Cinema Today

Cinema Today is a survey of world cinema and the films that have dominated our screens over the last thirty years. Written by Edward Buscombe, academic and leading authority on Western films, Cinema Today marks the key turning points in the film industry, identifies important trends and assesses the work of film-makers who have made a significant contribution to the medium since 1970. Fully illustrated, Cinema Today is informative, comprehensive and up to date, and provides a unique resource for academics, students and anyone with an interest in the moving image and the film industry.Edward Buscombe`s immensely heavy Cinema Today (Phaidon, £39.95) would delight any film fan. Coming from an art-book publisher, it`s very beautifully done. (Roger Clarke, The Independent) HOT DOG recommends Cinema Today `This book is a bit like the Bible - if the Bible were about film and contained lots of pretty pictures. The breathtaking movie stills and photos of key players are the first things that will strike you about this huge encyclopedia of cinema knowledge and they are used very wisely, always in context with the author`s views. Despite his explanation that half the book is devoted to US films, Buscombe`s detailed and comprehensive exploration of key areas such as women and ethnicity in film is fluent and no less meticulous. Equally, his thoughts on auteurs, independents and reviving genres are not imposed on the reader and although the read is long, it is interesting and satisfying. This offers everything that could possibly be included inside one cover, and more. Cinema today, and for a further month of reading.` (Ben Mahon, Hot Dog, December 2003 UK) CINEMA TODAY BY EDWARD BUSCOMBE `It`s as big as a breeze block, but Edward Buscombe`s mammoth tome is the most ambitious attempt to try to corral the multifarious strands of the contemporary global film industry into some semblance of critical order. Three pointed snatches of movie dialogue kick off proceedings, indicating the scope of Buscombe`s project: the "Do ya feel lucky, punk?" bit from Dirty Harry, a few lines from Eyes Wide Shut, and the letter-writing scene from Salaam Bombay! Five hundred pages and seemingly thousands of pictures later, Buscombe has got himself outside essays on everything from Hollywood and the Rise of the Blockbuster through to The Middle East and the Muslim World. Inevitably, given the size of the topic, the essays skate through things pretty fast, with Hollywood output taking up about half the available space. But he`s made his book readable and scholarly at the same time, which is no small achievement.` (Andrew Pulver, The Guardian, October 2003) 'With a stunning array of photographs, it's the perfect present for any film-lover.' (The Good Book Guide, October 2003 UK) `This epic survey of post-1970 cinema is possibly the most addictive film book ever published. Wherever you open it, your eye is struck by an iconic or striking image. ... Linked by judicious text, the book`s 500 pages are equally divided between films you know (12 Hollywood genres) and films you`d like to know (the rest of the world).` (The Independent, 50 Best Books for Christmas, 2003) `Cinema Today is informative, comprehensive and up to date, and provides a unique resource for academics, students and anyone with an interest in the moving image and the film industry...an invaluable reference tool.` (Cinema Technology)