For more than forty years, readers of The Age newspaper have learned about the latest films through the interpretations and judgements of Brian McFarlane, now himself a Melbourne institution of sorts. Over that time McFarlane’s reviews of and articles on film have also featured in Australian Book Review, Cinema Papers, Inside Story, Meanjin, Metro, Screening the Past, Senses of Cinema, Sight & Sound, and many other newspapers, magazines, and journals.

This selection of McFarlane’s writings on film, taken as a whole, tells a story about what has brought us back to the cinema again and again, from recent times to a now more distant past. In his attuned but easy style, sprinkled with wit and insight, our guide brings back memories, fills gaps in our knowledge, triggers conversations, and inspires delight and enthusiasm.

Making a Meal of It is a first-rate resource for film buffs and excellent dinner-table company.