Showing titles in History & Criticism

The inside story of how A League of Their Own—one of the most beloved baseball movies of all time—developed from an unheralded piece of American history into a perennial cinematic favorite. Featuring exclusive interviews and behind the scenes memories from the original cast and creators.No...

The saga behind The Blues Brothers, as Daniel de Visé reveals, is epic, encompassing the colorful childhoods of Belushi and Aykroyd; the comedic revolution sparked by Harvard’s Lampoon and Chicago’s Second City; the birth and anecdote-rich, drug-filled early years of Saturday Night Live, where the Blues Brothers were born as an act amidst turmoil and rivalry; and, of course, the indelible behind-the-scenes narrative of how the film was made, scene by memorable scene.

Since its publication in 1966, Jacqueline Susann's Valley of the Dolls has reigned as one of the most influential pieces of commercial fiction. Dolls! Dolls! Dolls! digs deep into the creation of that hugely successful film - a journey nearly as cut-throat, sexually charged, tragic, and revelatory as Susann's novel itself - and uncovers how the movie has become a cherished, widely imitated camp classic, thanks to its over-the-top performances, endlessly quotable absurd dialogue, outre costumes and hairdos, despite the high aspirations, money, and talent lavished on it. 

From The New Yorker’s fiercely original, Pulitzer Prize-winning culture critic, a provocative collection of new and previously published essays arguing that we are what we watch. “Emily Nussbaum is the perfect critic—smart, engaging, funny, generous, and insightful.”—David Grann...

Told in his own words, a very personal story from the star of many beloved and classic comedies, including Young Frankenstein, The Producers, and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory Gene Wilder is one of the great comic actors who defined the 1970s and 1980s in movies. From his work with Woody...

Named a best book of the year by Kirkus Reviews Named a Notable Book of 2025 by the Washington Post A personal and cultural exploration of the struggles between art and business at the heart of modern Hollywood, through the eyes of the talent that shaped it Matthew Specktor grew up in the film...

In 1984, a new vision of horror was unleashed upon terrified moviegoers—a razor-gloved bogeyman who slashed his way through the children of those who had murdered him years before. In doing so, this cinematic monster would not just invade the dreams of his victims but give those watching a brand-new nightmare to fear forever.

The definitive oral history of the iconic and beloved TV show The Wire, as told by the actors, writers, directors, and others involved in its creation. Since its final episode aired in 2008, HBO's acclaimed crime drama The Wire has only become more popular and influential. The issues it tackled...

When the head of Columbia Pictures, David Begelman, got caught forging Cliff Robertson's name on a $10,000 check, it seemed, at first, like a simple case of embezzlement. It wasn't. The incident was the tip of the iceberg, the first hint of a scandal that shook Hollywood and rattled Wall Street.

The Queer Art of Failure is about finding alternatives - to conventional understandings of success in a heteronormative, capitalist society; to academic disciplines that confirm what is already known according to approved methods of knowing; and to cultural criticism that claims to break new ground but cleaves to conventional archives.

From Turner Classic Movies and the creators of @precodedotcom, this is the essential film-by-film guide to must-see cinema from the pre-Code era—a wild and wonderful time in Hollywood history before strict enforcement of a censorship code that ruled moviemaking for decades. With unparalleled...

In the decades following his death, many of those who knew James Dean best - actors, directors, friends, lovers (both men and women), photographers, and Hollywood columnists - shared stories of their first-person experiences....

In a world where movie marketers are the stars of the story, Opening Weekend: An Insider's Look at Marketing Hollywood's Hits and Flops recounts Jim Fredrick's journey through the realm of movie marketing. Fredrick offers readers exclusive access to behind-the-scenes anecdotes and firsthand accounts of working with studio executives and navigating relationships with famous movie stars and directors.

Marvel Entertainment was a moribund toymaker not even twenty years ago. Today, Marvel Studios is the dominant player both in Hollywood and in global pop culture. How did an upstart studio conquer the world? In MCU, beloved culture writers Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzales, and Gavin Edwards draw on more than a hundred interviews with actors, producers, directors, and writers to present the definitive chronicle of Marvel Studios and its sole ongoing production, the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The author of the New York Times bestseller Her Again: Becoming Meryl Streep returns with a lively history of the Academy Awards, focusing on the brutal battles, the starry rivalries, and the colorful behind-the-scenes drama. America does not have royalty. It has the Academy Awards. For nine...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The definitive biography of a vulnerable and talented actress, now with explosive new chapters and insider details of her tragic death, the cover-ups, and the reopened investigation. An ID Book Club Selection “Impressive, disturbing, and revelatory...

Stanley Kubrick, the director of a string of timeless movies from Lolita and Dr. Strangelove to A Clockwork Orange, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Full Metal Jacket, and others, has always been depicted by the media as the Howard Hughes of filmmakers, a weird artist obsessed with his work and privacy to the point of madness. But who was he really?

Filmmaker and author Mark Cousins shows how filmmakers are influenced both by the historical events of their times, and by each other. Films are discussed within chapters reflecting both the stylistic concerns of the film-makers and the political and social themes of the time. Film is an international medium, so as well as covering the great American films and film-makers, The Story of Film explores cinema in Europe, Africa, Asia, Australasia and South America, and shows how cinematic ideas and techniques cross national boundaries.

In 1911, famed cartoonist Winsor McCay debuted one of the first animated cartoons, based on his sophisticated newspaper strip Little Nemo in Slumberland, itself inspired by Freud’s recent research on dreams. McCay is largely forgotten today, but he unleashed an art form and the creative energy of artists from Otto Messmer and Max Fleischer to Walt Disney and Warner Bros.’ Chuck Jones. Wild Minds is an ode to our colorful past and to the creative energy that later inspired The Simpsons, South Park, and BoJack Horseman.

An instant New York Times Bestseller! Since The Karate Kid first crane-kicked its way into the pop culture stratosphere in June 1984, there hasn’t been a week Ralph Macchio hasn’t heard friendly shouts of “Wax on, wax off” or “Sweep the leg!” Now, with Macchio reprising his role as...