Pictorial History of Science-Fiction Films Paperback – June 1, 1975

A friend of mine turned me on to this out of print book that you can still find used at Amazon. It's an 8.5 x 11 black and white picture book that covers the silent era into the seventies (when the book was written). While the pictures don't always match with the text, they do fit within the context of the chapter in which they are presented. As an example in the introduction are images from "2001," "Planet of the Apes," the original "Day the Earth Stood Still" and two images from the original movie "Andromeda Strain." The chapter on Silent movies shows images of Metropolis from a later era while talking about Melies "A Trip To The Moon" and "Conquest of the Pole," "Metropolis," and "Woman (Girl) In the Moon."No pictures from the Melies era especially the famous chorus line in front of the canon that shoots them to the moon.Next he takes the 30's and this is the start of the sound era, into the forties, fifties, sixties, seventies, sci fi on Television and ends with the Best and the Worst.He includes a few things I don't consider to be science fiction. "Doctor Strangelove," and "The Man From U.N.C.L.E."For those who need an introduction to Science Fiction Films and TV this is a good primer. It's filled with lots of large black and white pictures. For the science fiction buff who's seen all the B movies and all the classics from Frankenstein forward, they will probably take issue and be critical of this book. Especially the Helter-Skelter writing. For those who collect books on the cinema and science fiction, this probably should be in your collection. It's flawed, but it covers a lot of ground and it's filled with nice pictures. This is also an over sized coffee table book, not one of those 6 x 9 trade paperbacks.

excellent book

Perfect !

Published in 1975, this book is obviously outdated but still worth flipping through. It sums up the history of SF films, plus a chapter on TV series, up through 1973. To me this is a good thing, as it gives a great perspective of the SF film world before Star Wars came along (in 1977) and changed everything, not entirely for the better. (Some might find it surprising that SF movies existed before Star Wars!) As the title says, there are lots of fascinating photos, and the text is lightly written, not encyclopedic -- with only 240 pages and so many illustrations, it's impossible to delve very deeply. However, the author is engaged in his subject and shares his opinions, so this is not a puff piece. The lists and notes in the back are useful too. If you're interested in this subject, I'd say go for it.

I read this in a library over the course of a month. It is a great reference book to have around.

I read this in a library over the course of a month. It is a great reference book to have around.