Cult Movies: The Classics, the Sleepers, the Weird, and the Wonderful

Cult Movies: The Classics, the Sleepers, the Weird, and the Wonderful
Customer Review: Fundamental issue!
Paery has made a complete guide with hightlighted pictures and many information about his favorite cult movies . There was an old edition with the 200 films , but this volume contains just 100 . Nevertheless the legend and the comentaries are really easy going . As a guide to discover new an unknown tresaures of the story of the cinema . Recommendable.
Customer Review: The first of three of my favorite film books.
How much do I love CULT MOVIES by Danny Peary? As I write this my edition of the book (purchased in 1981) has split in two. It's spine severed from years of flipping its pages obessively from front to back. I consider it a trusted friend that I refer to many times as a fellow "film fanatic." This expose of 100 films was one of the firsts along with Jonathan Rosenbaum and J. Hoberman's MIDNIGHT MADNESS to delve into what makes a movie a "cult movie," and Peary does a spectacular job. Unlike some surveys which focus more on indiscriblable oddities such as David Lynch's ERASERHEAD, Peary wonderfully widens the cult criteria to include a whole array of film-watching experiences. From schlock like PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE to high art like THE RED SHOES, Peary's historical overview and analysis within an ever changing pop cultural landscape is consistantly readable and on the money. Every conceivable genre gets their due -comedies, westerns, horror, musicals, film noir thrillers, kung fu epics, pornography- and, like them or not, all are made to seem wonderfully relevant and alive. Even if you disagree with Peary's opinions, afterwards you're just begging to run to experience these movies from a different angle. This is film criticism at its best.