November 2023 MBR The Theatre/Cinema Shelf

The Theatre/Cinema Shelf

Magic Time: The Films and Scripts of Billy Wilder
J. R. Jordan
BearManor Media
www.bearmanormedia.com
9798887712512, $44.00, HC, 438pp

https://www.amazon.com/Magic-Time-Films-Scripts-Wilder/dp/B0CH2D1CZ9

Synopsis: Billy Wilder (June 22, 1906 - March 27, 2002) was an Austrian-born filmmaker. His career in Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Classic Hollywood cinema. He received seven Academy Awards (among 21 nominations), a BAFTA Award, the Cannes Film Festival's Palme d'Or and two Golden Globe Awards.

"Magic Time: The Films and Scripts of Billy Wilder" by film historian J. R. Jordan is a compendium of descriptively informative and erudite commentaries on all of Wilder's 36 cinematic projects, from the obscure to the legendary, from Begin the Beguine to All Good Things. Of special note us the section devoted to Wilder's catchphrases and the enclusion of a Bibliography.

Critique: Comprehensive, informative, exceptionally well written, organized, and presented, "Magic Time: The Films and Scripts of Billy Wilder" will be of immense interest to the legions of Billy Wilder fans and an essential, core addition to personal, professional, community, and college/university library Cinematic History collections and supplemental Movie/Video Direction/Production curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of film students, academia, movie buffs, and non-specialist general readers that "Magic Time: The Films and Scripts of Billy Wilder" is also available in a paperback edition (9798887712505, $34.00) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.95).

Editorial Note: J.R. Jordan has been writing about motion pictures for several years. He is the author of Showmanship: The Cinema of William Castle and Robert Wise: The Motion Pictures.

Trash Cinema
Andrew J. Rausch, editor
R. D. Riley, editor
BearManor Media
www.bearmanormedia.com
9781593938222, $22.95, HC, 242pp

https://www.amazon.com/Trash-Cinema-Celebration-Overlooked-Masterpieces/dp/1593938225

Synopsis: It is frequently said that one man's trash is another man's treasure, and nowhere is this statement more accurate than in the case of obscure bizarro exploitation films.

Containing 55 essays on such trash classics as Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS (1975), I Spit on Your Grave (1978), and Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965), "Trash Cinema: A Celebration of Overlooked Masterpieces" celebrates the good, the bad, and the ugly of these so-called "trash" films.

Some of the pieces are reverential, some poke fun at the absurdity of the films, and others offer a more critical eye to these proceedings. With essays from more than 40 noted film writers, this unique collection is a one-of-a-kind treasure for those amongst those of us with a passion for the seedier side of cinema.

Critique: Knowledgeably compiled and deftly co-edited by the team of cinema fans Andrew J. Rausch and R. D. Riley, "Trash Cinema: A Celebration of Overlooked Masterpieces" is a compendium of succinct and informative commentary essays on 55 films by contributors with inherently interesting perspectives on their chosen movie. An fascinating, thought- provoking, and memorable read, "Trash Cinema" is a 'must' for all dedicated movie buffs. While an important, entertaining, and fully recommended pick for personal, professional, community, and college/university library Cinematic History collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists, "Trash Cinema" is also available in a paperback edition (9781593938215, $19.95) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.95).

Editorial Note #1: Andrew J. Rausch (https://en.everybodywiki.com/Andrew_J._Rausch) is an American film journalist, author, screenwriter, film producer, and actor. Rausch has published nearly forty books with nearly twenty different publishers. His nonfiction includes multiple books on author Stephen King and screenwriter/director Quentin Tarantino. In 2004, he wrote a book titled Turning Points in Film History (2004) that was used as a textbook in many collegiate film classes. He spent seven years interviewing film directors for his book Fifty Filmmakers: Conversations with Directors from Roger Avary to Steven Zaillian (2008). Some of his key nonfiction titles include The Films of Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro (2010), The Cinematic Misadventures of Ed Wood (2015), and My Best Friend's Birthday: The Making of a Quentin Tarantino Film (2019). Rausch has written on topics as diverse as film, atheism, blaxploitation, and hip-hop music.

Editorial Note #2: R. D. Riley is also the author of "The Steven King Movie Quiz Book" (https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15746443.R_D_Riley)

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