Is Richard E. Grant's "Withnail" a far superior screen drunk to Jimmy Stewart in "Harvey"? What is cinema's most tragic farewell, its most ingenious plot-twist, its most shocking murder? And why do Robert De Niro's characters behave so badly to women? All film fans keep mental records of their movie-going tastes, and their post-show arguments in the pub. This book is a rollicking collection of such 'Top Tens', contributed by a fine cast of leading film writers, acclaimed film-makers and novelists from Steven Soderbergh and the Coen Brothers to Gilbert Adair and DBC Pierre. If you want to know the Ten Most-Deserved Oscars or Ten So-Called 'Turkeys' that are actually brilliant, then look no further, "Ten Bad Dates With De Niro" could be your perfect match.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
"A stimulating, necessary volume-and virtually alone among cinematic studies in the wit of its arguments and the seductiveness of its style."-Richard Schickel, Los Angeles Times
"Addictive..."-Peter Travers, Rolling Stone --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
"Addictive..."-Peter Travers, Rolling Stone --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
About the Author
Richard T. Kelly is the author of Alan Clarke (1998), The Name of This Book is Dogme 95 (2000), and Sean Penn: His Life and Times (2004). His debut novel Crusaders will be published by Faber in 2008. Andrew Rae, the illustrator, was art director on BBC3s Monkey Dust and has a weekly slot in the Guardian Guide.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Finally an original movie 'list' book,
By Matthew In Sydney (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Ten Bad Dates With De Niro (Hardcover)
There are hundreds of books out there full of film lists - on the top 10 or 100 or 101 or 1001 greatest movies/worst movies/most expensive flops/greatest stars/most important film directors whatever.
This book has fun with the idea, with some truly original and often very funny Top 10 lists. The writing is witty, and the writers (including the Coen Brothers, Steven Soderbergh, and DBC Pierre amongst others) know their films, so small international films are as likely to be included as big Hollywood fare. The top ten lists include unlikely categories like 'Dodgiest Decisions of the Cannes Festival Jury', 'Worst Wigs an Actor Dared to Wear', 'Gratuitous Machine-Gun Frenzies' and dozens more. Seriously, it's possibly the most enjoyable film book I've read since Michael Medved's Golden Turkey awards books from many years ago.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
You must be a cinema JUNKIE to truly appreciate this,
By
This review is from: Ten Bad Dates with De Niro: A Book of Alternative Movie Lists (Hardcover)
Writers, directors, filmmakers, etc. list their top 10's on various cinematic "achievements." Here are a few list titles : Ten Gratuitous Machine Gun Frenzies, Ten Angst-Ridden Piano-Playing Protagonists, Ten Great Thespian Turns in Drag. Each list has an introduction and each item on the list is further explained, sometimes with historical references and context in time.
If you're a cinema junkie, you will LOVE this book. If not, like me, the lists themselves will be selectively appreciated, without need for the excessive explanations found therein. (Excessive only because I'm not a cinema junkie.) At 458 pages, you had better be prepared!! It's certainly not exhaustive, cinema-wise, and it is subjectively selective. Cinemaphiles will enjoy reading this, if only to be inspired to make their own lists after disagreeing with what they read! Have fun.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Fun, interesting, expands your netflix queue,
By
This review is from: Ten Bad Dates with De Niro: A Book of Alternative Movie Lists (Paperback)
A fun book of top ten lists where the categories are things like "Ten Brooding Architects" or "The Coen Bros' Ten Most Memorable Minor Characters" or "Ten Great Opening-Credit Sequences." As the second example indicates - since the Coen Bro's are known for well crafted minor characters - this is an intelligent set of lists, not just random nonsense. "Ten Angst-Ridden Piano-Playing Protagonists." "Ten Directors Who acted, with Honour." Each list is thought-provoking; the whole book is a browsers delight.
The writing is witty and knowledgeable. The many contributors are film critics, writers, film historians, film-makers, playwrights, and even an agent or two. The lists are expansive - including foreign films and those from times gone by. If you love good visual storytelling, and you've forgotten too many good movies, check out this book, it will definitely have you running over to Netflix to add things to your queue.
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