Books by Christopher Frayling

A century of classic vampire cinema--in posters, stills and artwork--from Murnau to True Blood and beyondThis visual feast celebrates classic vampire cinema--mainstream and niche--through the many colorful ways in which the key films have been marketed and consumed.F.W. Murnau's haunting film Nosferatu had its premiere in Berlin in March 1922. Bram Stoker's widow, Florence, tried hard to sue the production company for breach of copyright but had to settle in the end for a court order to destroy all prints and negatives. The film kept resurrecting, though, and is now considered the first, and one of the greatest, of all vampire movies--the founder of a dynasty of prints of darkness.The bloodline has spread from Nosferatu to Hollywood's Dracula and progeny (1931-48); from Hammer's Dracula/Horror of Dracula and sequels (1958-74) to versions of Sheridan Le Fanu's story "Carmilla" and other lesbian vampires (1970-2020); from the bestselling novels 'Salem's Lot and Interview with the Vampire to vampires who have shed their capes, hereditary titles and period trappings to become assorted smalltown oddballs, addicts, delinquents, psychopaths, rednecks, fashionistas, gay icons, comedians and even comic-book heroes (1975-2022).This book is dripping with stills, posters, artworks, press books--many of which have not seen the light of day for a very long time--and is authored by cultural historian and connoisseur of the Gothic Christopher Frayling, who has been called "the Van Helsing de nos jours."Christopher Frayling (born 1946) is a recognized authority on Gothic fiction and horror movies. His study Vampyres (1978, 1990, 2016) and his classic four-part television series Nightmare: The Birth of Horror (1996) have helped to move Gothic horror from margin to mainstream. He is the author of Frankenstein and Once upon a Time in the West.

The French New Wave of the 1950s and 1960s is one of the most important movements in the history of film. Its fresh energy and vision changed the cinematic landscape, and its style has had a seminal impact on pop culture. The poster artists tasked with selling these Nouvelle Vague films to the masses in France and internationally helped to create this style, and in so doing found themselves at the forefront of a revolution in art, graphic design and photography. 'French New Wave: A Revolution in Design' celebrates explosive and groundbreaking poster art that accompanied French New Wave films like 'The 400 Blows' (1959), 'Jules and Jim' (1962) and 'The Umbrellas of Cherbourg' (1964). Featuring posters from over 20 countries, the imagery is accompanied by biographies of more than 100 artists, photographers and designers involved, the first time many of those responsible for promoting and portraying this movement have been properly recognized.

Cinema: The Whole Story takes a close look at the key time periods, genres and key works in world cinema. It places the burgeoning world of cinema in the context of social and cultural developments that have taken place since its beginnings. Organized chronologically, the book traces the evolution of cinematic development, from the earliest days of film projection to the multiscreen cinemas and super-technology of today. Illustrated, in-depth text charts every genre of cinema, from the first silent films to epic blockbusters, CGI graphics and groundbreaking effects of the 21st century. Cinema: The Whole Story is an indispensable book for all those who love watching and reading about films and who want to understand more about the world of cinema.

This series of linked essays explores the crafts in education, in history and literature, in the contemporary arts landscape, in the digital age, and takes an unsentimental, hard-headed look at craftsmanship today. Only when the romantic cobwebs have been blown away, it argues, can the key importance of the crafts be fully understood.

This book will trace the journey of Shelley''s Frankenstein from limited edition literature to the bloodstream of contemporary culture. It includes new research on the novel''s origins, with a reprint of the earliest-known version of the creation scene; visual material on adaptations for the stage, in magazines, on playbills, in prints and in book publications of the nineteenth century; series of visual essays on many of the film versions and their inspirations in the history of art; and Frankenstein in popular culture on posters, advertisements, packaging, in comics and graphic novels.

Explores the genealogy of the film scientist in films made in Western Europe, and especially in Hollywood after the 1930s, showing how in film the scientist has often been used to represent the prevailing phobias of the time. This work also examines the portrayal of real-life scientists in the movies.

Over 400 Spaghetti Westerns were produced during the 1960s and 1970s peak period. This book deals with several interesting examples, not to mention French, German, and Russian Westerns along the way.