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| The Rock and Roll Film Encyclopedia | 
| Author: John Kenneth Muir
Publisher: Applause Books
Category: Book
List Price: $19.95
Buy New: $7.98
You Save: $11.97 (60%)
New (35) from $7.98
Avg. Customer Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 987819
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 368
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 7.5 x 1.2
ISBN: 1557836930
Dewey Decimal Number: 791.43657
UPC: 073999832686
EAN: 9781557836939
ASIN: 1557836930
Publication Date: April 1, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Expedited shipping is not available for this item. Items are mailed via USPS media mail within 2 business days and should arrive 4-14 business days later.
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Product Description
"One great rock show can change the world" says Jack Black's character Dewey Finn in the 2003 Richard Linklater comedy The School of Rock. This exhaustive, highly-detailed, yet reader-friendly A-to-Z encyclopedia takes that lesson to heart by gazing at half-a-century of rock 'n' roll films, big screen epics both celebrated and obscure. From the 1950s and the age of "juvenile delinquents" in films such as Blackboard Jungle to more intimate, twenty-first century rock band portraits such as Metallica: Some Kind of Monster, this book by noted film authority John Kenneth Muir also features entries on rock documentaries such as Martin Scorsese's The Last Waltz, movies starring rock stars including the Sting vehicle The Bride, and even films boasting extensive rock soundtracks, for example George Lucas's paean to the age of cruising, American Graffiti. The Rock and Roll Film Encyclopedia includes: * 230 film entries from 1956 through 2005, including cast list, creative personnel, M.P.A.A. rating, running time, and DVD availability. * Entries on the familiar conventions of this unique cinematic form, such as the Vietnam War, the ubiquitous press conference (in which band members wax philosophical), the rampant destruction of property (hotel rooms, specifically) and even the Yoko factor (meddling girlfriends). Biographical entries on players who made significant impact on the silver screen, from Elvis Presley and The Beatles to Alice Cooper and Prince. Interviews with rock movie directors Allan Arkush (Rock 'n' Roll High School), Martin Davidson (Eddie and the Cruisers) and Albert Magnoli (Purple Rain). Peter Smokler, the cinematographer who shot the Rolling Stones' Gimme Shelter, the Jimi Hendrix film Jimi at Berkeley, and This Is Spinal Tap is also interviewed. * In addition to pure rock 'n' roll, the films included cover all genres of popular music, ranging from Johnny Cash to Madonna, rock-influenced musical theatre (Jesus Christ Superstar), tejano (Selena), disco (Can't Stop the Music, Xanadu), and reggae. Whether your "one great rock show" is a beach movie starring Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello, a misbegotten horror/rock fusion like The Horror of Party Beach, or a rib-tickling, heavy metal mockumentary like This Is Spinal Tap, you'll find all your favorites remembered in the pages of The Rock and Roll Film Encyclopedia.
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| Customer Reviews:
 wow December 13, 2007
i am thrilled with the "used" condition of this book. while it does not have some of the info i was looking for it will be a handy addition to my library
 An excellent reference. September 2, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Fifty years of rock n roll film history is considered in a reader perfect not just for film libraries but for general-interest collections where either film or modern music is of interest. General-interest audiences receive a reference packing in over two hundred reader-friendly A-Z entries which include synopses, cast listings, ratings, DVD availability and more. Also included are biographical entries of the stars and 'best and worst' lists. An excellent reference.
The gentle voice of a rock-film lover July 2, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Rock and Roll, barely 50 years old as a developed genre, has had its effects on many aspects of American culture. And why not film? John Kenneth Muir brings the gentle voice of the aficionado to this compilation of movies that somehow or other involve the world of rock. Muir's book is a collection of short movie reviews and other very short essays on rock-movie-related topics. One of his best qualities is his evident love for the genre -- even for those films that are quite weak. He is not at all caustic, and has little of the edge one might expect from a work such as this. His ever-so-gentle critiques of the films of Elvis Presley, for instance, while lamenting their poor music and negligible plots, note the best of the lot (King Creole and Kid Galahad), actually made me want to watch them. Never once does Muir lay a hand on the King himself, whose talent and authentic charisma Muir feels were rarely put to use.
Not that Muir avoids naming names and pointing fingers when he has to. His review of Rick Springfield's "Hard to Hold' makes it clear that he has no use for the film's plot or the mugging of its star. Muir is not above steering fans away from unfortunate sequels, from Saturday Night Fever II to Grease II. But he is most often generous in his critiques, finding something positive to say about nearly every film. It would have been easy to slam the Beach Blanket movies of the early 1960s, or the rancorous punk films of the 1980s, but Muir treats them with reverence and respect not often encountered in critiques of the genre.
Along the way, you will refresh your memory about some of rock film's classics (A Hard Day's Night; Woodstock) and learn of little known, but well-considered, rock films ("Eddie and the Cruisers") that are worth digging up. You will also be reminded of the conventions of rock and roll films -- the press conference; the battle of the bands; the breakup; anti-authority stance; Billboard magazine as a way to track a band's rise and fall. Muir's asides bring a level of fun to the book that break up the otherwise-endless list of movie reviews.
Muir does make the rare flub. His list of Beatles films inexplicably omits "Magical Mystery Tour." But misses aside, RRFE provides a fascinating and attractive glimpse of a culture that in a few years managed to permeate and transform the musical landscape of the nation and the world. Read along, and learn a bit about rock's legends, goats, little-known treasures and unexpected students (Hairspray's John Waters, anyone?). And most helpful, at the back of the book, Muir provides his lists of his top movies in various genres: overall, documentary, musical, etc.
The Rock and Roll Film Encyclopedia is a thoroughly charming and easy-to-read romp through films and characters that are weird, wacky, pretentious, dismissible, important, challenging, self-destructive and joyful. Hard to put down.
rock films June 7, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
With over 200 entries, this book includes rock 'n roll movies that we can't forget and some that we'd probably like to forget. It was really fun to read about some of the movies, their stars, and even their soundtracks! It's in an easy-to-read format. One of my favorite parts of the book is the "Tops and Bottoms of the Rock Film Genre". It was interesting to see where movies ended up!
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