Now Playing at the Valencia: Pulitzer Prize-Winning Essays on Movies

By Stephen Hunter

Book Overview

From Pulitzer Prize-winning movie critic and New York Times bestselling author Stephen Hunter comes a brilliant, freewheeling, and witty look at the movies.

Evanston, Illinois, was an idyllic 1950s paradise with stately homes, a beautiful lake, a world-class university, two premier movie houses, and one very seedy movie theater--the Valencia.
This was the site of Washington Post film critic Stephen Hunter's misspent youth. Instead of going to school, picking up girls, or tossing a football, Hunter could be found sitting in the fifteenth row, right-hand aisle seat of the Valencia, sating himself on one B-list movie after another.

The Valencia had a sticky floor, smelly bathrooms, ancient popcorn, and a screen set in a hideously tacky papier-mache castle wall. It was also the only place in town to see westerns, sci-fi pictures, cops 'n' robbers flicks, slapstick comedy, and Godzilla.

In Now Playing at the Valencia, the bestselling thriller author Stephen Hunter has compiled his favorite movie reviews written between 1997 and 2003, bringing to the discussion the passionate feelings for cinema he discovered in the '50s, a time when genres were forming, mesmerizing stars played unforgettable characters, and enduring classics were made. While filmmaking has changed tremendously since Hunter first frequented the Valencia, the view from the fifteenth row, and the thrill of down and dirty entertainment, has remained the same.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743261259
• ISBN13: 9780743261258
• Release Date: November 2005
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.2" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Movie Criticism at its Best

Hunter's reputation as an elite reviewer is well-deserved as these essays prove. He doesn't suffer fools and he has no interest in being politically correct. Realism is a major tool in this arsenal, which makes him impatient with the dignital tidal wave that struck Hollywood. This was a fun book to read.

Best Film Critic in the Nation

Stephen Hunter is not only a good novelist, he is the best film critic in the nation. He's head,shoulders, and chest above anyone else. These are his reviews for the past decade or so. He's an exceptional writer and an exceptional critic. If you like movies, or good writing, by all means get this book