This great book is an in-depth study that analyzes a recurring theme of Allen’s movies, plays and short stories: his characters’ desire to escape, in various forms and to different degrees, the world they come from to find refuge in another. This new world can be sociocultural, mental or fictional. Dirk Clara explores the characteristics and resemblances of these worlds and the dangers for Allen’s characters in passing from one world to another. In the process, the author discusses the ...

Richard Gilman referred to How to Read a Film as simply "the best single work of its kind." And Janet Maslin in The New York Times Book Review marveled at James Monaco's ability to collect "an enormous amount of useful information and assemble it in an exhilaratingly simple and systematic way." Indeed, since its original publication in 1977, this hugely popular book has become the definitive source on film and media. Now, James Monaco offers a special anniversary edition of his classic work, ...