Listamania Contd: 20 Best Books on Indian cinema

20 Best Books on Indian Cinema: (in random order)

1.      Indian Film by Erik Barnouw & S. Krishnaswamy (OUP, 1980)

2.      National Identity in Indian Popular Cinema 1947-1987 by S. Chakravarty (OUP, 1993)

3.      The Painted Face: Studies in India’s Popular Cinema by Chidananda Dasgupta (Roli, 1991)

4.      Talking Films: Conversations on Hindi Cinema with Javed Akhtar by Nusreen Munni Kabir (OUP, 1999) (Also the companion volume, Talking Songs)

5.      Indian Popular Cinema, ed. Pradip Krishen, India International Centre Quarterly (IIC, 1980)

6.      The Secret Politics of Our Desires: Innocence, Culpability and Indian Popular Cinema by Ashish Nandy (OUP, 1998)

7.      Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema by Ashish Rajyadhyaksha and Paul Willeman (OUP/British Film Institute, 1999)

8.      Report of the Enquiry Committee of S.K. Patil (New Delhi, 1951)

9.      Ideology of the Hindi Film  by Madhava Prasad (Rupa, 1998)

10.   The Cinema of Satyajit Ray by Chidananda Dasgupta (NBT, 1994)

11.   The Cinematic Image Nation: Indian Popular Films as Social History, 1947-2000  by Jyotika Virdi (Rutgers University Press, 2003)

12.   Mourning the Nation: Indian Cinema in the Wake of Partition by Bhaskar Sarkar (Duke University Press, 2009)

13.   Our Films, Their Films by Satyajit Ray (Orient Longman, 1976)

14.   Making Meaning in Indian Cinema by Ravi Vasudevan (OUP, 2000)

15.   City Flicks: Indian Cinema and the Urban Experience  ed. Preben Kaarsholm (Seagull, 2004)

16.   Bombay Cinema: An Archive of the City by Ranjani Mazumdar (Permanent Black, 2007)

17.   Apu and After: Revisiting Ray’s Cinema ed. Moinak Biswas (Seagull, 2006)

18.   The Politics of India’s Conventional Cinema by Fareed Kazmi (Sage, 1999)

19.   Bollywood: A History by Mihir Bose (Roli, 2006)

20.   The Bioscope Man (a novel) by Indrajit Hazra (Penguin, 2008)

Listamania: 30 Great Film Books

In the year 2000, Sight & Sound magazine asked 51 leading critics and writers which are the most inspirational five books about film ever written. The choices threw more light on the writers who made the selections rather than on the content or quality of the books they mentioned. It only intrigued me enough to come up with my own list, though not restricted to a list of five. These may not be the 'greatest' books on cinema (if any such judgement was possible) but they are the ones closest to my heart.

30 Best books on Cinema (not in order of excellence)

1.      Signs & Meaning in the Cinema by Peter Wollen (Secker & Warburg, 1969)

2.      Hitchcock by Francoise Truffaut (Paladin, 1967)

3.      The World Viewed: Reflections on the Ontology of the Film  by Stanley Cavell (Viking, 1971)

4.      What is Cinema? Volumes I & II by Andre Bazin (University of California Press, 1967, 1971)

5.      Notes on the Cinematographer by Robert Bresson (Editions Gallimard, 1975)

6.      Currents in Japanese Cinema by Tadao Sato (Kodansha International, 1982)

7.      Film as a Subversive Art by Amos Vogel (Random House, 1974)

8.      Sculpting in Time by Andrei Tarkovsky (Bodley Head, 1986)

9.      The Cinema Book by Pam Cook (BFI, 1985)

10.   The Altering Eye: Contemporary International Cinema by Robert Phillip Kolker (OUP, 1983)

11.   Film Form by Sergei Eisenstein (Harcourt Brace, 1949)

12.   Film Sense by Sergei Eisenstein (Faber & Faber, 1943)

13.   A History of the Cinema: From its Origins to 1970 by Eric Rhode (Allen Lane, 1976)

14.   Bergman on Bergman ed. Stig Bjorkman, et al (Touchstone, 1973)

15.   Godard on Godard ed. by Tom Milne (De Capo Press, 1986)

16.   To the Distant Observer: Form & Meaning in Japanese Cinema by Noel Burch (University of California Press, 1979)

17.   Ozu by Donald Richie (University of California Press, 1974)

18.   The Japanese Film: Art & Industry by Donald Richie & Joseph L Anderson (Princeton University Press, 1982)

19.   Movies & Methods, Volume I and II ed. Bill Nichols (University of California Press, 1976 ; reprinted by Seagull Books, Calcutta, 1993)

20.   Film Theory & Criticism ed. Gerald Mast and Marshall Cohen (OUP, 1985)

21.   Ingmar Bergman: Essays in Criticism ed. Stuart Kaminsky (OUP, 1975)

22.   Federico Fellini: Essays in Criticism ed. Peter Bondanella (OUP, 1978)

23.   Concepts in Film Theory by Dudley Andrew (OUP, 1984)

24.   My Autobiography by Charles Chaplin (Penguin, 1964)

25.   Jump-Cut: Hollywood, Politics and Counter-Cinema ed. Peter Steven (Between the Lines, 1985)

26.   New Vocabularies in Film Semiotics: Structuralism, Post-Structuralism & Beyond ed. Robert Stam, Robert Burgoyne & Sandy Flitterman-Lewis (Routledge, 1992)

27.   Brazilian Cinema ed. Randal Johnson & Robert Stam (Columbia University Press, 1995)

28.   Magical Reels: A History of Cinema in Latin America by John King (Verso, 2000)

29.   The Films of Akira Kurosawa by Donald Richie (University of California Press, 1998)

30.   Eros Plus Massacre: An Introduction to the Japanese New Wave by David Desser (Indiana University Press, 1988)

50 Indian films to see before you die!

While lists on World Cinema and American Cinema and European Cinema abound, I wonder why there are no lists of Indian Cinema. Here is one to begin with. This is in chronological order and includes films made till 1995. I am still working on a list post 1995. 

1.     Neecha Nagar (1946) by Chetan Anand

2.     Dharti Ke Lal (1946) by K.A. Abbas

3.     Dr. Kotnis ki amar Kahani (1946) by V. Shantaram

4.     Kalpana (1948) by Uday Shankar

5.     Do Bigha Zameen (1953) by Bimal Roy

6.     Pather Panchali (1955) by Satyajit Ray

7.     Jaagte Raho (1957) by Shambhu Mitra

8.     Aparajito (1957) by Satyajit Ray

9.     Mother India (1957) by Mehboob Khan

10. Kaagaz ka Phool (1959) by Guru Dutt

11. Mughal e Azam (1960) by K. Asif

12. Charulata (1964) by Satyajit Ray

13. Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne (1968) by Satyajit Ray

14. Bhuvan Shome (1969) by Mrinal Sen

15. Uski Roti (1969) by Mani Kaul

16. Samskara (1970) by Pattabhi Rama Reddy

17. Pakeezah (1971) by Kamal Amrohi

18. Ankur (1973) by Shyam Benegal

19. Sholay (1975) by Ramesh Sippy

20. Ghasiram Kotwal (1976) by Saeed Akhtar Mirza etc (YUKT Coop)

21. Ekdin Pratidin (1976) by Mrinal Sen

22. Aakaler Sandhaney (1980) by Mrinal Sen

23. Chakra (1980) by Ravindra Dharmaraj

24. Bhavni Bhavai (1980) by Ketan Mehta

25. 36 Chowringhee Lane (1981) by Aparna Sen

26. Elipathhayam (1981) by Adoor Gopalakrishnan

27. Ardha Satya (1983) by Govind Nihalani

28. Jaane Do Bhi Yaaron (1983) by Kundan Shah

29. Maya Miriga (1983) by Nirada Mahapatra

30. Damul (1984) by Prakash Jha

31. Mukhamukham (1984) by Adoor Gopalakrishnan

32. Paar (1984) by Gautam Ghosh

33. Chidambaram (1985) by G. Aravindan

34. Bombay, Our City (1985) by Anand Patwardhan

35. Mirch Masala (1985) by Ketan Mehta

36. New Delhi Times (1985) by Ramesh Sharma

37. Klanta Aparanha (1985) by Manmohan Mahapatra

38. Tabarane Kathe (1986) by Girish Kasaravalli

39. Genesis (1986) by Mrinal Sen

40. Anantaram (1987) by Adoor Gopalakrishnan

41. Nayakan (1987) by Mani Ratnam

42. Tamas (1987) by Govind Nihalani (5 hour TV series)

43. Piravi (1988) by Shaji Karun

44. Roja (1992) by Mani Ratnam

45. Bandit Queen (1994) by Shekhar Kapur

46. Hkhgoroloi Bohu Dur (1994) by Jahnu Barua

47. Kadhalan (1994) by S. Shankar

48. Unishe April (1995) by Rituparno Ghosh

49. Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayengey (1995) by Aditya Chopra

50. Kathapurusham (1995) by Adoor Gopalakrishnan

Next 70 Films to See Before You Die

Who doesn't like lists? Personally I love making them up for myself. Following my earlier post titled '50 Films to See Before You Die', I was surprised how many people started using it as a guide to initiate themselves to the world of cinema. I insist that 50 films is very inadequate to claim any kind of film literacy. One has to see at least 200 of them. So in continuation of that, here is my follow-up list of the next 70 great films. I refuse to rank them and so prefer to present them in A-Z order. This list still leaves a large number of outstanding films. You can rest assured that even after seeing these films, you will have scratched only on the surface of international cinema. This list is only indicative, an invitation to explore world cinemas.

(A-Z order)

1. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) by Stanley Kubrick
2. 21 Grams (2003) by Alejandro González Innaritú
3. Amarcod (1973) by Federico Fellini
4. Amores Perros (2000) by Alejandro González Innaritú
5. Ashes and Diamonds (1958) by Andrzej Wajda
6. Battleship Potemkin (1925) by Sergei Eisenstein
7. Behind the Sun (2001) by Walter Salles
8. The Birth of a Nation (1915) by David Wark Griffith
9. Bitter Moon (1992) by Roman Ploanski
10. Bonnie and Clyde (1967) by Arthur Penn
11. Breathless (1960) by Jean Luc Godard
12. Casablanca (1942) by Michael Curtiz
13. Central Station (1998) by Walter Salles
14. Children of Paradise (1945) by Marcel Carne
15. Children of Men (2006) by Alfonso Cuarón
16. Chinatown (1974) by Roman Polanski
17. Closely Watched Trains (1967) by Jiri Menzel
18. Diary of a Country Priest (1951) by Robert Bresson
19. Do the right thing (1989) by Spike Lee
20. Don’t Die without telling me where you are going (1995) by Eliseo Subiela
21. Double Indemnity (1944) by Billy Wilder
22. Duck Soup (1933) by Marx Brothers
23. Easy Rider (1969) by Dennis Hopper
24. Eyes Wide Shut (1999) by Stanley Kubrick
25. Faces (1968) by John Cassavasetes
26. Fanny and Alexander (by 1982) by Ingmar Bergman
27. Talk to Her (2002) by Pedro Almodóvar
28. The Constant Gardener (2005) by Fernando Meirelles
29. The Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964) by Pier Paolo Pasolini
30. The Graduate (1967) by Mike Nichols
31. Greed (1924) by Eric von Stroheim
32. High Noon (1952) by Fred Zinnemann
33. In Praise of Love (2001) by Jean Luc Godard
34. In the Realm of the Senses (1976) by Nagisa Oshima
35. Intervista (1987) by Federico Fellini
36. Jalsaghar (1958) by Satyajit Ray
37. Kalpana (1948) by Uday Shankar
38. Landscape in the Mist (1988) by Theo Angelopolous
39. Lucia (1968) by Humberto Solás
40. M (1931) by Fritz Lang
41. The Maltese Falcon (1941) by John Huston
42. Man with a Movie Camera (1929) by Dziga Vertov
43. Manhattan (1979) by Woody Allen
44. The Mystery of Kaspar Hauser (1974) by Werner Herzog
45. The Marriage of Maria Braun (1978) by Rainer Fassbinder
46. Last Tango in Paris (1972) by Bernardo Bertolucci
47. Los Olvidados (1950) by Luis Buñuel
48. Nine Lives (2005) by Rodrigo García
49. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) by Carl Dreyer
50. Pather Panchali (1955) by Satyajit Ray
51. Psycho (1960) by Alfred Hitchcock
52. Pulp Fiction (1994) by Quentin Tarantino
53. Raging Bull (1980) by Martin Scorsese
54. Rear Window (1954) by Alfred Hitchcock
55. Rebel without a case (1955) by Nicholas Ray
56. The Rules of the Game (1939) by Jean Renoir
57. Scarface (1932) by Howard Hawks
58. The Seven Samurai (1954) by Akira Kurosawa
59. Shortcuts (1993) by Robert Altman
60. Singin’ in the rain (1952) by Donen & Kelly
61. Sunset Boulevard (1950) by Billy Wilder
62. Tango (1998) by Carlos Saura
63. The Third Man (1949) by Carol Reed
64. Three Times (2005) by Hou Hsiao Hsien
65. Tokyo Story (1953) by Yasujiro Ozu
66. Touch of Evil (1958) by Orson Welles
67. Two or Three Things I know About Her (1967) by Jean Luc Godard
68. Ugetsu Momogatari (1953) by Kenji Mizoguchi
69. The Wizard of Oz (1939) by Victor Fleming
70. W.R.: Mysteries of the Organism (1971) by Dusan Makavejev