MBR: The Theatre/Cinema/TV Shelf

The Theatre/Cinema/TV Shelf

Sitcoms: The 101 Great TV Comedies of All
Ken Bloom & Frank Vlastnik
Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers
151 West 19th Street, New York NY 10011
97815679127527, $29.95 www.blackdogandleventhal.com

Any general-interest library strong in TV history and culture needs
SITCOMS, a visual and verbal review of the top 100 shows over TV's 60-
year history. Each show receives color and black and white photos,
cast coverage, sidebars of off-the-set information and actor/actress
profiles, and more. It's an outstanding coverage of some of the
highlights and best of TV's sitcom shows over the decades.

Gem of the Ocean
August Wilson
Theatre Communications Group
520 Eighth Avenue, 24th floor, New York, NY 10018-4156
9781559362801, $13.95 www.amazon.com

Broadway theater playwright August Wilson presents Gem of the Ocean,
the first play in a ten-play cycle about the African-American
experience during the modern twentieth century. Set in 1904
Pittsburgh, Gem of the Ocean follows a long-lived, fierce-willed
matriarch and the two men she welcomed into her Hill District home:
Solly Two Kings, who was born into slavery and served the Union Army
in the Civil War, and Citizen Barlow, a man from Alabama seeking a
better life. A richly textured exploration of the challenges faced in
adapting to a new environment, no matter how many hardships one faced
in the past, Gem of the Ocean is highly recommended.

The Philosophy Of Science Fiction Film
Steven M. Sanders, editor
The University Press of Kentucky
663 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40508-4008
9780813124728, $35.00 www.kentuckypress.com 1-800-839-6855

Expertly compiled and edited by Steven M. Sanders (emeritus Professor
of Philosophy, Bridgewater State College, Massachusetts), "The
Philosophy Of Science Fiction Film" focuses upon science fiction films
in terms of their philosophical implications and issues including
'Engimas of Identity and Agency'; 'Extraterrestrial Visitation, Time
Travel, and Artificial Intelligence; and Brave Newer World: Science
Fiction Futurism. From Deborah Knight and George McKnight's 'What Is
It to Be Human? Blade Runner and Dark City'; to Aeon J. Skoble's
'Technology and Ethics in The Day the Earth Stood Still'; to Jerold J.
Abrams' 'The Dialectic of Enlightenment in Metropolis, "The Philosophy
Of Science Fiction Film" offers erudite insights that are thoughtful
and thought-provoking, superb examples of scholarship, and a seminal
contribution to the study of science fiction films. "The Philosophy Of
Science Fiction Film" is highly recommended for academic library
collections, as well as the supplemental reading lists for students
and non-specialist general readers with an interest in Cinematic
Studies, Science Fiction & Fantasy, and Philosophy.

Clint Eastwood, Actor and Director
Leonard Engel, editor
University of Utah Press
1795 E. South Campus Drive, #101, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112-9402
9780874809008, $21.95 www.UofUpress.com

Clint Eastwood, Actor and Director: New Perspectives is an anthology
of essays by learned authors discussing Hollywood star Clint Eastwood,
who has made a stand-out name for himself as a top-notch director
through films such as "Unforgiven" and "Million Dollar Baby".
Individual essays include "Mocking Success in 'Every Which Way but
Loose'", "Irony as Absolution", "Mystic Moral Miasma in 'Mystic
River'", and much more. The essays have a scholarly tone and a
perceptive eye toward meticulous analysis of theme; Clint Eastwood,
Actor and Director is especially recommended for film studies students
and professionals who would learn from Eastwood's work, as well as
cerebral Clint Eastwood fans.

A Jesuit Off-Broadway
James Martin, SJ
Loyola Press
3441 North Ashland Avenue, Chicago, IL 60657
DeChant-Hughes Associates (publicity)
1440 North Kingsbury, Chicago, IL 60622
9780829425826, $22.95 www.LoyolaBooks.org 1-800-621-1008

Jesuit priest James Martin presents A Jesuit Off-Broadway: Center
Stage With Jesus, Judas, and Life's Big Questions, a memoir recounting
the six months during which he served as a theological consultant for
the New York theater production of "The Last Days of Judas Iscariot",
directed by Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman and starring
Sam Rockwell and Eric Bogosian. Even as Martin taught his charges
about religion and spirituality, he learned about the amazing labor of
love that is the theater, as well as the toll it takes upon a cast and
crew to pour their blood, sweat and tears into a successful play. A
wondrous journey into two worlds: the world of the stage and the inner
world of the humanity's soul-searching questions.

Cinema of Obsession
Dominique Mainon and James Ursini
Limelight Editions
c/o Hal Leonard Corporation
19 West 21st Street Suite 201, New York NY 10010
9780879103477, $24.95 www.halleonard.com

CINEMA OF OBSESSION: EROTIC FIXATION AND LOVE GONE WRONG IN THE MOVIES
is an excellent recommendation for any library strong in film studies.
It considers film images of love in its many darker sides, from
violent obsession and star-crossed love to erotic undertones. Movies
are described, analyzed, and include plenty of commentary and analysis
in a survey perfect for college-level film studies collections. Black
and white photos from movies liberally pepper the survey.

Rescue Me Uncensored
Dennis Leary & Peter Tolan
Newmarket Press
18 East 48th Street, New York, NY 10017
9781557047915, $19.95 www.newmarketpress.com 1-800-669-3903

Featuring an informative preface by Denis Leary and Peter Tolan,
"Rescue Me Uncensored: The Official Companion" includes complete
episode guides with music playlists of the first four seasons of this
popular and successful television drama series. Tolan was nominated
for Outstanding Directory for a Drama Series for the first season of
'Rescue Me', and Leary was nominated twice for an Emmy for Outstanding
lead Actor in a Drama Series for his role on 'Rescue Me'. Enhanced
throughout with a profusion of full color photography of actors and
scenes, "Rescue Me Uncensored" features a 'Role Call' of cast members.
Of special note is article about 'The Leary Firefighters Foundation'.
Also available in a hardcover edition (9781557047922, $29.95), "Rescue
Me Uncensored" is especially recommended reading for the programs
legions of fans across the country.

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