Customer Reviews

Coming of Age: Movie & Video Guide

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

There are over 500 entires in this A to Z video guide. Each contains plot, five-star movie ratings, cast, credits and ratings for sexuality. Also there are multiple indexes and a hard-to-find video locator. Many of our finest actors got their start in coming-of-age films. Tom Cruise, James Dean, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Dillon, Edward Furlong, Ethan Hawke, Chris O'Donnell, River Phoenix, Jason Priestly, Keanu Reeves, Brad Renfro, Mark Wahlberg, Scott Wolf and Elijah Wood are just a few. What is a coming-of-age film? In simplest terms, a coming-of-age story is one in which a child or a teenager reaches a critical turning point or event that results in a loss of childhood innocence. Not surprisingly, most often this turning point revolves around adolescent sexuality. Recommended!

My compliments to this book. It's better organized than most dictionaries and encyclopedias. It's full of copious and well-chosen pictures (which admittedly display the author's nudist sensibilities!) It embraces a large number of films from silly comedies to angst-filled dramas. What they all have in common is that they deal with young people confronting sexual awakening (For a Lost Soldier) or awareness of mortality (A Separate Peace), in short, some catalytic, transformative event of their adolescence.

Everything you could want to know about these movies is in this book somewhere. Everyone involved in their making is mentioned, as are any awards the film earned and a clear synopsis of its plot. Lort's gay nudist perspective insures that nothing is censored, and pictures containing rape, cross-dressing, prostitution, and intergenerational eroticism are dealt with openly.

When Lort gives 5-star reviews to some of my favorite coming-of-age films, like "Stand by Me," "Second Best," or "Rebel Without a Cause," I really enjoy the read. I hope and pray that Lort updates this valuable book (written in 1997) since some important pictures have come along since then like "L.I.E.," "Y Tu Mama Tambien," and "Hearts in Atlantis."