Rock on Film: The Movies That Rocked the Big Screen

Rock on Film

The Movies That Rocked the Big Screen

by Fred Goodman

foreword by Sir Michael Lindsay-Hogg

TCM and Running Press

Hardcover ISBN: 9780762478439

July 2022

288 pages

Amazon — Barnes and Noble — Powell's

“One of the beauties of rock movies is that sometimes they capture the time and sometimes, dangerously, they’re ahead of the time.” — Sir Michael Lindsay-Hogg

If your love for music runs as deep as your love for film, Rock on Film: The Movies That Rocked the Big Screen deserves a spot in your book collection. Written by former Rolling Stones editor Fred Goodman, Rock on Film features 50 must see movies that captured the heart of rock and roll. Each film is also paired with a viewing, making each recommendation a double bill and adding many more rock movies to the mix. The book also covers movies that feature hip hop, R&B, punk and other genres but primarily focuses on how rock and roll transformed popular culture as we know it.

Some notable films discussed include The Girl Can't Help It (1956), Jailhouse Rock (1957), The TAMI Show (1964), Viva Las Vegas (1964), A Hard Day's Night (1966), Don't Look Back (1967), Gimme Shelter (1970), Woodstock (1970), The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), La Bamba (1987), etc. And those are just some of the early films as dates range from the 1950s to the present day. Goodman does a great job connecting the present with the past and demonstrating the evolution of how film portrayed musicians on screen. A bounty of knowledge, Goodman's insights are both informative and illuminating. In his introduction Goodman writes, 

"the fifty films profiled in this book... are intended to be illuminating rather than definitive. Since the intention is to showcase both crowd-pleasers and buried treasure, the compendium begins with appreciation for the films that most fans see as indispensable, and they constitute a context and yardstick for the films that follow... My aim is to mix the serendipity of new discoveries with an added appreciation for familiar favorites while guiding you through the history of rock as seen through the insightful lens of Hollywood and independent filmmakers."

 

Each film is given its own 4 page chapter. There many color photographs throughout and the book is presented in a nice jacketed hardcover edition. It does have quite a potent "new book smell" but it's nothing that won't dissipate over time.

Interior Spread courtesy of Running Press

Here are some of my favorite quotes from the book:

“When the prominent use of the song “Rock Around the Clock” by Bill Haley and His Comets provided a big box-office boost to 1955’s youth-gone-bad drama Blackboard Jungle, it marked the first time Hollywood took notice of rock’s growing appeal.” — Fred Goodman

“The industry responded with the first generation of rock and roll films: a raft of low-budget jukebox musicals whose shallow plots were jerry-built around nightclubs, talent searches or disk jockeys–setups that made dropping in performances simple.” — Fred Goodman

“There’s a striking difference between the way the Beatles and the Rolling Stones approached film projects: essentially every film the Beatles made during their career was directed by a commercial journeyman, while the directors selected by the Rolling Stones reads like an art house who’s who, including Jean-Luc Godard, Robert Frank, Martin Scorsese, Hal Ashby, Albert and David Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin.” — Fred Goodman

“The music became a character in my movie. It was really the narrator. In a way, music is how you write the story.” — John Waters

“The biggest piece of the puzzle is Ann-Margret. Viva Las Vegas is the only Elvis film with a strong leading lady who can match him for moves and sex appeal. She was also the only actress to receive co-star billing with Elvis.” — Fred Goodman

“A triumph of Gimme Shelter is that there is no mythology here. The Maysles brothers, part of the direct cinema movement that was the American doppelganger of France’s cinema verite, created their art by standing back and capture what developed.” — Fred Goodman

Rock on Film includes interviews with five filmmakers: Cameron Crowe, Jim Jarmusch, Penelope Spheeris, Taylor Hackford and John Waters. I've read and reviewed many TCM/Running Press books and this is the first one I've seen to featured extensive interviews.

I enjoyed how Goodman examines all the different ways films used rock and roll and was most intrigued by the documentaries featured. A couple of which I watched immediately upon reading the book. In order to really appreciate this book, you must be interested in both rock and roll and music history especially since there is a heavy focus on that element.

***GIVEAWAY***

Fill out the form below by September 25th for a chance to win a copy of Rock on Film!

The giveaway is now over. Congratulations to the winners Angela M. and Devan V.!

This is my sixth and final book review for this year's Classic Film Reading Challenge.

Thank you to Running Press for sending me a copy of Rock on Film to review!

Danger on the Silver Screen: 50 Films Celebrating Cinema’s Greatest Stunts

Danger on the Silver Screen 

50 Films Celebrating Cinema's Greatest Stunts 

by Scott McGee

TCM and Running Press

288 pages

Paperback ISBN:9780762474844

April 2022

Amazon — Barnes and Noble — Powell's — Larry Edmunds (signed copy)

“Stunt work taps into our brains, giving us pleasure by simply watching human beings do things we, the audience, cannot. Marvelous acts like jumping out of a window and surviving thrill us and remind us that while we are safe in our seats, others are capable of doing amazing things for the camera.” — Scott McGee

There's nothing quite like the thrill of watching an action movie. Stuntmen and stuntwomen brave great danger—fast speeds, hairpin turns, nerve-wracking heights and literal fire with often a scant margin of error—to give us, the audience, an experience that we can't duplicate in real life. If you've ever watched an action sequence and wondered "how did they do that?" then I have the book for you.

Danger on the Silver Screen: 50 Films Celebrating Cinema's Greatest Stunts by Scott McGee is your definitive guide to action movies and stunt techniques. While the book focuses specifically on a list of 50 action movies, you'll find many more mentioned throughout. The movies presented range from silent era classics to modern action thrillers beginning with Way Down East (1920) and ending with Baby Driver (2017).

This paperback book features French flaps and full color pages. Each chapter focuses on 1 action movie (or a pair of movies). Little time is spent on the plot and the majority of the text breaks down the stunt sequences, how they were executed and the masterminds behind them. The chapter starts with an image (still or poster), a quote from a reviewer or stuntman, a brief cast and crew list as well as a listing of the stunt team members. This last bit is important since stuntmen and stuntwomen often did not get on screen credit for their work. McGee does a fantastic job breaking down the particulars of the stunts, explaining them, giving the reader background on the stunt team as well as providing screenshots to help visualize. I recommend heading to YouTube where you'll find clips of many of the stunt sequences McGree writes about. This helps with really appreciating the work that went into making that stunt look effortless. The chapters also include other images and newspaper-style article about a related stunt from another movie or something relevant to the article. 

For those of you more interested in the older movies, here are some of the early ones that the author writes about at length: Way Down East (1920), Robin Hood (1922), The Black Pirate (1926), Safety Last! (1923), Wings (1927), Hell's Angels (1930), Steamboat Bill Jr. (1928), Stagecoach (1939), Ben-Hur (1925 and 1959), How the West Was Won (1962), The Great Escape (196, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), Bullitt (1965), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) and more. James Bond fans will be delighted that many of the films in the series are featured here.

Some notable stuntmen and stuntwomen mentioned include: Richard Talmadge, Yakima Canutt, Bud Ekins, Charles H. Hickman, James W. Gavin, Hal Needham, Dar Robinson, Grant Page, Debbie Evans, etc. There is also much attention put on the actors who did the stunts themselves like Buster Keaton, Douglas Fairbanks and Harold Lloyd.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from the book:

“In epic adventures, fantasies and contemporary action pictures, it was [Douglas] Fairbanks who made the impossible seem easy.”

“The airplane has been a crucial vehicle for movie stunt work, almost since its invention. Things really took off after the end of WWI, when former fighter pilots, looking for paths to apply their skill set and a penchant for taking risks, landed in the movie business.”

On Steamboat Bill Jr. “When the wall started to move, and it landed perfectly with a tremendous thud, Keaton’s bravery and commitment was that much more impressive because he stayed completely in character.”

“In terms of sheer grandiosity and cinematic impact, the chariot race in the 1959 Best Picture winner Ben-Hur is among the greatest action scenes ever.”

“[It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World] was one of the first major Hollywood productions to put stunt work front and center, not just as an element in the filmmaking, but as a selling point to the general audience.” 

“Great stunt scenes throughout history depend on the collaborative nature of filmmaking, drawing upon cinematography, editing, acting, and direction. The Bullitt car chase was a textbook example…”

“The Bond stuntmen, mostly British, were among the best working in the world. They brought ingenuity, execution, and visual appeal to the films’ action, setting the template for what audiences worldwide expected from the rough and physically demanding world of 007... The attention to cinematography in capturing not just the visceral excitement of the stunt work and action but the beauty of the surroundings has remained a mark of the Bond films to this day.”

“The craftsmen and artists of taking the falls, crashing the planes, and enduring the flames suffer the ignominy of going unmentioned or, when they are credited in print, being misspelled.”

“Tom Cruise is a modern-day Hollywood star whose fearlessness makes him seem like a direct descendant from stuntmen-stars of the past. As a Fairbanksian star and producer, Cruise is his own boss when making the calls, whether he’s outside skyscrapers or helicopters or wherever a normal person would not go.”

Danger on the Silver Screen is as fascinating as the stunts described within its beautifully designed pages. McGee does an excellent job giving the reader context and background. Describing stunts is no small feat considering but its done quite well here. You don't have to have seen the movie discussed to appreciate the chapter but watching a trailer or clips online will definitely improve the reading experience. Stunt work has been a male dominated field since the beginning of the film industry. I appreciate that some attention was given to the work of stuntwomen (and actresses too). I wish there had been pictures of the stunt team members because that would have helped to put a face with the name.

I want to hear from you! What's your favorite movie stunt? How about your favorite action movie?

This is my 5th review for the Classic Film Reading Challenge.

Thank you to TCM and Running Press for sending me a copy of Danger on the Silver Screen for review!

Hollywood Tiki: Film in the Era of the Pineapple Cocktail

Hollywood Tiki

Film in the Era of the Pineapple Cocktail

by Adam Foshko and Jason Henderson

The History Press

Paperback ISBN: 9781467149907

208 pages

August 2022

Amazon — Barnes and Noble — Powell's

“Tiki Culture was never about a real place but about the escape to imaginary places—not real Hawaii, but an idea of Hawaii; not any real island, but the idea of an island. A perfect idyllic getaway that was an escape from an industrial postwar life that was the opposite of that.”

A follow-up to their 2018 book California Tiki: A History of Polynesian Idols, Pineapple Cocktails and Coconut Palm Trees, authors Adam Foshko and Jason Henderson's new book explores Tiki culture in film and how this brand of escapism was born out of the trauma of WWII.

Hollywood Tiki: Film in the Era of the Pineapple Cocktail is both a viewing guide for a subgenre of classic movies as well as a cultural history book that extrapolates meaning and context for each of the movies highlighted.

The book begins with two lengthy introductions in which the authors explain their goals in writing this book as well as a background on Tiki cinema. The rest of the book is divided into four chapters:

1. Tiki Goes to War: South Pacific and the World II Experience
2. Cocktail Tiki: Bob Hope and Backyard Luau (Sophisticated Adult TIki Entertainment)
3. Escape to the Islands
4. I Was a Teenage Tiki: Gidget and the World of Beach Parties

Each chapter highlights 10-12 different movies that fit within the theme. A cast and crew list and a movie poster is accompanied by 3 pages of text which include background, a movie summary (there are spoilers!) and an examination on how the movie fits within the theme of Tiki Cinema and within its era. The individual movies feature a black-and-white poster. Some of these are revisited in the book's full-color insert.

Tiki Cinema is about escapism. It's about rejecting modernity, dealing with the trauma of war and embracing the "idyllic fantasy" of the exotic. Not all of the films fit perfectly into this subgenre and the authors take the time to explain how each of the selected movies touches upon some aspect of Tiki culture.

Here are some of my favorite takeaways from the book:

South Pacific (1958) — “South Pacific does a wonderful job of expressing the idea that the Pacific theater was marked with moments of terrifying brutality separated by long periods of bucolic beauty.”

Miss Sadie Thompson (1953) — “The prevailing lesson of the film and one that is completely at home in Tiki culture: a brazen insistence that trauma can be sublimated into joy.” 

Mysterious Island (1961) — “Like Tiki aficionados looking to escape, Nemo detests civilization and all of the ills that its modernity has brought. Especially war.”'

His Majesty O’Keefe (1954) — “A man is set to drift—very likely to die— but instead, he washes ashore on an exotic paradise. He is a ‘civilized’ in a different world and must therefore overcome the island, the elements, the natives and then ultimately himself in order to be ‘saved’—and then allowed to stay.”

Pagan Love Song (1950) — “Tahiti is the real star here. It’s one of the few pictures… from this period and in this category that really showcases the Polynesian scene” 

From Here to Eternity (1953) — “What the film seems to be saying is that, despite all the jingoism in American culture, military surroundings and military duty will not clear a person of his weaknesses or his choices. The characters in the movie make decisions that condemn themselves, but they are ultimately victims of the vagaries of life.”

Gidget (1959) — “It is riddled with not just the culture of Tiki, exotica, and escape but a constant conversation about what it is to find and explore, to leave and return to one’s responsibilities.” 

Ghost in the Invisible Bikini (1966) — “It was a strange time for movies and for Tiki themes. It wasn’t just that the ideas were tired (they often were), but the audiences were changing.”

Other notable movies include: 

Song of the Islands (1942), Mister Roberts (1955), Father Goose (1964), Bachelor in Paradise (1961), Blue Hawaii (1961), Beach Party (1963) (and the other Frankie and Annette movies), Where the Boys Are (1960) and others.

Hollywood Tiki has a lot to offer classic movie fans especially those who love movies with exotic settings or the beach movies of the 1960s. There is much to learn here about how Tiki cinema really spoke to audiences who were dealing with the aftermath of war and the changing times. 

When I first saw this book, I immediately thought of my good friend Erin who is both a classic movie fan and a Tiki enthusiast. This book would be perfect for her!

I did have a few issues with the book. I didn't think that they made good use of the four color insert especially since it was just repeats of posters that were already presented. It would have been better used for publicity stills or some other type of image. Anyone seeing the book title and cover at first glance will think this is a lighthearted read which it's not. And there is not a cocktail recipe or even really any discussion of cocktails anywhere in the book which makes the reference in the book's subtitle a bit misleading. The movies within each chapter are not presented chronologically. They don't need to be but if you're a stickler for that kind of thing it may rub you the wrong way. Otherwise the book is very well laid out and the information is quite through.

This is my fourth book review for this year's Classic Film Reading Challenge.

Thank you to The History Press for sending me a copy of Hollywood Tiki for review.