Blockbusters: A Reference Guide to Film Genres offers both film specialists and film fans an in-depth look at 12 popular genres of film. With a separate chapter dedicated to each of the 12 commonly acknowledged genres, the text provides readers with a list of defining characteristics for each genre; a focused analysis of the history of the genre with an understanding of the major influences responsible for its evolution, broken down by decades, era, or subgenre; and a bibliography of the major critical and historical sources available for further reading. Special attention is given to subvariations, or subgenres, within the principle categorizations, and the wide variety of cinematic examples cited draws upon the best and some of the most beloved examples of American cinema, with more obscure American and foreign examples also included. In cases where films overlap genres, easy to find chapter titles in boldface within the text indicate cross referencing, and a user-friendly index provides access to discussions of cited films within the text.

• Action/Adventure
• Comedy
• Costume
• Epic
• Film Noir
• Horror
• Musicals
• Science Fiction
• Suspense
• War
• Western
• Woman's Film

George Kelly was a pioneer realist in the American theater who not only enjoyed popular and critical success, but also remained true to his own moral vision of theater as an art form despite what he considered vulgar influences that catered to the popular taste. Drawing upon the canon of Kelly's published plays as well as on manuscripts for four plays never before published or widely discussed by critics, this volume chronicles the evolution of this important craftsman and director from his earliest and most critically lauded examinations of America's upper middle-class family life to his often spartan commentary on changing American morals and tastes.

Calling into question the short-sighted assessments of scholars and critics who discount Kelly's achievements as formulaic and misogynistic, this reference reveals the broad spectrum of critical opinion which generally admired his theatrical skill and moral commitment. An opening biography surveys Kelly's career, while the chapters that follow give detailed information about his works. Included are plot synopses and production histories of his plays, along with an extensive annotated bibliography of reviews and scholarly studies.

During the short history of the United States, war has marked the stages of the nation's journey, and imaginative literature has reflected and shaped an understanding of that journey. To study the war literature of the United States, then, is to study not only the representation of individuals at war but also creative renderings of the American experience. Until now, the treatment of American war literature has been handicapped by the absence of a single-source reference that can be the foundation for significant inquiry. This book addresses that need by presenting succinct, authoritative entries on the major writers and texts that have imaginatively represented the American experience of war.

This reference establishes the range and character of a significant body of work never before treated so comprehensively. It includes critical commentary on the novels, poems, nonfiction prose, and plays that reflect major conflicts from before the Revolutionary War through the Vietnam War and its aftermath. It also includes topical entries that survey the literature of America's major wars as well as such subjects as Indian captivity narratives, women's diaries of the Civil War, the literature of the Spanish-American War, and African American war literature. Entries are written by expert contributors and conclude with brief bibliographies, while the volume closes with a list of works for further reading.