Rating: Summary: Praise for Steve Hunter's One and Only Book As Film Critic Review: * "Violent Screen ... offers pithy reviews and articles solely from the engaging pen of Hunter. He categorizes by genre, thus creatively organizing a virtual laundry list of sex and violence. Recommended for circulating libraries with cinema collections." -- Library Journal*"Hunter has a very clear vision of cinematic crime. And his opinionated reviews propvide refreshing appraisals of a wide assortment of movies from Scorsese's 'The King of Comedy' to Tarantino's 'Pulp Fiction.'" -- Los Angeles Times * "Hunter doesn't use this collection for a platform. Violence, like horror films, may provide cathartic release, but there is no pattern, he writes, no conclusions to draw on the influence of movie violence on real violence. It repulses us, yet we revel in it ... For all its timeliness and intent, Violent Screen is also a fun read. Hunter is a fan first, and film (and video) fans will appreciate the energy in his writing... Enlightening and entertaining, Violent Screen could hardly offer a better combination." -- Virginia Pilot * "Stephen Hunter is a first-rate movie reviewer, as is richly evident in this collection of critiques." -- Philadelphia Inquirer * "In this provocative collection of essays and criticism, Hunter follows the history of guns in the movies from their prominence in the first feature film, 'The Great Train Robbery' (1903) through their lean years as accessories in gangster and 'noir' films, to their use as status symbols in the James Bond series and their big break in 'Dirty Harry.' Clint Eastwood's 1971 movie clearly updated a notion that goes back to the Middle Ages -- a man is his weapon -- and pushed a .44 magnum to the center of the screen as icon and co-star. Dozens of 'Rambos' and 'Terminators' and 'Die Hards' later, Hunter deplores the way the fetishistic appeal of more and bigger guns has been used to teach the worst possible lessons to the most impressionable, credulous viewers." -- The Oregonian * "Stephen Hunter is not one of the best known film critics - since 1982 he has been a reviewer for the Baltimore Sun-and has perhaps gained wider fame as a novelist. A selection of his reviews is gathered together in "Violent Screen: A Critic's 13 Years on the Front Lines of Movie Mayhem" (Bancroft Press, P.O. Box 65360, Baltimore, MD 21209, $19.95). Arranged under a variety of subject headings, the films under discussion range from Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction to Schindler's List and Shoah. There is nothing here that makes hard reading, and it is always good to have in book form a review source outside of the mainstream (i.e.,Variety and the New York Times)." -- Slide Area: Film Book Notes by Anthony Slide
Rating: Summary: Not a book you'll read cover to cover but.. Review: .... each 3 - 4 page review is informative and entertaining (not that you'll agree with all his reviews). Perfect book to leave in the bathroom for those visiting guets that will only have a couple of minutes work time in there.
Rating: Summary: HUNTER'S BEST BOOKS IS NON-FICTION!!!??!! Review: A wonderful and gritty collection of Stephen Hunter's work as a film critic is captured in this amazing book. Hunter has a keen eye for detail and he fill each review with wit and realism. Hunter also includes film essays and suggests movies that are similar to or better than the one he is reviewing. I have never been fan of Hunter's fiction (gun stories get boring) but "Violent Screen" was a pure joy to read again and again.
Rating: Summary: Short bursts in this book. Review: America is often seen by the world as a society that glorifies violence, as demonstrated by our movies. This book takes on that topic head on. The reviews themselves are very helpful. Some movies receive praise, others the opposite. Violent movies expose our flaws and show our conscience. Read this book if you are interested in good movies. By the way, it takes about a minute to read each vignette. This makes for good bedtime reading or for the subway--anywhere that you have only a short amount of time to read.
Rating: Summary: the thinking person's action-movie guide Review: Hunter's capsule reviews of several dozen violent movies of various genres is a great read for the film fanatic. Like Roger Ebert, you often find yourself recognizing the truth of what he is saying even as he is bashing some of your favorite films. Hunter is a perceptive critic who can provide great insight into specific films, yet somehow the scope of the book seems too narrow, despite several broader articles about films interspersed between the reviews; THE DEER HUNTER, for instance, is dismissed as a minor and flawed piece of film-making in just a few lines without going in-depth into why he feels this way. It is frustrating little things like this which prevent me from giving it five stars. Still, this book provides much food for thought for the film buff.
Rating: Summary: A favorite author of thrillers is a movie critic Review: I've read many of Stephen Hunter's novels, and have some more yet to read. This book, Violent Screen, intrigued me by its title because I have long noted that Hollywood, populated as it is with a preponderance of liberal, anti-gun, anti-violence sob sisters, cannot seem to make a movie without featuring gun violence, homicidal car chases, and other socially unacceptable action on a grand scale.
The average citizen of the United States has never, WILL never, in a normal lifetime, be witness, even once, to most of the violent acts that, if you judge our society by what Hollywood portrays, is a normal daily occurrence on our streets.
The so-called "Wild West," for example, depicted by Hollywood, with its stand-up quick-draw shoot-outs, is the product of the fevered imaginations of screenwriters and Eastern pulp fiction purveyors. If the truth were known, Eastern cities were far more violent than the Western villages of the nineteenth century.
But, Stephen Hunter is not judgmental about such things. His appreciation for their product goes beyond such judgments. His criticism is of their craft, not their agenda. Perhaps that is as it should be.
Despite the fact that his novels show evidence of a writer with encyclopedic knowledge of firearms, and it is evident that he is a shooter, which he himself confesses, his movie reviews show a different man: one who is sensitive to the feminist cause, and a sensitive portrayal of the "alternate life-style." While his novels, particularly the Bob Lee Swagger series, are filled with violence, crude language, torture, and denigrating racial depictions, in Violent Screen another writer emerges: a thoughtful, careful thinker whose sensitivities are subtle and nuanced.
There is no doubt that Stephen Hunter is a skilled writer, with an extraordinary vocabulary, and a wonderful ability to tell a story that holds you entranced. What this book shows me is that he is also a man I'd like to know. He is a critical thinker of the first rank, whose opinions I can respect.
Joseph (Joe) Pierre, USN (Ret)
author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and maintenance
and other books
Rating: Summary: The measure of a mind Review: Stephen Hunter is a talented prolific novelist, who also writes insightful movie reviews. It's always interesting to see if you agree with the opinion of a writer you enjoy. But here Hunter has given us himself. There is an epilogue that appears out of place, until you understand just how willing Hunter is to invest himself in his writing. Excellent and unforgetable.
Rating: Summary: Insightful? I think not Review: Stephen Hunter's book first attracted me because of the blunt manner in which he confronts America's obsession with violence, as characterized by the movies we love. This initial fondness for his boldness soon drifts away, as I read his various selections on individual movies. I think Hunter misses the point; he does not understand the contradictions he forms in his numerous, faulty reviews. He criticizes such films that deal with cruel portayals of violence, yet he seems utterly captivated with documentaries of real-life American crime. His harsh undermining of "Unforgiven" leaves me with several questions. How can someone so opionated with violence on-screen by so opposed to a movie that is so blatantly a cry against violence? Did Hunter miss the point? Does he think Eastwood's character is supposed to be likeable? Hunter nearly ruins his book in one line: "it wasn't even a good picture" (referring to "The Deer Hunter"). He claims that it was a horrible portrayal of racism and an ultimate "technical blunder." Yet, Hunter deals with this movie in a mere four lines, while giving the gun selection of the cast in "The Wild Bunch" several pages. The one highlight of the book is the epilogue, a haunting look at Hunter's father. This portrayal of a "Father of Darkness" is where Hunter's talent as a writer truly shows through. It is a shame, then, to remember the precedeing 380 pages after reading this troubling portrait.
Rating: Summary: Here are the reviews: Review: The Philadelphia Inquirer, July 24, 1996
Stephen Hunter is a first-rate movie reviewer for the Baltimore Sun, as is richly evident
in his collection of critiques, Violent Screen: A Critic's 13 Years on the Front lines
of Movie Mayhem (Bancroft Press, $19.95). He tours those familiar genres - film
noir, westerns, war, horror, wiseguys.
The Baltimore Sun, Nov. 12, 1995
"Cowherd, Hunter, Olesker Between Covers"
(a review by Michael Pakenham)
"Violent Screen: A Critic's 13 Years on the Front Lines of Movie Mayhem," by
Stephen Hunter. Bancroft Press. 305 pages. $19.95
These volumes, now coming on the market, contain much of the best work of three of
the Baltimore Sun's staff writers. It should be obvious without further elaboration that
the editors of this newspaper believe that work to be of a high level of professional
excellence. Why else publish the stuff?
Read individually, most of these essays are simply first-rate, enduring journalism.
Taken together, they present a rich and nourishing portrait of a city and region and of a
major contemporary art form as seen through Baltimore eyes.
Hunter's book is comprised of his reviews of 100 films that he cites as the most
important made since he began as the Sun's regular film critic in 1982.
The arrangement and emphasis of the book focus on violence, in films and in
contemporary society, but the sweep of titles and of subjects is virtually all-inclusive.
Hunter has published more than a half-dozen novels, including Dirty White Boys,
Point of Impact, and The Day Before Midnight. This is the first published collection
of his criticism.
Baltimore Magazine, November 1995
"Spotlight: Books"
Some Baltimore Industries may be on their last legs, but our essay-writing industry is
hot, hot, hot. This month, four local scribes publish new collections of opinion.
With seven novels to his credit, Sun film critic Stephen Hunter is an old hand at book
authorship, but Violent Screen from Bancroft Press is his first essay collection. The
book includes the most trenchant of Hunter's reviews of violent movies, categorized by
type of violence -- cowboys, gangsters, cops, batterers, etc.
"My feelings about violence are very powerful," says Hunter, whose own father was
murdered. "It seems to provoke my imagination in an odd way."
The book was in progress before Bob Dole denounced Hollywood and turned the
public eye on the impact of violence in film and on TV. But, Hunter says that debate
was bound to begin again sooner or later.
"Every 20 years, we go through an orgy of self-examination about the secret
attractions of violence," says Hunter. How will it come out this time around? "I believe
in the power of the market," says Hunter. "These cycles of violence come and go, and
they die when nobody wants to see them anymore." Library Journal Review
(a Review by Carol J. Binkowski, Bloomfield, N.J.)
Hunter, Stephen.
Violent Screen: A Critic's 13 Years on the Front Lines of Movie Mayhem.
Bancroft Pr., P.O. Box 65360, Baltimore, MD 21209. November 1995. c303 p. ISBN
0-9635376-4-4. $19.95 Film
Since long before Robert Dole's condemnation of Hollywood, on-screen sex and
violence as well as their companion issue, censorship, have been the focus of hot
debate. Critics" views on these issues are often enlightening, and two books present
many thought- provoking perspectives on the artistic, historic, social and cultural
aspects of the subject -- ultimately proving that there are no simple criteria on the
cinematic front.
Violent Screen offers pithy reviews and articles solely from the engaging pen of Hunter
(Dirty White Boys, LJ 10/15/94). He categorizes by genre, thus creatively organizing
a virtual laundry list of sex and violence: film noir, outlaws, sexual obsession, horror,
westerns, war, action-adventure, race, and domestic violence, to name a few. And,
many of the summary articles have provocative social/historical angles (e.g., "Changing
Film Images of Vietnam"). Covering the gamut from Philadelphia to Rambo to Blue
Velvet, both works will delight cineaste and casual browser alike and either contains
enough grist for several years of debate on the subject. Both are well recommended
for circulating libraries with cinema collections.
Publisher's Weekly, Oct. 23, 1995
Short Subjects(Rights Column by Paul Nathan)
Stephen Hunter, a novelist, and movie critic of the Baltimore Sun, has something to contribute
to the debate on whether violence on film begets violence in life. Bancroft Press, specializing
in Baltimore authors, has set Nov. 30 publication for Hunter's Violent Screen: A Critic's 13
Years on the Frontlines of Movie Mayhem.
NBN News Breaking Now
Violent Screen: A Criticâs 13 Years on the Frontlines of Movie Mayhem (Bancroft), a
book written by very popular movie critic (for Baltimore Sun) and novelist (Dirty White
Boys) Stephen Hunter, is shipping this month and has sold to Dell for paperback.
Rating: Summary: Sleaze and evil on screen Review: This book gives a a short look at some of the most controversial movies Hollywood has made. It separates movies into different categories like action-adventure, film noir, horr, war, etc., so you can expect what you are about to read. Finally, it asks a question: If our nation is against violence so much, why are we supporting movies that contain so much of it? I enjoyed reading Violent Screen somewhat. It showcased a few of my favorite movies such as Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dongs, and my all-time favorite, True Romance, all directed by Quentin Tarintono. But I got bored by reading about movies I can't stand like Born on the Fourth of July and Scarface. Author Steven Hunter also included reviews of movies like Thelma and Louise; that confused me. I didn't feel that it was violent or controversial enough to be featured in this book. Atfer reading other reviews, such as that of Romeo Is Bleeding, I wanted to see the movie as soon as possible. Overall, I found Violent Screen a mediocre book. I enjoyed reading about some of my favorite movies, but flipped the pages of the ones that bored me. There were a few movies that made me wonder why they were even in the book. I enjoyed reading Hunter's opinions. Part of the "fun" of this book was seeing what he thought about my favorite movies. I agreed with the author about half of the time, but you are not always supposed to agree with a movie review. Also, I found the book to be a bit too long. If I were to recommend this book to someone, it would be to a person who likes violent movies. Anyone else should stay as far away as possible.
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