The Holy Grail of the American film industry is the production of a massively financially successful movie. Such productions are called 'blockbusters'. The collaborative work of Sheldon Hall (Senior Lecturer, Stage and Screen Studies, Sheffield Hallam University) and Steve Neale (Professor of English, University of Exeter), "Epics, Spectacles, and Blockbusters: A Hollywood History" is the newest addition to Wayne State University Press' outstanding 'Contemporary Film and Television Series'. This 363-page compendium presents a comprehensive and detailed history of the large-scale, high-cost movie from the beginning of movie-making in the 1890s down to the present day. The genres of such films range from comic book adaptations, to biblical epics, to animated features, to science fiction extravaganzas, and more. Chronological organized, the impact of technological developments on movie making is fully integrated into this superbly written and scholarly history, making "Epics, Spectacles, And Blockbusters" an invaluable and core addition to personal, professional, academic, and community library Hollywood History & Film reference collections and supplemental reading lists.
