A hundred years ago, a character made his first appearance in the world of literature who was to enter the bloodstream of 20th-century popular culture: the evil genius called Dr Fu Manchu, described at the beginning of the first story in which he appeared as the yellow peril incarnate in one man. Wh[...]

"Cinema: The Whole Story" takes a close look at the key time periods, genres and key works in world cinema. It places the burgeoning world of cinema in the context of social and cultural developments that have taken place since its beginnings. Organized chronologically, the book traces the evolution[...]

Groundbreaking 'spaghetti westerns' such as the "Dollars" trilogy (starring Clint Eastwood as 'The Man With No Name'), and the magisterial "Once Upon A Time In The West", made Sergio Leone one of the most popular directors in world cinema. Christopher Frayling's biography of Leone (the first) loving[...]

Jack Clayton's gothic masterpiece The Innocents, though not a commercial success on its release in 1961, has been hailed as one of the greatest psychological thrillers of all time. Dividing reviewers with its ambiguous depiction of ghosts, the film ignited a debate about the aesthetics of horror whi[...]