The Fatal Alliance: A Century of War on Film
致命聯盟：一世紀的戰爭電影
內容介紹
由當今最偉大的電影作家所寫，對於一世紀以來大螢幕所呈現的戰爭進行了權威性的檢視，並對戰爭和電影之間的關係進行了思考。
「這是一本精彩的重磅書，作者是我們在電影領域知識最淵博、最有洞察力的作家之一，它充滿了驚喜和詼諧的旁白。 儘管湯姆森很快就批評了其中一些戰爭電影的虛偽和歷史遺漏，他也沒有為自己的大膽評斷做出絲毫妥協。」—菲利普‧洛帕特(Phillip Lopate) (影評家、作家)
在大衛-湯姆森漫長的職業生涯中，他已是美國當今最為傑出的散文家和作家之一，不僅受到影迷的讚譽和喜愛，也受到那些熱愛他的挑釁性見解和寫作的人的讚譽和喜愛。 這是他多年來最大、最重要的著作之一─對電影中戰爭的描述進行了引人注目且令人不安的審視。 這不是一部標準的戰爭電影歷史或綜述，儘管湯姆森以敏銳的洞察力評論了許多相當受歡迎的戰爭片，從《西線無戰事》到《桂河大橋》再到《拯救大兵瑞恩》，但作者更進一步探討戰爭片與真實社會之間的關聯，講述了 20 世紀的戰爭和電影如何密不可分。
電影在第一次世界大戰開始時才開始存在，但在不到一個世紀的時間裡，電影改變了全球數百萬人的戰爭經歷以及歷史本身。 這個現實是湯姆森書中核心的道德難題。 戰爭片不僅能帶來聲望，也常常成為票房大片。 但是，有多少電影觀眾享受電影中對大規模暴力的描述，例如《現代啟示錄》(Apocalypse Now)、《黑鷹計畫》(Black Hawk Down)，甚至《星際大戰》(Star Wars)，這中間是否有些問題值得探討？ 而這樣的真實又對於我們、我們的文化以及我們不斷變化的戰爭觀念和過去說明了什麼？
作者介紹
大衛·湯姆森（David Thomson）是超過二十五本書的作者，其中包括《電影傳記詞典》（The Biographical Dictionary of Film）、電影導演奧遜·威爾斯（Orson Welles）和編劇家大衛·O·塞爾茲尼克（David O. Selznick）的傳記，以及以電影人物角色的小說《嫌疑犯》（Suspect）。
書評
"A marvelous bombshell of a book, by one of our most formidably knowledgeable and insightful writers on film, it is filled with surprises and witty asides. Though Thomson is quick to pounce on the hypocrisies and historical omissions of some of these war movies, there is nothing compromised about his own daredevil judgments. We are in the hands of a master critic/essayist." — Phillip Lopate
“Persistently, thoughtfully questioning what filmmakers intend, what conversations they’re accidentally stepping into and how we as moviegoers are implicated as war-story consumers. Thomson is exceedingly well-equipped for the job . . . . bracing and surprising.” — Los Angeles Times
“This stellar book is about how filmmakers simplify the bloody business of war and why audiences buy into it. Readers who enjoy vigorous arguments and good writing will love this book.” — Library Journal (starred review)
“Praise the gods for giving us a writer with a deep moral sense and an epigrammatic prose style who writes as exquisitely about war as he does about film. Thomson's book brims with striking observations and provocative readings of crucial films, the great and the forgotten, from All Quiet on the Western Front to Apocalypse Now to Black Hawk Down and scores more. The Fatal Alliance is an absorbing, uproarious and essential book -- about war, about film, about us. And my God, the man can write!" — Mark Danner, author of Stripping Bare the Body: Politics Violence War and Spiral: Trapped in the Forever War
“Thomson’s own genius is his ability to remain one of the leading authorities on cinematic history, without shying away from the controversial. Cinephiles seeking provocative arguments will appreciate his work.” — Library Journal
"Interesting and thought-provoking . . . . Insightful and important.” — Booklist
“With each new book from David Thomson . . . I have the same sensation I have when I enter a dark movie theatre: Anticipation, delight, curiosity . . . . a brilliant writer who writes better about film than almost everybody else . . . . not just a book about how films have treated war, but a fascinating, coruscating study of how films have shaped our minds and feelings about something that terrifies us, grips us . . . . What can I say? David Thomson, you’ve done it again.” — James Grissom
“Insightful, fascinating, and educational . . . . The author's examination of why these types of films continue to resonate, despite their bleak and catastrophic subject matter, is a must read." — PopCultureGuy
海外授權
Italian / Jimenez Edizioni!