Kiss Kiss Bang Bang - Pauline Kael
KAEL, Pauline. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. London: Calder & Boyars, 1970.
First UK edition. Pauline Kael (1919-2001) was the most powerful and provocative American film critic of the twentieth century, credited with turning the movie review genre into an expressive art form. The brilliant title of this book, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, derives from an Italian movie poster, and it expresses - in the author’s view - the essence of the appeal of the movies. The book features over 300 pieces, including Kael’s influential reviews of Bonnie and Clyde, Blow-up, and The Sound of Music, along with thoughtful analyses of the careers of Marlon Brando, Orson Welles, Stanley Kramer, and a fascinating day-by-day-account of how Mary McCarthy’s novel, The Group, was turned into a film. There are also articles on westerns, big Hollywood films, camp films and spoofs, art films, and films on television. A must-have for cinephiles.
404 pp. Hardback (ISBN: 0714506583). Very good in dust-jacket. Some light spotting to top edge. Dust-jacket with some edge wear; spine slightly faded; small loss to top of spine.