From Pulitzer Prize-Winning Movie Critic Stephen Hunter Comes A Brilliant; Freewheeling; And Witty Look At The Movies. Evanston; Illinois; was an idyllic 1950s paradise with stately homes; a beautiful lake; a world-class university; two premier movie houses; and one very seedy movie theater -- the Valencia. This was the site of Washington Post film critic Stephen Hunters misspent youth. Instead of going to school; picking up girls; or tossing a football; Hunter could be found sitting in the fifteenth row; right-hand aisle seat of the Valencia; sating himself on one B-list movie after another. The Valencia had a sticky floor; smelly bathrooms; ancient popcorn; and a screen set in a hideously tacky papier-mache castle wall. It was also the only place in town to see westerns; sci-fi pictures; cops n robbers flicks; slapstick comedy; and Godzilla. In Now Playing at the Valencia; the author of such bestselling novels as Havana and Pale Horse Coming has compiled his favorite movie reviews written between 1997 and 2003; bringing to the discussion the passionate feelings for cinema he discovered in the 50s; a time when genres were forming; mesmerizing stars played unforgettable characters; and enduring classics were made. While filmmaking has changed tremendously since Hunter first frequented the Valencia; the view from the fifteenth row; and the thrill of down and dirty entertainment; has remained the same.
#1166687 in eBooks 2005-12-01 2005-12-01File Name: B000FCKKYE
Review
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful. A useful resource for art history studentsBy VerreThe previous reviewer asserts that there are no "key writers on art" represented in this volume; which is an inexplicable statement. Sure; Freud; Lacan; and Derrida did not write primarily about art; but their ideas about visual production and reception had a profound impact on the way the discipline of art history developed in the twentieth century. The book also includes many people who were indisputably "key writers on art;" such as the critics Roger Fry; Clive Bell; and Clement Greenberg; or the art historians Ernst Gombrich; Erwin Panofsky; Michael Baxandall; and T.J. Clark.The book is organized into individual biographies; and gives a select bibliography of primary and secondary sources about each writer for those who want to read more. It attempts to provide a reasonably comprehensible list of twentieth-century writers whose ideas helped to shape the theories or methodologies of art history. For students of this discipline; who should be familiar with most of the figures covered in the book; it would be a valuable reference.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. An Invaluable and Succinct ResourceBy B. Kalivac CarrollThis anthology; Key Writers on Art: The Twentieth Century; and its companion volume; Key Writers on Art: From Antiquity to the Nineteenth Century; form together an invaluable introductory reference resource to art and aesthetic commentaries and ideas. The succinct yet substantial introductions to the work of important thinkers and creative individuals are enriched not just by practical information that is useful enough in its own right; but also (since each key thinker is introduced and described by a different contemporary scholar) by the breadth of commentary collected here. This allows for a simultaneously fascinating and practical read. Key Writers on Art has been especially valuable to me in my own current doctoral studies for a PhD in art theory and the philosophy of art and aesthetics. As editor Chris Murray notes in the preface; "the study of art has become increasingly complex and many-sided" in recent decades. Since there are excellent summary bibliographies at the end of each entry; Key Writers on Art also can steer the student reader and working scholar to the books and commentaries of individual thinkers; theorists; and writers who are most relevant or key to their own work in the fields of art theory; and visual art and aesthetics. Highly recommended.0 of 7 people found the following review helpful. Writers on art?By Kevin MooreThere are no "key writers on art in the twentieth century" represented in this volume. Freud? Lacan? Derrida? Sure; these writers may have had some things to say about art; but they are hardly key writers on art. There are lots of art critics in the early and late twentieth century; none are represented in this volume.