Top Five: How ‘High Fidelity’ Found Its Rhythm and Became a Cult Movie Classic

by Andrew Buss

The movie High Fidelity is sacred ground for music lovers and cinephiles alike. Through the story of hapless record store owner Rob Gordon and his coterie of vinyl snobs, the 1997 film made it cool to let your geek flag fly and embrace your irrational enthusiasms. In Top Five, journalist Andrew Buss offers a rollicking oral history of the making of the film and its continued influence on popular culture.

When a book is as universally praised as Nick Hornby’s original novel, adapting it for screen can be a tricky prospect. Top Five examines the difficulties that went into writing the although the book was set in London, the screenwriting team (which included star John Cusack) transplanted the story to Chicago, drawing on their own experiences growing up there. Fears that the film would be an Americanized dilution of the source material evaporated when fans of the book saw just how true the film stayed to Rob’s story.

Buss draws on interviews with actors like Cusack, Jack Black, and Iben Hjejle, along with all the key principals behind the scenes, including director Stephen Frears and the movie’s screenwriter, producers, and composer. Together they offer a multi-perspectival account that captures the legacy of the film, showing how it created an indelible snapshot of ’90s culture while anticipating our current era of media surfeit and content overload.

212 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 1, 2023

Reviews

[Nikolai Garcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like the movie, you'll love this book. Not boring, fast-paced, and learned a lot of cool things.

[Kristin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I only read the Chicago parts, but honestly this reads like an undergraduate essay. With less passion.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strictly for the heads.