When we see a murder played out in the movies, we become participants. When artfully crafted, murders become insidious invitations that are nearly impossible to resist. With his encyclopedic knowledge of film and sardonic wit, celebrated film critic David Thomson explores how murders are presented on screen.
A renowned movie critic on film's treatment of one of mankind's darkest behaviors: murder "Thomson accomplishes what the best films pull off. He entertains, yes, but he also forces us to reflect critically about ourselves and our place in the world. . . . Compelling." --Arts Fuse It's another compelling achievement in the career of one of cinema's most significant audience members." How many acts of murder have each of us followed on a screen? What does that say about us? Do we remain law-abiding citizens who wouldn't hurt a fly? Film historian David Thomson, known for wit and subversiveness, leads us into this very delicate subject. While unpacking classics such as Seven, Kind Hearts and Coronets, Strangers on a Train, The Conformist, The Godfather, and The Shining, he offers a disconcerting sense of how the form of movies makes us accomplices in this sinister narrative process. By turns seductive and astringent, very serious and suddenly hilarious, Murder and the Movies admits us into what Thomson calls "a warped triangle" the creator working out a compelling death; the killer doing his and her best; and the entranced reader and spectator trying to cling to life and a proper sense of decency.
A renowned movie critic on film's treatment of one of mankind's darkest behaviors: murder "Thomson accomplishes what the best films pull off. He entertains, yes, but he also forces us to reflect critically about ourselves and our place in the world. . . . Compelling." --Arts Fuse It's another compelling achievement in the career of one of cinema's most significant audience members." How many acts of murder have each of us followed on a screen? What does that say about us? Do we remain law-abiding citizens who wouldn't hurt a fly? Film historian David Thomson, known for wit and subversiveness, leads us into this very delicate subject. While unpacking classics such as Seven, Kind Hearts and Coronets, Strangers on a Train, The Conformist, The Godfather, and The Shining, he offers a disconcerting sense of how the form of movies makes us accomplices in this sinister narrative process. By turns seductive and astringent, very serious and suddenly hi