Film critic Abby Olcese invites us to reflect on the great themes of the church calendar for each liturgical season through the lens of film. From superhero movies to classics and arthouse films, this book is more than just a book about movies–it's a model for how we engage with art as Christians.

Includes the stories “The Body” and “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption”—set in the fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine A “hypnotic” (The New York Times Book Review) collection of four novellas—including the inspirations behind the films Stand By Me and The Shawshank Redemption—from Stephen King, bound together by the changing of seasons, each taking on the theme of a journey with strikingly different tones and characters. This gripping collection begins with “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption,” in which an unjustly imprisoned convict seeks a strange and startling revenge—the basis for the Best Picture Academy Award-nominee The Shawshank Redemption. Next is “Apt Pupil,” the inspiration for the film of the same name about top high school student Todd Bowden and his obsession with the dark and deadly past of an older man in town. In “The Body,” four rambunctious young boys plunge through the façade of a small town and come face-to-face with life, death, and intimations of their own mortality. This novella became the movie Stand By Me. Finally, a disgraced woman is determined to triumph over death in “The Breathing Method.” “The wondrous readability of his work, as well as the instant sense of communication with his characters, are what make Stephen King the consummate storyteller that he is,” hailed the Houston Chronicle about Different Seasons.

A Man for All Seasons dramatises the conflict between King Henry VIII and Sir Thomas More. It depicts the confrontation between church and state, theology and politics, absolute power and individual freedom. Throughout the play Sir Thomas More's eloquence and endurance, his purity, saintliness and tenacity in the face of ever-growing threats to his beliefs and family, earn him status as one of modern drama's greatest tragic heroes. The play was first staged in 1960 at the Globe Theatre in London and was voted New York's Best Foreign Play in 1962. In 1966 it was made into an Academy Award-winning film by Fred Zinneman starring Paul Scofield."A Man for All Seasons is a stark play, sparse in its narrative, sinewy in its writing, which confirms Mr Bolt as a genuine and solid playwright, a force in our awakening theatre." (Daily Mail)

Welcome to planet Rann, Mr. Terrific! Earth’s champion of fair play has traveled halfway across the galaxy to investigate firsthand the crimes Adam Strange stands accused of. He’s not going to find many friendly witnesses, though, as the people of Rann consider Adam Strange their true champion. Yet for all the resistance Mister Terrific faces on the surface of Rann, his true opposition may be lurking closer to his subject than he realizes. This adventure between two worlds continues, with Mitch Gerads drawing the gritty Earth sequences, and Evan “Doc” Shaner showing us the splendor of Adam Strange’s battles in outer space! Welcome to planet Rann, Mr. Terrific! Earth’s champion of fair play has traveled halfway across the galaxy to investigate firsthand the crimes Adam Strange stands accused of. He’s not going to find many friendly witnesses, though, as the people of Rann consider Adam Strange their true champion. Yet for all the resistance Mister Terrific faces on the surface of Rann, his true opposition may be lurking closer to his subject than he realizes. This adventure between two worlds continues, with Mitch Gerads drawing the gritty Earth sequences, and Evan “Doc” Shaner showing us the splendor of Adam Strange’s battles in outer space!

Movies do more than tell a good story. Filmspotting co-host Josh Larsen brings a critic's unique perspective to how movies can act as prayers—expressing lament, praise, joy, confession, and more. When words fail, the perfect film might be just what you need to jump-start your conversations with the Almighty.

Experience God in the movies! A valuable resource guide examining over thirty films and their theological impact. Excellent for film buffs and church leaders alike.

Turner Classic Movies presents a bucket list of the best and most beloved holiday films of all time, complete with spirited commentary, behind-the-scenes stories, and photos spanning eight decades of Christmastime favorites. Nothing brings the spirit of the season into our hearts quite like a great holiday movie. "Christmas films" come in many shapes and sizes and exist across many genres. Some, like It's a Wonderful Life and A Christmas Story, are perennials, while others, such as Die Hard, have only gradually become yuletide favorites. But they all have one thing in common: they use themes evoked by the holiday period - nostalgia, joy, togetherness, dysfunction, commercialism, or cynicism - as a force in their storytelling. Turner Classic Movies: Christmas in the Movies showcases the very best among this uniquely spirited strain of cinema. Each film is profiled on what makes it a "Christmas movie," along with behind-the-scenes stories of its production, reception, and legacy. Complemented by a trove of color and black-and-white photos, Turner Classic Movies: Christmas in the Movies is a glorious salute to a collection of the most treasured films of all time. Among the 30 films included: The Shop Around the Corner, Holiday Inn, Meet Me in St. Louis, It's a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, White Christmas, A Christmas Story, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, Home Alone, Little Women,and The Nightmare Before Christmas.

This complete, one-year high school English course uses classic movies on video to introduce and study the elements of literary analysis. Student discussion and composition questions are provided for each of 17 lessons, several of which can also be used to supplement studies in grades 7 and 8. Also included are an extensive teacher s guide/answer key, plot summaries, glossary of literary terms, and final exam. This course will not only give students the tools to appreciate good books more fully, but will equip them with the ability to discern underlying messages in movies rather than simply absorb them. The following 17 movies are covered by Movies As Literature: Shane, Friendly Persuasion, The Quiet Man, Arsenic and Old Lace, The Music Man, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, The Maltese Falcon, Rear Window, Emma, The Philadelphia Story, The Journey of August King, To Kill A Mockingbird, A Raisin in the Sun, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Henry V, A Man For All Seasons, and Chariots of Fire."

Essays that consider how classic movies have reflected history include the writings of such noted historians as Paul Fussell, Antonia Fraser, and Gore Vidal.

As early as the Silent Era, movie studios were sued over depictions of real people and events. Filmmakers have always altered the details of true stories and actual persons, living or dead, to make narratives more workable and characters more compelling. When truth and fantasy become inextricably mixed, the effect on people's lives can be significant, even devastating. This expanded second edition presents an updated history of legal issues surrounding the on-screen embellishment of reality, with a focus on important court decisions and the use of disclaimers. Seventeen courtroom dramas are given fact-versus-fiction analyses, and the The Perfect Storm (1991) is covered in extensive detail. A concluding chapter is devoted to actors who became so identified with fictionalized characters that they sought exclusive rights to those personas.