A Night at the Movies, or, You Must Remember This [Paperback]

Robert Coover (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2007

From Hollywood B-movies to Hollywood classics, A Night at the Movies invents what might have happened in these Saturday afternoon matinees. Mad scientists, vampires, cowboys, dance-men, Chaplin, and Bogart, all flit across Robert Coover's riotously funny screen, doing things and uttering lines that are as shocking to them as they are funny to the reader. As Coover's Program announces, you will get Coming Attractions, The Weekly Serial, Adventure, Comedy, Romance, and more, but turned upside-down and inside-out.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The interlocking stories in this collection by the author of Gerald's Party follow the program of an old-style afternoon at the movies, with an adventure, a comedy, a musical and shorts. PW found that "although too many of his imaginings are sophomoric and vulgar, a good deal of this book is as thrilling as a striking dream."
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Coover here presents a series of short, connecting fictions associated with the cinema. Thus, we are given contrivances titled "Adventure," "Comedy," and "Romance," but they violate our expectations of these time-honored forms: "Shootout at Gentry's Junction" is a typical Western, but the good guys lose; in "Charlie in the House of Rue," a sort of funhouse, the tricks turn nasty, even murderous; and the romance in "You Must Remember This" sours into sordid adultery. These longer fictions are framed by shorter ones carrying out the cinematic conceit: there are previews, shorts, cartoons, even an intermission. Coover's style is viciously witty, so that one must finally ask "What's the point?" A brilliant but empty tour de force, though librarians should still consider this new work by the author of the well-received Gerard's Party ( LJ 2/1/86).Susan Avallone, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 187 pages
• Publisher: Dalkey Archive Press; 3rd edition (March 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1564781607
• ISBN-13: 978-1564781604
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,371,275 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Film and Television in black and white, November 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Night at the Movies, or, You Must Remember This (Paperback)

A Night at the Movies by Robert Coover takes a look at film of the twentieth century in a way that makes you feel like you're in the front row enjoying every scene. Coover's breakdown of the different film genres is great. He gives us all a little taste of everything in the first chapter and then gets more focused on particular genres in later chapters. One of the overall strengths in the book is the transition from one genre to the next. In the beginning of the book where Coover is moving rapidly through different genres he still manages to tie in an interesting story. An over all weakness of the text is the very short sections between the others. These stories are very short and kind of slow. After reading them I wondered why they are even in the book. Coovers text provides a smooth transition from one film genre to the next. He does a good job of accomplishing what he set out to do. Which is explore the different types of films of our time. Coover's A Night at the Movies is worth while reading for anyone who is interested in film and wants to examine a wide range of film genres.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "A Night At The Movies" by Robert Coover is satirical, November 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Night at the Movies, or, You Must Remember This (Paperback)

"A Night At The Movies by Robert Coover ia a collection of short narratives that provide a satirical glimpse of this centuries film genres and extends them beyond traditional arcs to cross genres and dissolve boundaries between them. The most interesting aspect of Coover's text is by combining so many film types such as Westerns, adventure, horror and romance, and extending their stereotypical plots, he is providing commentary on the new age of film and how their boundaries are muted and not typical of the films of old. One of the basic strengths of this text is that while reading the text one may feel lost in one part of the text but is suddenly found again when something familiar is presented. There is not a chance that at least one film type is not recognizable to a reader. Coover explores these various types very well, his additions to the plots and cross imposing of characters provide a interesting satirical insight on the current film industry reminiscent of a Saturday Night Live skit. This is an overall good book for it's own purposes which is to spotlight the distinction between current and older film genres as well as to satirically mix and mingle the boundaries between them. I would recommend this book for all film lovers.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This is truly a Night at the Movies!!, November 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Night at the Movies, or, You Must Remember This (Paperback)

A Night at the Movies is a well structured view of movie scenes fanagled together to represent a post-modernistic production. What is most interesting about Coover's book is how he incoporated all the "movie" scenes together to create a certain affect, and yet you have to remember you're just reading a book! One of Coover's overall strengths is the way in which he lays out a scene for you that is not quite verbatim (or an exact replica of) the an actual movie or sitcom, yet you can make rather accurate assumptions as to the movie or scene he may be portraying. One example of this is one of my favorite scenes with the mischievious children which reminds me of the famous Little Rascals. Although the book is very outstanding in the way it is written, A Night at the Movies can still be quite overwhelming. However, Coover is very effective in writing short stories and holding them together by movie scenes and titles, as well as the different segments within the book (previews, movie, intermission, etc.), along with addressing questions of identity rather than answering them - leaving that up to the reader. A Night at the Movies is a wonderful work for a more mature audience with a touch of movie suspense that is very effectively written, high above its class.