Title: Essential cinema : on the necessity of film canons /
Authors: Rosenbaum, Jonathan, 1943-
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press,
Year: 2004
Subjects: Motion pictures
Abstract: "Essential Cinema offers in-depth assessments of an astonishing range of films : established classics such as Rear Window, M, and Creed; ambitious but flawed works like The Thin Red Line and Breaking the Waves; eccentric masterpieces from around the world, including Irma Vep and Archangel; and recent films that have bitterly divided critics and viewers, among them Eyes Wide Shut and A.I. He also explores the careers of such diverse filmmakers as Robert Altman, Raul Ruiz, Frank Tashlin, Elaine May, Sam Fuller, Terence Davies, Edward Yang, Hou Hsiao-hsien, and Orson Welles. In conclusion, Rosenbaum offers his own film canon of 1,000 key works from the beginning of cinema to the present day. A cogent and provocative argument about the art of film, Essential Cinema is also a fiercely independent reference book of must-see movies for film lovers everywhere."--Jacket.
Contents: Pt. 1: Classics -- Fables of the reconstruction: the four-hour Greed -- Fascinating rhythms: M -- The color of paradise: Jour de fête -- Backyard ethics: Hitchcock's Rear window -- Songs in the key of everyday life: The umbrellas of Cherbourg -- A tale of the wind: Joris Ivens's last testament -- Kira Muratova's home truths: The asthenic syndrome -- The importance of being sarcastic: Sátántangó -- Blush -- The ceremony -- Thieves -- True grit: Rosetta -- Pt. 2: Special problems -- Malick's progress -- Improvisations and interactions in Altmanville, with an afterword: Nashville -- Mixed emotions: Breaking the waves -- Fast, cheap & out of control -- The sweet cheat: Time regained -- James Benning's Four corners -- Overrated solutions: L'humanite -- The sound of German: Straub-Huillet's The death of Empedocles -- Beyond the clouds: Return to beauty -- Reality and history as the apotheosis of southern sleaze: Phil Karlson's The phenix city story -- Is Ozu slow? --^