Books Playing it over and over again: how Casablanca was made The story behind the movie that defines the movies is one of immigrants, timing and a “son of a bitch” director. By Tom Shone
Life Moves Pretty Fast: the pleasures and pitfalls of 1980s cinema Hadley Freeman's readings of 1980s films escape the anxiety of snobbery, but more daring would have been welcome. By Tom Shone
Want to understand Star Wars fans? Start here It’s junk cinema but, like the Millennium Falcon, it’s fast junk – and don’t you dare call it junk… By Tom Shone
How to make a Robert Altman film – and six ways not to die first As Ron Mann's Altman (15) runs on Netflix, Tom Shone takes us into the life - and methods - of the… By Tom Shone
Mythical, merciless butchness: Martin Scorsese’s men From De Niro’s snarl to DiCaprio’s sinewy wildness, no director has explored masculinity as acutely as Scorsese, writes Tom… By Tom Shone
Tears of a clown: Peter Ackroyd’s biography of Charlie Chaplin Chaplin's previously unpublished novella and a new biography show the makings of his melancholy genius By Tom Shone