Re/Search #10: Incredibly Strange Films (Re-Search # 10) [ILLUSTRATED] (Paperback)

~ V. Vale (Author), Andrea Juno (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This classic guide to little-known films neglected by the film-criticism establishment features interviews with Herschell Gordon Lewis, Russ Meyer, Ray Dennis Steckler, Ted V. Mikels, Larry Cohen, and others who dared to make independent feature films their way, without bowing to a committee or focus group. This is an oblique how-to manual, covering everything from financing, distribution, lighting, camerawork and acting, to publicity, marketing and screenwriting. Would-be filmmakers as well as scholars will find much inspiration and enlightenment in this volume, which has been used in college film classes. In-depth interviews focus on philosophy, while anecdotes entertain as well as illuminate theory. Lists of recommended films, an A-Z directory, and quotations are also included.

From the Back Cover

Re/Search #10: Incredibly Strange Films is a functional guide to important territory neglected by the film-criticism establishment, spotlighting unhailed directors--Herschell Gordon Lewis, Russ Meyer, Larry Cohen and others--who have been critically consigned to the ghettos of gore and sexploitation films. In-depth interviews focus on philosophy, while anecdotes entertain as well as illuminate theory, Includes biographies, genre overviews, filmographies, bibliography, and A-Z of film personalities, articles, quotations, lists of recommended films, and sources.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Re/Search Publications; 2nd edition (October 5, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1889307017
• ISBN-13: 978-1889307015
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,040,172 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best analyses of a frequently trivialized area of film, August 25, 2006

By	A. Pavlicek - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It's been a year since I bought this book and read it; I still frequently go back to it. This is one of the best books on the subject of forgotten and low budget films, primarily exploitation. One of the key elements that makes this book stand out is that it does not view the films as a novelty or apply that so over used term "So bad their good." There's a real sincerity, respect, and intelligence regarding the subject, which is unfortunately rare. This book can see beyond the simple aesthetics, most of which are product of budget or lack there of, and get to the meat of what is significant and interesting about these films. The interviews and essays are interesting and intelligent, and the film list in back has yet to disappoint me. This book was able to articulate and intellectualize something I've felt ever since I saw Plan 9 from Outer Space when I was 11 and thought "I must get a copy of this." The Introduction alone is one of the best critiques of cinema I've come across, and I went to film school for two and a half years. A very valuable book in anyone's collection from a frequently fascinating source, Re/Search.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, Life-Changing, for All Fans of Art and Film, September 10, 1999

By A Customer

This book changed my approach to writing, filmmaking, and life itself. It's an extremely unaffected yet affecting tome, which allowed a half-intellectual such as myself the unashamed ability to love the dumb things I love. It's a striking example of how art and entertainment lie in the world of heart, commitment, and sincerity, as much as in the world of craft or ability. Without it I would not have been able to write the filmmaking book I wrote with Lloyd Kaufman, All I Know About Filmmaking I Learned from the Toxic Avenger.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No Better Guide to Strange Films, January 15, 2003

By	Toby Levin (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This book is an excellent guide to the odd side to film. It really made me enthusiastic about low-budget, high-creativity films. Besides excellent interviews with strange film-makers, it has a great guide to the many genres of strange films and an even more amazing guide to strange film personalities. I recommend this book for anyone, whether a film enthusiast or not, as an excellent way to find good entertainment and great reading.