Determining "the greatest year at the movies" with any certitude is an impossible task-the usual suspect is 1939-but that didn't stop Stephen Farber (UCLA) and Michael McClellan (formerly, Landmark Theatres) from nominating 1962 as a year "that has never been equaled" for its production of provocative, pleasurable, and pivotal films (p.1). The authors approach their topic thematically-rather than chronologically or by film genre-devoting chapters to foreign-language films, new American auteurs, early studio-era masters, female box-office stars, psychological dramas, literary adaptations, black-and-white cinematography, social-message dramas, and social/sexual rebels. A final chapter focuses on Lawrence of Arabia, which the authors deem the "crowning achievement" of 1962 cinema. The topical organization facilitates useful connections among some otherwise disparate films, but it also disperses into separate chapters discussion of the three superior Westerns from 1962-Lonely Are the Brave, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and Ride the High Country-which might have worked well together. Nevertheless, the authors knowledgeably examine some two-dozen films from 1962, offering cogent insights on what makes them great.
