Five film series to watch The Academy Awards confirmed that even the Hollywood establishment is becoming disenchanted with the big-budget, shoot-'em-up films churned out by major studios. Almost all the studios now offer support for smaller, independent film productions. Films from such diverse countries as Iran, Spain, and China have opened a window for receptive American filmgoers, and festivals like Sundance, Telluride, and Tribeca kindle enthusiasm and build buzz. Publishers have taken notice, and each year a flood of film books hits the market. University and other small presses prefer the series format, employing critics and film historians to analyze genres and highlight directors. Here are the latest additions to five key series on directors. Faber & Faber also puts out the highly regarded "Directors on Directing" series, though there are no new titles slated for this season. The recently launched "Wesleyan Film" series, edited by well-known film historian Jeanine Basinger, takes a broader focus on "visual analysis, close readings," and the history of cinema and offers a few entries on specific directors (e.g., Samuel Fuller and Anthony Mann). Acevedo-Muñoz, Ernesto R. Pedro Almodóvar. BFI, dist. by Palgrave Macmillan. (World Directors). Jun. 2008. 322p. photogs. filmog. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-1-84457-149-9. $85; pap. ISBN 978-1-84457-150-5. $25.50. The British Film Institute offers a series highlighting international filmmakers from Australian director Baz Luhrmann to American cult favorite Terrence Malick. Pedro Almodóvar helped invent a new Spanish cinema emerging from the repression of the Franco era. Films like Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown attracted international attention and made Antonio Banderas a worldwide movie star. Here, clear prose illuminates the career of this openly gay director known for his insightful depiction of women. The author notes that Almodóvar may revel in the "aesthetics of bad taste," providing a heady mix of satire, sexual candor, memories, pain, and guilt, but he also takes us on a journey that points to reconciliation and healing. Recommended for libraries with strong international film interests. Bainbridge, Caroline. The Cinema of Lars von Trier: Authenticity and Artifice. Wallflower, dist. by Columbia Univ. (Directors' Cuts). 2008. 224p. photogs. filmog. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-1-905674-44-2. $85; pap. ISBN 978-1-905674-43-5. $25. The speciality of this British press is film, and this series covers international directors for an academic audience. Danish director Lars von Trier (Dancer in the Dark; Dogville) helped found the Dogme 95 philosophy of filmmaking, which swears a "vow of chastity," demanding location shooting, handheld camera work, no special effects or optical filters, and a ban on "superficial action." This critical study describes von Trier as an enigma but acknowledges his significant contributions to digital filmmaking and improvisational work with actors. Key themes and concerns in the films are identified, but the book is heavily laced with academic references, potentially confusing for those who haven't seen the films; and it isn't likely to arouse much interest in the director's work. Another volume in the series, due in August, is The Cinema of Sally Potter. It focuses on a woman's vision and may be of broader interest. Kouvaros, George. Paul Schrader. Univ. of Illinois. (Contemporary Film Directors). Jun. 2008. c.184p. photogs. filmog. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-0-252-03306-3. $50; pap. ISBN 978-0-252-07508-7. $19.95. The goal of this series, launched in 2003, is to "broaden our awareness of important artists, to give serious attention to their work, and to illustrate the variety and vitality of contemporary cinema." Those aims are accomplished in this book on Schrader, whose name may not be familiar to most American filmgoers; however, his work will be, notably as screenwriter for Taxi Driver and Raging Bull. Schrader also works behind the camera, bringing an erotic awareness to films like American Gigolo and Cat People. Kouvaros describes his diverse body of work and addresses his themes and issues, offering generous samplings of observations from Schrader. Schrader was a big part of the American film renaissance of the 1970s - which produced films that challenged and provoked, although they sometimes failed to find an audience - and Kouvaros offers a good argument as to why his films matter. Best for large public and academic libraries; another new volume in the series covers Irish director Neil Jordan. Michelangelo Antonioni: Interviews. 2008. c.224p. ed. by Bert Cardullo. ISBN 978-1-934110-65-2; pap. ISBN 978-1-934110-66-9. Ousmane Sembène: Interviews. Jul. 2008. c.204p. ed. by Annett Busch & Max Annas. ISBN 978-1-934110-85-0; pap. ISBN 978-1-934110-86-7. Sam Peckinpah: Interviews. May 2008. c.192p. ed. by Kevin J. Hayes. ISBN 978-1-934110-63-8; pap. ISBN 978-1-934110-64-5. ea. vol: Univ. Pr. of Mississippi. (Conversations with Filmmakers). filmog. index. $50; pap. $22. This long-running series is the jewel in the crown, giving directors the opportunity to sound off on their careers and illustrating the diverse paths taken to the director's chair. Senegalese filmmaker Ousmane Sembène (d. 2007) is hailed as the father of modern African cinema. An established writer, Sembène didn't begin making films until age 40, and his output was not large. This book includes interviews with Sembène from the mid-1960s until shortly before his death and covers topics like cultural taboos, political censorship, and the problems of making films on a continent divided by so many different languages, as well as Sembène's take on the role of women in African society. Sembène's wisdom, humor, and humanity shine through the pages and should stir a desire to see his films. Like Federico Fellini, Michelangelo Antonioni (d. 2007) directed films that articulate the alienation of postwar European society. La Notte and The Eclipse found favor with critics, but the director says here, "I never think of the public. I think of the film." He scored a surprising mainstream success with his first English-language film, Blow-Up, but his follow-up film, Zabriskie Point, was a commercial and critical disaster. That failure and a stroke in the 1980s curtailed Antonioni's career but didn't end his creative work in the industry. Here, Antonioni talks about his ventures in Italian neorealism, his outlook on the human condition, his opinions of other contemporary film directors, and why he remained perpetually dissatisfied with his work. Antonioni's films may be indirect and ambiguous, but as an interview subject he's remarkably straightforward and unpretentious. Few directors were more colorful and controversial - or relished it more - than "Bloody Sam" Peckinpah. Although he acquired a reputation for violence (e.g., with The Wild Bunch), Peckinpah was equally known for his gentle, elegiac Westerns (e.g., Ride the High Country). An interview with him could be explosive and quotable (bemoaning his lack of creative control, Peckinpah snarled, "I'm a whore. I go where I'm kicked"). This fine collection sheds light on Peckinpah's early television career, his epic battles with studio bosses, and his enduring love for the West. The series is well suited for academic libraries, but the Peckinpah entry will appeal to public collections as well. The Antonioni volume is highly recommended for all foreign film book collections. Odell, Colin & Michelle Le Blanc. David Lynch. Kamera Bks., dist. by Trafalgar Square. 2008. 192p. photogs. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-1-84243-225-9. pap. $16.95. Recent titles from this new British imprint, intended to "cater to...fans, regular cinemagoers and DVD enthusiasts, plus film and media students," cover directors and genres like silent films and Asian cinema. Since his early cult film Eraserhead, David Lynch has pursued his original, offbeat vision in films like Blue Velvet, finding time for the hit TV series Twin Peaks, the big-budget sf flop Dune, and more mainstream-friendly films like The Elephant Man. He has inspired a number of books dating back almost to the beginning of his career, but the authors here manage to find new things to say about his symbols, techniques, and obsessions - notably, his favorite theme of the surreal existing just under the surface of everyday life. Perhaps not the ultimate book on this auteur, but recommended for large film collections.

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Author Information

Stephen Rees, Levittown Regional Library, PA, has reviewed for LJ for 20 years and was named nonfiction reviewer of the year in 2000