Recommended reading - In Sunlight or In Shadow: Stories Inspired by the Paintings of Edward Hopper (2016):

In Sunlight or In Shadow:
Stories Inspired by the Paintings of Edward Hopper

Edited by Lawrence Block.

Published 2016.

ISBN: 9781681772455

Description:

A truly unprecedented literary achievement by author and editor Lawrence Block – a newly commissioned anthology of seventeen superbly crafted stories inspired by the paintings of Edward Hopper.

"Edward Hopper is surely the greatest American narrative painter. His work bears special resonance for writers and readers, and yet his paintings never tell a story so much as they invite viewers to find for themselves the untold stories within."

So says Lawrence Block, who has invited seventeen outstanding writers to join him in an unprecedented anthology of brand-new stories: In Sunlight or In Shadow. The results are remarkable and range across all genres, wedding literary excellence to storytelling savvy.

Contributors include Stephen King, Joyce Carol Oates, Robert Olen Butler, Michael Connelly, Megan Abbott, Craig Ferguson, Nicholas Christopher, Jill D. Block, Joe R. Lansdale, Justin Scott, Kris Nelscott, Warren Moore, Jonathan Santlofer, Jeffery Deaver, Lee Child, and Lawrence Block himself. Even Gail Levin, Hopper’s biographer and compiler of his catalogue raisonée, appears with her own first work of fiction, providing a true account of art theft on a grand scale and told in the voice of the country preacher who perpetrated the crime.

In a beautifully produced anthology as befits such a collection of acclaimed authors, each story is illustrated with a quality full-color reproduction of the painting that inspired it.

Recommended reading - Directing: Film Techniques and Aesthetics (2020):

Directing: Film Techniques and Aesthetics

By Michael Rabiger & Mick Hurbis-Cherrier.

Published by Routledge.

Published 2020.

Sixth edition.

ISBN-10: 0815394314

ISBN-13: 9780815394310

Description:

Directing: Film Techniques and Aesthetics is a comprehensive exploration into the art and craft of directing for film and television. It’s filled with practical advice, essential technical information, and inspiring case studies for every stage of production. This book covers the methods, technologies, thought processes, and judgments that a director must use throughout the fascinating process of making a film, and concentrates on developing the human aspects of cinema to connect with audiences.

The fully revised and updated 6th edition features new sections on using improvisation, the development of characters for long form television series, visual design, the role of the digital imaging technician, film promotion and distribution, alongside expanded information on contemporary color grading tools, stylistic approaches and genre, workflows, blocking scenes for the camera and more. The book emphasizes independent and short form cinema which allows cutting-edge creativity and professionalism on shoestring budgets. Recognizing that you learn best by doing, it includes dozens of practical hands-on projects and activities to help you master technical and conceptual skills.

Recommended reading - D-Day: June 6, 1944. The Battle for the Normandy Beaches, by Stephen E. Ambrose:

D-Day: June 6, 1944. The Battle for the Normandy Beaches

By Stephen E. Ambrose.

Originally published in 1994.

ISBN-10: 1471158268

ISBN-13: 978-1471158261

Description:

D-Day is the epic story of men at the most demanding moment of their lives, when the horrors, complexities, and triumphs of life are laid bare. Distinguished historian Stephen E. Ambrose portrays the faces of courage and heroism, fear and determination — what Eisenhower called “the fury of an aroused democracy” — that shaped the victory of the citizen soldiers whom Hitler had disparaged.

Drawing on more than 1,400 interviews with American, British, Canadian, French, and German veterans, Ambrose reveals how the original plans for the invasion had to be abandoned, and how enlisted men and junior officers acted on their own initiative when they realized that nothing was as they were told it would be.

The action begins at midnight, June 5/6, when the first British and American airborne troops jumped into France. It ends at midnight June 6/7. Focusing on those pivotal twenty-four hours, it moves from the level of Supreme Commander to that of a French child, from General Omar Bradley to an American paratrooper, from Field Marshal Montgomery to a German sergeant. 

Ambrose’s D-Day is the finest account of one of our history’s most important days.

Recommended reading - The Big Book of Noir (1998):

The Big Book of Noir

Published 1998.

Edited by Ed Gorman, Lee Server, Martin H. Greenberg.

ISBN-10: 0786705744

ISBN-13: 978-0786705740

Description:

THE BIG BOOK OF NOIR

Noir is big. It was born in the hard-boiled detective story of Depression-era America. It flourished in the black-and-white B movies of the forties and fifties. And it’s been ingeniously reinvented in the film and fiction of the nineties.

Etched on our cultural memory by writers like Raymond Chandler, directors like Alfred Hitchcock, screen stars like Robert Mitchum and Humphrey Bogart, Lizabeth Scott and Gloria Graham, noir is big.

Noir is big, so The Big Book of Noir jam-packs its pages with articles, interviews, excerpts, opinion, and gossip that chronicle its history and explore noir in all its forms: movies, detective stories, television and radio shows, comic books, and graphic novels.

The Big Book of Noir pays homage to the big names in noir – John Huston, Fritz Lang, Mickey Spillane, John D. MacDonald, Ross MacDonald, Donald E. Westlake – as well as less familiar figures like Phil Karlson, Peter Rabe, Charles Williams, Harry Whittington, and Gil Brewer. It also includes two rare pieces: Stephen King writing about Jim Thompson in one and in the other Dulcy Brainard writing about Sara Paretsky, Marcia Muller, and Wendi Lee.

The evidence is in. The Big Book of Noir amasses fascinating and informative exhibits that amply illustrate one of America’s most significant cultural contributions.

Because noir is big.

Recommended reading - Poltergeist, by James Kahn (1982):

Poltergeist

By James Kahn.

Filmed as Poltergeist (1982), directed by Tobe Hooper.

Mass Market Paperback.

Published by Granada Publishing Ltd.

Published 1982.

ISBN-10: 0583136419

ISBN-13: 978-0583136419

Description:

Based on a Story by Steven Spielberg with a Screenplay by Steven Spielberg, Michael Grais & Mark Victor. From the imageless eye of the tv set, from the flickering snowy light, it calls to Carol Anne, six years old and innocent. From beyond the world of the living, it reaches out in unholy anger, ripping her from the arms of her family into the thrall of the Poltergeist.

Recommended reading - Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (novel & book of the movie):

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

By Vonda N. McIntyre, Jack B. Sowards, Harve Bennett.

Filmed as Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), directed by Nicholas Meyer.

Published by Pocket Books.

Published 1982.

ISBN-10: 0671456105

ISBN-13: 9780671456108

Description:

Prepare yourself for warp-10 excitement! The Galaxy's ultimate future is in the hands of James Kirk, Mr. Spock and the indomitable crew of the Enterperprise. The Galaxy's ultimate weapon is in the hands of the evil Khan and his followers. A battle that will shake the universe cannot be avoided ... And the ultimate adventure is about to begin!

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan – The Making of the Classic Film

By John Tenuto, Maria Jose Tenuto.

Published by Titan Books.

Published 2023.

ISBN-10: 1789099757

ISBN-13: 9781789099751

Description:

An in-depth look at the making of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, featuring rare and previously unseen production art and new and exclusive interviews.

Forty years ago, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan saw Kirk and the U.S.S. Enterprise crew face one of the greatest foes in Star Trek history, Khan Noonien Singh, as well as the death of Spock. Celebrate this landmark anniversary by taking a deep dive into the stories behind this iconic science fiction classic. This beautiful coffee-table book is full to the brim with rare and previously unpublished archival material, behind-the-scenes photography, production art, cut scenes, script extracts, and much more, alongside new and exclusive interviews with the creatives, including director Nicholas Meyer.

Recommended reading - Meet Me at the Morgue, by Ross Macdonald (1953):

Meet Me at the Morgue

By Ross Macdonald.

Published by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.

First published 1953.

ISBN-10: 0307740773

ISBN-13: 9780307740779

Description:

“My favorite . . . [Macdonald] is first among those novelists who raised the genre from its roots in pulp fiction to serious literature.” – P.D. James, from Talking About Detective Fiction.

“[The] American private eye, immortalized by Hammett, refined by Chandler, brought to its zenith by Macdonald.” – New York Times Book Review.

“Macdonald should not be limited in audience to connoisseurs of mystery fiction.  He is one of a handful of writers in the genre whose worth and quality surpass the limitations of the form.” – Los Angeles Times.

“Most mystery writers merely write about crime.  Ross Macdonald writes about sin.” – The Atlantic.

“Without in the least abating my admiration for Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, I should like to venture the heretical suggestion that Ross Macdonald is a better novelist than either of them.” – Anthony Boucher.

“[Macdonald] carried form and style about as far as they would go, writing classic family tragedies in the guise of private detective mysteries.” – The Guardian (London).

“[Ross Macdonald] gives to the detective story that accent of class that the late Raymond Chandler did.” – Chicago Tribune.

Somebody in Pacific Point is guilty of a kidnapping, but what probation officer Howard Cross wants to find most is innocence: in an ex-war hero who has taken a tough manslaughter rap, in a wealthy woman with a heart full of secrets, and in a blue-eyed beauty who has lost her way. The trouble is that the abduction has already turned to murder, and the more Cross pries into the case the further he slips into a pool of violence and evil. Somewhere in the California desert the whole scheme may come down on the wrong man. Somewhere Cross is going to find the last piece of a bloody puzzle – a mystery of blackmail, passion, and hidden identities that might be better left unsolved.

Recommended reading - The Gracie Allen Murder Case (1938):

The Gracie Allen Murder Case

aka The Smell of Murder

By S.S. Van Dine.

Filmed as The Gracie Allen Murder Case (1939), directed by Alfred E. Green.

Published by Felony & Mayhem Press.

First published 1938.

ISBN-10: 1631942069

ISBN-13: 9781631942068

Description:

“Mr. Van Dine’s amateur detective is the most gentlemanly, and probably the most scholarly snooper in literature.”

– Chicago Daily Tribune.

Gracie Allen breaks the Philo Phormula in a number of ways. First is its title: this is the only book in the series to modify “Murder Case” with more than one word, much less with the name of a character. And then there’s that character: Gracie Allen was a very real, much-loved comedienne in the 1930s, famous for her double act with George Burns, and in fact the plot revolves around her. Gracie’s centrality is no accident: Van Dine wrote the story as a vehicle for Allen, and actually created the novel only after the film had come out. So, do all these departures pay off? We’d be lying if we said that Gracie hits every single mark, but Van Dine does a surprisingly entertaining job of translating Ms. Allen’s delicious Ditzy Blonde persona to the page, and she makes a charming foil for Philo’s evergreen erudition.

Recommended reading - Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (novel & book of the movie):

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

By Vonda N. McIntyre & Harve Bennett.

Published by Pocket Books.

Published 1984.

ISBN-10: 0671495003

ISBN-13: 9780671495008

Description:

No one on the Enterprise can believe that Mr. Spock is gone! As the crew grieves for Mr. Spock, the awesome Genesis Device, now controlled by the Federation, has transformed an inert nebula into a new planet teeming with life. But Genisis can also destroy existing worlds. The creators of the Device want it given freely to the Galaxy. But Starfleet Command fears that it will become a force for evil. And the enemies of the Federation will not rest until they seize it – as their most powerful weapon in the battle to conquer the Galaxy!

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock The Making of the Classic Film

By John Tenuto & Maria Jose Tenuto.

Published by Titan Books.

Published 2025.

ISBN-10: 1835412890

ISBN-13: 9781835412893

Description:

An in-depth look at the making of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, featuring rare and previously unseen production art and new and exclusive interviews.

Over 40 years ago, in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Admiral Kirk and his crew embarked on a perilous mission to retrieve Spock's body and reunite his soul with his physical form, defying Starfleet orders and facing off against Klingon enemies to save their friend.

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock – The Making of the Classic Film delves into the untold stories behind the making of one of the most pivotal films in the Star Trek saga. From the pressures of continuing the iconic story after The Wrath of Khan to Leonard Nimoy stepping into the director's chair, this book explores the creative challenges, technical innovations, and behind-the-scenes drama that shaped the film. Featuring interviews with cast, crew, and production staff, it uncovers the intricate world-building, the special effects that brought Klingon battles and Genesis Planet to life, and the emotional weight of Spock’s resurrection.

Featuring a foreword from Robin Curtis, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock – The Making of the Classic Film is a must-read for Trek fans and film enthusiasts alike, celebrating the legacy of a film that solidified the franchise's place in pop culture history.

Recommended reading - The Shout and Other Stories (1979):

The Shout and Other Stories

By Robert Graves.

Short story anthology.

Paperback.

Published 1979.

Published by Penguin Books.

ISBN 13: 9780140048322

ISBN 10: 0140048324

ASIN: 0140048324

Description:

The shout can wound. The shout can kill. The shout can drive you mad. Unless the man who says he learned the magic shout eighteen years ago is only a lunatic. But is he? … ‘The Shout’ is the first of thirty intriguing stories collected here. They range from a tenement in ancient Rome to the trenches of World War I. Robert Graves assures us that most of them – even the most improbable ones – are true.

“Graves’s stories strike one … as the playfulness of an extremely lively, observant, and humorous spirit. … All of these tales must be read to be appreciated, let alone believed.” – Newsweek.

Originally published in hardcover under the title Collected Short Stories.

The film The Shout is distributed by Films incorporated and stars Alan Bates, Susannah York and John Hurt, with Robert Stephens and Tim Curry; produced by Jeremy Thomas; directed by Jerzy Skolimowski; screenplay by Michael Austin from the story by Robert Graves.

Recommended reading - Walt Whitman: Poetry and Prose, by Walt Whitman (1982):

Walt Whitman: Poetry and Prose

By Walt Whitman.

Edited by Justin Kaplan.

Published by Library of America.

Published 1982.

ISBN-10: 094045002X

ISBN-13: 9780940450028

Description:

“Beautiful and authoritative . . . the most comprehensive volume ever published of the works of Whitman.”

– The New York Times.

This Library of America edition is the biggest and best edition of Walt Whitman's writings ever published. It includes all of his poetry and what he considered his complete prose. It is also the only collection that includes, in exactly the form in which it appeared in 1855, the first edition of Leaves of Grass. This was the book, a commercial failure, which prompted Emerson’s famous message to Whitman: “I greet you at the beginning of a great career.” These twelve poems, including what were later to be entitled “Song of Myself” and “I Sing the Body Electric,” and a preface announcing the author’s poetic theories were the first stage of a massive, lifelong work. Six editions and some thirty-seven years later, Leaves of Grass became one of the central volumes in the history of world poetry.

Each edition involved revisions of earlier poems and the incorporation of new ones. As it progressed, it was hailed by Emerson, Thoreau, Rosetti and others, but was also, as with the sixth edition in 1881–82, beset by charges of obscenity for such poems as “A Woman Waits for Me.” Printed here is the final, great culminating edition of 1891–92, the last supervised by Whitman himself just before his death.

Recommended reading - Drawing the Film (1988):

Drawing the Film

By Nicole Van Goethem.

Published 1988.

ISBN 10: 9063032528
ISBN 13: 9789063032524

The book of the movie: A Greek Tragedy. Original title: Een griekse tragedie (1985).

A 7-minute short comedy film, written, directed, and animated by Nicole Van Goethem.

IMDB synopsis:

Three scantily-clad female figures struggle to hold up the crumbling remains of an ancient Greek temple.

Awards:

Grand Prix at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival in France (1985).

Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film (1987).

Recommended reading - The Bloody Spur, by Charles Einstein (1953):

The Bloody Spur

By Charles Einstein.

Filmed as While the City Sleeps (1956), directed by Fritz Lang.

Inspired by the true 1946 case of the Chicago serial killer William Heirens.

Published by Black Curtain Press.
First published 1953.
ISBN-10: 1627551158
ISBN-13: 9781627551151

Description:

HELP ME FOR GOD’S SAKE.
Later the doctors would use these words to decipher the riddle of a perverted killer.
Right now, the lipstick scrawl signaled the start of New York's greatest manhunt.

Recommended reading - Hardboiled: An Anthology of American Crime Stories (1995):

Hardboiled: An Anthology of American Crime Stories

Edited by Bill Pronzini & Jack Adrian.

Published by Oxford University Press.

Published 1995.

First Edition.

ISBN-10: 0195084993

ISBN-13: 978-0195084993

Description:

Compellingly and compulsively readable, Hard-Boiled: An Anthology of American Crime Stories is a page-turner no mystery lover will want to be without. Included are thirty-six superbly suspenseful stories that chronicle the evolution of this quintessentially American art form, from its earliest beginnings during the Golden Age of the legendary pulp magazine Black Mask in the 1930s, to the arrival of the tough digest Manhunt in the 1950s, and finally leading up to present-day hard-boiled stories by such writers as James Ellroy. Here are eight decades worth of the best writing about betrayal, murder, and mayhem: from Hammett’s 1925 tour de force “The Scorched Face,” to Ed Gorman’s 1992 “The Long Silence After,” Other contributors include Evan Hunter (better known as Ed McBain), Jim Thompson, Helen Nielsen, Margaret Maron, Andrew Vachss, Faye Kellerman, and Lawrence Block. Containing many notable rarities, Hard-Boiled celebrates a genre that has profoundly shaped not only American Literature and film, but how we see our heroes and ourselves.

Recommended reading – Vertigo (novel & book of the movie):

D’entre les morts

translation: From Among the Dead

By Boileau-Narcejac (Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac).

Filmed as Vertigo (1958), directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

Published by Pushkin Vertigo.

First published 1954.

ISBN-10: 1782279741

ISBN-13: 978-1782279747

Description:

In World War II-era Paris, a troubled-ex policeman is entangled in a web of deceit and lies when he investigates a woman’s strange behavior.

Flavières doesn’t really want to investigate his old’s friend’s wife, but he doesn’t feel he has much of a choice. Madeleine has been behaving strangely, and her husband wants answers – answers that she isn’t willing to give him.

As WWII rages around him, Flavières is drawn into an obsessive cat-and-mouse chase across Paris. Soon his intrigue is replaced by obsession and his dreams by nightmares, as he edges towards discovering a dark, terrible secret.

The most celebrated collaboration of a ground-breaking crime-writing duo, Vertigo is the timeless story of morality and revenge, and the inspiration for Hitchcock’s iconic film.

Vertigo

By Charles Barr.

Published by British Film Institute.

Published 2012.

2nd edition.

ISBN-10: 1844574989

ISBN-13: 9781844574988

Description:

Vertigo (1958) is widely regarded as not only one of Hitchcock's best films, but one of the greatest films of world cinema. Made at the time when the old studio system was breaking up, it functions both as an embodiment of the supremely seductive visual pleasures that 'classical Hollywood' could offer and – with the help of an elaborate plot twist – as a laying bare of their dangerous dark side. The film's core is a study in romantic obsession, as James Stewart's Scottie pursues Madeleine/Judy (Kim Novak) to her death in a remote Californian mission. Novak is ice cool but vulnerable, Stewart – in the darkest role of his career – genial on the surface but damaged within.

Although it can be seen as Hitchcock's most personal film, Charles Barr argues that, like Citizen Kane, Vertigo is at the same time a triumph not so much of individual authorship as of creative collaboration. He highlights the crucial role of screenwriters Alec Coppel and Samuel Taylor and, by a combination of textual and contextual analysis, explores the reasons why Vertigo continues to inspire such fascination.

In his foreword to this special edition, published to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the BFI Film Classics series, Barr looks afresh at Vertigo alongside the recently-rediscovered 'lost' silent The White Shadow (1924), scripted by Hitchcock, which also features the trope of the double, and at the acclaimed contemporary silent film The Artist (2011), which pays explicit homage to Vertigo in its soundtrack.

Recommended reading - Dead Man, by Jonathan Rosenbaum (2000):

Dead Man

By Jonathan Rosenbaum.

Published by British Film Institute.

Published 2000.

ISBN-10: 0851708064

ISBN-13: 9780851708065

Description:

“The book follows the narrative and picks out some of the stand-out cameos as well as some of the choice of dialogue, music, style and violence within. Just another good choice from the BFI/Palgrave on another solid film with heavy content.” – Filmwerk.

When it was released in 1995, Dead Man puzzled many audiences and critics. Jim Jarmusch's reputation was for directing slick, hip contemporary films. And Dead Man was a black-and-white Western. As time has passed, though, the number of its admirers has grown rapidly. Indeed, Dead Man, with its dark and unconventional treatment of violence, racism and capitalism, may be Jarmusch's finest work to date.

This is Jonathan Rosenbaum's view. For him, Dead Man is both a quantum leap and a logical next step in Jarmusch's career. Starring Johnny Depp as the uprooted accountant William Blake and Gary Farmer as his enigmatic Native American companion, Nobody, and with startling cameos from Robert Mitchum, John Hurt and Iggy Pop, Dead Man is by turns shocking, comic and deeply moving. This book explores and celebrates a masterpiece of 1990s American cinema.

Recommended reading - A New Omnibus of Crime (2005):

A New Omnibus of Crime

Edited by Tony Hillerman and Rosemary Herbert.

Published by Oxford University Press.

Published 2005.

ISBN-10: 0195182146

ISBN-13: 9780195182149

Contents:

Introduction; The Man Who Knew How; The Girl with the Silver Eyes; Red Wind; The Wench Is Dead; Gone Girl; The Couple Next Door; By the Scruff of the Soul; A Poison That Leaves No Trace; Photo Finish; The Crime of Miss Oyster Brown; Red Clay; Barking at Butterflies; Running Out of Dog; Hostages; When the Women Come Out to Dance; Flowers That Bloom in the Spring; Woodrow Wilsons Necktie; Loopy; Great Aunt Allies Fly Papers; First Lead Gasser; Chee’s Witch; Breathe Deep; Rumpole and the Bubble Reputation; The Hanged Man; The Holly and the Poison Ivy; Copycat; He Loved to Go for Drives with His Father; Credits; Index.

Description:

Three-quarters of a century ago, Dorothy L. Sayers compiled the classic anthology The Omnibus of Crime, a definitive collection of short fiction that brought together crime and mystery works from the Apocryphal Scriptures to whodunits from the 1920s. Now, reflecting the explosive developments in the genre, Tony Hillerman and Rosemary Herbert celebrate the seventy-fifth anniversary of that book’s publication with A New Omnibus of Crime. Like Sayers’s volume, this new book is envisioned as a vehicle carrying stories the editors think represent the best in crime and mystery writing in our time. Selections also reflect the tastes of Contributing Editors Sue Grafton and Jeffery Deaver, both of whom have stories in this volume. The anthology begins with a story by Sayers herself; other giants of the genre including Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, are also represented among the twenty-seven works. Hillerman and Herbert introduce each story and place each selection in the context of the literary history of the genre. Several of the writers confide the circumstances and real-life happenings that inspired them to write their stories. The book concludes with stories by Jeffery Deaver, Alexander McCall Smith, and Catherine Aird – all in print for the first time here.

While mystery writers in Sayer’s day shunned the love interest as a distraction from a puzzling plot, some of these stories show how the depiction of love – thwarted or otherwise – can effectively enrich crime writing. In the last seven-plus decades, the use of a distinctly regional voice has also revitalized the genre, as our selection of stories shows. And while Sayer’s contemporaries looked at crime as something that could be solved and “tidied up,” writers here take the view that the effects of crime linger like a stain even after a solution has been reached. Illustrating another more recent trend, pets romp through these pages, some in surprising ways. Like passengers on an omnibus, the stories that keep company here are colorful and mixed. Some will inspire laughter while others will incite chills. All will keep readers turning the pages. We invite you to hop on, take a ride, and get to know them.

Recommended reading - The Searchers (novel & book of the movie):

The Searchers

By Alan Le May.

Filmed as The Searchers (1956), directed by John Ford.

Published by Harper & Brothers.
First published 1954.
ISBN-10: 0843961724
ISBN-13: 978-0843961720

Description:

On the Texas frontier, a Comanche war party attacks the Edwards ranch and kills all the inhabitants, except for the two girls carried away with them. In the name of civilization, a group of pioneers take off in hot pursuit, into a savage world of unexpected dangers, false hopes, and darkest despair.

The Searchers

By Edward Buscombe.

Published by British Film Institute.
Published 2022.
ISBN-10: 1839024690
ISBN-13: 978-1839024696

Description:

“The Searchers is an insightful analysis … Replete with a wealth of information on the production of The Searchers, and graced with thought-provoking commentary, Buscombe's book is a stimulating introduction to a great American film.” – Journal of American Culture.

John Ford's masterpiece The Searchers (1956) was voted the seventh greatest film of all time in Sight & Sound's most recent poll of critics. Its influence on many of America's most distinguished contemporary filmmakers, among them Martin Scorsese, Paul Schrader, and John Milius, is enormous. John Wayne's portrait of the vengeful Confederate Ethan Edwards gives the film a truly epic dimension, as does his long and lonely journey into the dark heart of America. Edward Buscombe's insightful study provides a detailed commentary on all aspects of the film, drawing on material in the John Ford archive at Indiana University, including Ford's own memos and the original script, which differs in vital respects from the film he made, to offer new insights into the film's production history.

Recommended reading - Kubrick: The Definitive Edition, by Michel Ciment (2001):

Kubrick: The Definitive Edition

By Michel Ciment.

Published by Faber & Faber.

Published 2001.

ISBN-10: 0571199860

ISBN-13: 978-0571199860

Description:

"Michel Ciment's Kubrick: The Definitive Edition remains the best work on the great director. Through it we get a glimpse into a working method that was unique in the cinema. It is a fascinating blend of interviews and analysis." – Joel Coen.

"This final edition of Michel Ciment's definitive book is an invaluable resource." – Martin Scorsese.

If Stanley Kubrick had made only 2001: A Space Odyssey or Dr. Strangelove, his cinematic legacy would have been assured. But from his first feature film, Fear and Desire, to the posthumously released Eyes Wide Shut, Kubrick created an accomplished body of work unique in its scope, diversity, and artistry, and by turns both lauded and controversial.

In this fully revised and definitive edition of his now classic study, film critic Michel Ciment provides an insightful examination of Kubrick’s thirteen films --- including such favorites as Lolita, A Clockwork Orange, and Full Metal Jacket --- alongside an assemblage of more than four hundred photographs that form a complementary photo essay. Rounding out this unique work are a short biography of Kubrick; rare interviews that were held with the usually reticent director, as well as with cast and crew members, including Malcolm McDowell, Shelley Duvall, and Jack Nicholson; and a detailed filmography and bibliography.

Meshed with masterful integrity, the book’s text and illustrations pay homage to one of the most visionary, original, and demanding filmmakers of our time.

Recommended reading – Alien (novel & movie photo novel):

Alien

By Alan Dean Foster.

Filmed as Alien (1979), directed by Ridley Scott.

Published by Orbit.

Published 1979.

ISBN-10: 0708816789

ISBN-13: 978-0708816783

Description:

Where was Earth?

This was not their galaxy. A strange sun lit the sky with orange rays. In their long cold sleep, the seven space travelers had left their own universe behind, and now their monitor told them that on the planet revolving below them, someone was signalling for help. By space law, they must descend, explore and render assistance. But they would carry weapons. For who could tell what being called to them – or why. All they knew was that it was Alien.

Alien: Movie Novel

By Dan O'Bannon.

Edited by Richard J. Anobile.

Published by Avon.

Published 1979.    

ISBN: 9780380466313

ISBN 10: 0380466317

ASIN: 0380466317

Description:

A Movie Novel of the film 'Alien' - a graphic novel using photographs from the film.