Billups Allen - 101 Films You Could See Before You Die [Goner Books]

*BACK IN STOCK!!!* 2nd pressing now available.

Great book of movie reviews / recommendations from our main man Billups! 
278 Pages, squarebound trade paperback.

“Billups Allen is my kind of film writer and 101 Films You Could See Before
You Die is my kind of book: a user guide for the infinitely curious; a begin-
ner’s mindset for the trenches-dwelling buff. I discovered movies that felt
like they’d been waiting for me all along and was reminded of ones I loved
that had been sacrificed to time and a crumbling memory. In Billups’s world,
there’s only one bar to talk turkey when the movie is over, and you leave
your brows—highs, lows, and in-betweens—at the door.” – Nate K., host of
Burn It Down!, WFMU

“His taste is wide-ranging—that is to say, all over the map. He reviews
everything from Kind Hearts and Coronets to The Cable Guy; Angel Heart to
Zodiac. He finds an interesting angle on all of them, invariably rooting out
what good he can find in even the worst movies…” – Mike Stax, Ugly Things

“Billups not only sneaks you into amazing films you might not have heard
of, he gives you a fresh perspective on what you already saw. Reading 101
Films You Could See Before You Die feels like you are hanging out early at the
theater together with a soda and candy, learning about absolute gems. The
book has that genuine excitement to see what trailers are going to come up
before the movie you’ve been waiting so long for. Movie reviews are better
with Billups’ enthusiasm.” – Mike Plante, director of We Were There to Be
There (2021)/programmer at Sundance Film Festival

“- …smart, unpretentious and entertaining writing.” – Steven Puchalski,
Shock Cinema

“A no-nonsense film guide written with candor and charm, full of a passion
that decries pretension. This book is for people who want to experience
a true smorgasbord of cinema curated with an informed, often funny and
refreshingly unique voice.” – Josh Schafer, Editor-in-Chief, Lunchmeat
Magazine

“101 Movies You Could See Before You Die isn’t a definitive list of what a film
fan should see. It’s a reflection on what a fan has seen. Reading the impres-
sions of other fans is what fanzines are all about. I’m a fan too. That’s how
I know this book is a fanzine in disguise.” – Greg Cartwright, Reigning
Sound

“If you’ve never had a friend who always has a movie you’ve never heard
of to recommend, who has a thought-through opinion on every DVD in the
dollar bin, who knows exactly who that actor you vaguely recognize is AND
what band they were in in the ‘70s AND why the band broke up AND what
‘90s CD compilation their only single was re-released on—this book could
be that friend.” – Dorothy Gambrell, Cat and Girl Comics

“If someone’s gonna talk movies to me, I want it to be Billups Allen.” -
Bloodshot Bill

cramholezine.com

 

 

GONER BOOKS SAYS
Why release a film guide now? There are loads of genre websites dedicated to exposing a new “lost” masterpiece. There are so many entities jockeying to define a canon. And lists. So many lists. Many of these lists are designed specifically to evoke clicking, and as more streaming services search for new content, more obscure movies now get their poster-sized screen icon for your perusal. Still, many are still passed over by viewers. Some of the mystery and fun of searching for “cult” or “lost” movies dissipates as websites throw everything at the wall at once to see what sticks. But one thing the Internet can’t control is the compulsion of being as film buff. Billups Allen is a film critic and pop culture enthusiast who enjoys writing about films languishing outside the arena of cult status and/or movies derailed from the curve of the academic canon.

 

101 Films You Could See Before You Die: A Film Guide for the Disenchanted is not only a film guide, but a love letter to discovering movies: a handbook to expose films better run across than sought out. These are films reserved for turning on the television late at night or for accompanying a friend to the theater on a rainy day. The films in this book are a mixed bag. Some are lost classics. Others have interesting elements in place. But all of them deserve a look. Or not. You’ll be okay either way.

CHAPTERS

Introduction

 

Chapter 1: Adrienne Shelly

Trust (1990)

Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me (1992)

Sudden Manhattan (1996)

 

Chapter 2: Americana

The Apostle (1997)

Bamboozled (2000)

Ragtime (1981)

The Swimmer (1968)

Zodiac (2007)

 

Chapter 3: The Blame Game

The Cable Guy (1996)

Ishtar (1987)

Neighbors (1981)

 

Chapter 4: Dangers on a Train

Midnight Meat Train (2008)

Runaway Train (1985)

Train to Busan (2016)

Transsiberian (2008)

 

Chapter 5: Detective Perspective

Gorky Park (1984)

High Heels (1991)

The Secret In Their Eyes (2009)

Sharky’s Machine (1981)

 

Chapter 6: Documentaries

Jimi Hendrix (1973)

Louie Bluie (1985)

Marlene (1984)

 

Chapter 7: Farnsworthy

The Grey Fox (1982)

The Straight Story (1999)

 

Chapter 8: The Final Frontier

Europa Report (2013)

Event Horizon (1997)

The Green Slime (1968)

Outland (1981)

Planet of the Vampires (1965)

Sunshine (2007)

 

Chapter 9: Franchiseus Interruptus

Superman Returns (2006)

The Thing (2011)

Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (1994)

 

Chapter 10: H.G. Wells

Time After Time (1979)

The Time Machine (1960)

 

Chapter 11: Hi, Karate?

Black Belt Jones (1974)

The Octagon (1980)

Timecop (1994)

 

Chapter 12: Horror

Body Snatchers (1993)

Calvaire (2004)

Candyman (1992)

Christmas Evil (1980)

Dead and Buried (1981)

Def By Temptation (1990)

Evilspeak (1981)

Eyes Without a Face (1960)

Lair of the White Worm (1988)

Nightmares (1983)

Possession (1981)

Resolution (2012)

​​​​Severance (2006)

The Shrine (2010)

Starry Eyes (2014)

Trick or Treat (1986)

 

Chapter 13: Just for Laughs

Brain Candy (1996)

Cedar Rapids (2011)

Four Lions (2010)

Hamlet 2 (2008)

In a World (2013)

Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)

​​King of Hearts (1966)

Lust in the Dust (1985)

Safe Men (1998)

Three O’Clock High (1987)

 

Chapter 14: Loose Can[n]ons

Dredd (2012)

The Punisher (1989)

 

Chapter 15: Michael Mann

Thief (1981)

The Keep (1983)

Manhunter (1986)

 

Chapter 16: Monster Mash

The Blob (1988)

Crawl (2019)

Dagon (2001)

 

Chapter 17: Music be the Food of Love

32 Short Films About Glenn Gould (1993)

Get Crazy (1983)

Nico 1988 (2017)

Phantom of the Paradise (1974)

Rockers (1978)

Round Midnight (1986)

Tender Mercies (1983)

Wattstax (1973)

Wild Style (1983)

Wild Zero (1999)

 

Chapter 18: Nostalgia-rama

Cooley High (1975)

Matinee (1993)

The Wanderers (1979)

 

Chapter 19: Sci-Fi

Attack the Block (2011)

The Lawnmower Man (1992)

Miracle Mile (1988)

 

Chapter 20: Serrated Edges

God Told Me To (1976)

Lifeforce (1985)

Session 9 (2001)

Timecrimes (2007)

 

Chapter 21: Speak of the Devil

Angel Heart (1987)

Devil (2010)

Mr. Frost (1990)

Prince of Darkness (1987)

 

Chapter 22: Stepchildren

After Hours (1985)

Barry Lyndon (1975)

Trafic (1971)

 

Chapter 23: Threes

Alien 3 (1992)

Exorcist III (1990)

Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)

 

Chapter 24: And ten more…

Bad Influence (1990)

Diamond Men (2000)

The Duellists (1977)

In Bruges (2008)

​​The Last Days of Disco (1998)

One False Move (1992)

Take Shelter (2011)

Vanya on 42nd Street (1994)

The White Ribbon (2009)

World’s Greatest Dad (2009)

 

Three Interviews

Interview with Pleasant Gehman

Interview with Nick Prueher and Joe Pickett

Interview with Mary Woronov