{"product_id":"a-sudden-flicker-of-light-a-revisionist-history-of-movies","title":"A Sudden Flicker of Light: A Revisionist History of Movies","description":"\n\u003ctable align=\"center\" border=\"0\" cellpadding=\"2\" cellspacing=\"0\" width=\"100%\"\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd class=\"productDetailSmallElements\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Thomson is widely regarded as the greatest living writer on film, which gives him the right to indict it. Rather than simply a history of cinema, \n\u003ci\u003e A Sudden Flicker of Light\u003c\/i\u003e argues that film has spent a century training audiences toward passivity and fantasy, which has had consequences for culture and politics.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eCultured Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Thomson is considered a preeminent film critic and historian, and this absolutely essential, indispensable book shows us why.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eBooklist \u003c\/i\u003e(starred review)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBiographical Note\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDavid Thomson is the author of more than twenty books, including biographies of David O. Selznick and Orson Welles, and \n\u003ci\u003eThe New Biographical Dictionary of Film\u003c\/i\u003e. His writing and his books have been featured in \n\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e, \n\u003ci\u003eThe Guardian, \u003c\/i\u003e the \n\u003ci\u003e Los Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e, \n\u003ci\u003eThe Atlantic\u003c\/i\u003e, \n\u003ci\u003eEsquire\u003c\/i\u003e, \n\u003ci\u003eSlate, \u003c\/i\u003eand many more. He lives in San Francisco.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"More than a flicker of light: a flood of illumination.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"A feast for cinephiles.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher Marketing\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eFrom one of cinema's wisest and most penetrating observers, an arresting new perspective on the sweep of film history.\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDavid Thomson has been called \"the greatest living writer on the movies.\" Here is a career capstone of sorts--a one-volume history of film and screens as illuminating and provocative as his classic \n\u003ci\u003eBiographical Dictionary of Film\u003c\/i\u003e. In tracing the progress, from the Lumiere Brothers to the Coens, Thomson glories in the great movies, but admits to increasing unease over what the medium has done to us--promoting fantasy, misleading models of sexual identity, the cult of authority, power, and happy endings. \n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis revisionist history is as alert to technology and business as it is to art and fun in tracing our pursuit of the lifelike instead of life. By turns trenchant, lyrical, and comic, Thomson uncovers our addiction to voyeurism and villainy, and a habit of passivity that has betrayed our political and cultural identity. In a survey that reaches from \n\u003ci\u003eMetropolis\u003c\/i\u003e to \n\u003ci\u003eRear Window\u003c\/i\u003e to \n\u003ci\u003eAnora\u003c\/i\u003e, this will redirect ideas about film everywhere. As \n\u003ci\u003eThe\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e has put it, \"Thomson proves anew that he is irreplaceable.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations:\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/span\u003e 05\/15\/2026 (EAN 9781668205730, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/span\u003e 05\/04\/2026 (EAN 9781668205730, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eBooklist\u003c\/span\u003e 06\/01\/2026 (EAN 9781668205730, Hardcover) - *Starred Review\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eContributor Bio:\u003c\/strong\u003eThomson, David\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDavid Thomson is the author of more than twenty books, including biographies of David O. Selznick and Orson Welles, and \n\u003ci\u003eThe New Biographical Dictionary of Film\u003c\/i\u003e. His writing and his books have been featured in \n\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e, \n\u003ci\u003eThe Guardian, \u003c\/i\u003e the \n\u003ci\u003e Los Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e, \n\u003ci\u003eThe Atlantic\u003c\/i\u003e, \n\u003ci\u003eEsquire\u003c\/i\u003e, \n\u003ci\u003eSlate, \u003c\/i\u003eand many more. He lives in San Francisco.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n","brand":"Simon \u0026 Schuster","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51496192639254,"sku":"9781668205730","price":36.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0857\/9910\/8886\/files\/9781668205730.jpg?v=1783057201","url":"https:\/\/lusper.myshopify.com\/products\/a-sudden-flicker-of-light-a-revisionist-history-of-movies","provider":"Lusperbooks","version":"1.0","type":"link"}