Moments that Made the Movies

Thomson’s moments range from a set of Eadward Muybridge’s pioneering photographs to sequences in films from the classic – Citizen Kane, Sunset Boulevard and The Red Shoes – to the unexpected – The Piano Teacher, Burn After Reading – immersing the reader via images and the author’s narrative. In Moments that Made the Movies, with its combination of text and image, David Thomson can focus in on one scene, or even a few seconds of celluloid. As he writes, ‘there are surprises, offbeat choices, perhaps even capricious or provocative selections, as well as plenty of films that you might have guessed would be included – though not always with the moments you anticipated.’ His choices range from the silent era to the last decade, from Katherine Hepburn and Orson Welles to Brad Pitt and the Coen brothers, including: Pandora’s Box * 'M' * Bringing Up Baby * Gone With the Wind * The Shop Around the Corner * Casablanca * Tokyo Story * The Night of the Hunter * The Searchers * Psycho * The Exterminating Angel * Pierrot le Fou * Blow-Up * Bonnie and Clyde * The Godfather * The Shining * When Harry Met Sally * A History of Violence * The Piano Teacher * Zodiac … plus dozens more