[Editor’s note – Each week, I’ll throw out an open, pop-culture related question on Twitter, and collate the results in this space. The aims? Not too lofty: to stir debate, to provide recommendations, and to introduce Tweeters to each other. I’m also fascinated by the idea that someone can be a good “Twitter writer”, cramming wit, eloquence and import into such a tiny space. Hopefully we’ll see some of that, too.]
The original question:
Hello Twitter, can I try a little experiment with you? Can you tweet me your favourite book on film + why in 140 characters? (Surnames fine)
— PPlasticHelmet (@PPlasticHelmet) June 22, 2013
The responses:
@PPlasticHelmet See No Evil: Kerekes/Slater. A study of the DPP list films that got me into the horror + exploitation films I love
— Sam Inglis (@24FPSUK) June 22, 2013
@PPlasticHelmet We heartily recommend @AnnoDracula‘s Nightmare Movies ~ the definitive guide to the genre as far as we’re concerned
— The Horror Show (@HorrorShowTV) June 22, 2013
@24FPSUK @PPlasticHelmet Kerekes & Slater’s Killing for Culture: An Illustrated History of Death Film From Mondo to Snuff for me. Hardcore.
— Neil Mitchell (@nrm1972) June 22, 2013
@PPlasticHelmet My fave is @MarkHarrisNYC ‘s Scenes From A Revolution. Alexander Mackendrick’s On Filmmaking also excellent.
— olilyttelton (@olilyttelton) June 22, 2013
@PPlasticHelmet The Haunted Screen by Lotte Eisner. The most incisive and entertaining study of German Expressionism, gets to the heart.
— Michael Ewins (@E_Film_Blog) June 22, 2013
@PPlasticHelmet There are many, but Judith Williamson’s Deadline at Dawn stands out. Revelatory; it made me (re)consider *so* many films.
— Craig Bloomfield (@DarkEyeSocket) June 22, 2013
@PPlasticHelmet Honestly, a reference guide like Halliwell’s or Time Out.
— Michael Pattison (@m_pattison) June 22, 2013
@PPlasticHelmet Sarris’ The American Cinema. My bible. Accessible but full of ideas.
— Adam HopeLies (@adamhopelies) June 22, 2013
@PPlasticHelmet David Thomson’s Biographical Dictionary of Film. Ambitious, hugely entertaining, supreme analysis, sometimes just bonkers.
— Martyn Conterio (@Cinemartyn) June 22, 2013
@PPlasticHelmet Ed Dimendberg’s FILM NOIR AND THE SPACES OF MODERNITY. My diss. was basically this book but on Dario Argento and Rome.
— Michael Loren Siegel (@michael_siegel) June 22, 2013
@PPlasticHelmet The Parade’s Gone By is a wonderful book about the silent eta. Final Cut is my favourite behind-the-scenes book.
— Philip Concannon (@Phil_on_Film) June 22, 2013
@PPlasticHelmet I love Lillian Ross’s non-fiction novel Picture. A cautionary tale of all that is great and terrible about Hollywood
— Silent London (@silentlondon) June 22, 2013
@PPlasticHelmet Once Upon A Time In Italy: The Westerns Of Sergio Leone, by Christopher Frayling. A superb, generously illustrated history
— timpelan (@johnneyred) June 22, 2013
@PPlasticHelmet Rebel Without A Cause- James Dean Black Beauty- happy, sad, sad, happy!!
— clairwithnoe (@clairwithnoe) June 22, 2013
@PPlasticHelmet The rise & fall of modern U.S. indie: Robert Rodriguez’s REBEL WITHOUT A CREW, then Peter Biskind’s DOWN & DIRTY PICTURES.
— Simon Kinnear (@kinnemaniac) June 22, 2013
@PPlasticHelmet The Devil’s Candy, a superb and exhaustive look at the making of Bonfire of the Vanities. Thorough, funny and informative.
— Jason Coyle (@JayCoyle) June 22, 2013
@PPlasticHelmet Lumet’s Making Movies. Real practical wisdom from someone who knew.
— Indy Datta (@SpodoKomodo) June 22, 2013
@PPlasticHelmet Easy Riders, Raging Bulls. Dishes the dirt on an amazing time warts and all, but doesn’t diminish its subjects’ achievements
— Jonathan Hatfull (@JonathanHatfull) June 23, 2013
@PPlasticHelmet Newman’s Nightmare Movies was a key one in my youth, and the only non-guide film book I’ve bought 3 times
— James Rocarols (@jamesrocarols) June 23, 2013
@PPlasticHelmet David Thomson’s New Biographical Dictionary of Film.
— Basia Lewandowska (@mishearance) June 23, 2013
.@PPlasticHelmet @JonathanHatfull For me, The Devil’s Candy. Still the sharpest making-of-a-disaster book (film is Bonfire Of The Vanities)
— Simon Crook (@sicrook) June 23, 2013
Permanent Plastic Helmet 
Mine is FINAL CUT, the story of the making of HEAVEN’S GATE. It’s a beautifully written, fair-minded memory of a tipping point in American studio filmmaking. The last paragraph really stays with me. I think I’ve revisited this book more than any other.