There’s something about the action film that keeps people coming back for more, generation after generation. We here at AITH obviously love the genre, which we showcase on a bi-monthly basis in our new column REEL ACTION. Whether it’s Clint Eastwood’s tough talkin’ DIRTY HARRY, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s stunt as a cyborg from the future as THE TERMINATOR, Sylvester Stallone’s all American hero RAMBO, or even today’s CGI infested comic book world of SPIDER-MAN and X-MEN, the action film is an ever evolving (and changing) machine that will never go away.
Thus is the subject of Eric Lichtenfeld’s ACTION SPEAKS LOUDER: Violence, Spectacle, and the American Action Movie, a reference book that explores the action movie from it’s creation in the 1970s, through it’s heyday in the 1980s, into technology driven 1990s, and into the post-September 11th world of CGI action movies we have today.
Lichtenfeld splits the book into sections (i.e., chapters) that go over each of the variations of action films, as well as the chronology of its evolution. Sprinkled throughout are sweet black and white images of select movies discussed… what can I say, I dug the pictures! He begins with discussing the vigilante films of the 1970s (DIRTY HARRY, DEATH WISH), and into the killing machine macho men of the 1980s (COBRA, COMMANDO), the ass kickery of martial art movies (BLOODSPORT, FORCED VENGEANCE), the battles into Vietnam and beyond (PREDATOR, MISSING IN ACTION, RAMBO), blowing shit up in confined places (DIE HARD, PASSENGER 57), the disaster CGI spectacles of the 1990s (INDEPENDENCE DAY, VOLCANO), the new look of the sci-fi action flick (THE MATRIX, DOOM), and into the comic book movies of today (SPIDER-MAN, BATMAN BEGINS). He finally wraps it all up with this summer’s spectacles, touching on both TRANSFORMERS and LIVE FREE AND DIE HARD.
The part I most dug about this book is it’s obvious love for the genre, and giving credit where credit’s due. The section that talks specifically about DIE HARD, and all the DIE HARD rip-offs (many of which are classics in their own right) especially spoke to me. I don’t know how many times I’ve thought Steven Segal’s UNDER SIEGE was essentially DIE HARD on a boat, and Lichtenfeld says it right here in plain English (not to mention the DIE HARD-esque PASSENGER 57, SPEED, and SUDDEN DEATH to name a few). Amen, brother!
There’s not much to say about ACTION SPEAKS LOUDER, other than it’s a great exploration of the action genre as a whole. Lichtenfeld leaves no stone untouched, talks about (or at least mentions) just about every action movie there is (the good ones, at least), and goes into great detail of movies that generally are taken at face value. That’s where Lichtenfeld goes where those before him haven’t gone before. He recognizes that the action film, no matter how mindless it seems, is really more than just entertainment and stylized violence, but reveals a great deal about American society, culture, and the mindset of America when specific films were released.
Lichtenfeld doesn’t just give us his opinions about these films, but uses reviews and articles from the time of their release for greater insight into what America was when they initially came out. Want to know what the people thought of RAMBO in 1986? Through reviews from Variety and The New York Times, you will! This touch not only gives the book more credibility as a whole, but paints a better picture of how the genre was created, and what it was like in its prime (the 80s, baby!).
ACTION SPEAKS LOUDER is the ultimate book on all spectrums of the action genre. It doesn’t stick with any one kind of action movie, but dives into everything. Where some books may focus on certain decades or stars, ACTION explores them all. Like many reference books discussing classic literature before it, ACTION is an explorative journey into the genre on a literary level. Except instead of talking Shakespeare, Dickens and Twain, it talks Schwarzenegger, Stallone and Willis. If you’re taking a college course on film or social studies, use this as a reference in your next paper- you won’t regret it!
While I admit I didn’t read every page word for word (I skimmed a bunch), and I wouldn’t say it’s an ‘easy read’ (think college material), I enjoyed the hell out of this book, and recommend it to anyone who’s a fan of the genre and can’t get enough discussing, reading and watching characters on the big screen shooting first and asking questions later (or not at all). It belongs on the bookshelf alongside other movie-loving reference guides, and if you’re a true fan of the genre… it’s a no brainer.
Rating: 3.5 out of 4
CLICK HERE TO BUY THIS BOOK NOW
RA: RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD PART II
The comment section exists to allow readers to discuss the article constructively and respectfully, focused on the topic at hand.
What’s Not Allowed