Customer Reviews

Screen Savers: 40 Remarkable Movies Awaiting Rediscovery

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I saw Seven Brides for Seven Brothers for the first time after reading about it in John DiLeo's Screen Savers. I would not have bothered to see it had I not first read DiLeo's analysis and insights regarding this underappreciated film. His essay led me to a much fuller understanding of its beauty, craft and surprising depth, making me want to see what I had previously considered an old-fashioned and uninteresting musical. Upon completing each chapter, I find myself scanning the upcoming programming for Turner Classic Movies, hoping they will soon be showing one of DiLeo's selections, so that I can use my new "behind the scenes" information while watching the film. It is clear that the movies the author selects for rediscovery are on a personal list of favorites, they moved or inspired him. But while he clearly loves movies, the tone never sinks to that of a fawning fan. He backs up his choices with detailed analyses and thorough research, convincing the reader of their rightful rank among films that should be reexamined. The joy of this book is that he educates the reader while imparting some of his obvious infatuation and love for his subject. And like any satisfyingly juicy critical discussion, the author allows a dialogue to develop with his reader. You may even find yourself disagreeing with him about a favorite star or director (c'mon, Lana Turner wasn't that untalented) and that is part of the fun. This book has rekindled in this reader a new enthusiasm for older and "gently used" movies. I can't wait for my first viewings of The Man Who Laughs and The Iron Giant.

This book is a joy to read. Aside from John Dileo's amazing scope of knowledge about film, he is a terrific writer. Dileo has an uncanny ability to fully and clearly describe story lines, performances and a variety of other details about each movie. I guarantee that anyone who reads this book will come away wanting to see most, if not all, of the movies discussed here so eloquently.

Having purchased Mr. DiLeo's previous books, I was delighted to discover he had a new one on the shelves. After planning some time off for the holidays, I overnighted this book -- eager to reacquaint myself with this author's clever and keen insight into classic motion pictures. By the time Christmas came, I had gobbled it up -- cover to cover. And... what a surprise to see my co-worker bought the very same book for me at this year's Secret Santa. I didn't let on that I had already purchased it but loved that fact that he was so eager to tell me that "SCREEN SAVERS is the type of book that all the TCM watchers should love!" Do yourself a favor and buy John DiLeo's new book.

I was thoroughly delighted to read John DiLeo's third book, Screen Savers.

His quirky takes on actors and directors are refreshing and novel. He opens new insights when viewing and reviewing films that have been forgotten or have never received the accolades they deserved.

Mr. DiLeo has a wonderful way with words, a lovely sense of humor and a pleasant and breezy style.

Screen Savers makes for terrific reading whether sitting in front of a fireplace on a cold evening or while enjoying an iced tea on a summery afternoon.

I highly recommend Screen Savers to any movie buff or would-be movie buff. It opens new paths to understanding the magic of film and the skills of the actors and directors involved.

Netflix should send a thank you note to Mr. DiLeo for his artful awakening of our appreciation for some half-remembered and some totally forgotten films.

I bought this book because I've enjoyed John DiLeo's other books for their informed, but casual, approach to movie love. At a time when so many movie books are either earnestly academic (you know, political readings of gender performance in Nikkatsu gangster movies of the 60s,) or infinitely culty-geeky (do I really need the whole history of Philippine horror movies?), DiLeo assumes the existence of a readership that is, like him, informed and serious, but not obsessive-compulsive, and in it for the entertainment.

The book is divided into eight chapters, each devoted to a separate genre. (For the record, the eight genres are "Musicals Written Directly For The Screen," "Film Noir and Variations," "Love Stories," "Westerns," "Fantasy and Horror," "War," "Vintage Comedy," and the vague catch-all "Life and Times in America," which basically means "drama." The focus is exclusively American, but the time frame is from the silent era to the present. The presumption is that you've already seen the rote classics, and he therefore offers five movies in each genre that he feels have received insufficient attention, and that you therefore might have reasonably overlooked.

You can agree or disagree with the choices, but none are eccentric, deliberately provocative, or contrived to display mere cleverness. The real joy of this book, though, is in the wealth of background information. DiLeo will, for example, in describing "Comanche Station," give an overview of Randolph Scott's career, the placement of his "amiability and lean beauty" in two decades worth of decent but unnoteworthy roles in diverse genres, as a way of positioning the surprise of his late-career flowering in the films of Budd Boetticher, and their collaboration on seven morally complex westerns. Being a movie fan, DiLeo doesn't fail to mention the final triumph of the comic hommage to Scott in "Blazing Saddles." This precise positioning and career review is done not only for stars and directors, but screenwriters, cinematographers, character actors, even the evolution of genre conventions themselves. And it's presented in a chatty, highly readable style. The net effect is that "Screen Savers" is like an encyclopedia in friendly conversation.

I expect that I'll be using this book as a reference work for a long time to come. It is, I think, DiLeo's best book yet.

John DiLeo's a friend (and fellow film fanatic) who, IMHO, is one of today's best writers on classic Hollywood. His passion for these pictures, coupled with lucid criticism and a terrific prose style, make his books must-haves for those of us whose idea of heaven is a rainy Saturday night, a bowl of popcorn, and some long-elusive rarity on TCM. SCREEN SAVERS, John's latest, is a real treat. John's candidates for rediscovery, all worthy, include some films you probably know (TWO FOR THE ROAD), and several you probably don't (DEVIL'S DOORWAY, THE HALF-NAKED TRUTH). In either case, the DiLeo take on these films makes for compulsive reading, and is guaranteed to send you racing to Netflicks or your DVR (included is a helpful appendix listed availablity for these titles). The perfect gift for movie-lovers in your life. I devoured this book, and could cheerfully gulp down six subsequent installments of the same. More, please, John!

I bought Screen Savers for some leads on renting CD's which would be more interesting than the contemporary horror, blockbusters, and animated movies. When I began to read Screen Savers, I found the whole book so enjoyable that I read it from cover to cover. John DiLeo has an amazing grasp of each actor's career, each director and producer's complete works and how they developed, and what was going on in Hollywood and America at the time the original film was made. He writes so well that he slips you into the context of each film without putting you off with too much erudition. I not only loved reading the book, but I am now renting each of the 40 movies. It's well organized in categories like musicals, film noir, love stories, westerns, vintage comedies, and life and times in America so you can mine whatever vein is most appealing.

I found that the book really enriches the experience of watching old films because I know more about the actors and the circumstances under which they were made. Just as we appreciate great literature and art much more when we know when, where, and how it was made, we can better experience old movies when we know more about their context. DiLeo is brilliant at making these movies live again for you.

I heard the author speak at a film festival.

I bought the book at the end of the program.

He opened my eyes to movies I had forgotten about as well movies I had never seen.

Now I have a whole new list of "must see" films on my Netflix list!

EXCELLENT! If you are a film lover, or have a friend or family member that loves movies, then this book is a must have. Intelligently written, fun, insightful, full of surprises and will make you want to view each of the 40 films that Mr. DiLeo thoroughly examines. I am a film lover and thought I had seen most of the essential classic films, well, I thought wrong. "Screen Savers" has offered me a whole new list of exciting and extraordinary films that I must see, and a few films I need to revisit - A TRULY REMARKABLE BOOK!

What's impressive about DiLeo's latest book is the way it is categorized in eight genres, spanning more than 70 years. In each category there are five films ranging from some favorites of mine, like Seven Brides & Seven Brothers & Cover Girl in the chapter on Musical to some that are much more obscure like Devil's Doorway & Hour of the Gun in the chapter on Westerns. The book is entertaining because of the author's stimulating and provocative style of writing. After reading this book I made a list of the movies I plan to rent in 2008 that I have never seen and some that he has made me want to see again.