About the Author

Nick Clooney is a renowned film historian and the former on-air host of the American Movie Classic cable channel, for which he received four Emmy Award nominations. He writes a column for the Cincinnati Post, and has authored two previous books -- Cincinnati: City of Charm and Nick: The Collected Columns of Nick Clooney. He is the younger brother of the late Rosemary Clooney, and father of television and film star George Clooney

Reviews

Library Journal Extremely readable....Thought-provoking.

Library Journal Extremely readable....Thought-provoking.

Few things in Hollywood get the movie-going public more riled up than lists. The American Film Institute's ranking of the 100 greatest flicks, for instance, touched off a firestorm of protest when it was released. Now film historian and former American Movie Channel host Clooney joins the fray, with his roundup of 20 movies that changed American culture. They're not necessarily the best ones, he says, but they all sparked something in the country's social or political consciousness. On the list are some gimmes (Dr. Strangelove; The Graduate), some correct but unsavory picks (Leni Riefenstahl's Triumph of the Will) and some surprising exclusions (Saving Private Ryan gets in, but Apocalypse Now doesn't-come again?). With each selection, Clooney offers a brief plot summary, and then demonstrates how the movie altered America-or at the very least, Hollywood. Taxi Driver, for instance, inspired John Hinckley, Jr.'s assassination attempt, while Star Wars "changed the way we make movies." Clooney's arguments are convincing enough, but many of the entries share a lame coda: that the movie "changed things." It's particularly heartening to see him resuscitate old gems, though; films from the '30s (e.g., Boys Town and Morocco) take up a full quarter of the list. "[T]he story of film is far from over," Clooney notes, as if the noted movie buff can't wait to pen a sequel. Readers might quibble with his list, but then, that's half the fun. Agent, Joanna Pulcini. (Nov. 5) Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.