Roll Em: Great Books About Film

 

If you're like me, you are a big film buff. Film criticism is a whole form of writing on it’s own, and not simply an extension of film fandom, but a whole field. Lots of great books have been written by film critics and scholars, and stand on their own as books worth reading. Here are a couple titles that will take you into the world of movies.

The Great Movies By Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert is arguably the greatest film critic of all time. He is certainly the most popular of all time. The first film critic to win the Pulitzer Prize for criticism, in 1975, for his reviews for the Chicago Sun Times, he is even more well known for his long running TV show “Siskel & Ebert” where he sparred with fellow Chicago film critic Gene Siskel. He’s also written 20+ books, and while they are all worth reading, I think his 4 volumes of his Great Movies books are the most worth reading. In these books, he writes about everything from Charlie Chaplin’s “City Lights” to John Hughes’s “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” in his plain spoken but insightful way. It’s a good primer on the greatest movies to watch.

Hollywood Animal By Joe Eszterhas

Joe Eszterhas was the highest paid screenwriter in Hollywood in the 90s, and he came from the most unexpected place: a scuffy overweight serious journalist who fell into Hollywood legend out of nowhere. His scripts were either praised by critics (like “Music Box”) or derailed by critics but made a lot of money (like “Fatal Attraction”) or infamous for how bad they were (like “Showgirls”). However, his story is an interesting read, as he goes from a simple family life to having affairs, being an asshole (by his own admission) and dealing with sketchy Hollywood characters like producer Robert Evans.  It’s a glimpse into a bygone era of Hollywood, pre internet and streaming, where a guy like Eszterhas could write an idea on a napkin, and sell the napkin for a million dollars to a movie studio.

State Of The Art By Pauline Kael

Film critic Pauline Kael got her job after an editor saw her have a passionate fight over a movie in a restaurant. “State of the Art” is a collection of some of her best reviews. She talks about everything from “Superman” to “Sound of Music” in her witty, literate and interesting voice. Her career ranged from 1951 to her retirement in 1991, but in that time, she was considered one of the most important film critics of her era, and was regularly cited by Roger Ebert as a great teacher of the form of writing criticism.

Mike, Spike, Slackers & Dykes By John Pierson

Filmmaker John Pierson presents a history of the independent film movement from the late 80s to throughout the 90s, when studios like Marimax (and sadly, we have to mention the head of that studio, the Weinsteins), were scooping up the counterculture films, and changing filmmaking forever. Off the era of corporate filmmaking of the 80s, Pierson presents a history of the independent film movement through the lens of Spike Lee, Kevin Smith and Michael Moore as they turn the type of films in the mainstream on its head, by simply entering it. 

So, these are some great books on film worth reading. Film is an interesting medium, and worth digging into than simply watching. Film criticism and studies is a genre worth reading, even if you never want to pick up a camera yourself. Being a film buff is enough sometimes.