Arrow Cult Film Books; various authors

There is nothing that the true cinéaste enjoys more (other than the actual experience of watching a film itself) than reading about a film or director they have been excited by — particularly in books or articles that are informed by both scholarship and enthusiasm. Those qualities are copiously in evidence in the series of compact and colourful volumes issued by Arrow films to cover a wide range of cult items (the publishing imprint has avoided mainstream arthouse cinema and concentrated on the fascinating byways of genre films.). A good example is Kat Ellinger’s All the Colours of Sergio Martino. The writing is unpolished, but Ellinger’s love for – and knowledge of — this material leaps off the page, and makes for a fascinating (if all too brief) read. Sergio Martino is best known as a director of grisly gialli thrillers, but there are no genres that hold terrors for him, with Westerns, crime thrillers such as Suspicious Death of a Minor (Morte Sospetta di una Minorenne, 1975) and even ribald comedies on his curriculum vitae. In one area, Martino is very much like his compatriots Mario Bava and Dario Argento: while never being as consistently inspired in his work as them, he is capable of truly vivid and engaged filmmaking, alongside some by-the-numbers work.

Similarly engaging is Gregg Rickman’s Philip K Dick on Film, which combines a thoroughgoing knowledge of the subject with a clear-sighted analysis of the various attempts – both successful and misfiring – to transfer this most influential of science fiction writers to film. As one of the more substantial volumes in the series, Rickman’s entry is particularly cherishable. There are also generally well written and intelligent studies devoted to The Hitcher, The Blair Witch Project and The Man Who Fell to Earth – not to mention a substantial study of the films of Meiko Kaji. The fact that the books are very attractive little volumes (illustrated with colour stills) is less important than the fascination they will hold for the true film buff. They may, of course, cost you money, sending you out to search out some of the films discussed. If that’s the case, I can recommend a label for cult films: Arrow Video…

Arrow Cult Film Books; various authors – published by Arrow