Filmmaker Wes Craven has consistently and imaginatively scared movie audiences since the early 1970s. His films encompass a variety of styles, elements and themes, from nihilistic existentialism to hallucinatory dreamscapes. Thisis a a history of Craven's film career since 1972, examining all the themes and techniques the filmmaker explored.

Starring internationally renowned actors Martin Landau, Barbara Bain, Barry Morse and Catherine Schell, the British?made Space: 1999 was the only truly original space adventure of the mid?1970s. Sandwiched between the demise of the original Star Trek and the opening of the Stars Wars series on the big screen, Space: 1999 featured a richly-visualized world where space was terrifying and mysterious, where not all problems were solvable by technology and the space travelers were very human. From the science fiction show's conception in 1973 to its cancellation in 1977, this reference work covers...

When the space drama Battlestar Galactica debuted on ABC in 1978, it was expected to be the most popular new program of the year. Instead, it was attacked as a Star Wars rip-off and canceled after a mere 17 stories. The author acknowledges the show was full of dramatic clich's and scientific inaccuracies, but despite these shortcomings, Battlestar Galactica was a dramatically resonant series full of unique and individual characters, such as Commander Adama (Lorne Greene) and ace warrior Captain Apollo (Richard Hatch). The author contends that Battlestar Galactica was a memorable attempt to...

Blake's 7, Terry Nation's science fiction tale of cosmic freedom fighters, became a hit series in Great Britain when it premiered in 1978. Eight years later, the show quickly became a cult program in America. The series defied traditional genre elements of science fiction television, and developed the concept of the continual ?story arc? years before such shows as Babylon 5 and Deep Space Nine. This book provides a critical history and episode guide for Blake's 7, including commentaries for all 52 episodes. Also included are analytical essays on the show, dealing with such topics as themes,...

Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond made its television debut in 1959, nine months before Rod Serling's classic The Twilight Zone, and paved the way for a generation of television programs devoted to paranormal topics such as the occult, ESP, and ghost stories. One Step Beyond was also where some of Hollywood's most famous leading men, including Warren Beatty, William Shatner, and Charles Bronson, got their starts in television. This complete reference work to the 96 half-hour episodes that ran for three seasons on ABC also offers a detailed history, extensive commentary and...

Considering the singular focus and feel of Guest's documentary-style comedies, this book documents the method behind Guest's approach to writing and directing movies, particularly the efficacy of the mockumentary format and his step-by-step process of improvisation. It also examines Guest's career as a whole, and the influences and experiences that

The author examines the films of acclaimed Indian-born, Harvard-educated filmmaker Mira Nair, a unique voice in cinema and one of the few female directors who has made it to the top of her profession.

Since its inception in November 1963, the British science fiction television series Doctor Who has exerted an enormous impact on the world of science fiction (over 1,500 books have been written about the show). The series follows the adventures of a mysterious "Time Lord" from the distant planet Gallifrey who travels through time and space to fight evil and injustice. Along the way, he has visited Rome under the rule of Nero, played backgammon with Kublai Khan, and participated in the mythic gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Predating the Star Trek phenomenon by three years,...

The sound of chainsaws revving on 'haunted' Halloween trails has evoked untold screams since Tobe Hooper's 1974 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre hit the cinemas. This book presents an overview of Tobe Hooper's career. It offers chronological information on Hooper's television movies and miniseries.

(Applause Books). In the year 2002, An Askew View: The Films of Kevin Smith was the first book to gaze at the cinema of one of New Jersey's favorite sons, the independent and controversial auteur of Clerks (1994), Mallrats (1995), Chasing Amy (1997), Dogma (1999) and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001). Now, a full decade after that successful original edition, award-winning author John Kenneth Muir returns to the View Askewniverse to consider Kevin Smith's second controversial decade as a film director, social gadfly, and beloved media "talker." From Jersey Girl (2004) to the controversial...