Monsters in the Movies by John Landis

Monsters in the Movies by John Landis

Renowned Hollywood filmmaker John Landis (American Werewolf in London, Michael Jackson's Thriller) presents his personal celebration of the greatest monsters in horror, sci-fi and fantasy movie history. With characteristic verve, wit, and honesty, Landis explores the timeless appeal of vampires, zombies, werewolves, ghosts, mythical beasts, and archetypal monstrous villains, such as Godzilla, Dracula, Frankenstein, King Kong, and Jack the Ripper. Landis also converses with leading directors John Carpenter, Sam Raimi, David Cronenberg, Guillermo Del Toro, and Joe Dante, special effects wizards Ray Harryhausen and Rick Baker, and the esteemed actor Christopher Lee, exploring their love for and fascination with movie monsters of all types, shapes and sizes. Superbly illustrated throughout with original stills, posters and artefacts from the extensive archives of The Kobal Collection and packed with the author's fascinating and entertaining insights, John Landis' Monsters in the Movies will open your eyes to a spectacular world of horror films - some classics, some quirky, some forgotten, some hilarious, some disturbing...and some unforgettably crazy!

As director of An American Werewolf in London and Innocent Blood, Landis is no stranger to horror filmsHere, he offers a whirlwind tour of just about everything related to the genre, from the silents to today's computer-generated imagery. Typical of DK, the book includes thousands of captioned photos featuring Landis's commentary on the films. Chapters cover vampires, werewolves, mad scientists, zombies, giant apes, atomic mutations, space monsters, and much more. Subsections spotlight actors like Lon Chaney Jr.--this book is extremely thorough. Landis also provides brief interviews with actor Christopher Lee, directors David Cronenberg, John Carpenter, Guillermo del Toro, and Sam Raimi, makeup master Rick Baker, and legendary stop-motion animator Ray Harryhausen, a wonderful bonus. Verdict: With tons of cool pics and beautifully reproduced film posters, Landis's volume knocks it out of the park as a superbrowsable overview of the beasties, ghosties, and ghoulies that have terrified us on the big screen all in the name of fun. Horror fans will love it. * Library Journal *
Witty captions and a concise text make this a souvenir to die for. -- Mail on Sunday * Mail on Sunday *
From Kong to The Kraken, gremlins to gill-men, John Landis knows his monsters. -- Guardian.co.uk * Guardian.co.uk *
Landis examines the monsters of the fantasy, science fiction and horror cinema in a unique and highly personal way. -- Big Issue * Big Issue *

John Landis has directed some of the most popular movies of all time including The Blues Brothers, Trading Places, National Lampoon's Animal House, Three Amigos!, Spies Like Us, Coming to America and 2011 Ealing black comedy Burke & Hare. He wrote and directed the classic An American Werewolf in London and the groundbreaking Michael Jackson's Thriller. Landis has directed documentaries including the Emmy winning Mr. Warmth, The Don Rickles Project, and has done extensive work in television. Landis is married to costume designer and noted costume scholar Deborah Nadoolman and has two children.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781405366977
ISBN 10	1405366974
Title	Monsters in the Movies
Author	John Landis
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Dorling Kindersley Ltd
Year published	2011-10-03
Number of pages	320
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.