Quick gift giving film book guide:
If Miles Davis' Kind of Blue is the one jazz album that should be in everyone's collection then Francois Truffaut's Hitchcock is the equivalent film book. As mentioned here a documentary about the making of the book is coming out soon. Truffaut started as a writer of film critique and commentary. He almost singlehandly elevated Hitchcock from being viewed as merely an entertainer to, deservedly, an artist.
Fellini: The Sixties TCM created this ultimate coffee table book about Fellini's golden decade.
Donald Richie, who died two years ago, was the ultimate information source for Japanese cinema. His indispensable book The Films of Akira Kurosawa is a, large format, detailed survey of every Kurosawa film.
Everyone knows Saul Bass' work as a designer of movie title sequences, even if you don't know his name. From Anatomy of a Murder, to Hithcocks including Vertigo and Psycho, to Goodfallas his work spanned over 40 years. Saul Bass: A Life in Film and Design is a must not only for film buffs for anyone with an interest in graphic design. In addition to his film work his graphics include Bell telephones original logo and the world logo that replaced it and airline plane logos.
Remember Hanukkah starts this Sunday night but you have 8 days. And oh yeah, 20 days to Christmas.