{"product_id":"9781632868183","title":"Opening Wednesday at a Theater Or Drive-In Near You : The Shadow Cinema of the American '70s","description":"\u003cstrong\u003eOpening Wednesday at a Theater Or Drive-In Near You\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor(s): Charles Taylor\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e“Movie criticism's Dostoyevsky . . . Taylor reveals a national identity forged from the innocence we claim to have lost but never had in the first place.” --Steve Erickson, author of \u003ci\u003eZeroville\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen we think of '70s cinema, we think of classics like \u003ci\u003eThe\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eGodfather\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eTaxi Driver\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Wild Bunch\u003c\/i\u003e . . . but the riches found in the overlooked B movies of the time, rolled out wherever they might find an audience, unexpectedly tell an eye-opening story about post-Watergate, post-Vietnam America. Revisiting the films that don't make the Academy Award montages, Charles Taylor finds a treasury many of us have forgotten, movies that in fact \"unlock the secrets of the times.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Celebrated film critic Taylor pays homage to the trucker vigilantes, meat magnate pimps, blaxploitation \"angel avengers,\" and taciturn factory workers of grungy, unartful B films such as \u003ci\u003ePrime Cut\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eFoxy Brown\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eEyes of Laura Mars\u003c\/i\u003e. He creates a compelling argument for what matters in moviemaking and brings a pivotal American era vividly to life in all its gritty, melancholy complexity.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReview(s):\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Brilliant . . . a vivid and expansive cultural history . . . Taylor never loses sight of (much less condescends to) these movies' gritty, visceral pleasures, but he also calls attention to their largeness of spirit, the glimmers of tenderness and melancholy they managed to conceal within their seemingly routine genre frameworks . . . superbly argued.\" - \u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Taylor, a film-crit veteran, can neatly evoke a visual . . . You can tell when someone's writing about what they love, and whether it's the empty sky of \u003ci\u003eVanishing Point\u003c\/i\u003e or the neurosis of \u003ci\u003eEyes of Laura Mars\u003c\/i\u003e, Taylor's having a blast. Tying a dozen movie underdogs to a wider cultural history is just the icing on the cake. You might not love them the same way he does (he might prefer it that way), but \u003ci\u003eOpening Wednesday\u003c\/i\u003e might just get you to watch.\" - \u003ci\u003eNPR.org\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Provocative and engaging . . . Taylor invests his study with a breadth and scope admirable for its ambition . . . A fiercely argued encomium for the socio-historical virtues of the great '70s B movies, in all their messy beauty . . . [Taylor is] engrossing and persuasive, pulling off the rare feat of turning cinema into works of cultural anthropology without losing his reader . . . He's mastered the art of film criticism as historical analysis, using these movies as a way in to the study of an America that no longer exists--and, using his movies to tee off against other, more reductive films, the idea that maybe a happier one never really did.\" - \u003ci\u003eThe A.V. Club\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"An astute critic of film and popular culture in general, Taylor is often drawn to the grittier vitality of the dark underbelly. This collection of critical essays will provide revelation for many—readers who have never heard of most of these movies—but it also serves as vindication for the movie geeks who know exactly where Quentin Tarantino finds inspiration. . . . He makes readers eager to see movies that were barely seen the first time through. An illuminating collection of film criticism.\" - Starred Review, \u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Film and culture critic Taylor opines that many worthy 1970s movies (or at least those worthy of reconsideration) have been unfairly overlooked . . . . For each, he talks about the plot, cultural underpinnings, and sometimes troubled production histories . . . . Taylor makes a very reasonable case for reexamining each one, assisted by a most readable writing style.\" - \u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Film critic Taylor's first collection brings together a wondrous set of essays on 1970s American B-movies. The decade is known for classics such as \u003ci\u003eThe Godfather \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eTaxi Driver\u003c\/i\u003e, but Taylor has chosen to highlight the pleasures of lesser-known films. . . . His essays are consistently illuminating and the reader comes away with a strong desire to track down the films he praises.\" - \u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"An interesting and frequently surprising look at a vibrant era in American film history.\" - \u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Charles Taylor's first collection of film essays exudes energy, persuasiveness and a deep knowledge and love for movies and pop culture. He writes with a passion and unbridled enthusiasm that rivals Pauline Kael . . . \u003ci\u003eOpening Wednesday \u003c\/i\u003eis an intelligent, opinionated and fascinating introduction to some great lower-profile 1970s films. Film buffs will find Taylor's guide illuminating and indispensable.\" - \u003ci\u003eShelf Awareness\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e[Taylor] is an excellent writer with a broad knowledge of cinema and this is an important book. \u003ci\u003e- LeonardMaltin.com\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Hugely entertaining and wise . . . [An] honest and brilliant critic rearranging what people ought to know about movies in an era when machines do most of the knowing.\" - \u003ci\u003eThe Buffalo News, Editor's Choice\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Film critic Taylor revisits the B movies of the 1970s and makes a passionate case for their 'grungy, visceral appeal.' Among his favorites: the blaxploitation flicks \u003ci\u003eFoxy Brown\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eCoffy\u003c\/i\u003e with Pam Grier, Sam Peckinpah’s critical bomb \u003ci\u003eBring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia\u003c\/i\u003e and the 'sleazy urban chic' of \u003ci\u003eEyes of Laura Mars\u003c\/i\u003e with Faye Dunaway.\" - \u003ci\u003eNewsday\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"A loving look at some forgotten gems and the power of moviemaking that can often be ignored.\" - \u003ci\u003eIndieWire\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Taylor may be at his best when he looks at those '70s movies that don't fit into any easily defined genre . . . [He] has a singular voice, and that's part of the fun.\" - \u003ci\u003eNewark Star-Ledger\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"An influential and compulsively readable film critic . . . He called it like he saw it, often employing the sorts of provocative turns of phrase that spark arguments in parking lots . . . Such vivid commentary affords readers a pathway into movies.\" - \u003ci\u003eSlant Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"A beautifully-crafted, loving, angry and perceptive collection of film criticism.\" - \u003ci\u003eA Classic Movie Blog\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Taylor's writing is sharp and insightful, funny and thought-provoking, and in his book he shines a spotlight on 15 films that--in their own 'disreputable' ways--speak deeply about the era in which they were made.\" - \u003ci\u003eRogerEbert.com\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"With \u003ci\u003eOpening Wednesday\u003c\/i\u003e, film critic Charles Taylor has written a glorious appreciation of the B-movies of the 1970s. This makes for a cinephile must-read.\" - \u003ci\u003eThe Film Stage\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Movie criticism’s Dostoyevsky, Charles Taylor scribbles notes from the underground of suburban basements in the Seventies, when Americans could barely tell anymore the subversive from the square. In forgotten semi-classics like \u003ci\u003eCisco Pike\u003c\/i\u003e and cult stars like Lee Marvin (‘an almost subterranean actor’), charting heretofore unseen connections between Faye Dunaway and Mick Jagger, Taylor reveals a national identity forged from the innocence we claim to have lost but never had in the first place.\" - Steve Erickson, author of TOURS OF THE BLACK CLOCK, ZEROVILLE, and SHADOWBAHN\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Charles Taylor's impassioned exploration of the underside of '70s cinema is blunt about the flaws of these films but utterly persuasive about their value. This is provocative, informed, richly contextualized cultural criticism for readers to revel in, learn from, laugh with, and argue about.\" - Mark Harris, author of PICTURES AT A REVOLUTION and FIVE CAME BACK\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Reading Charles Taylor’s \u003ci\u003eOpening Wednesday\u003c\/i\u003e is like looking in a mirror--in this case the mirror of such officially celebrated 1970s movies as \u003ci\u003eThe Godfather \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eMean Streets\u003c\/i\u003e. You see yourself in unfamiliar but dimly recognizable clothes that, you swear, aren’t your own: slept in, utilitarian, garish, tasteless, and yet somehow beckoning, like a repressed memory. As you pass through this book, whether \u003cb\u003eyou know\u003c\/b\u003e the movies Taylor dives into or not, you’ll find that the book casts its own shadows: you have to see these pictures, right now.\" - Greil Marcus\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN:  9781632868183\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ","brand":"Bloomsbury USA","offers":[{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":40603706589390,"sku":"9781632868183","price":27.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/pickwickbookshop.com\/products\/9781632868183","provider":"Pickwick Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}