas and David Edelson—tackle them with aplomb. Aspiring critics and cinema fans should savor these essays.
(Nov. 1) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Acknowledging the timeless appeal of eroticism, members of the National Society of Film Critics extol and explicate the movies they deem the most seductive. Their 80 choices include prestige films that depict sex explicitly (e.g.,
In the Realm of the Senses,
Irreversible), steamy box-office smashes (e.g.,
Basic Instinct,
Klute), Hollywood classics (
Laura,
Gilda), and porn flicks (
Deep Throat,
Behind the Green Door). A few critics fess up to early sexual awakening via such seemingly innocuous fare as
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and
Hercules, or make surprising choices, such as
The Mummy and the documentary
Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life. Others sing the praises of sexual icons like Louise Brooks and Ann-Margret. Contributors include some of the best, if not best-known, critics (J. Hoberman, Stuart Klawans, Jonathan Rosenbaum) along with media heavyweight Roger Ebert, who offers a tribute to legendary soft-core director Russ Meyer. Because the selections represent so many genres and nations, the collection has going for it, besides its theme, a variety that most critical compilations lack.
Gordon FlaggCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
