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The Last Action Heroes
- The Triumphs, Flops, and Feuds of Hollywood's Kings of Carnage
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins
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The Last Action Heroes
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Summary
'A blast' - Ian Rankin
'A joyous celebration of 80s action cinema' - Robbie Collin, Telegraph
From the editor of Empire magazine, this is the behind-the-scenes story of the golden age of the action movie, the stars who ruled 80s and 90s Hollywood and the beloved films – from Die Hard to The Terminator – that made them famous.
This wildly entertaining account of the golden age of the action movie charts Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s carnage-packed journey from enmity to friendship against the backdrop of Reagan’s America and the Cold War. Revealing fascinating untold stories of the colourful characters who ascended in their wake – high-kickers Chuck Norris and Jackie Chan, glowering tough guys Dolph Lundgren and Steven Seagal, and quipping troublemakers Jean-Claude Van Damme and Bruce Willis – it chronicles the rise of the invincible action hero who used muscle, martial arts or the perfect weapon to save the day. And how, as the 1990s rolled on, the glory days of these macho men – and the vision of masculinity they celebrated – began to fade.
Drawing on candid interviews with the action stars themselves, plus their collaborators, friends and foes, The Last Action Heroes is a no-holds-barred account of a period in Hollywood history when there were no limits to the heights of fame these men achieved, or to the mayhem they wrought, on-screen and off.
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'Lively' - The Times
'Highly entertaining' - Sunday Telegraph
'A rollicking, anecdote-packed tribute to the cavalier days' - Literary Review
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
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What listeners say about The Last Action Heroes
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Vincent L. Bryson
- 17-10-23
Awesome!
Brilliant. A wonderful blast from the last reliving everyone’s glory years. Sequel needed please - would love more about late 90s into 2010s
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mark Brown
- 20-01-24
A wonderfully nostalgic and informative romp
A brilliant journey through crazy action Hollywood. Wonderfully read by Bromson Pinchot (where's his autobiography?).
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Steve Dempster
- 30-08-23
Brilliant!
An excellent deep dive into the history of action movies stars and the Hollywood industry that kept them on top of the box office for decades!
I’m now updating my Letterboxd watchlist to include all the titles that are referenced in this book!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- "potv"
- 05-01-24
A blast of nostalgia
I loved this book - it blends old interviews with up to date commentary on the classic action films and stars of the 70s, 80s and 90s. It’s pretty honest too - it’s not all the glory days - also talks about the bad things some of the stars did. A great read and highly recommended
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- manfromearth
- 28-08-23
there goes my heroes
a great book for any fan of the action actors of the 80s and 90s my only wish was that it was longer
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Randallllll
- 22-03-24
Meat and Veg
I love these type of books I dine out for months listening falling asleep and rewinding chapters to soak up insight into those oh so special films that took us away for a couple of hours or even the backstory to the stinkers that I still remember, but crave so much to listen about the origins of a story to pitching a treatment to green lighting a movie and all the production effort and risk involved when nobody knows nothing.
more if these books please
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ben Everington
- 06-04-24
Excellent book
Informative, funny and nostalgic look into a great period of cinema and some legendary characters. I wasn’t sure if this would be for me but I loved it and was genuinely sad that it ended!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Graham G Grant
- 16-09-23
Rise and fall of the brawny brawlers
Before superheroes and CGI, there were the Hollywood he-men and their multi-million dollar stunt-filled blockbusters. A lot of them were very violent, sometimes shockingly so (look up certain scenes from Commando for confirmation). Jurassic Park and Batman ultimately saw them off, bar the odd return to the silver screen for old times’ sake, eg in The Expendables. This highly entertaining and superbly narrated analysis of the action men era focuses on Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger but also looks at Bruce Willis, Jean-Claude van Damme, Dolph Lundgren, Chuck Norris and others. It’s funny and full of trivia. The epilogue, which also tells us what happened to all of those big stars - some have fared (and aged) better than others, concludes that we still seek out Bloodsport and Jackie Chan movies because they’re a reminder of a simpler, pre-superhero and special effects time - when sheer brawn and bravado could carry the day. A must-listen not only for action movie fans but also for cinephiles in general. If you liked it, listen to Wild and Crazy Guys by the same author, about the great comedians of the 1970s and 1980s such as Steve Martin and Chevy Chase.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mr. J. Filsell
- 04-09-23
Great fun if you grew up in the 80’s/90’s
Brilliant and fun read if you grew up watching these guys in your younger days.
My only complaint is I wasn’t ready for it to end - I wanted it to keep going!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- J. P. Merrigan
- 09-09-23
Tremendous
As good as his ‘Wild and Crazy Guys.’
Basically a perfect book from anyone who grew up in the 80’s & 90’s
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