James M. Welsh

Douglas Fairbanks and the American Century brings to life the most popular movie star of his day, the personification of the Golden Age of Hollywood. At his peak, in the teens and twenties, the swashbuckling adventurer embodied the new American Century of speed, opportunity, and aggressive optimism. The essays and interviews in this volume bring fresh perspectives to his life and work, including analyses of films never before examined. Also published here for the first time in English is a first-hand production account of the making of Fairbanks's last silent film, The Iron Mask.Fairbanks (1883-1939) was the most vivid and strenuous exponent of the American Century, whose dominant mode after 1900 was the mass marketing of a burgeoning democratic optimism, at home and abroad. During those first decades of the twentieth century, his satiric comedy adventures shadow-boxed with the illusions of class and custom. His characters managed to combine the American Easterner's experience and pretension and the Westerner's promise and expansion. As the masculine personification of the Old World aristocrat and the New World self-made man--tied to tradition yet emancipated from history--he constructed a uniquely American aristocrat striding into a new age and sensibility.This is the most complete account yet written of the film career of Douglas Fairbanks, one of the first great stars of the silent American cinema and one of the original United Artists (comprising Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, Charles Chaplin, and D. W. Griffith). John C. Tibbetts and James M. Welsh's text is especially rich in its coverage of the early years of the star's career from 1915 to 1920 and covers in detail several films previously considered lost.

Oliver Stone has written and directed many memorable films while also developing a reputation for tackling controversial subjects, such as the Turkish prison system (Midnight Express), the Vietnam war (Platoon and Born on the Fourth of July), insider trading (Wall Street), presidential assassination (JFK), and a voyeuristic media (Natural Born Killers). Along the way, Stone has been nominated for more than 10 Academy Awards and three times received Oscars for his work. In The Oliver Stone Encyclopedia, James M. Welsh and Donald M. Whaley provide an overarching evaluation of Stone's work as screenwriter, producer, and director. While the entries in this volume address all of the usual aspects of Stone’s career, they also explore new avenues of critical evaluation, especially influences such as Friedrich Nietzsche and Buddhism, which Stone converted to in the 1990s. In addition, this volume traces Stone’s obsession with Latin American politics, evident in his film Salvador (1986), his screenplay for Alan Parker’s Evita (1996), and the documentaries Commandante (2003), Looking for Fidel (2004), and South of the Border (2010). Each entry is followed by a bibliography of published sources, both in print and online. A comprehensive and engaging examination of the director, The Oliver Stone Encyclopedia will appeal to scholars and fans alike as the most comprehensive reference on this director's body of work.

Whether chronicling an athlete's rise, fall, and redemption or following a team's improbable triumph on the field, sports have been a favorite theme of filmmakers almost since movies were first produced. And whether focusing on soccer (Bend It Like Beckham), boxing (Rocky and its sequels), hockey (Slap Shot), baseball (Bull Durham), football (The Longest Yard), basketball (Hoosiers), cycling (Breaking Away), or tennis (Wimbledon), such films capture the competition and thrill of sport. All major films with a primary focus on athletic endeavor are contained in Encyclopedia of Sports Films. In this volume, more than 200 fictional feature-length movies released between 1925 and 2010 are described, including comedies, dramas, and biopics. While the focus is on Hollywood productions, independent films and foreign releases are also represented. Though boxing and baseball films have tended to dominate the genre, many other sports are also included here, including skiing, curling, and cricket. Arranged alphabetically by title, each main entry contains a synopsis of the film, principal production information, and a critical analysis. In addition to the main entries, credits and brief descriptions for more than 200 films are also provided. DVD and VHS distributors are included, if available. Appendixes include made-for-television movies, documentaries, and films based on or inspired by true events and persons. For teachers who wish to incorporate films into their lesson plans, as well as librarians ordering titles for their patrons, Encyclopedia of Sports Films will be a valuable resource.

Francis Ford Coppola's career has spanned five decades, from low budget films he produced in the early 1960s to more personal films of recent years. Because of the tremendous popular success of The Godfather and the tremendous critical success of its sequel, Coppola is considered to be one of the best directors of all time. The entries in this encyclopedia focus on all aspects of Coppola's work—from his early days with producer Roger Corman to his films as the director of the 1970s. This extensive reference contains material on all of the films Coppola has played a role in, from screenwriter to producer to director, including such classics as Patton, The Godfather, The Conversation, The Godfather Part II, and Apocalypse Now. Each entry is followed by a bibliography of published sources, both in print and online, making The Francis Ford Coppola Encyclopedia the most comprehensive reference on this director's body of work.

Over 300 entries arranged by their theatrical origins provides an overview and critical commentary of each film and highlights similiarities and differences to the source play.