The Big Screen

<p>In this triumphant work David Thomson, one of film's greatest living experts and author of <i>The New Biographical Dictionary of Film</i>, tells the enthralling story of the movies and how they have shaped us.<br><br><b><i>Sunday Times</i>, <i>New Statesman</i>, <i>The Times</i>, <i>Guardian</i>, <i>Observer</i> and <i>Independent</i> BOOKS OF THE YEAR</b><br><br>Taking us around the globe, through time and across multiple media, Thomson tracks the ways in which we were initially enchanted by this mesmerizing imitation of life and let movies - the stories, the stars, the look - show us how to live. But at the same time he shows us how movies, offering a seductive escape from the everyday reality and its responsibilities, have made it possible for us to evade life altogether. The entranced audience has become a model for powerless citizens trying to pursue happiness by sitting quietly in a dark room. Does the big screen take us out into the world, or merely mesmerize us? That is Thomson's question in this great adventure of a book. A passionate feat of storytelling that is vital to anyone trying to make sense of the age of screens - the age that, more than ever, we are living in.</p> <p>In this triumphant work David Thomson, one of film's greatest living experts and author of <i>The New Biographical Dictionary of Film</i>, tells the enthralling story of the movies and how they have shaped us.<br><br><b><i>Sunday Times</i>, <i>New Statesman</i>, <i>The Times</i>, <i>Guardian</i>, <i>Observer</i> and <i>Independent</i> BOOKS OF THE YEAR</b><br><br>Taking us around the globe, through time and across multiple media, Thomson tracks the ways in which we were initially enchanted by this mesmerizing imitation of life and let movies - the stories, the stars, the look - show us how to live. But at the same time he shows us how movies, offering a seductive escape from the everyday reality and its responsibilities, have made it possible for us to evade life altogether. The entranced audience has become a model for powerless citizens trying to pursue happiness by sitting quietly in a dark room. Does the big screen take us out into the world, or merely mesmerize us? That is Thomson's question in this great adventure of a book. A passionate feat of storytelling that is vital to anyone trying to make sense of the age of screens - the age that, more than ever, we are living in.</p>