There are tons of books about filmmaking and filmmakers, but I have a particular appreciation for books written about just one specific movie. These microhistories (a genre I love) go deep on their film’s influences, development, production, and extended cultural relevance, and through that can tell us a lot about the power of cinema beyond opening weekend.

Because I’m a psycho, I’ve slowly been accumulating a list of all the books I could find that fall into this category. Some are written by people involved with the film’s production, while others are by journalists or critics. I’ve read several of them but far from all, so this list is aspirational as much as informational.

See below for what I’ve gathered thus far, listed alphabetically by film title. I also created a list on Letterboxd and will update both as I discover more. Let me know if I’m missing any!

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) — Space Odyssey: Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C. Clarke, and the Making of a Masterpiece by Michael Benson

Airplane! (1980) — Surely You Can’t Be Serious: The True Story of Airplane! by David Zucker, Jerry Zucker, and Jim Abrahams

All About Eve (1950) — All About All About Eve: The Complete Behind-the-Scenes Story of the Bitchiest Film Ever Made! by Sam Staggs

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) — Kind of a Big Deal: How Anchorman Stayed Classy and Became the Most Iconic Comedy of the Twenty-First Century by Saul Austerlitz

Animal House (1980) — Fat, Drunk, and Stupid: The Inside Story Behind the Making of Animal House by Matty Simmons

Back to the Future (1985) — We Don’t Need Roads: The Making of the Back to the Future Trilogy by Caseen Gaines

Blade Runner (1982) — Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner by Paul M. Sammon

The Blues Brothers (1980) — The Blues Brothers: An Epic Friendship, the Rise of Improv, and the Making of An American Film Classic by Daniel De Visé

The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990) — The Devil’s Candy: The Anatomy of a Hollywood Fiasco by Julie Salamon

Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) — Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and the Dawn of the Modern Woman by Sam Wasson

Bull Durham (1988) — The Church of Baseball: The Making of Bull Durham: Home Runs, Bad Calls, Crazy Fights, Big Swings, and a Hit by Ron Shelton

Caddyshack (1980) — Caddyshack: The Making of a Hollywood Cinderella Story by Chris Nashawaty

Casablanca (1942) — Round Up the Usual Suspects: The Making of Casablanca—Bogart, Bergman, and World War II by Aljean Harmetz and We’ll Always Have Casablanca: The Life, Legend, and Afterlife of Hollywood’s Most Beloved Movie by Noah Isenberg

Chinatown (1974) — The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood by Sam Wasson

A Christmas Story (1983) — A Christmas Story: Behind the Scenes of a Holiday Classic by Caseen Gaines

Clueless (1995) — As If!: The Oral History of Clueless by Jen Chaney

Dazed and Confused (1993) — Alright, Alright, Alright: The Oral History of Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused by Melissa Maerz

The Dirty Dozen (1967) — Killin’ Generals: The Making of The Dirty Dozen, the Most Iconic WWII Movie of All Time by Dwayne Epstein

Double Indemnity (1944) — From the Moment They Met It Was Murder: Double Indemnity and the Rise of Film Noir by Alain Silver & James Ursini

Giant (1956) — Giant Love: Edna Ferber, Her Best-Selling Novel of Texas, and the Making of a Classic American Film by Julie Goldsmith Gilbert

The Godfather (1972) — Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli: The Epic Story of the Making of The Godfather by Mark Seal

Gone with the Wind (1939) — Frankly, My Dear: “Gone with the Wind” Revisited by Molly Haskell

GoodFellas (1990) — Made Men: The Story of Goodfellas by Glenn Kenny

Heaven’s Gate (1980) — Final Cut: Art, Money, and Ego in the Making of Heaven’s Gate, the Film That Sank United Artists by Steven Bach

High Noon (1952) — High Noon: The Hollywood Blacklist and the Making of An American Classic by Glenn Frankel

Imitation of Life (1959) — Born to Be Hurt: The Untold Story of Imitation of Life by Sam Staggs

John Wick (2014) — They Shouldn’t Have Killed His Dog: The Complete Uncensored Ass-Kicking Oral History of John Wick, Gun Fu, and the New Age of Action by Edward Gross & Mark A. Altman

King Kong (1933) — The Making of King Kong: The Story Behind a Film Classic by Orville Goldner and George Turner

A League of Their Own (1992) — No Crying in Baseball: The Inside Story of A League of Their Own: Big Stars, Dugout Drama, and a Home Run for Hollywood by Erin Carlson

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) — Blood, Sweat & Chrome: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road by Kyle Buchanan

Major League (1989) — The Making of Major League: A Juuuust a Bit Inside Look at the Classic Baseball Comedy by Jonathan Knight

Mary Poppins (1964) — Making Mary Poppins: The Sherman Brothers, Walt Disney, and the Creation of the Classic Film by Todd James Pierce

Mean Girls (2004) — So Fetch: The Making of Mean Girls (and Why We’re Still So Obsessed With It) by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong

Midnight Cowboy (1969) — Shooting Midnight Cowboy: Art, Sex, Loneliness, Liberation, and the Making of a Dark Classic by Glenn Frankel

Mommie Dearest (1981) — With Love, Mommie Dearest: The Making of An Unintentional Camp Classic by A. Ashley Hoff

Night of the Living Dead (1968) — Partially Devoured: How Night of the Living Dead Saved My Life and Changed the World by Daniel Kraus

On the Waterfront (1954) — A City Full of Hawks: On the Waterfront Seventy Years Later—Still the Great American Contender by Stephen Rebello

Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985) — Inside Pee-wee’s Playhouse: The Untold, Unauthorized, and Unpredictable Story of a Pop Phenomenon by Caseen Gaines

The Pride of the Yankees (1942) — The Pride of the Yankees: Lou Gehrig, Gary Cooper, and the Making of a Classic by Richard Sandomir

Psycho (1960) — Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho by Stephen Rebello

The Room (2003) — The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room, the Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made by Greg Sestero & Tom Bissell

Saturday Night Fever (1977) — Fever: The Complete History of Saturday Night Fever by Margo Donohue

Scarface (1983) — The World Is Yours: The Story of Scarface by Glenn Kenny

Scream (1996) — Your Favorite Scary Movie: How the Scream Films Rewrote the Rules of Horror by Ashley Cullins

The Searchers (1956) — The Searchers: The Making of an American Legend by Glenn Frankel

Shaun of the Dead (2004) — You’ve Got Red on You: How Shaun of the Dead Was Brought to Life by Clark Collis

Singin’ in the Rain (1952) — Singin’ in the Rain: The Making of an American Masterpiece by Earl J. Hess & Pratibha A. Dabholkar

The Sound of Music (1965) — The Sound of Music Story: How a Beguiling Young Novice, a Handsome Austrian Captain, and Ten Singing von Trapp Children Inspired the Most Beloved Film of All Time by Tom Santopietro

Spartacus (1960) — I Am Spartacus!: Making a Film, Breaking the Blacklist by Kirk Douglas

Strangers on a Train (1951) — Criss-Cross: The Making of Hitchcock’s Dazzling, Subversive Masterpiece Strangers on a Train by Stephen Rebello

A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) — When Blanche Met Brando: The Scandalous Story of “A Streetcar Named Desire” by Sam Staggs

Sunset Boulevard (1950) — Ready for My Close-Up: The Making of Sunset Boulevard and the Dark Side of the Hollywood Dream by David M. Lubin and Close-up on Sunset Boulevard: Billy Wilder, Norma Desmond, and the Dark Hollywood Dream by Sam Staggs

Valley of the Dolls (1967) — Dolls! Dolls! Dolls! Deep Inside Valley of the Dolls, the Most Beloved Bad Book and Movie of All Time by Stephen Rebello

The Way We Were (1973) — The Way They Were: How Epic Battles and Bruised Egos Brought a Classic Hollywood Love Story to the Screen by Robert Hofler

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) — Cocktails With George and Martha: Movies, Marriage, and the Making of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Philip Gefter