Films featured in "The Great Movies II
"12 Angry Men - The Adventures of Robin Hood - Alien - Amadeus - Amarcord - Annie Hall - Au Hasard, Balthazar - The Bank Dick - Beat the Devil - Being There - The Big Heat - The Birth of a Nation - The Blue Kite - Bob le Flambeur - Breathless - The Bridge on the River Kwai - Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia - Buster Keaton - Children of Paradise - A Christmas Story - The Color Purple - The Conversation - Cries and Whispers - The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie - Don't Look Now - The Earrings of Madame de . . . - The Fall of the House of Usher - The Firemen's Ball - Five Easy Pieces - Goldfinger - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly - Goodfellas - The Gospel According to Matthew - The Grapes of Wrath - Grave of the Fireflies - Great Expectations - House of Games - The Hustler - In Cold Blood - Jaws - Jules and Jim - Kieslowski's Three Colors Trilogy" - Kind Hearts and Coronets - King Kong - The Last Laugh - Laura - Leaving Las Vegas - Le Boucher - The Leopard - The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp - The Manchurian Candidate - The Man Who Laughs - Mean Streets - Mon Oncle - Moonstruck - The Music Room - My Dinner with Andre - My Neighbor Totoro - Nights of Cabiria - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Orpheus - Paris, Texas - Patton - Picnic at Hanging Rock - Planes, Trains and Automobiles - The Producers - Raiders of the Lost Ark - Raise the Red Lantern - Ran - Rashomon - Rear Window - Rififi - The Right Stuff - Romeo and Juliet - The Rules of the Game - Saturday Night Fever - Say Anything - Scarface - The Searchers - Shane - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - Solaris - Strangers on a Train - Stroszek - A Sunday in the Country - Sunrise - A Taleof Winter - The Thin Man - This Is Spinal Tap -Tokyo Story - Touchez Pas au Grisbi - Touch of Evil - The Treasure of the Sierra Madre - Ugetsu - Umberto D - Unforgiven - Victim - Walkabout - West Side Story - Yankee Doodle Dandy

From America's most trusted and highly visible film critic, 100 more brilliant essays on the films that define cinematic greatness.
Continuing the pitch-perfect critiques begun in "The Great Movies, Roger Ebert's "The Great Movies II collects 100 additional essays, each one of them a gem of critical appreciation and an amalgam of love, analysis, and history that will send readers back to films with a fresh set of eyes and renewed enthusiasm--or perhaps to an avid first-time viewing. Neither a snob nor a shill, Ebert manages in these essays to combine a truly populist appreciation for today's most important form of popular art with a scholar's erudition and depth of knowledge and a sure aesthetic sense. Once again wonderfully enhanced by stills selected by Mary Corliss, former film curator at the Museum of Modern Art, "The Great Movies II is a treasure trove for film lovers of all persuasions, an unrivaled guide for viewers, and a book to return to again and again.

Reviews

In this sequel to The Great Movies, famed film critic Ebert covers 100 additional films, including In Cold Blood, Snow White, King Kong, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, and West Side Story, plus lesser-known and international movies. As in the first book, the selections here do not make up a ranked, best-of list; instead, they are simply films that Ebert considers great for their "artistry, historical role, influence, and so on." To each, he dedicates an essay, discussing the highlights, merits, and faults in a straightforward manner. Not following any set formula, the essays are as individual as each subject and are enhanced by stills. Providing fresh insight on many of these films can be difficult, but Ebert manages it with ease. Readers will be drawn to their own favorites before reading about the rest, and that is the fun of this book. Highly recommended for all libraries.-Rosalind Dayen, South Regional Broward Cty. Lib., FL Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

At times, Ebert's second collection of 100 essays on great (but not, he's careful to point out, the greatest) movies reads like an anthology of recycled reviews from his Chicago Sun-Times column, especially when he gets talking about the bonus features on DVDs. But anyone looking for a crash course in cinema viewing-regardless of whether they've been through Ebert's first Great Movies collection (published in 2002)-will find plenty of rewards here. Some of the selections may be obvious (12 Angry Men; West Side Story), but Ebert constantly surprises, not just in the foreign film selections but in the elevation of cult favorites such as the "bizarre masterpiece" Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia. In praising older films, Ebert often takes the opportunity to criticize modern Hollywood, and his attacks can get snarky (for example, is it really unthinkable that Annie Hall would beat out Star Wars for an Oscar if they came out today?). Given Ebert's preferences, it's not surprising that fewer than a dozen American movies from the last two decades make the cut. Some of his choices are sure to spark debate; two Japanese cartoons, for example, may strike some as excessive, especially since the treatment of live-action Japanese directors barely extends past Kurosawa. Then again, it's hard to imagine a better purpose for such an anthology than getting people talking about-and watching-movies. 100 b&w photos. (Feb. 1) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

"Ebert's enthusiasm and . . . straightforward prose are ideal for examining films . . . You remember why he's the only film critic ever to win the Pulitzer Prize." --"New York Post"

"[T]hese pieces reflect Ebert's long, thoughtful, informed familiarity with these films. His impeccable credentials as an accessible populist encourage thinking that his recommendations . . . may be taken to heart by mainstream moviegoers who avidly follow his newspaper and TV reviews." --"Booklist"
"An appreciation of the greatest movies by the greatest movie enthusiast . . . I read this book with pleasure, enlightenment, and a desire to see many of the movies again, because I had missed what Roger saw." --Paul Theroux