Art

The silent-film era was known in part for its cliffhanger serials and air of suspense that kept audiences returning to theaters week after week. Icons such as Douglas Fairbanks, Laurel and Hardy, Lon Chaney and Harry Houdini were among those who graced the dark and shadowy screen. This encyclopedic guide to silent films with mystery and detective content lists over 1,500 titles in one of entertainment's most popular and enduring genres. While most of the examined films are from North America, mystery films from around the world are included.

Author Biography:

Fun and fright have long been partners in the cinema, dating back to the silent film era and progressing to the Scary Movie franchise and other recent releases.

American International released a tide of low-budget, sensationalistic films aimed at a young male audience, finding its greatest success in the horror genre. This is a comprehensive guide to AIP movies that are or have been available in home viewing formats such as DVD and VHS. A brief history of the company, which produced movies from the 1950s until the 1980s, is provided. Films are catalogued alphabetically and by decade, and representative films are analyzed in depth. AIP television and unfilmed projects are also covered, and numerous photographs complement the text.

This is a comprehensive account of "Doctor Who" as a television series and product of popular culture. "Doctor Who", the iconic British science-fiction series following a time-traveling alien scientist, was first broadcast November 23, 1963, on BBC Television. Though modestly conceived and produced, its depiction of the alien but strangely human 'Doctor' proved to be such a commercial success that the program was shown in more than forty countries over twenty-six seasons - from 1963 to 1989 - and returned successfully to television in 2005.

During the 1920s, sound revolutionized the motion picture industry and cinema continued as one of the most significant and popular forms of mass entertainment in the world. Film studios were transformed into major corporations, hiring a host of craftsmen and technicians including cinematographers, editors, screenwriters, and set designers.

How America viewed jazz women? "Some Liked It Hot" looks at all-girl bands and jazz women from the 1920s through the 1950s and how they fit into the nascent mass culture, particularly film and television, to uncover some of the historical motivations for excluding women from the now firmly established jazz canon. This well-illustrated book chronicles who appeared where and when in both popular Hollywood productions and in relatively unknown films and television shows.

The sound of chainsaws revving on 'haunted' Halloween trails has evoked untold screams since Tobe Hooper's 1974 "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" hit the cinemas. Since that first take-no-prisoners horror movie, Hooper's reputation as a master of horror has been secured by his adaptations of Stephen King ("Salem's Lot", 1978, and "The Mangler", 1995), his blockbuster breakthrough "Poltergeist" (1982) and a variety of cult hits, from the underrated "Lifeforce" (1985) to the remake of "Invaders from Mars" (1986). This reference work is divided into five parts.

The state of Wisconsin is unique in the number of historic movie theatres that remain standing today. Many are still open, bringing a sense of history, giving modern moviegoers an experience that simply can't be replicated by multiplexes and mall theatres. This book provides a reference guide to Wisconsin's historic movie theatres, from those built as opera houses, auditoriums, and community halls in the mid - 19th century to the ornate 'movie palaces' of the 1930s and, finally, the quickly and cheaply constructed postwar theatres constructed in the 1950s.

Tsui Hark, one of China's most famous film artists, is little known outside of Asia even though he has directed, produced, written, or acted in dozens of film, some of which are considered to be classics of modern Asian cinema. This work begins with a biography of the man and a look at his place in Hong Kong and world cinema, his influences, and his thematic obsessions. Each major film of his career is then reviewed, production details are provided, and comments from Tsui Hark himself are given.

Reviews:
"The first book-study o -- Hitch "Hitch"

While its obvious purpose is to make people laugh, film and television comedy is much more than that. From the birth of motion pictures until today, comedies have reflected and reinforced the evolving cultural milieu which defined American society. This book analyzes the evolution of film and television comedy from the advent of talking motion pictures in the 1930s through the present, defining five separate and distinct periods of this evolution and revealing how each period has been characterized by a dominant trend in film and television comedy.

These essays consider the way that heroes and the domestic spaces they defend have been represented in 20th and early 21st century popular forms, especially film, comic books and material culture. The authors work in various academic disciplines such as English, film studies, history and human geography, thus bringing a rich variety of theoretical vantage points to the reader in a single collection.

This is an unprecedented reading of Mexican history through the lens of performance. Tlaxcala is unique among the states of Mexico. Because of its fierce independence during the pre-Columbian era (it was never conquered by the Aztecs) and its strategic alliance with the Spanish invaders in Cortez's conquest in the early sixteenth century, Tlaxcala has played a significant role in Mexican history.

The topos of memory has played a significant role in anime over the course of its evolution as an art form and as a popular form of entertainment. Anime's handling of memory is multifaceted, bringing it into collusion with diverse symbolic motifs, narrative themes, and aesthetic issues. This study aims to provide a detailed analysis of a range of anime titles wherein different aspects of this cultural phenomenon are articulated.

This book examines the themes and variations of "Phantom of the Opera", demonstrating why Phantom has appealed to multiple generations through numerous incarnations. After discussing Gaston Leroux's original 1910 story, the work turns first to Phantom on film from Lon Chaney's 1925 "Phantom" through Dario Argento's 1998 film. Stage versions of "Phantom" are covered in detail, including Webber's spectacular 1986 production and its lesser-known predecessors and competitors, and those that followed.