Millions of Americans have been thrilled, scared, titillated, and shocked by exploitation movies, low budget films with many scenes of sex, violence, and other potentially lurid elements. The term derives from the fact that promoters of such films exploit the contents in advertising that plays up the sexual or violent aspects of the films. This is the first comprehensive study of the American exploitation film to be published. It discusses five distinct genres: the teen movie, the sexploitation film, the martial arts movie, the blaxploitation film and the lawbreaker picture. Contained within these genres are many popular American film types, including beach movies, biker pictures, and women's prison movies. The study provides a history and sociopolitical analysis of each genre, focusing on significant films in those genres. It also discusses the economics of exploitation films and their place in the motion picture industry, the development of drive-in theaters, the significance of the teenage audience, and the effect of the videocassette. Finally, the book applies major film and cultural theories to establish an aesthetic for evaluating the exploitation film and to explore the relationship between film and audience.

“Movie criticism's Dostoyevsky . . . Taylor reveals a national identity forged from the innocence we claim to have lost but never had in the first place.” --Steve Erickson, author of Zeroville When we think of '70s cinema, we think of classics like The Godfather, Taxi Driver, and The Wild Bunch . . . but the riches found in the overlooked B movies of the time, rolled out wherever they might find an audience, unexpectedly tell an eye-opening story about post-Watergate, post-Vietnam America. Revisiting the films that don't make the Academy Award montages, Charles Taylor finds a treasury many of us have forgotten, movies that in fact "unlock the secrets of the times." Celebrated film critic Taylor pays homage to the trucker vigilantes, meat magnate pimps, blaxploitation "angel avengers," and taciturn factory workers of grungy, unartful B films such as Prime Cut, Foxy Brown, and Eyes of Laura Mars. He creates a compelling argument for what matters in moviemaking and brings a pivotal American era vividly to life in all its gritty, melancholy complexity.

Millions of Americans have been thrilled, scared, titillated, and shocked by exploitation movies, low budget films with many scenes of sex, violence, and other potentially lurid elements. The term derives from the fact that promoters of such films exploit the contents in advertising that plays up the sexual or violent aspects of the films. This is the first comprehensive study of the American exploitation film to be published. It discusses five distinct genres: the teen movie, the sexploitation film, the martial arts movie, the blaxploitation film and the lawbreaker picture. Contained within these genres are many popular American film types, including beach movies, biker pictures, and women's prison movies. The study provides a history and sociopolitical analysis of each genre, focusing on significant films in those genres. It also discusses the economics of exploitation films and their place in the motion picture industry, the development of drive-in theaters, the significance of the teenage audience, and the effect of the videocassette. Finally, the book applies major film and cultural theories to establish an aesthetic for evaluating the exploitation film and to explore the relationship between film and audience.

In the Silent Era, film reissues were a battle between rival studios--every Mary Pickford new release in 1914 was met with a Pickford re-release. For 50 years after the Silent Era, reissues were a battle between the studios, who considered old movies "found money," and cinema owners, who often saw audiences reject former box office hits. In the mid-1960s, the return of The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)--the second biggest reissue of all time--altered industry perceptions, and James Bond double features pushed the revival market to new heights. In the digital age, reissues have continued to confound the critics. This is the untold hundred-year story of how old movies saved new Hollywood. Covering the booms and busts of a recycling business that became its own industry, the author describes how the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Humphrey Bogart and Alfred Hitchcock won over new generations of audiences, and explores the lasting appeal of films like Napoleon (1927), Gone with the Wind (1939), The Rocky Horror Show (1975) and Blade Runner (1982).

The drive-in movie theater brought together two distinct American institutions: cars and movies. Since the earliest drive-ins of the 1930s, these entertainment complexes have been an integral part of American culture. Their appeal stretched to people from all corners of the country, offering a place for social gathering and various amusements. Take a ride down memory lane in this entertaining look at every aspect of the drive-in movie theater: the architecture, the marquees, the cars, the food, and much more. Black-and-white and color photos, along with period ads and other memorabilia, provide a highly illustrated tour from the origins of the drive-in, through its heyday in the 1950s, its decline, and its subsequent revival.

Most of the time, there is nothing remarkable about a movie theater today; but that wasn't always the case. When the great American movie palaces began opening in the early 20th century, they were some of the most lavish, stunning buildings ever seen. However, they wouldn't last -- with the advent of in-home television, theater companies found it harder and harder to keep them open. Some were demolished, some were converted, and some remain empty to this day. After the Final Curtain: The Fall of the American Movie Theatre will take you through 24 of these magnificent buildings, revealing the beauty that remains years after the last ticket was sold.

Mo Willems, #1 New York Times best-selling creator and three-time Caldecott Honoree, presents the 20th anniversary edition of the book that started it all: Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, now featuring an exclusive board game! Finally, a book you can say "no" to! When the Bus Driver takes a break from his route, a very unlikely volunteer springs up to take his place—a pigeon! But you've never met a pigeon like this one before. As the Pigeon pleads, wheedles, and begs his way through the book, readers answer back and decide his fate. Mo Willems' hilarious picture book was awarded a 2004 Caldecott Honor and has been inducted into the Picture Book Hall of Fame. Now, twenty years later, readers can amp up the fun in an all-new board game featuring the Pigeon! Players drive their bus pieces around town. The first player to get to the Bus Depot wins, but remember—don't let the Pigeon drive the bus! Say “No!” to all the Pigeon books! The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog! Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late! The Pigeon Wants a Puppy! The Duckling Gets a Cookie!? The Pigeon HAS to Go to School! For Mo’ amazing books, check out these other great series: Knuffle Bunny Elephant & Piggie Unlimited Squirrels

Chicago deejay Daphne "Dee Dee" Dupree is sassy and successful—but a series of catastrophic relationships has left her gun-shy. Now with her own life and the lives of those closest to her seemingly coming apart at the seams, she's going to have to leave the safe cocoon of her broadcasting booth to face her world, her secrets, and a new promise of mature love fearlessly and head-on.