Review by C.J. Bunce
Stagecoach, Lost Horizon, Citizen Kane, Casablanca, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, High Noon, The Seven Year Itch, Giant, Rio Bravo, Batman, Chinatown, and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. What do these films have in common? They each featured significant contributions by Latinx and Hispanic creators. Next week Turner Classic Movies/TCM and Running Press continue their long-running master class in cinema with the latest volume of the TCM Film Library. For it they tapped the biggest expert in Latinx and Hispanic cinema, Luis I. Reyes, author of the authoritative 550-page treatise on the subject, Hispanics in Hollywood.
In TCM’s Viva Hollywood, Reyes updates and highlights pieces from his earlier work, pulling back the veil into a world of actors in front of the camera as well as filmmakers behind the scenes. Since the heyday of silent film, Latin and Hispanic performers have provided audiences some of their most memorable movies. From Antonio Moreno’s first film appearance in 1912 to modern entertainers Zoe Saldana, Michelle Rodriquez, Ana de Armas and Oscar Isaac, they all come together in TCM’s Viva Hollywood, available for pre-order now here at Amazon and arriving in bookstores next week.
