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Movie Podcast Network presents… Considering the Cinema — A Podcast About Movies and Film Criticism by Jason Pyles. My topic for this episode is “Ephraim Katz and The Film Encyclopedia.”

It might sound funny, but if you really want to learn about the movies, there are a few books that are required reading — or at least — required reference materials for the bookshelves of your film library.

For instance, right off the top of your head, you might think about Andre Bazin’s “What Is Cinema?”; or Agee on Film; Andrew Sarris’s “The American Cinema”; Bordwell and Thompson’s “Film Art” (That book truly is essential); Giannetti’s “Understanding Movies” (or maybe “Flashback,” Giannetti’s “Brief History of Film”); and of course there’s Roger Ebert’s “Book of Film,” which Ebert subtitled “the finest writing from a century of film.” For that one, he was the editor who compiled a bunch of interesting film writing from the past century.

Speaking of Roger Ebert, as an amateur film critic, I collect all his Movie Yearbook’s, one each year from 1999 to 2013. (Yes, even though he died in April of 2013, Ebert has a 2013 Movie Yearbook.)

And if you mention Ebert’s Movie Yearbooks, then you also have to mention Leonard Maltin’s Movie Guide and his Classic Movie Guide. (Leonard Maltin is the Dave Becker of the old school print critics.)

Side note: Just a quick tangent … for those who are interested in learning more about screenwriting, I have read a lot of the major screenwriting books: Robert McKee’s “Story,” Syd Field’s “Screenplay,” Blake Snyder’s “Save the Cat,” etc. But of all the books I’ve read about screenwriting, the very best for a beginning screenwriter is a book called “Writing Your Screenplay” by Lisa Dethridge. Trust me: If you want to learn about screenwriting, I personally believe it’s the most straightforward and insightful screenwriting book out there!

And there’s one other little film book I want to mention before we get into “The Film Encyclopedia” by Ephraim Katz. There’s a book I’m obsessed with called “The Film Snob’s Dictionary” by David Kamp and Lawrence Levi. If you’re a writer, you’ll know what Strunk & White’s “Elements of Style” is… It’s this tiny but powerful book that’s odd and quirky but remarkable authoritative when it comes to grammar and writing style…

Well, “The Film Snob’s Dictionary” is a bizarre little reference book that’s not truly authoritative, but even though it’s meant to be somewhat tongue-in-cheek, I still find it very valuable…

So, using “The Film Snob’s Dictionary,” let me read its entry on author Ephraim Katz, the subject of this episode:

Ephraim Katz – Industrious Israeli-born film nerd who, in the 1970s, single-handedly undertook the task of compiling an encyclopedia of film. Published in 1979, after years of work, Katz’s “The Film Encyclopedia” quickly established itself as the definitive film reference for both snobs who need to know what a “friction head” is (it’s a kind of tripod head that ensures smooth camera movement) and laypersons who can’t keep Linda Darnell straight from Joan Blondell. Katz died in 1992, and successive, expanded editions of “The Film Snob’s Dictionary” have been produced by his proteges, though hard-core snobs take issue with some of the cuts that were made from Katz’s original, and keep the ’79 version around.

So, can we all agree that Ephraim Katz must have been a true cinephile who genuinely loved film art? I’d say so. The ambition that it must have took to compile an authoritative and fairly comprehensive encyclopedia about film and the filmmaking industry and its professionals is mind-boggling.

Just to give you an idea, I own the 6th edition of “The Film Encyclopedia” (released in 2008), and it is truly a tome. My edition has 1,567 pages (small print, thin pages) — and yet — there are still names that I’m surprised I cannot find in this book…

That’s not to take anything away from Katz or “The Film Encyclopedia,” but I think that just goes to show what a futile endeavor it is to try to compile a comprehensive resource for all of filmdom.

Now that we live in a digital age, where this book could be continually updated and added upon in a digital form, perhaps with a number of editors and contributors over time, “The Film Encyclopedia” truly could become an exhaustive resource.

For instance, my 6th edition still doesn’t have Tobe Hooper in there. He’s significant among Horror fans, because Hooper directed “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” from 1974, “Salem’s Lot” from ’79, and he’s also credited (on paper) as the director of the original “Poltergeist” (1982).

And you might say that Katz wouldn’t have picked up on this indie director by 1979 when “The Film Encyclopedia” was first published, but there have been subsequent revisions by Ronald Dean Nolan and you would think that Tobe Hooper would have been added by 2008.

And speaking of Horror, “The Film Encyclopedia” doesn’t have any entry to define or describe the genre of Horror! It doesn’t have any definition for the Science Fiction genre, either. What?

In fact, it doesn’t even have a definition for the concept of “genre.” The word “genre” is not listed in the 2008 “Film Encyclopedia.”

It has an entry for film critic Pauline Kael but not for Stanley Kauffmann.

“The Film Encyclopedia” mentions thousands and thousands of films when listing an industry person’s filmography, but it doesn’t have entries for film titles themselves. For instance, it doesn’t have an entry for the film “Citizen Kane” (not that I’m saying it should be IMDb in book form).

Interestingly, though, it does have an entry for William Randolph Hearst, in which it dedicates merely one line to explaining that Hearst “provided the inspiration for Orson Welles’s film classic ‘Citizen Kane.’”

Anyway, I’m not nitpicking or criticizing anyone by listing off the types of entries that this encyclopedia doesn’t have. Again, I just want to point out what a difficult endeavor this is…

So, let me give you one or two quick examples of entries that are found in “The Film Encyclopedia”:

“Edith Head” (costume designer) — The Film Encyclopedia doesn’t mention this, but she is the inspiration for Edna Mode on “The Incredibles.”

As you might notice, the writing is pretty straightforward and not really page-turning material. But for what it lacks in color, it makes up for in hard facts.

I was going to use Clint Howard as an example, but “The Film Encyclopedia doesn’t have him listed! But don’t worry: Channing Tatum and David Spade are in there!

Katz died of emphysema in New York City in August 1992 at the age of 60. When he died, of course, he was in the process of revising and updating “The Film Encyclopedia.”

That’s just a little bit about Ephraim Katz and his remarkable tome, The Film Encyclopedia. Let me know your thoughts about The Film Encyclopedia in the show notes for Episode 002, which you can find at Considering The cinema.com.

Let me know your thoughts about Ephraim Katz and The Film Encyclopedia in the show notes for Episode 003, which you can find at Considering the Cinema.com.

As I wrap up the show, I hope you’ll check out another Movie Podcast.Network show called Retro Movie Geek, hosted by Joel Robertson. On that hilarious movie podcast, they generally review movies that are at least 20 year old (or older), and it’s often a nostalgic and irreverent walk down memory lane… Recently they interviewed Mick Strawn, who is a Hollywood production designer, art director and special effects guy. Check it out!

In addition to several free movie podcasts, Movie Podcast Network has a patron feed where you can subscribe for just $2.50 a month and get BONUS releases from the Network at least once a month. Retro Movie Geek and our Special Features feed will be linked in the Show Notes for this episode.

Thanks for Considering the Cinema with me. You will be able to find all the episodes for this podcast at Considering the Cinema.com.

I want to thank the Dave Eaton Element for the use of Dave’s music for our theme song. You can follow this podcast on Twitter @ConsiderCinema, and you can email ConsideringTheCinema@gmail.com.

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Once again, I’m your host, Jason Pyles. If you liked this show, check out my other two long-form shows, Movie Podcast Weekly and Horror Movie Podcast.

On behalf of Movie Podcast Network, thanks for listening to Considering the Cinema.