Since its inception on Turner Classic Movies in 2001, The Essentials has become the ultimate series for movie lovers to expand their knowledge of must-see cinema and discover or revisit landmark films that have had a lasting impact on audiences everywhere. Based on the TCM series, The Essentials book showcases fifty-two must-see movies from the silent era through the early 1980s.

Readers can enjoy one film per week for a year of stellar viewing or indulge in their own classic film festival. Some long-championed masterworks appear within these pages; other selections may surprise you. Each film is profiled with insightful notes on why it’s an Essential, a guide to must-see moments, and running commentary from TCM’s Robert Osborne and Essentials guest hosts past and present including Sally Field, Drew Barrymore, Alec Baldwin, Rose McGowan, Carrie Fisher, Molly Haskell, Peter Bogdanovich, Sydney Pollack, and Rob Reiner.

Featuring full-color and black-and-white photography of the greatest stars in movie history, The Essentials is your curated guide to fifty-two movies that define the meaning of the word classic.

About the Author
Jeremy Arnold, a writer and film historian, is the author of Lawrence of Arabia: The 50th Anniversary, a coffee-table book companion to that film's Blu-ray release. In addition to his work for numerous film trade publications, he has written over five hundred programming articles for the Turner Classic Movies website and contributed audio commentaries and historical essays to the DVD and Blu-ray releases of classic films. Jeremy lives in Los Angeles.