Books by Phil Hall

This is the HARDBACK version. It is one of the most astonishing facts of cinema history: an extraordinary number of important films are believed to be lost forever. Spanning from the early days of the silent movies to as late as the 1970s and touching all corners of the global film experience, groundbreaking works of significant historical and artistic importance are gone. Cinema icons including Orson Welles, Stanley Kubrick, Alfred Hitchcock, Oscar Micheaux and Vincente Minnelli are among those impacted by this tragedy, and pioneering technological achievements in color cinematography, sound film technology, animation and widescreen projection are among the lost treasures. How could this happen? And is it possible to recover these missing gems? In this book, noted film critic and journalist Phil Hall details circumstances that resulted in these productions being erased from view. For anyone with a passion for the big screen, In Search of Lost Films provides an unforgettable consideration of a cultural tragedy.

It is one of the most astonishing facts of cinema history: an extraordinary number of important films are believed to be lost forever. Spanning from the early days of the silent movies to as late as the 1970s and touching all corners of the global film experience, groundbreaking works of significant historical and artistic importance are gone. Cinema icons including Orson Welles, Stanley Kubrick, Alfred Hitchcock, Oscar Micheaux and Vincente Minnelli are among those impacted by this tragedy, and pioneering technological achievements in color cinematography, sound film technology, animation and widescreen projection are among the lost treasures. How could this happen? And is it possible to recover these missing gems? In this book, noted film critic and journalist Phil Hall details circumstances that resulted in these productions being erased from view. For anyone with a passion for the big screen, In Search of Lost Films provides an unforgettable consideration of a cultural tragedy.

On October 20, 1967, Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin emerged from a forest in Northern California with 59 seconds of grainy, shaky, silent 16mm film that supposedly offered documentary evidence of the Sasquatch, a creature of Native American folklore. Although neither Patterson nor Gimlin had any previous experience in filmmaking or zoology, they presented their remarkable footage as the first motion picture confirmation of the existence of the elusive Sasquatch.However, not everyone was convinced by the imagery on the Patterson-Gimlin Film. Additional doubt was generated by the strange story behind the film's creation. Over the years, odd rumors emerged about the film, including the story of an Academy Award-winning make-up artist's alleged role in assembling the creature seen on camera.Film journalist Phil Hall traces the convoluted history of how Patterson and Gimlin supposedly wound up in the right place at the right time with their camera, and how they brought their weird little film into the scientific community and American popular culture. While the debate over the authenticity of the Patterson-Gimlin Film continues to percolate, few would question the effectiveness of how this piece of celluloid brought forth an unlikely sensation lovingly dubbed Bigfoot. Phil Hall is the author of The History of Independent Cinema, The Greatest Bad Movies of All Time and In Search of Lost Films. His film writing has appeared in The New York Times, New York Daily News and Wired, and he is the host of the award-winning SoundCloud podcast "The Online Movie Show with Phil Hall."

On October 20, 1967, Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin emerged from a forest in Northern California with 59 seconds of grainy, shaky, silent 16mm film that supposedly offered documentary evidence of the Sasquatch, a creature of Native American folklore. Although neither Patterson nor Gimlin had any previous experience in filmmaking or zoology, they presented their remarkable footage as the first motion picture confirmation of the existence of the elusive Sasquatch.However, not everyone was convinced by the imagery on the Patterson-Gimlin Film. Additional doubt was generated by the strange story behind the film's creation. Over the years, odd rumors emerged about the film, including the story of an Academy Award-winning make-up artist's alleged role in assembling the creature seen on camera.Film journalist Phil Hall traces the convoluted history of how Patterson and Gimlin supposedly wound up in the right place at the right time with their camera, and how they brought their weird little film into the scientific community and American popular culture. While the debate over the authenticity of the Patterson-Gimlin Film continues to percolate, few would question the effectiveness of how this piece of celluloid brought forth an unlikely sensation lovingly dubbed Bigfoot. Phil Hall is the author of The History of Independent Cinema, The Greatest Bad Movies of All Time and In Search of Lost Films. His film writing has appeared in The New York Times, New York Daily News and Wired, and he is the host of the award-winning SoundCloud podcast "The Online Movie Show with Phil Hall."

These are the films that inspire wonder-you are left wondering how seeminglyintelligent people could gather together and spend money to create suchbizarre productions. From A-list atrocities to Grade-Z zaniness, 100 of the most wonderfullywarped anti-classics have been gathered together for this celebration ofcinematic kookiness.Relive the jaw-dropping spectacle of John Wayne as Genghis Khan, Halle Berryas Catwoman, Jack Palance as Fidel Castro, and Jerry Lewis as a GoreVidal-inspired extra-terrestrial.Sing along with a naked Anthony Newley, tap your toes to a "PennsylvaniaPolka" dance number in the middle of an unauthorized remake of A StreetcarNamed Desire, watch a suicidal Elizabeth Taylor run amok in Rome andappreciate Coleridge's poetry with topless women.Hook up with Edward D. Wood Jr., Phil Tucker, Tommy Wiseau and their peersin the so-bad-they're-good genre, and marvel at how cinema royalty includingStanley Kubrick, George Cukor, Michelangelo Antonioni and Clint Eastwoodcould conceive celluloid debacles of an unprecedented scale.When it comes to shock and awe, nothing compares to The 100 Greatest BadMovies of All Time.

They were the big screen royalty that left us too soon - the brilliantly talented icons whose premature deaths continue to fill the hearts of movie lovers with rue and pain. From Robert Harron and Rudolph Valentino of the silent era to Heath Ledger and Natasha Richardson of today's cinema, the history of movies is filled with too many legends and rising stars who died before fulfilling their career destinies.But what would have happened if fate had been kinder? What could have been the careers of Jean Harlow, James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, Dorothy Dandridge, Bruce Lee, John Belushi, River Phoenix, Chris Farley, and many other screen luminaries who died too soon?What if They Lived? offers a speculative trajectory for the careers that the late, great stars never had. Piecing together pending film projects, industry trends and wider shifts in popular culture, What if They Lived? considers what could have happened to the beloved movie actors who never had a chance to enjoy a long and fruitful professional output.