Bøker av Peter H Brothers

The "Sons of Godzilla" covers the Godzilla film sequels (not including those directed by Ishiro Honda which the author covered in "Mushroom Clouds and Mushroom Men") from 1955 - 1995. During that time Godzilla transformed from a metaphor for Japan's atomic devastation to a protector of that same country and a friend of children until ultimately returning to the role of a villain in the 1980s. Author Peter H. Brothers covers this amazing period involving everything from super-hero robots, smog monsters, and tag-team wrestling battles. Brothers covers the juvenile films made for kids where logic was not a concern to the creature's revival and return as a serious creature. Filled with fascinating photographs, personal insights from those who there, and the author's own expert analysis, "The Sons of Godzilla" is an amazing ride and unforgettable read for all fans of the series which has become the longest-running of its kind in film history.

Bela Lugosi is a true screen icon forever memorialized for his performance as Dracula in the legendary 1931 film, and it is as that supernatural creature he is best remembered. Yet Lugosi's talents went far-beyond the blood-sucking count, mad doctors and voodoo masters. In this book, long-time Lugosi fan Peter H. Brothers examines the actor's screen performances from diabolical villains such as Dr. Mirakle in "Murders in the Rue Morgue" and Dr. Richard Vollin in the 1935 "The Raven" to unexpected comedic turns in "Broadminded" and "International House." A perfectionist, Lugosi was also a supremely versatile actor capable of nuance and subtlety, lending his Poesque presence to some of the most memorable horror films of all time. While there have been many books written about the actor, "No Sympathy for the Vampire" focuses on the performance aspect of the actor's work, as the author examines over 70 of the actor's roles, from silent films to sound. The author also explains why Lugosi's sexual aura and charismatic mystique made him one of the true originals of the American screen. Written in the author's engagingly signature style and filled with fascinating photographs, "No Sympathy for the Vampire" is both an artistic appreciation and affectionate tribute to one of the enduring icons of the Silver Screen.

For the first time in English print, the complete story of the making of one of the most significant and influential films of the 20th Century. Originally intended to cash-in on the then current trend of American monster movies, what resulted instead was the cinema's first anti-nuclear treatise to reach an international audience. Gathered from previously unpublished sources, rare photographs, personal interviews and with shot-for-shot descriptions of both the Japanese and American versions, "Atomic Dreams and the Nuclear Nightmare" is a tribute to the greatest monster movie of them all.

The decade of the 1950s was one of the most fascinating in the history of the cinema. Regarded as "The Golden Age of Science Fiction Films," it was a genre populated by giant bugs, alien invaders, resurrected dinosaurs and outer space adventures produced during a time of drive-ins and drop-drills. Yet behind the imaginative storylines and astounding effects were often subliminal messages regarding the general paranoia affecting so much of the nation, be it atomic age anxieties, social reorder, working women, environmental concerns, and The Red Scare. In Suspending My Disbelief the author analyzes 60 science fiction, fantasy, and horror movies giving so many Baby Boomers - including the author - nightmares after watching them on their 16-inch black-white television screens. Intriguing, involving and engaging, Suspending My Disbelief will take the reader on a wonderful, weird, and often wild ride through the frightening and fascinating world of 1950s science fiction cinema.

The first English-speaking book on Japan's Master of Monster Movies, "Mushroom Clouds and Mushroom Men" examines the life and fantasy films of this acclaimed and legendary director. Known primarily for directing the original "Godzilla," Ishiro Honda has been an overlooked figure in mainstream international cinema. "Mushroom Clouds" covers all 25 of his fantasy films as well as giving objective and critical analysis of his filmmaking methods, themes, concepts as well as his relationships with actors and staff.Making us of extensive interviews from Honda's colleagues and family members including a wealth of source material never before available outside Japan, "Mushroom Clouds and Mushroom Men" is an affectionate tribute to the most-prolific and influential director in the history of fantasy films.

Universally regarded as the ultimate adventure/fantasy film, 1933's King Kong continues to amaze audiences with its involving story, its compelling characters, its incredible special-effects, and its magnificent music. Yet for some, there is also a deeper and darker side to Kong; a film and monster whose alleged allegories have fascinated students and scholars for nearly a century. For many, Kong means many things, from the noble savage defeated by modern civilization, from the plight of the Black man to the plight of the common man, to the ascending sexual freedom of a new kind of woman who became the ultimate object of desire and unwilling participant in a colossal commentary on "tough love." Produced during the height of the Great Depression, the anxiety of that era manifested itself from the nation's economic fears into those of Kong's jungle. In Citizen Kong the author examines the movie's mystique, both as an enduring classic to the strong reaction it continues to inspire. The author discusses the origins of Kong, the story behind the movie's making, the controversy still surrounding its screenplay, an examination of Willis O'Brien's startling effects and a detailed examination of Max Steiner's legendary score. He also delves into the movie's many metaphorical meanings, all of which were heartedly (and heatedly) denied by the man who created Kong and a figure as fascinating as the movie he motivated: Merian C. Cooper. Assisting the author in sharing their unique memories of the movie are a dozen essays written especially for Citizen Kong from such acclaimed authors as Charles Lee Jackson, II, Donald F. Glut, David Del Valle, and Frank J. Dello Stritto. Published to acknowledge the movie's 90th Anniversary and filled with fascinating photographs, interesting insights and controversial commentaries written in the author's entertainingly-engaging style, Citizen Kong is a compelling read about one of the most beloved and significant films of 20th Century cinema.