Showing results for "What" in History & Criticism

"What Do You Mean, Murder?" dives deep into the making of Clue and walks fans through the movie they know and love. From producer Debra Hill's original idea of Detective Parker bumbling around a mansion to Carrie Fisher's casting as Miss Scarlet, from Madeline Kahn's iconic "flames" ad-lib to the legendary deleted fourth ending, it's all here.

A hilarious, ambitious work of trenchant cultural criticism that traces the origins of today’s crisis of masculinity through . . . Michael Douglas’s oeuvre from the eighties and nineties How to be a Man? That question—and all the anxiety, anger, and resentment it stirs up—is the starting...

In this intimate and often surprising personal portrait, Joseph McBride challenges the conventional wisdom that Welles' career after Citizen Kane, widely regarded as the greatest film ever made, fell into a long decline. The author shows instead how Welles never stopped directing radical, adventurous films and was always breaking new artistic ground as a filmmaker. McBride is the first author to provide a comprehensive examination of the films of Welles's artistically rich yet widely misunderstood later period in the United States (1970–1985).

More than 60,000 books have been published on the Civil War. Most Americans, though, get their ideas about the war why it was fought, what was won, what was lost not from books but from movies, television, and other popular media. In an engaging and accessible survey, Gallagher guides listeners through the stories told in recent film and art, showing how they have both reflected and influenced the political, social, and racial currents of their times.

Entertainment was never just entertainment… It was instruction. From the sleek hallways of Constance Billard to the rainy corridors of Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, Doménica Feraud—like so many of us—was raised by TV. It was her greatest comfort, her most passionate obsession, her...

We laughed at the rat who cooked. We cried when the old man floated away with his house. We felt weird things when a red panda exploded out of a teenage girl. But somehow, through all the animated chaos, these movies ended up saying something real. This book is a collection of short, heartfelt reflections on Pixar’s biggest hits — from Inside Out to Ratatouille, The Incredibles to Soul. It’s not a film analysis. It’s not a self-help book. It’s something weirder: A love letter to growing up with feelings, finding yourself in cartoons, and realizing maybe you’re not crazy for still crying at Up.

From bad casting choices to rough screenwriting, some movies leave a sour taste in audiences’ mouths. Listen in as Wisecrack breaks down films that just missed the mark like Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman 1984, and more in this curated collection, available for the first time in audio.

Between 1934 and 1968, no Hollywood studio could make a movie without the permission of, and a seal of approval from, the Production Code Administration. Formed in 1930 but not enforced until 1934, the Production Code was Hollywood’s official censorship system. Screenplays, books, plays, costumes, and even story ideas and song lyrics had to be cleared by the Code before they could be filmed, and Code staffers watched at every stage of the production process to ensure compliance.

Even as actresses become increasingly marginalized by Hollywood, French cinema is witnessing an explosion of female talent - a Golden Age unlike anything the world has seen since the days of Stanwyck, Hepburn, Davis, and Garbo. In France, the joy of acting is alive and well. Scores of French actresses are doing the best work of their lives in movies tailored to their star images and unique personalities. Yet virtually no one this side of the Atlantic even knows about them. Viewers who feel shortchanged by Hollywood will be thrilled to discover The Beauty of the Real.

What makes Buffy the Vampire Slayer a "brave dame" but Ally McBeal a "wimpette"? In this witty, incisive look at the role of women on screen and page, Susan Isaacs argues that assertive, ethical women characters are losing ground to wounded, shallow sisters who are driven by what she calls, "the articles of wimpette philosophy."