Both academic and entertaining, this quiz book will introduce a whole new generation of film buffs to America's classic movies. Each of the 100 individual star entries opens with a quote and follows with a biography and filmography. With more than 100 quizzes, one for each star and additional master' quizzes on general knowledge and quotes, this guide covers every aspect of each work, from the plot and the star's character to its production and reception.'
Apocalypse Now, Braveheart, The Longest Day, Lawrence of Arabia, The Red Badge of Courage, Saving Private Ryan ... Since the advent of the motion picture, war movies have depicted soldiers in the heat of battle, from the heroic to the barbaric, from the noblest warrior to the most craven coward -- and they grip audiences like no other films. But how well do you really know the best of the cinematic battlefield? Here are 100 of the greatest war movies of all time, each accompanied by an overview and analysis by film expert and author Andrew J. Rausch, plus a Platoon of questions that will have you screaming Tora! Tora! Tora! Book jacket.
*Includes pictures. *Includes actors'' quotes about their careers. *Includes bibliographies. In 1999, the American Film Institute released its list of the 50 greatest Hollywood stars of the 20th century, and selecting the 10 best actors out of the bunch was certainly a tall task. The competition was so stacked that men like Gary Cooper and John Wayne were not even among the Top 10. So who were the Top 10 men selected by the AFI? One man has long been considered the greatest male star. From the time he first became a leading man, Humphrey Bogart''s screen image has resonated with viewers more than perhaps any other actor. His persona as a tough guy who manages to maintain his sense of virtue no matter how compromising the situation features in some of the most famous films ever made, including Casablanca (1942), The Maltese Falcon (1941), and Key Largo (1949). Movie stars are revered for their ability to captivate audiences, and perhaps no actor has done it as well as Cary Grant, the epitome of the suave, debonair actor who may have been rivaled only by dancer extraordinaire Fred Astaire. Grant offered a version of the male actor that stood in stark contrast with the gangster heroes and hard-boiled film noir detectives that populated the screen throughout his career. If the list was reconstructed today, it is entirely possible that Stewart would rank first. Not only have movies such as It''s a Wonderful Life (1946) and Vertigo (1958) continued to gain in popularity even into the 21st century, but Stewart has come to embody an accessible image of American values that is easy for everyone to embrace. Over the course of his long, prolific career, Marlon Brando was considered perhaps the greatest actor of the 20th century as well as one of the most complicated and misunderstood. Uniquely able to be both emotionally charged and technically constrained in the same performance, he single-handedly changed the direction of not only the American style of acting, influencing successors such as Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and even Johnny Depp, but the acting profession on a global scale. Virtually all famous actors are regaled by the public, but even still, Fred Astaire occupies a privileged position in American pop culture. The specific films in which Astaire acted may not be especially famous in their own right, but Astaire''s dancing prowess invariably creates a lasting impact on viewers. Among all of Hollywood''s iconic leading men, arguably none proved as versatile at acting as Henry Fonda, whose career spanned six decades and earned him Academy Awards for roles in various genres. A lot of Fonda''s success could be attributed to the fact that he could convincingly play the all-American man that everybody in the nation adored and/or wanted to be. Best known for his role in Gone with the Wind (1939), Clark Gable had a unique appeal that captivated Depression-era audiences; while Cary Grant offered a sophisticated charm and Fred Astaire was tied to the musical genre, Gable brought an air of sophistication that was less comical than that of Grant and appealed to both genders, unlike Astaire. Ultimately, it was portraying tough guys and gangsters in the 1930s that turned James Cagney into a massive Hollywood star. In movies like The Public Enemy (which included the infamous "grapefruit scene") and White Heat, Cagney convincingly played criminals that brought Warner to the forefront of Hollywood After joining MGM in 1935, Tracy catapulted to fame with one of the most impressive runs in Hollywood history, winning Oscars for Best Actor in 1938 and 1939 after already being nominated in 1937. Charlie Chaplin was the first true film star, and he managed to do so even when films were still silent. He has been honored with too many awards to count, and the fact that his name remains instantly recognizable nearly a century after his first film is a testament to his influence.
*Includes pictures *Includes the actresses' quotes about their lives and films *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading At the end of the 20th century, the American Film Institute compiled a list of the 25 greatest actors and actresses in Hollywood over the past 100 years, but only a select few worked all the way back in the silent era of films, before "talkies" revolutionized the industry at the end of the 1920s. Among them was Mary Pickford, who was ranked 24th but was arguably the most influential actress when it came to creating the career template for all actresses who followed, from name changes to salary. Like many actresses of the early 20th century, "Little Mary" got her start by acting on the stage, and she eventually made it to Broadway. By the time she had finished her run there, she had caught the eye of film director D.W. Griffith, who would go on to make Birth of a Nation and was working for the Biograph at the time. Over the next several years, Pickford became the most famous actress in the industry, with only Charlie Chaplin rivaling her in popularity, to the extent that one film reviewer wrote she was "the best known woman who has ever lived, the woman who was known to more people and loved by more people than any other woman that has been in all history." Of all the great movie stars, there may be none more enigmatic than Greta Garbo, who remains internationally famous despite the fact her life and career raise more questions than answers. How did a Swedish actress with very little film acting experience in her native land arrive in the United States and achieve instant stardom? Most actresses had to wait years before they were offered starring roles in major films, yet Garbo was ushered to the front of the line and perched atop the MGM pantheon at a time in which it was the studio par excellence. How was she able to transition from silent films to "talkies" so fluidly, giving many of her most decorated performances during the 1930s? While stars like Charlie Chaplin never recovered from cinema's transition to synchronized sound, Garbo flourished, which is made all the more amazing by the fact she had a foreign accent that could easily have alienated American audiences and threatened her career. Finally, and perhaps most mystifyingly of all, why would Garbo retire in 1941, at just 36 years of age and two years removed from Ninotchka, arguably her most acclaimed film? At the same time, for as famous as Greta Garbo is as an actress, her films are not remembered so positively, if they are remembered at all. While Garbo herself was nominated on three occasions for the Academy Award for Best Actress, only one film of hers, Grand Hotel (1932), was even nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture. For the most part, Garbo acted in films that were seemingly well beneath her, which was certainly the case with her films from the silent era. It goes without saying that the most enduring image of Gloria Swanson is the famous shot of her in Sunset Boulevard (1950), head tilted backward, stating, "Alright, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close up." Indeed, for many, the very mention of "Gloria Swanson" conjures the name of "Norma Desmond," her character in Sunset Boulevard, directed by Billy Wilder. That the shot of Desmond requesting her close-up remains indelibly imprinted in the minds of so many speaks in large part to the power of Sunset Boulevard, one of the most revered films of its times and the most famous film of Gloria Swanson's career. By dint of her performance in the film, Swanson has become almost synonymous with Hollywood's silent era. In many respects,
*Includes pictures. *Includes actors' quotes about their careers. *Includes bibliographies. *Includes a table of contents. In 1999, the American Film Institute released its list of the 50 greatest Hollywood stars of the 20th century, and selecting the best actors out of the bunch was certainly a tall task. The competition was so stacked that men like Gary Cooper and John Wayne were not even among the Top 10. So who were the Top 5 men selected by the AFI? One man has long been considered the greatest male star. From the time he first became a leading man, Humphrey Bogart's screen image has resonated with viewers more than perhaps any other actor. His persona as a tough guy who manages to maintain his sense of virtue no matter how compromising the situation features in some of the most famous films ever made, including Casablanca (1942), The Maltese Falcon (1941), and Key Largo (1949). Movie stars are revered for their ability to captivate audiences, and perhaps no actor has done it as well as Cary Grant, the epitome of the suave, debonair actor who may have been rivaled only by dancer extraordinaire Fred Astaire. Grant offered a version of the male actor that stood in stark contrast with the gangster heroes and hard-boiled film noir detectives that populated the screen throughout his career. If the list was reconstructed today, it is entirely possible that Stewart would rank first. Not only have movies such as It's a Wonderful Life (1946) and Vertigo (1958) continued to gain in popularity even into the 21st century, but Stewart has come to embody an accessible image of American values that is easy for everyone to embrace. Over the course of his long, prolific career, Marlon Brando was considered perhaps the greatest actor of the 20th century as well as one of the most complicated and misunderstood. Uniquely able to be both emotionally charged and technically constrained in the same performance, he single-handedly changed the direction of not only the American style of acting, influencing successors such as Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and even Johnny Depp, but the acting profession on a global scale. Virtually all famous actors are regaled by the public, but even still, Fred Astaire occupies a privileged position in American pop culture. The specific films in which Astaire acted may not be especially famous in their own right, but Astaire's dancing prowess invariably creates a lasting impact on viewers. Hollywood's 5 Greatest Actors: The Lives of Humphrey Bogart, Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, Marlon Brando, and Fred Astaire profiles the life, career, and legacy of the men deemed by the American Film Institute as the greatest male stars. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about the AFI's Top 5 actors like you never have before.
