The Big Screen (101 page)

DAVID THOMSON

THE BIG SCREEN

David Thomson, renowned as one of the great living authorities on the movies, is the author of
The New Biographical Dictionary of Film,
now in its fifth edition. His recent books include a biography of Nicole Kidman and
The Whole Equation: A History of Hollywood.
Thomson's latest work is the acclaimed
“Have You Seen…?”: A Personal Introduction to 1,000 Films.
Born in London in 1941, he now lives in San Francisco.

PRAISE FOR

THE BIG SCREEN

“[David Thomson's] book works both as an engaging primer on film history and as a map for more numinous shifts in the path of popular art. Where many people see an industry now in decline, Thomson offers a nuanced portrait of a creative business always reaching toward, or away from, the mirage of its own public image … Thomson's great achievement is to show how a century of creative aspiration took flight from our humblest thrills.”

—Nathan Heller,
The New York Times Book Review

“In
The Big Screen,
British-American film critic and historian David Thomson attempts to answer some fundamental questions about the world's favorite hobby. How do we relate to the movies? ‘The cinema is the embodiment of “let there be light,”' he writes. But where does the light come from? Does it illuminate us or blind us? Of course, these are difficult and possibly even unanswerable questions. But Thomson—arguably the world's most intelligent student of the cinema—proves remarkably up to the task.
The Big Screen
is beautiful and expansive.”

—Michael Schaub,
NPR.org

“What David Thomson doesn't know about movies probably isn't worth knowing. But the latest project for the longtime film historian, author of numerous books including the essential
Biographical Dictionary of Film,
was daunting even for him. His new book,
The Big Screen: The Story of the Movies,
is no less than a sweeping history of movies, from the earliest experiments to up-to-the minute streaming video and TV; seasoned liberally with Thomson's often-salty opinions and delicious observations … A joy for movie buffs; you'll feel as if you're listening to a wise, witty friend who seems to have seen—and remembered—everything.”

—Moira Macdonald,
The Seattle Times

“It's panoramic and obsessive and contains more interesting observations about
Pretty Woman
than you'd expect … I'm deep into it. It's a work of celebration that's suspicious of golden ages but shot through with a profound sense of loss, Thomson's thinking about the movies' inadvertent role in making us into who we are today, a whole culture constantly staring at various glowing rectangles.”

—Alex Pappademas,
Grantland.com

“As unfettered and full-frontal an expression of movie lust as film criticism gets.”

—Jan Stuart,
San Francisco Chronicle

“
The Big Screen
is a big book about a big subject—a big picture view of the big pictures … Thomson's writing will make you want to go to the movies, even if it is richer, deeper, and smarter than any of the films that are likely to be playing at a theater near you. His passion for film, his ideas, and the books in which he expresses his passion and ideas are still big as ever. It's the pictures that got small.”

—Troy Jollimore,
The Barnes and Noble Review

“One of the most knowledgeable, enjoyably idiosyncratic, and prolific writers on the movies jumps back and forth in time and across media (TV, YouTube, smartphones, the silver screen) in this insightful study of how movies shape our consciousness, collective and otherwise.”

—Steven Rea,
The Philadelphia Inquirer

^*
I shall be using the word “movie” in the singular, as an equivalent of “writing” or “music,” to indicate the widening range of moving film.

^*
“Rentals” are the money returned to a distributor or producer by the theaters. The “gross” is the total sum taken in at theater for tickets.