Movie Fantastic: Beyond the Dream Machine

by David Annan

Genres: Horror

132 pages, Hardcover

First published December 12, 1988

Reviews

[Jimmy Leavens · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25
Somewhat remedial knowledge for the big film fans but the pictures alone make for a great coffee table book.

[Carlos West · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of nearly 10 film books put out as a series by Bounty Books in the mid 1970’s. They came out in both hardcover and paperback & had an abundance of b&w photos, with a color insert. Some had an index, some didn’t. The index usually wasn’t the best. In Movie Fantastic the photos and color insert were not as good as the other books. Some of the photos are repeated in the other books. Nice color illustrations on the cover, though, of Godzilla, and a Batman & Robin lunchbox! The first chapter, Myths, ties in mythology & religion with film. Chapter 2, Machines, is self explanatory, even though it includes King Kong, She, and Gorgo. It actually starts out with our early interest in the moving photograph, with a page of Edward Muybridge photos, then examples from The Motograph Moving Picture Book of 1898. Chapter 3, Visions, singles out 1920’s German and French cinema, as well as 1930’s American films. The final chapter, Nightmares, ties in war with film, then transitions to AIP, Hammer, French & Italian productions, and 3 pages of Jean Rollin/Jess Franco movies. Besides movie stills, there are some vintage non movie post cards. Film buffs will like flipping through the pages. Others in the series include- Kung Fu:Cinema of Vengeance; Savage Cinema; The Seal of Dracula; Cut:The Unseen Cinema.