500 Essential Cult Movies


Book Description

There are distinct qualities that make a movie a cult: a devoted and niche following, popularity based on word-of-mouth enthusiasm, and a tendency to remain in fans memories years after release, as well as many other intricacies, often hotly debated by film buffs. 500 Essential Cult Movies sifts through the greatest movies ever made, to bring together a list of the best cult classics that ever graced the cinema screens or didnt, in some cases! From Carpenter to Lucas, Cronenberg to Lynch, Scorsese to Spielberg the big names in cult are all there, as well as the more obscure films that may have sneaked below the radar. Sorted into chapters based on genre, this vast collection includes plot synopses, reviews and further viewing recommendations for each title. 500 Essential Cult Movies is a must-read for all film aficionados and aspiring buffs alike.




500 Essential Cult Books


Book Description

500 essential cult books brings together some of the best cult books ever written, assembling an incredible list comprising fiction, memoirs, thrillers, sci-fi and fantasy epics, self-help tomes, graphic novels and children's books from across the ages.




101 Sci-Fi Movies You Must See Before You Die


Book Description

Can you tell your Dagobah from your Delos and your Ming from your Morlock? Do you need help understanding 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY? From the classic low-budget Flash Gordon tales to the slick CGI-realised world of THE MATRIX, science-fiction films have long pushed the boundaries of the visually and dramatically fantastic. 101 SCI-FI MOVIES YOU MUST SEE BEFORE YOU DIE is your perfect one-stop guide to them all. Science fiction allows every other movie genre to leap - quite literally - into another dimension. Take a classic police chase and set it on Mars. Create a haunted house story, then add the robots. Take the classic boy-meets-girl story, then make them mutants. Great sci-fi movies turn the known world onto its head, play with the laws of physics and all the while hold the viewer spellbound with a gripping vision of future worlds. With insight from critics, film historians, and academics, 101 SCI-FI MOVIES YOU MUST SEE BEFORE YOU DIE, applies knowledge and passion to a century of close encounters, distant planets, time travel, black holes, strange outfits, futuristic technology, inexplicable forces, fantastic spaceships, fluorescent drinks and subterranean societies. Strap yourself in: you′re set for a rocket ride to sci-fi heaven.




Neuroscience in Science Fiction Films


Book Description

As the gap between science fiction and science fact has narrowed, films that were intended as pure fantasy at the time of their premier have taken on deeper meaning. This volume explores neuroscience in science fiction films, focusing on neuroscience and psychiatry as running themes in SF and finding correlations between turning points in "neuroscience fiction" and advances in the scientific field. The films covered include The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Island of Dr. Moreau, Robocop, The Stepford Wives, The Mind Snatchers and iconic franchises like Terminator, Ironman and Planet of the Apes. Examining the parallel histories of psychiatry, neuroscience and cinema, this book shows how science fiction films offer insightful commentary on the scientific and philosophical developments of their times.




The Essential Cult TV Reader


Book Description

The Essential Cult TV Reader is a collection of insightful essays that examine television shows that amass engaged, active fan bases by employing an imaginative approach to programming. Once defined by limited viewership, cult TV has developed its own identity, with some shows gaining large, mainstream audiences. By exploring the defining characteristics of cult TV, The Essential Cult TV Reader traces the development of this once obscure form and explains how cult TV achieved its current status as legitimate television. The essays explore a wide range of cult programs, from early shows such as Star Trek, The Avengers, Dark Shadows, and The Twilight Zone to popular contemporary shows such as Lost, Dexter, and 24, addressing the cultural context that allowed the development of the phenomenon. The contributors investigate the obligations of cult series to their fans, the relationship of camp and cult, the effects of DVD releases and the Internet, and the globalization of cult TV. The Essential Cult TV Reader answers many of the questions surrounding the form while revealing emerging debates on its future.




Klaus Kinski, Beast of Cinema


Book Description

With more than 130 films and a career spanning four decades, Klaus Kinski (1926-1991) was one of the most controversial actors of his generation. Known for his wild tantrums on set and his legendary collaborations with auteur Werner Herzog--Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972), Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979)--Kinski's intense performances made him the darling of European arthouse and exploitation/horror cinema. A genius in front of the camera, he was capable of lighting up the most risible films. Yet behind his public persona lurked a depraved man who took his art to the darkest extremes. This first ever collection of essays focusing on Kinski examines his work in exploitation and art house films and spaghetti westerns, along with his performances in such cult classics as Doctor Zhivago (1965), Crawlspace (1986), Venus in Furs (1965), The Great Silence (1968), Android (1982) and his only directorial credit, Paganini (1989). More than 50 reviews of Kinski's films are included, along with exclusive interviews with filmmakers and actors who worked with him.




500 Essential Anime Movies


Book Description

"This visual handbook covers the most compelling films of the genre, including science fiction, historical fiction, fantasy, fairytales, romance, myster, horror, and more. In assessing the worth of each film it evaluates complex characters, engaging storylines, and creativity. This compilation showcases the most memorable and unusual anime films available in English"--Publisher's blurb




Perils of the Web: Cyber Security and Internet Safety


Book Description

This interdisciplinary volume seeks to explore the practical dimensions of cyber threats and the changes cyber space has brought to the social and cultural environment we have known so far.




Gloria Grahame, Bad Girl of Film Noir


Book Description

A marvelous actress, Gloria Grahame (1923-1981) was also an iconic figure of film noir. Her talents are showcased in several classic motion pictures of the 1940s and 1950s, including It's a Wonderful Life, Crossfire, In a Lonely Place, The Greatest Show on Earth, The Big Heat, Oklahoma!, and The Bad and the Beautiful, for which she earned an Academy Award. This comprehensive overview of Gloria Grahame's life and work examines each of her feature films in detail, as well as her made-for-television productions, her television-series appearances and her stage career. Also discussed are the varied ways in which Grahame's acting performances were affected by her tumultuous personal life--which included four marriages, the second to director Nicholas Ray and the fourth to Ray's stepson Anthony.




Television by Stream


Book Description

Online television streaming has radically changed the ways in which programs are produced, disseminated and watched. While the market is largely globalized with some platforms streaming in multiple countries, audiences are fragmented, due to a large number of choices and often solitary viewing. However, streaming gives new life to old series and innovates conventions in genre, narrative and characterization. This edited collection is dedicated to the study of the streaming platforms and the future of television. It includes a plethora of carefully organized and similarly structured chapters in order to provide in-depth yet easily accessible readings of major changes in television. Enriching a growing body of literature on the future of television, essays thoroughly assess the effects new television media have on institutions, audiences and content.