A gift guide for film fanatics - Los Angeles Times
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Movie fans will love these gifts

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The Times may earn a commission if you buy any of these gifts through links on our site. The items were independently selected.

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For the laughs

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“Who’s on First?” You’ll get the answer, sort of, in “Abbott & Costello: The Complete Universal Pictures Collection (80th Anniversary Edition).” This complete collection includes 28 films from the comedy duo at the height of their popularity, including “Buck Privates,” “Who Done It?” and “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.”

$124.96. Purchase here→

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‘King of the Monsters’

In “Godzilla: The Showa-Era Films, 1954-1975,” all 15 legendary films from the original defining run of Japan’s own “King of the Monsters” in a lavish boxed set from the experts at Criterion, loaded with revelatory special features and dressed up with arresting original art. Collectors bonus: It’s officially the 1,000th Criterion release.

$224.95. Purchase here→

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Animated masterpiece

A limited-edition release of Hayao Miyazaki’s Oscar-winning animated masterpiece, “Spirited Away,” the collector’s edition, is packaged in a beautiful hard slipcase with a commemorative 40-page booklet and the exclusive U.S. printing of Joe Hisaishi’s indelible soundtrack.

$34.99. Purchase here→

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Long overdue

Celebrating its 100th anniversary and fresh from its cinematic closeup in “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood,” this Los Angeles landmark gets a coffee table book — “The Musso and Frank Grill,” by Michael Callahan — overflowing with recipes, historic photographs, portraits of staff and stories of the famous folks who’ve walked through its doors. About time too.

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$40.

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A gorgeous collection

“Cinema on Paper” by Dwight M. Cleveland gathers together more than 100 vividly designed film posters from top-of-the-line publisher Assouline that display not only classic American items but posters from overseas purveyors like Cuba, Italy, Poland and the Netherlands.

$95. Purchase here→

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Celebrities IRL

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Counter-intuitive though it may sound, movie stars and major tomes have often been paired in all manner of vintage publicity photos. “The Hollywood Book Club” by Steven Rea is an engaging book that rounds up dozens of rarely seen, always surprising images (yes, that’s Marilyn Monroe reading Heine on the cover).

$16.95. Purchase here→

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On the page

“The Big Book of Reel Murders: Stories That Inspired Great Crime Films,” edited by Otto Penzler, is a whopper of a tome (1,200 pages and counting) that collects in one place more than 60 short stories that were the basis of films like “Psycho,” “The Wild One,” “Bad Day at Black Rock” and “On the Waterfront.” Penzler, a veteran editor, expertly introduces each entry.

$25.39. Purchase here→

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“Harry Potter: Exploring Hogwarts”

Stunning full-color illustrations matched with interactive elements takes you inside the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from JK Rowling’s beloved Potter novels and the blockbuster film adaptations. From the Forbidden Forest to the Great Hall, it’s all here in “Harry Potter: Exploring Hogwarts.”

$29.99. Purchase here→

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Cool caves

Why do bad guys always have the coolest cinematic abodes? “Lair: Radical Homes and Hideouts of Movie Villains” is a deep dive into unique buildings from 15 films, including “Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb,” “Star Wars” and “The Incredibles.” It’s both an architecture and movie fan’s dream.

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$75. Purchase here→

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