11/04/2013
"A real treasure."
"Moments That Made the Movies is full of assured declarations, chatty asides and free-associative essays. . . . both fun and not a little feverish. . . . Moment by moment, each statement is certainly worth considering, made as it is by a highly respected critic who is appreciated exactly for such a garrulous parade of this-not-that explications."
New York Times Book Review
"This book is both a visual delight and a valuable tool for anyone who enjoys a good movie."
"A visually thrilling tour of the magic of the movies, one special moment at a time."
"Explores iconic scenes in both classic and contemporary films that were not only enjoyable, but in some way groundbreaking."
"Film critic David Thomson is an artist who paints pictures with words. ... What makes Moments special is Thomson’s choices. He doesn’t spotlight the obvious moments. ... In doing so, Thomson reveals unique and telling moments in film history that viewers may have overlooked. Moments That Made the Movies is a treasure-trove that highlights and helps etch many of these films into the minds of cinephiles."
Lafayette Journal & Courier
"A coffee-table book with a brain... Thomson is arguably the best American film critic since Pauline Kael, and almost everything he has to say in “Moments” is savvy and stimulating."
"If your imagination is captured by freeze frames . . . movie history might be summed up in film historian David Thomson's Moments That Made the Movies. Films are often encapsulated by single scenes — consider the boulder pursuing Indiana Jones or Joseph Cotten's endless wait at the end of The Third Man—and the ever-sharp Thomson picks several dozen to tell the story of cinema."
"Moments That Made the Movies , is cinema history cloaked as a coffee-table showpiece. It comes at 70 individual films—usual suspects and irregulars alike— by way of a defining sequence. Whichever his approach, this most offbeat of cinephiles and spot-on of writers shows how the part represents the whole. The consistent delight of Moments , which samples both the thin crust (When Harry Met Sally . . .) and the deep dish (The Passenger ), is how Thomson makes the reader see how often the microcosm is both macro and cosmic."
"[Thomson’s] basic premise in this beautifully illustrated book is sound—that it is the moments from movies that we retain rather than the whole thing."
"Remarkable. . . . Thomson remains acutely sensitive to the motion picture’s birthplace in the world of still imagery."
"Unafraid to stump for lesser-known and lowbrow movies . . . may inspire you to look at the whole medium anew."
"Fascinating."
"Tells of many an incredible filmed moment."
"Thomson’s . . . moments are captured in a few pages each, with 250 glorious stills accompanying the brief analyses."
"Accompanied by wonderfully evocative stills, this eminently browsable book is certain to delight film lovers."
Booklist/American Library Association
"A marvelous wordsmith with a keen eye, Thomson . . . somehow manages to illustrate his many moments in films both obscure . . . and legendary."
"Film critic David Thomson is an artist who paints pictures with words. ... What makes Moments special is Thomson’s choices. He doesn’t spotlight the obvious moments. ... In doing so, Thomson reveals unique and telling moments in film history that viewers may have overlooked. Moments That Made the Movies is a treasure-trove that highlights and helps etch many of these films into the minds of cinephiles."
Lafayette Journal and Courier
"Moments That Made the Movies is full of assured declarations, chatty asides and free-associative essays. . . . both fun and not a little feverish. . . . Moment by moment, each statement is certainly worth considering, made as it is by a highly respected critic who is appreciated exactly for such a garrulous parade of this-not-that explications."
The New York Times Book Review
"Experiential. . . . A great thing about Thomson is that he leaves things open."
"The Brit transplant's long experience with writing accessible, entertaining, idiosyncratic, erudite and enlightening movie books led him to the most delightful one of all: Moments that Made the Movies . . . . This is a keeper."
"A lovely visual and written pairing that will be perfect for any film or arts library."
"The idea here is to focus on a series of moments in seventy-two films of particular significance and accompany them with wonderful stills representing those moments."
01/01/2014
