AMERICAN CINEMA


The American Cinema Library


This is my list of recommended reading for any serious film aficionada.

Every book here in the American Cinema Library is part of my personal collection.



  • Preston Sturges by Preston Sturges
    Sandy Sturges
    This is the renowned writer-director's autobiography, adapted and edited by his wife from notes he made up until the time of his death. Chronicles his life with his eccentric mother outside the United States, as well as his brief but astronomically successful Hollywood career.


  • Naming Names
    Victor Navasky
    This is considered by many to be the definitive book about the Hollywood Blacklist of the early fifties. A complete and comprehensive examination that goes back as far as the Great Depression in an attempt to uncover the events that led to the Cold War hysteria that engulfed Hollywood. Includes numerous transcripts from Senate hearings.


  • An Open Book
    John Huston
    Film director John Huston's widely-acclaimed auto-biography, released in 1980, seven years before his death. This is a man who lead a full, rich, adventure-filled life, and so he's got alot of stories to tell. This is must reading for any fan of the director.


  • Writers in Hollywood, 1915-1951
    Ian Hamilton
    This is a great inside look at the screenwriting profession in Hollywood from, as the jacket describes, "...the crude subtitles of Birth of a Nation to the sardonic ironies of Sunset Boulevard." The book is full of wonderful anecdotes, and tells stories about fights over screen credit for Citizen Kane and Casablanca, the creation of the Screen Writers Guild, and the dark history of the Hollywood Ten.


  • Best American Screenplays
    Sam Thomas, editor
    This compilation book features complete, original screenplays for twelve classic films, including Casablanca, Rebel Without a Cause, The Graduate, and On Golden Pond.


  • Best American Screenplays 3
    Sam Thomas, editor
    Eight complete screenplays are here, including The Godfather, Sunset Boulevard, Tender Mercies, and Unforgiven.


  • On Sunset Boulevard
    Ed Sikov
    A biography of writer-director Billy Wilder (the book title refers to his academy-award-winning 1950 film) that is as comprehensive a biography as you'll find. The only drawback is that Sikov seems a little too eager to discredit everything he heard while doing his research. He's the first to say that "the story that follows may not be true." Which is fine, if he's concerned about protecting his professional reputation, but does nothing for the impact of the book. But, other than that, it comes highly recommended.


  • Adventures in the Screen Trade
    William Goldman
    Acclaimed screenwriter Goldman's highly-praised look at the film industry, Hollywood-style. Goldman is a superb writer, and his wit and humor shine through here. This book also includes the complete Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid screenplay, for which he won an Oscar. That, alone, is worth the cover price.


  • Rebel Without a Crew
    Robert Rodriguez
    Film director Rodriguez chronicles the bargain-basement approach to filmmaking he used to make his feature film debut, El Mariachi. This is a wonderful Cinderella story that is inspirational to any aspiring filmmaker who believes that a lack of funds is enough to prevent them from following their dream. Includes the script for the film.

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