The Psychotronic Video Guide

How to know a Psychotronic Movie: These films can commonly be identified by their use of exploitation elements and their interest in humanity's lower common demoninators. They occur throughout the world, but are particuarly common at midnight movie festivals and in video stores' cult sections, they are especially frequent at that beloved and dying institution, the drive-in. Their packaging is commonly deceptive. They almost always appear on videocassette. Among their kind are biker films, sci-fi series, quickie biopics, gimmick films, teen sex comedies, blaxploitation films, stalkers, slashers, snoozers, shrudderers, and anything starring Lynda Blair, david Carradine, Shannon Tweed or Drew Barrymore. And they're all here in the Psychotronic Video Guide. From Abby to Zontar, this book covers more than nine thousand amazing movies from the turn of the century right up to today's golden age of video, all described with Michael Weldon's dry wit. More than 450 rare and wonderful illustrations round out the book, making it a treasure trove of cinematic lore and essential for every fan of filmdom's finest offerings.

Including reviews of 200 films, plus information about U.S. theaters, video stores, and mail-order sources that specialize in this white-hot, new genre, this is the first guide to an exploding popular culture phenomenon. Includes 75 photos.

The world's leading Psychotronic expert has produced the ultimate A to Z guide to over 3,000 of the weirdest and wildest movies ever made. From the slightly offbeat to the outlandishly bizarre, from the no-budget quickie to the multimillion box office smash, every Psychotronic film is lovingly listed, to include valuable information on cast, crew and characters. Crammed with hundreds of rare illustrations, this is an absolute must for those who lust after the sleaze and slime of B-Movies.

A history of extreme violence in movies analyzes the public response to this ever-growing phenomenon, tracing its beginnings in films such as Bonnie and Clyde and discussing how it fits into the artistic vision of filmmakers including Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorcese. Original.

Italian filmmakers have created some of the most magical and moving, violent and controversial films in world cinema. During its twentieth-century heyday, Italy's film industry was second only to Hollywood as a popular film factory, exporting cinematic dreams with multinational casts to the world, ranging across multiple genres. 'Cinema Italiano' is the first book to discuss comprehensively and in depth this Italian cinema, both popular and arthouse. It is illustrated throughout with rare stills and international posters from this revered era in European cinema and reviews over 350 movies. Howard Hughes uncovers this treasure trove of Italian films, from Lucino Visconti's epic 'The Leopard' to the cult superhero movie 'Puma Man'. Dario Argento's bloody 'gialli' thrillers and Sergio Leone's spaghetti westerns are explored alongside films of Federico Fellini, Pier Paolo Pasolini and Michelangelo Antonioni. Chapters discuss the rise and fall of genres such as mythological epics, gothic horrors, science fiction, spy films, war movies, costume adventures, zombie films, swashbucklers, political cinema and 'poliziotteschi' crime films. They also trace the directorial careers of Mario Bava, Sergio Corbucci, Francesco Rosi, Lucio Fulci, Duccio Tessari, Enzo G. Castellari, Bernardo Bertolucci and Gillo Pontecorvo.

A guide to horror movies available on videocassette. This book reviews and rates more than 2000 films. Each entry lists the film's year of release, video distributor, MPAA rating, running time, director and cast.