The National Society of Film Critics dares to go where few mainstream critics have gone before—to the heart of what gets the colored lights going, as they say in A Streetcar Named Desire. Here is the critics' take on the films that quicken their (and our) pulses, an enterprise both risky and risque: an entertaining overview of the most arousing films Hollywood has every produced. The Society is a world-renowned, marquee-name organization embracing some of America's most distinguished critics, more than forty writers who have followings nationally as well as devoted local constituencies in such major cities as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Minneapolis. The X List will have something for every lover of film—and for every lover. But make no mistake about it: This isn't a collection of esoteric "critic's choice" movies. This group of essays edited by New York Daily News critic Jami Bernard reflects individual taste, rubbing against the grain of popular wisdom. Because of the personal nature of the erotic forces at play, these essays will reveal more about the individual critics than perhaps they have revealed thus far to their readers.

Best Picture Oscar winners (Rebecca), European classics (Belle du Jour), lightweight musicals (Bye Bye Birdie), thrillers (Klute) and love stories (The Long Hot Summer) are spotlighted here, and many fine film writers—Joe Morgenstern, Richard Schickel, Peter Travers, and Michael Wilmington—tackle them with aplomb. Jay Carr brings the soft, sensual vividness of The Fabulous Baker Boys to life, noting, "It's an after-hours nocturne of dead-solid serendipity"; Bernard characterizes Gilda as a "coyly sadistic exercise where sex is a weapon that's constantly being unsheathed." There's loose, tongue-in-cheek humor from Rob Nelson in his review of Eyes Wide Shut (he describes Stanley Kubrick as "one seriously perverse dude"). Matt Zoller Seitz writes on the primal eroticism of The Last of the Mohicans. J. Hoberman's witty pan of Basic Instinct is delightful, and Liza Schwarzbaum's enthusiasm for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid will create new excitement for the classic buddy western.

All copies are used and in acceptable to good condition. Some may be library or university copies and may have shelf wear, underlining/margin notes, and possibly card catalog/circulation stickers.

SIGNED BY MATT ZOLLER SEITZ (author of the essay on "The Last of the Mohicans," p. 169).

REVIEW