Danny Peary
My intention is to get movie fans to seek out particular stars and show why others are so devoted to them. His mini-essays succeed at this, communicating a real enthusiasm for cultural icons and obscure exploitation stars alike.
Related: cult films - film - film criticism
Cult Movie Stars (1991) - Danny Peary [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]
Biography
Danny Peary is an American film critic who writes about baseball too. In the film world he is know for his list of cult movies and cult movie stars. [Nov 2005]Cult movie checklist
This is a checklist of all the films in Danny Peary's books Cult Movies, vol. I-III. Since the last volume was published in 1988 some obvious choices (Reservoir Dogs, Heathers, etc.) are missing.
CULT MOVIE CHECKLIST
Based on Danny Peary's CULT MOVIES, vol. I-III
Director Year
Cult Movies vol. 1 (1981) -------- ----
__ Aquirre, the Wrath of God Werner Herzog 1972
__ All About Eve Joseph L. Mankievicz 1950
__ Andy Warhol's Bad Jed Johnson 1977
__ Badlands Terrence Malick 1974
__ Beauty and the Beast Jean Cocteau 1946
__ Bedtime for Bonzo Frederick de Cordova 1951
__ Behind the Green Door Jim and Art Mitchell 1972
__ Beyond the Valley of the Dolls Russ Meyer 1970
__ Billy Jack T. C. Frank 1971
__ Black Sunday Mario Bava 1960
__ Brood, The David Cronenberg 1979
__ Burn! Gillo Pontecorvo 1970
__ Caged Heat Jonathan Demme 1974
__ Casablanca Michael Curtiz 1942
__ Citizen Cane Orson Welles 1941
__ Conqueror Worm, The Michael Reeves 1968
__ Dance, Girl, Dance Dorothy Arzner 1940
__ Deep End Jerzy Skolimowski 1971
__ Detour Edgar J. Ulmer 1946
__ Duck Soup Leo McCarey 1933
__ El Topo Alexandro Jodorowsky 1971
__ Emmanuelle Just Jaeckin 1974
__ Enter the Dragon Robert Clouse 1973
__ Eraserhead David Lynch 1978
__ Fantasia Walt Disney (producer) 1940
__ Forbidden Planet Fred McLeod Wilcox 1956
__ Force of Evil Abraham Polonsky 1948
__ 42nd Street Lloyd Bacon 1933
__ Freaks Tod Browning 1932
__ Girl Can't Help It, The Frank Tashlin 1956
__ Greetings Brian De Palma 1968
__ Gun Crazy (aka Deadly is the Female) Joseph H. Lewis 1949
__ Halloween John Carpenter 1978
__ Hard Day's Night, A Richard Lester 1964
__ Harder They Come, The Perry Henzel 1973
__ Harold and Maude Hal Ashby 1971
__ Honeymoon Killers, The Leonard Kastle 1970
__ House of Wax Andre de Toth 1953
__ I Married a Monster from Outer Space Gene Fowler, Jr. 1958
__ I Walked With a Zombie Jacques Tourneur 1943
__ Invasion of the Body Snatchers Don Siegel 1956
__ It's a Gift Norman Z. McLeod 1934
__ It's a Wonderful Life Frank Capra 1946
__ Jason and the Argonauts Don Chaffey 1963
__ Johnny Guitar Nicholas Ray 1954
__ Killing, The Stanley Kubrick 1956
__ King Kong Cooper/Schoedsack 1933
__ King of Hearts Philippe de Broca 1967
__ Kiss Me, Deadly Robert Aldrich 1955
__ La Cage aux Folles Edouard Molinaro 1979
__ Land of the Pharaos Howard Hawks 1955
__ Laura Otto Preminger 1944
__ Little Shop of Horrors, The Roger Corman 1960
__ Lola Montis Max Ophuls 1955
__ Long Goodbye, The Robert Altman 1973
__ Mad Max Geroge Miller 1979
__ Maltese Falcon, The John Huston 1941
__ Man of the West Anthony Mann 1958
__ Night of the Living Dead George A. Romero 1968
__ Nutty Professor, The Jerry Lewis 1963
__ Once Upon a Time in the West Sergio Leone 1969
__ Out of the Past Jacques Tourneur 1947
__ Outrageous! Richard Benner 1977
__ Pandora's Box G. W. Pabst 1929
__ Peeping Tom Michael Powell 1960
__ Performance Cammell/Roeg 1970
__ Petulia Richard Lester 1968
__ Pink Flamingos John Waters 1973
__ Plan 9 from Outer Space Edward D. Wood, Jr. 1956
__ Pretty Poison Noel Black 1968
__ Producers, The Mel Brooks 1968
__ Rain People, The Francis Ford Coppola 1969
__ Rebel Without a Cause Nicholas Ray 1955
__ Red Shoes, The Powell/Pressburger 1948
__ Reefer Madness Louis Gasnier 1936
__ Rio Bravo Howard Hawks 1959
__ Rock'n'Roll High School Allan Arkush 1979
__ Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Jim Sharman 1975
__ Scarlet Empress, The Josef von Sternberg 1934
__ Searchers, The John Ford 1956
__ Shock Corridor Samuel Fuller 1963
__ Shooting, The Monte Hellman 1967
__ Singin' in the Rain Kelly/Donen 1952
__ Sunset Boulevard Billy Wilder 1950
__ Sylvia Scarlett George Cukor 1936
__ Tall T, The Budd Boetticher 1957
__ Targets Peter Bogdanovich 1968
__ Tarzan and his Mate Cedric Gibbons 1934
__ Texas Chain Saw Massacre, The Tobe Hooper 1974
__ Top Hat Mark Sandrich 1935
__ Trash Paul Morrisey 1970
__ Two for the Road Stanley Donen 1967
__ Two-Lane Blacktop Monte Hellman 1971
__ 2001: A Space Oddysey Stanley Kubrick 1968
__ Up in Smoke Lou Adler 1978
__ Vertigo Alfred Hitchcock 1958
__ Warriors, The Walter Hill 1979
__ Where's Poppa? Carl Reiner 1970
__ Wild Bunch, The Sam Peckinpah 1969
__ Wizard of Oz, The Victor Fleming 1939
Cult Movies vol. 2 (1983)
__ Altered States Ken Russell 1980
__ American Friend, The Wim Wenders 1977
__ Barbarella Roger Vadim 1968
__ Basket Case Frank Henelotter 1982
__ Beat the Devil John Huston 1954
__ Bedazzled Stanley Donen 1967
__ Big Heat, The Fritz Lang 1953
__ Blood Feast Herschell G. Lewis 1963
__ Blood Money Rowland Brown 1933
__ Boy and his Dog, A L. Q. Jones 1975
__ Breathless Jean-Luc Godard 1959
__ Bride of Frankenstein, The James Whale 1935
__ Children of Paradise Marcel Carni 1954
__ Clockwork Orange, A Stanley Kubrick 1971
__ Cutter's Way Ivan Passer 1981
__ Dark Star John Carpenter 1975
__ Daughters of Darkness Harry Kumel 1971
__ First Nudie Musical, The Haggard/Kimmel 1976
__ Godzilla, King of the Monsters Honda/Morse (US vers.) 1956
__ Great Texas Dynamite Chase, The Michael Pressman 1977
__ High School Confidential Jack Arnold 1958
__ His Girl Friday Howard Hawks 1940
__ Last Tango in Paris Bernardo Bertolucci 1973
__ Man Who Fell to Earth, The Nicolas Roeg 1976
__ Marnie Alfred Hitchcock 1964
__ Massacre at Central High Renee Dalder 1976
__ Mommie Dearest Frank Perry 1981
__ Monty Python and the Holy Grail Gilliam/Jones 1974
__ Morgan! Karel Reisz 1966
__ Ms. 45 (aka Angel of Vengeance) Abel Ferrara 1981
__ My Darling Clementine John Ford 1946
__ Night of the Demon Jacques Tourneur 1957
__ Nightmare Alley Edmund Goulding 1947
__ Parallax View, The Alan Pakula 1974
__ Phantom of the Paradise Brian De Palma 1974
__ Picnic at a Hanging Rock Peter Weir 1975
__ Pretty Baby Louis Malle 1978
__ Quadrophenia Frank Roddam 1979
__ Salt of the Earth Herbert Biberman 1954
__ Seventh Seal, The Ingmar Bergman 1956
__ Some Like it Hot Billy Wilder 1959
__ Sullivan's Travels Preston Sturges 1941
__ Taxi Driver Martin Scorsese 1976
__ To Be or Not To Be Ernst Lubitsch 1942
__ Vanishing Point Richard C. Sarafian 1971
__ White Heat Raoul Walsh 1949
__ Wicker Man, The Robin Hardy 1973
__ Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory Mel Stuart 1971
__ Wuthering Heights William Wyler 1939
__ Zardoz John Boorman 1974
Cult Movies vol. 3 (1988)
__ American Werewolf in London, An John Landis 1981
__ Annie Hall Woody Allen 1977
__ Black Cat, The Edgar J. Ulmer 1934
__ Blade Runner Ridley Scott 1982
__ Blue Velvet David Lynch 1986
__ Body Heat Lawrence Kasdan 1981
__ Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, The Robert Wiene 1919
__ Cafi Flesh Rinse Dream 1982
__ Chilly Scenes of Winter Joan Micklin Silver 1982
__ Choose Me Alan Rudolph 1984
__ Diva Jean-Jaqcues Beinex 1982
__ Dr. Strangelove Stanley Kubrick 1964
__ Easy Rider Dennis Hopper 1969
__ Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! Russ Meyer 1966
__ Five Million Years to Earth Roy Ward Baker 1968
__ Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Howard Hawks 1953
__ Glen or Glenda? Edward D. Wood, Jr. 1952
__ God Must Be Crazy, The Jamie Uys 1980
__ Imitation of Life Douglas Sirk 1959
__ In a Lonely Place Nicholas Ray 1950
__ It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World Stanley Kramer 1963
__ Liquid Sky Slava Tsukerman 1983
__ Martin Geroge A. Romero 1978
__ Miracle on 34th Street George Seaton 1947
__ Monsieur Verdoux Charles Chaplin 1947
__ Naked Kiss, The Samule Fuller 1964
__ Napoleon Abel Gance 1927
__ New York, New York Martin Scorsese 1977
__ Night of the Hunter Charles Laughton 1955
__ Now, Voyager Irving Rapper 1942
__ Los Olvidados Luis Bunuel 1950
__ On Her Majesty's Secret Service Peter Hunt 1969
__ One-Eyed Jacks Marlon Brando 1961
__ Over the Edge Jonathan Kaplan 1979
__ Psycho Alfred Hitchcock 1060
__ Quiet Man, The John Ford 1952
__ Ride the High Country Sam Peckinpah 1962
__ Road Warrior, The Geroge Miller 1981
__ Seconds John Frankenheimer 1966
__ Sons of the Desert William A. Seiter 1933
__ Star is Born, A Geroge Cukor 1954
__ Stunt Man, The Richard Rush 1980
__ Terminator, The James Cameron 1984
__ That Hamilton Woman Alexander Korda 1941
__ Thief of Bagdad, The Berger/Powell/Whelan 1940
__ Thing from Another World, The Christian Nyby 1951
__ Touch of Evil Orson Welles 1958
__ Walkabout Nicholas Roeg 1971
__ Wanderers, The Philip Kaufman 1979
__ Where the Boys Are Henry Levin 1960
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- Lars Erik Holmquist
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The Hong Kong movies WWW-page:
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Books
- Cult Movies: The Classics, the Sleepers, the Weird, and the Wonderful - Danny Peary
[Amazon US]
Danny Peary, a film fanatic himself, in these series of three books (I'm only dealing with the first in this review) gleefully, critically and passionately celebrates what makes film going the sheer pleasure that it is. In a series of well written, insightful, often humourous and always celebratory essays, Peary explores many classic, weird and wonderful films that raise the pulses of fans.Many film texts are dry treatises that absolutely drain the rollercoaster vicseral joy that a film can bring. Not so with Peary's excellent series. Peary manages to legitimately relate the true art that is cinema while at the same time exploring what makes so many great films live as a part of our very extistances.
I have read and re-read this book several times and each time, I have discovered a new insight into a favorite film or been directed to a new reference point. Peary is very careful to point to other film scholars and film titles that can enhance a film cutlists experience. In deconstructing each film, he also includes fascinating tidbits of information such as interviews with the film makers, insights into the creative process and backstory history.
Especially fine are his explorations on "It's a Wonderful Life", "King Kong", "Singin' in the Rain", "Rio Bravo" and "A Hard Day's Night". He successfully argues in all those cases that superb entertainment does make great art.
Do I agree with every one of Peary's opinions? Do I enjoy every single film included in these three books? Of course not! But Peary does give vallidation to all of us who could be classified as true film geeks. Since these books are as of this writing all out of print, I with the strongest terms possible urge you all to seek them out. You will not be dissapointed! --John Remington, Amazon.com
Cult Movie Stars (1991) - Danny Peary [...]
Cult Movies Stars (1991) - Danny Peary [Amazon.com]
We could do with more critics like Danny Peary. His three Cult Movies collections are among the most enjoyable film books available: readable without being fatuous, clever without being pretentious, and personal without being self-indulgent. As an editor, his Close-Ups anthology about movie stars combines the appeal of fan literature with some intelligent anti-auteurist analysis.
Cult Movie Stars sounds like a publisher's idea for a follow-up to Peary's best known books, but if it isn't in the same league as those, it's certainly worth owning. Peary deals with 750 performers, ranging from major stars like Dietrich, Davis and Bogart, to horror actors, skin-flick starlets and even British comedians (at last an American book which recognises the Sid James phenomenon, even if it does mistakenly say he was in Carry On Nurse). Certainly one can quibble about the selection criteria (De Niro is included but not Pacino; I looked in vain for Mariana Hill; and to bring the book up to date, perhaps the likes of Winona Ryder and Christian Slater should have been present) - but that would be to miss the point. This does not attempt to be a definitive reference book but an appealing dip into the world of cult stars - hence there is no attempt to provide complete filmographies, just a smattering of the stars' most interesting output.
Peary writes: My intention is to get movie fans to seek out particular stars and show why others are so devoted to them. His mini-essays succeed at this, communicating a real enthusiasm for cultural icons and obscure exploitation stars alike. His criticism is concise and full of insight - and he has a talent for useful subjective writing. Of Natalie Wood, he writes: It's such a relief when Santa gets her the home she dreams about in Miracle on 34th Street, when James Dean loves her in Rebel Without a Cause ...I just wish someone was there for her in Splendor in the Grass. She was my favourite actress and, like many, I get chills when, in that picture, she almost drowns.
Darren Slade[Book that got me started in being interested in offbeat cinema: About movie stars and their films who developed a cult audience. Riveting read. Limited availability.]