And for most people I think value of the book is consistent with Turan's intent: that is, to point to films that the serious film-goer may have missed and to demonstrate why those films are very much worth seeing. Reading this volume is a film education in itself and a pleasure. Turan's reviews are mostly appreciations (which is not surprising since these are his favorite films) written in a clear, informative style infused with the sort of background information and historical perspective that only an expert on film can provide. Indeed several of them-Un Coeur en Hiver, Red, Das Boot, A Streetcar Named Desire, etc.-are among the best movies I have ever seen. What the selections in this eclectic assemblage have in common is that they are all very much worth seeing-at least the ones that I have seen. The classics include Das Boot (1981), Once Upon a Time in America (1984), Vertigo (1958), and nine others. There are 20 documentaries including, Black Harvest (1994), Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control (1997), The Saltmen of Tibet (1998), etc. Some foreign language films are, Autumn Tale (1998), Un Coeur en Hiver (1992), The Dreamlife of Angels (1998), Red (Trois Couleurs: Rouge) (1994), and 39 others. Characteristic English language films are, Election (1999), Heavenly Creatures (1994), Manny and Lo (1996), Proof (1991), 12 Monkeys (1995), to name some that I have seen and reviewed myself, and 66 more. Turan's book is in five parts, English Language Films, Foreign Language Films, Documentaries, Classics, and Retrospectives. (The exceptions are classics like The Third Man (1949), A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), and others which were produced before the advent of video and DVD.) The reason, as every veteran film viewer knows, is that most movies shown in theaters today are aimed at a relatively young and unsophisticated mass audience, an audience that demands (producers believe) the sort of film that most of us have grown out of. xiv) His point in the title about such films "never coming to a theater near you" is a good one since most of the films reviewed here had either a short life on the large screen or went directly to video and DVD. The kind of movies that Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan is talking about in this fine collection of his reviews are those that are "sophisticated, mature, always entertaining." (p. After reading this book, I hope to remedy that is just a matter of finding these elusive films.Ī great guide to the unknown and often under-appreciated movies that will probably never be coming to a theater near you. Those of us who love obscure film have seen some of them but frankly I have never even heard of many of them. The Sundance Festival brought these films out of the shadows and this book, written by film critic, Kenneth Turan, contains his favorite hidden treasures.ĭivided into the categories of English speaking films, foreign films, documentaries, and classics, the author shows the reader what makes these films so great and in many cases unusual. As time passed, the movie mavens realized that there were gems out there that were not getting the exposure they deserved. These are the films that were worth watching but often hard to find as their distribution was limited (at least in the US). We used to call them "art" films but they are now known as independents or "indies". More importantly, Turan shows readers what makes these unusual films so great, revealing how talented filmmakers and actors have managed to create the wonderful highs we experience in front of the silver screen. His eclectic selection represents the kind of sophisticated, adult, and entertaining films intelligent viewers are hungry for. Moviegoers know they can trust Turan's impeccable taste. This selection of renowned film critic Kenneth Turan's absorbing and illuminating reviews, now revised and updated to factor in the tests of time, point viewers toward the films they can't quite remember, but should not miss. Never Coming to a Theater Near You will remedy that situation. Fans of finer films have to count on catching up with them on video and DVD, but even the most hard-core devotees have trouble remembering what sounded good when a film was originally released. It is in the nature of today's movie business that while Hollywood blockbusters invade every megaplex, smaller, quality films often don't get screen time.
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