30 Non-Fiction Books About Movies to Read Before You Die

Reading is fundamental for any film fanatic.

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Complex Original

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This weekend, two new genre movies open in theaters nationwide: A Good Day to Die Hard, Bruce Willis' worst John McClane adventure yet, and Beautiful Creatures, the latest young-adult adaptation that's hoping to catch some of that residual Twilight momentum. Both films serve very specific audiences—the former caters to adrenaline fiends who prefer mindless action over story or character, while the latter taps into the common fantasy of meeting Prince Charming as evil witches try to stifle the romance.

They're both the kind of movie, that, if you don't have a strong background in cinema, could keep you engaged for the duration. They're loud and bright enough. But the more you watch, the sharper your senses become. You evolve as a filmgoer and what entertained you as a kid ceases to hold your attention. You attain more refined appreciation by watching lots of movies. But an important means to determine what you should watch (and how you should watch it) is reading about cinema.

Whether you're interested in reading backstage stories straight from the filmmakers' and actors' mouths, or learned criticism from seasoned professionals, the following list of 30 Non-Fiction Books About Movies to Read Before You Die has exactly what you'll need.

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Written by Matt Barone (@MBarone) and Ross Scarano (@RossScarano)

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Hollywood Babylon

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Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex-Drugs-and-Rock 'N' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood

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Pictures at a Revolution

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Shock Value: How a Few Eccentric Outsiders Gave Us Nightmares, Conquered Hollywood, and Invented Modern Horror

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Down and Dirty Pictures: Miramax, Sundance, and the Rise of Independent Film

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Rebels on the Backlot: Six Maverick Directors and How They Conquered the Hollywood Studio System

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Midnight Movies

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The Monster Show: A Cultural History of Horror

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Nightmare Movies: Horror on Screen Since the 1960s

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The Other Hollywood: The Uncensored Oral History of the Porn Film Industry

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The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock

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Hitchcock/Truffaut

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Goddess: The Secret Lives of Mariyln Monroe

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Making Movies

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Rebel Without a Crew: Or How a 23-Year-Old Filmmaker with $7,000 Became a Hollywood Player

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Spike, Mike, Slackers & Dykes: A Guided Tour Across a Decade of American Independent Cinema

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All I Need to Know About Filmmaking I Learned from the Toxic Avenger

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Movie Wars: How Hollywood and the Media Limit What Films We Can See

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Negative Space: Manny Farber on the Movies

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A Cinema of Loneliness

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For Keeps: 30 Years at the Movies

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The American Cinema: Directors and Directions 1929-1968

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Reel to Real: Race, Sex, and Class at the Movies

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What is Cinema? Vol 1. & 2

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Film Form

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Film as Art

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The World Viewed

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Men, Women, and Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film

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Cinema 1 & 2

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Visual and Other Pleasures

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