The Movie List Book : A Reference Guide to Film Themes, Settings, and Series

Armstrong, Richard B.; Armstrong, Mary Willems; Armstrong, Mary W.

ISBN 10: 0899502407 / ISBN 13: 9780899502403

Published by McFarland Publishing, 1990

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Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Movie List Book : A Reference Guide to Film Themes, Settings, and Series
• Publisher: McFarland Publishing
• Publication Date: 1990
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0899502407
• ISBN 13: 9780899502403
• Binding: Soft cover
• Edition: 2nd Edition
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

Imagine you are writing a film paper on George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead and you want to contrast it with similar movies about flesh-eating ghouls. You could diligently pore through a variety of reference sources on Romero and the horror genre, or you could begin your search by turning in this work to the GHOULS entry (as differentiated from the ZOMBIES entry, both cross-referenced and carefully explained): There, a number of films are listed following a mini-essay on the topic overall. The over 450 such entries range from unusual occupations in movies (Bounty Hunters and Librarians, for instance) to subjects (Automobiles, or Trumpet Players), themes (Reincarnation, Lookalikes), settings (Hospitals, Tunnels), happenstances (Dates in Title, Long Running Times), film series (the Range Busters, Carry On...), and characters (Sherlock Holmes, Tarzan)-and more! All in all an invaluable service to fan and scholar alike.

Reviews

The 450-plus entries in The Movie List Book include characters (mostly fictional, like King Arthur or Philip Marlowe), subjects (lynching), locales (subways), themes (time travel), occupations (taxi drivers), things (bicycles), as well as series films ( Dirty Harry; "Carry On"). Although the authors understandably exclude large subjects (like World War II) and deal only with English-language sound films and some TV movies, the volume is extraordinarily comprehensive and accurate (although this reviewer would lobby to include samurai, bars, actors/backstage life, chases, and more diseases). Complementing the book's notable research value is the fact that it's also great fun to flip through, to savor the sheer arcaneness of some of the entries or the wit of others ( Monty Python's Holy Grail under "rabbits"). Apart from the NYPL Theatre Collection card catalog, the American Film Institute Catalogs, and Leslie Halliwell's various books (sporadically), this kind of broad/minute subject indexing is rarely available and badly needed. The Armstrongs have come up with the most useful film reference in several years. Fans are sure to love it, too.
-David Bartholomew, NYPL
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.