Warning Shadows: Home Alone with Classic Cinema

by Gary Giddins

A brilliantly insightful and witty examination of beloved and little-known films, directors, and stars by one of America’s most esteemed critics. In his illuminating new work, Gary Giddins explores the evolution of film, from the first moving pictures and peepshows to the digital era of DVDs and online video-streaming. New technologies have changed our experience of cinema forever; we have peeled away from the crowded theater to be home alone with classic cinema. Recounting the technological developments that films have undergone, Warning Shadows travels through time and across genres to explore the impact of the industry’s most famous classics and forgotten gems. Essays such as “Houdini Escapes! From the Vaults! Of the Past!,” “Edward G. Robinson, See,” and “Prestige and Pretension ( Pride and Prejudice )” capture the wit and magic of classic cinema. Each chapter―ranging from the horror films of Hitchcock to the fantastical frames of Disney―provides readers with engaging analyses of influential films and the directors and actors who made them possible.

Genres: Film, Media Tie In, Nonfiction, Essays

418 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Sasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a movie studio in possession of a fortune must be in want of Great Books."

This is just one of many brilliant,eccentric and elegant chapter introductions in collection of magazine articles published between 2005 and 2009 (mostly in "The New York Sun") and now nicely preserved under title "Warning shadows: home alone with classic cinema" by Gary Giddins . Giddins, who is an excellent music critic shows that he is not limited on just one territory: he writes about classic movies with the same fair and wit,often pointing at lesser known gems (1967 soviet "Anna Karenina") and offering his view on works by Kurosawa, Bergman, Tati and everything from "Blade Runner" to "Ben Hur", amusing his readers with riches of anecdotes along the way. I actually have his celebrated biography of Bing Crosby (that covers first part of Bing's career, hopefully there will be a sequel) so was no surprised that Crosby somehow found the way even in this book, as he left his mark in the movies as well. Giddins is a true wit, a man who knows how to engage a reader with a funny touch and often pointing at quality or lack of it in the classic movies - his opinions often suggest re-viewing and surely I am not the only one who noted few names down during the reading of this collection. Because it's basically collection of essays, it can be enjoyed slowly - myself,I was initially browsing trough some of my favorite pieces, going backwards and forwards, until eventually I read the whole darn thing from cover to cover once again with the biggest pleasure.

Touching not only the selected movies and giving intriguing informations about actors,directors and producers, Giddins also writes about the movie industry and the way audience perceive movie entertainment - he writes about nickelodeon days and muses what a long way we crossed from watching the movies trough the hole in a machine until present day when (again) movie watching is solitary business,often confined to a electronic notebook gadgets. In a way, this book is a love letter to countless cinema theaters that are now a thing of the past and in fact there is a heartfelt tribute to long-gone New York cinemas listed at the beginning of the book. Combining his knowledge of movies and music,Giddins is in my opinion in the same league as equally gifted Will Friedwald (author of "Jazz singing") and hopefully this work will inspire others to continue in the same league. Excellent reading that surely invites re-visits and it shows how wonderful and sincere the work can be when is done with love.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collection of previously published pieces by Giddins about classic cinema. The articles were pegged to a DVD release(s) so they are a little basic and introductory for people who already know the films being discussed. Still Giddins is a very perceptive critic and almost always has something interesting to say.

Still waiting for Giddins' second volume of his Bing Crosby biography.

[Yourfiendmrjones · Rating 3 out of 5]

As much as I appreciate discovering new films on disc that I’ve never heard of before, Giddins’ dry takes on even his favorites tends to leave me cold. I’m praying the Crosby bio I’m about to read is better.

[VT Dorchester · Rating 2 out of 5]

The last book on the "in the library of Dad" TBR pile I pulled together at the start of the Covid lockdowns here when libraries were temporarily non-functioning.

This was okay, but because it talks a lot about specific DVD releases, a lot of it isn't especially relevant if you're not going to go out and buy a DVD release - it's interesting how out of date some of it seems as it was published just as streaming started having an impact on the screen-watching habits of the world.

I'm going to make some notes, but I didn't read everything here, only the reviews, etc., about films and directors that I've seen.

[Dan Lalande · Rating 4 out of 5]

Culture vulture Giddins, from back when his playground was the DVD box set phenomenon of the early 2000s. Giddins giddily combs catalogs of pre-code and classic-era cinema, bringing a historian's intransigence, a caricaturist's eye, a moralist's ruefulness, and a sycophant's avidity.

[robyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes I read cookbooks sheerly for the pleasure of it; I read this book on movies in the same spirit. I'm not particularly interested in movies, I haven't made a study of them and these days, I should be embarrassed to admit, almost the only films that get me to part with $12 for a ticket involve good looking people in tights.

So this book, which is a collection of essays and often pretty technical, did the almost inconceivable in making me want to go looking for movies - some old, some modern, some completely outside my normal tastes - just to see if I can see what Giddins sees.

Takes an expert or a personality to make a subject interesting to someone who's not particularly interested in it. I do recommend this book as a resource and even as an inspiration for that next slow Saturday night when you're trying to decide what to watch.

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Giddins is a great writer, one I'm used to reading more for his thoughts about jazz rather than film, but he knows both areas well. Warning Shadows is a collection of essays mostly discussing the releases of various DVD collections.

My two complaints about the book are these:

1. The book contains several categories that hold little interest for me, such as Musicals and Disney films. This is just my person tastes and not Giddins's fault.

2. Giddins often assumes too much previous knowledge of the reader, making references to a director's/actor's/producer's other films or reputations for doing one thing or another on or offscreen. Such references almost come across as elitist at times.

Still, I enjoyed the book and plan to keep it as a reference.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

a collection of his newspaper columns on DVD reissues which he wrote in the first several years of this century. Some of these DVDs may be still in print, though I suspect many more of the films are either available to be streamed or lost once again. There are certainly dozens I'm ready to watch right now. Giddins rarely writes about the most familiar films, and when he does, he usually finds an angle previously unexplored, or a detail previously relegated to the background. I'm most familiar with his decades of jazz criticism and his magnificent biographies of Louis Armstrong and Bing Crosby. He is just as sharp writing about film, and his sentences are often as shiny and filled with nuance as the best celluloid.

[Hope · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a classic film buff, but this book takes it to the next level, reviewing DVD compilations of very obscure old movies. Each chapter is an essay on an actor, director, or genre. I skimmed it, dipping only into the chapters dealing with familiar (to me) films.

[Bert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Giddins is best as a jazz writer but he writes about film well also.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of fun for people who enjoy old movies. This would make a good gift.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

How does this man have time to be a music critic and apparently see every movie in the history of cinema (and he seems to remember everything), not to mention his terrific writing

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Giddiness wrote about movies available on DVD. There is some good film history here. He likes to dig into more obscure films.