If there was a moment during the sixties, seventies, or eighties that changed the history of the women s film movement, B. Ruby Rich was there. Part journalistic chronicle, part memoir, and 100% pure cultural historical odyssey, Chick Flicks with its definitive, the-way-it-was collection of essays captures the birth and growth of feminist film as no other book has done.

For over three decades Rich has been one of the most important voices in feminist film criticism. Her presence at film festivals (such as Sundance, where she is a member of the selection committee), her film...