Top Ten Films That Have Inspired Me By Emma Salisbury
Top Ten Films That Have Inspired Me By Emma Salisbury
Hi all! Today is my stop on the Absent blog tour and I have the lovely Emma Salisbury on the blog today talking about the films that have inspired her!
Top Ten Films That Have Inspired Me
Shawshank Redemption
Based on the 1982 Stephen King novella Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption this is my all-time favourite film. Every time I watch it I forget how dark it is because it is shot through with hope – from Andy, to return to freedom after being wrongly accused and for Red, who just wants to make parole. Despite the constant, sometimes brutal setbacks, they never let go of this hope. Drama of the highest order.
It’s a Wonderful Life
I have watched this film every Christmas for over 20 years. It is a classic example of a great drama – the main character shows himself to be a selfless man, even brave, then life takes him on a journey that challenges his faith in the world, and it takes an angel to help him learn how much he is loved.
The Godfather I, II, III
Is it cheating to have all three listed in one spot? I find it impossible to separate them, each one setting the scene and building up to the next. The cinematography in III is beautiful, and the lead up to the scene on the steps outside the opera house with the libretto from Cavalleria Rusticana performed in the background sets the hairs on the back of my neck on end every time.
A Few Good Men
‘You WANT me on that wall.’ That’s all I’m saying.
Any Given Sunday
Simply the greatest motivational speech of all time. Al Pacino and Jamie Foxx star. What’s not to like?
Their Finest
Bill Nighy and Gemma Arterton star in this film set in the Second World War when a team of screenwriters are tasked with making a morale boosting movie. I enjoyed the pace of it, thinking it was ‘just a romantic drama’ when something happens later that made me realise it was a realistic portrayal of life at the time (no spoilers) which totally earned my respect.
ET
Come on, who doesn’t love this?
The Green Mile
A touch of the theatrical about this, but isn’t good drama about suspending disbelief?
About Time
I only discovered this film recently and thought it quite beautiful. A super cool soundtrack too. The topic – a man discovers he has inherited the ability to travel forward and back in time – makes for a very moving film. Tissues may be required.
Seven Pounds
A man (Will Smith) interacts with several strangers on his path to redemption. I love films where the lives of people who would normally never meet intersect. That ‘What if…’ moment.
About the book
When he stopped a serial killer in his tracks the year before, DS Kevin Coupland had thought that would be the end of it, little realising his own personal nightmare has only just begun.
A child’s body is discovered in a sports bag, kicking off a major investigation for Salford Precinct’s murder squad. Soon the National Crime Agency roll into town and Coupland is under strict instructions to play nice. He’s got enough on his plate to worry about politics. A shock discovery in his personal life is starting to take its toll, causing him to make decisions
that bring him to the attention of the powers that be for all the wrong reasons.
DS Alex Moreton returns from maternity leave to find her partner deeply troubled, but with a cold case to review she’s in no position to prevent him hitting the self-destruct button. As he hunts down the child’s killer Coupland is forced to reflect upon his own life and find an answer to a question he’s long been avoiding…
From best-selling author Emma Salisbury comes a gripping warts and all police procedural which will hook fans of Angela Marsons and Ed James.
About the Author
I write gritty, crime fiction that focuses on the ‘why’dunnit as well as the ‘who’. I worked for a housing association supporting socially excluded men and women with their return into society, which provided me with a lot of inspiration. If you like hard-boiled crime writers Stuart MacBride, Denise Mina AND Ed James then my Scottish crime series is for you. Fans of Ian Rankin or Mark Billingham-style police procedurals should try my Salford detective series. Like living on the edge? Why not try both…
ABSENT is the fourth in my Salford crime series and is available to pre-order now.
ONE BAD TURN is the third in my Salford crime series – No sooner has Detective Sergeant Kevin Coupland stepped off the plane from a family holiday than he gets the call that a woman’s body has been found on a path beside a recreation park in a smart suburb in Salford. Account Manager Sharon Mathers suffered a brutal blow to the head following a night out with friends from work. As the body count rises Coupland makes a startling discovery – the killings are linked to a murder in ’92. Coupland was a probationer back in the nineties – could he be linked in some way to the killer?
A PLACE OF SAFETY is the second of my Salford crime series and opens with a drive-by shooting that leaves a witness in fear for her life. DS Coupland and Moreton return to investigate what looks like a turf war gone wrong when a local gang does everything it can to cover the killer’s tracks. Why is a young woman who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time such a threat to them? Or as Coupland suspects, is there more to their guilt than meets the eye?
FRAGILE CORD is the first in my Salford Detective series introducing Alex Moreton and Kevin Coupland as they investigate the murder-suicide of a mother and her son. Alex is under pressure from her partner to have another child, but they’re happy as they are, aren’t they? Coupland’s wife is behaving oddly, is he right to be worried?
My Edinburgh crime series featuring Davy Johnson:
THE SILENCE BEFORE THE SCREAM
When the daughter of Edinburgh’s most powerful crime lord is kidnapped all hell breaks loose in the city. Determined to find her without the hindrance of the police Gus McEwan summons his most reliable men to track her down. Davy Johnson, still reeling from witnessing an horrific suicide is in no position to refuse. As the violence escalates but no ransom note emerges Davy must convince Edinburgh’s most fearsome gangsters that this isn’t about money or power, but something far more primitive.
TRUTH LIES WAITING, the first in my Scottish crime fiction series introduces anti-hero Davy Johnson as his life is thrown into turmoil when a killer strikes in Edinburgh’s underbelly – framing him in the process. TRUTH LIES WAITING will tackle your perception of good v. evil forever.
Fans of Ed James, Stuart Macbride and Ian Rankin will be gripped by the rollercoaster ride through Edinburgh’s colourful underbelly.
Most evenings I can be found walking the family dog on the beach near our home in East Lothian, Scotland. You can find out more on my website www.emmasalisbury.com and I can be found on twitter @emmasauthor.
Follow the Tour
Will you be reading this book?
