Showing posts with label criterion collection. Show all posts
Showing posts with label criterion collection. Show all posts

My Life And My Films (Da Capo Paperback) Review

My Life And My Films (Da Capo Paperback)
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
Are you looking to buy My Life And My Films (Da Capo Paperback)? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on My Life And My Films (Da Capo Paperback). Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

My Life And My Films (Da Capo Paperback) ReviewJean Renoir is one of the greatest masters of the art of cinema. This autobiographical work traces his life from his childhood in France to his later years in Beverly Hills, not in the conventional sense, but rather through the world of film. This is fitting since the world of film was truly Jean Renoir's world.
Jean Renoir, middle son of Pierre-Auguste Renoir, made his first public debut quite early, albeit quite reluctantly, as the little boy with the long, golden curls who figures so prominently in many of his famous father's paintings.
Jean Renoir's early life, in later 19th century France, was dominated by two people--his father and Gabrielle Renard, his maternal cousin, who was to become his nanny and later, his dearest friend. While it was Auguste Renoir who introduced Jean to the world of art, it was Gabrielle who led him to the cinema. Jean, himself, says, "To her I owe Guignol and the Theatre Montmarte. She taught me to realize that the very unreality of those entertainments was a reason for examining real life. She taught me to see the face behind the masks and the fraud behind the flourishes."
Jean Renoir begins and ends this book with Gabrielle Renard, and, along the way, he examines and reveals the profound influence this marvelous woman exerted over him. In characteristic fashion Jean writes more about others than about himself. He lets us peer into the lives of the actors, technicians and producers with whom he worked, in places as diverse as Paris, Hollywood and even India. And, also characteristic of Jean, the unknown often play a role as large or larger than do the very famous.
While most of Jean Renoir's personal life remains unrevealed (this is definitely not a vapid, "tell all" tale!), he does tell us how and why he became a filmmaker and he goes to great lengths when explaining the relationship between film and life. From the depths of his dazzling imagination, Jean Renoir created nearly forty films, films that Francois Truffaut called, "the most alive films in the history of cinema." Two of these films, Grand Illusion and The Rules of the Game, are often thought of as Jean Renoir's masterpieces.
But other films also live on, including The River, the lyrically beautiful film Jean Renoir made in India, and The Southerner, a poetic tale in which all the characters are heroic, in which every element plays its part and all come together in an act of homage to divinity.
This book should be required reading for all students of film everywhere for, as Garson Kanin said of Jean Renoir, "In the world he inhabits he is known as the best of men. In the cinema universe he is a living god."
Everyone, I believe, film student or just a lover of film, can find something to love in My Life and My Films, for Jean Renoir was a man of immense and daring imagination and creativity; he was both simple in outlook yet profound, but above all, he was a lover of humanity, one whose heart and spirit were always as generous as they were wise.My Life And My Films (Da Capo Paperback) OverviewHere is the autobiography of the little boy with golden curls in the paintings of his father, Pierre Auguste Renoir—the boy who became the director many consider the greatest in history. François Truffaut called him "an infallible filmmaker . . . Renoir has succeeded in creating the most alive films in the history of cinema, films which still breathe forty years after they were made." In this book, Jean Renoir(1894-1979)presents his world, from his father's Montemarte studio to his own travels in Paris, Hollywood, and India. Here are tantalizing secrets about his greatest films—The Rules of the Game, The Grand Illusion, The River, A Day in the Country, La Bête Humaine, Toni. But most of all, Renoir shows us himself: a man if dazzling simplicity, immense creativity, and profound humanity.

Want to learn more information about My Life And My Films (Da Capo Paperback)?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

Martin Scorsese: Interviews (Conversations with Filmmakers) Review

Martin Scorsese: Interviews (Conversations with Filmmakers)
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
Are you looking to buy Martin Scorsese: Interviews (Conversations with Filmmakers)? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Martin Scorsese: Interviews (Conversations with Filmmakers). Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Martin Scorsese: Interviews (Conversations with Filmmakers) ReviewMartin Scorsese is the greatest living film director. There is little doubt of that. Much can be gained by hearing what he has to say on the topic of film. He does provide a lot of it here. Scorsese divulges more about his films here than most might ever want to know. In one particularly dizzying section, he is asked questions about "Mean Streets" and "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" for fifty plus pages. The most intriguing thing is that all the interviews come from different eras, and it is quite interesting to see how he has changed throughout the years. I thought this was a great quick read and enjoyed it throughly. This book is essential reading for all Scorsese and cinema fans.Martin Scorsese: Interviews (Conversations with Filmmakers) Overview From the moment he captured the film world's attention with Mean Streets (1973), a portrait of life at the fringes of the Mob, it was clear that a dazzling cinematic talent had arrived on the scene. With Robert DeNiro, one of the most talented young actors from this film, Scorsese went on to make some of the greatest American films of the postwar period, including Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980), and Goodfellas (1990). A Scorsese film seldom fails to stir controversy, for his devotion to realism has led him to forthrightly depict violence and its frightening randomness in the modern world. His biblical film also created quite a stir. This adaptation of Kazantzakis's The Last Temptation of Christ generated outrage among conservative religious leaders. Scorsese, however, has not limited himself to contemporary, violent urban dramas or new interpretations of biblical subjects. Other widely heralded Scorsese films include Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974), New York, New York (1977), The Last Waltz (1978), The King of Comedy (1983), After Hours (1985), The Color of Money (1986), Cape Fear (1991), The Age of Innocence (1993), Casino (1995), and Kundun (1998). These interviews begin with conversations about the highly autobiographical Mean Streets (1973), which first brought Scorsese serious attention, and end with conversations about Kundun, an overtly political biography of the Dalai Lama of Tibet, released in early 1998. "I look for a thematic idea running through my movies, he says, and I see that it's the outsider struggling for recognition. I realize that all my life I've been an outsider, and above all, being lonely but never realizing it." Peter Brunette , a professor of English and film studies at George Mason University, is the author of Roberto Rossellini and (forthcoming) The Films of Michelangelo Antonioni. With David Wills he co-authored Screen/Play: Derrida and Film Theory.

Want to learn more information about Martin Scorsese: Interviews (Conversations with Filmmakers)?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

Max Ophuls in the Hollywood Studios Review

Max Ophuls in the Hollywood Studios
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
Are you looking to buy Max Ophuls in the Hollywood Studios? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Max Ophuls in the Hollywood Studios. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Max Ophuls in the Hollywood Studios ReviewUnlike some of the other books about Ophuls, Bacher's book goes into what lay behind some of Ophuls' directorial decisions, the personalities of producers, editors, stars, etc. It is the book of scholarship that needs to be written about every director worth studying. This is the book you read BEFORE you start to consider what Ophuls is trying to communicate, what the meaning is of Ophuls films. The only drawback of the book is that it only goes into detail about Ophuls' four American films!
The biggest surprise was that the book was a pleasure to read. The personalities presented are real people. It is, despite the scholarly intention of the book, very fast reading. I found it too fast.... I will have to go back and read it again in order to write my own paper on Ophuls films!
MIchael Ian ChaplanMax Ophuls in the Hollywood Studios OverviewMax Ophuls, who is consideredone of the greatest film directors of all time, has long been seen as an "auteur"--the artist in complete control of his work. Lutz Bacher's examination of his American career gives us a unique perspective on the struggle on the workings of the Hollywood system and the struggle of a visionary to function within it. He thus establishes clear connections between the production contexts of Ophuls's American films and their idiosyncratic style.Drawing on documents in many archives and on interviews with more than sixty of Ophuls's contemporaries, Bacher traces the European director's struggle to find a niche in the U.S. film industry. He describes how Ophuls ran the gamut from ghost writing to substitute directing, to a debilitating association with Preston Sturges and Howard Hughes, to making four films--Letter from and Unknown Woman and Caught among them--in thirty months, and then returning to Europe with a runaway production that was to have starred Greta Garbo. Throughout, Bacher demonstrates that Ophuls's bending of conventional Hollywood methods to his own will through compromise and subversion allowed him to achieve a style that was both uniquely American and a point of departure from his later work. A rare synthesis of production history, stylistic analysis, and biography, this book is essential reading for serious film scholars and fans of the director's work.

Want to learn more information about Max Ophuls in the Hollywood Studios?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

Kay Francis: A Passionate Life and Career Review

Kay Francis: A Passionate Life and Career
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
Are you looking to buy Kay Francis: A Passionate Life and Career? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Kay Francis: A Passionate Life and Career. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Kay Francis: A Passionate Life and Career ReviewI didn't know much about Kay before and I really enjoyed learning about her life. The authors used Kay's private diaries as the source for this book. There's quite a lot of juicy stuff in there about Kay's numerous affairs (with men and women) and her many abortions. The book also goes into a lot of detail about Kay's volunteer work during World War 2 when she traveled the world with Carole Landis, Mitzi Mayfair, and Martha Raye. What I liked best is that the authors include many of Kay's own diary entries in the book. This is really Kay finally telling her story to the world. There is also a filmography, lots of pictures, and a complete chronology of Kay's life. This is one movie star biography that is worth every penny!
I know there are other biographies out there about Kay but this one is simply the best.Kay Francis: A Passionate Life and Career OverviewKay Francis came of age in the Roaring Twenties and relished the era's hedonistic pursuits. Her career as an actress was launched at the same time, and before her death in 1968, she had appeared on many theater stages, in more than 60 films, on radio, in USO tours, as a model, and on television. The tall, stylish actress had a husky voice and dark beauty that was striking on film. Despite her financial success, relaxed morals, and life as a socialite, the millionaire actress shunned luxuries such as limousines and sprawling estates popular among Hollywood elite. The actress who insisted she wanted to be forgotten left behind scrapbooks, boxes of memorabilia and detailed diaries. These rich resources help provide an exhaustive look at the life of one of Hollywood's most intriguing early stars. Francis' biography is the heart of this book, beginning with her family background and her upbringing by a vaudevillian actress mother. The story of her extensive career and never-ending romantic pursuits is peppered with comments from the media and her own diaries, and supplemented with ample photographs. A chronology gives dates of theater openings, film releases, marriages, television and radio appearances, births and deaths. A filmography includes complete cast and credit lists.

Want to learn more information about Kay Francis: A Passionate Life and Career?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

A Critical Handbook of Japanese Film Directors: From the Silent Era to the Present Day Review

A Critical Handbook of Japanese Film Directors: From the Silent Era to the Present Day
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
Are you looking to buy A Critical Handbook of Japanese Film Directors: From the Silent Era to the Present Day? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on A Critical Handbook of Japanese Film Directors: From the Silent Era to the Present Day. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

A Critical Handbook of Japanese Film Directors: From the Silent Era to the Present Day ReviewThis is an excellent reference work for anyone who has even a passing interest in Japanese cinema. Jacoby structures the book well, proceeding through all of the major Japanese directors (and many minor ones) in alphabetical order. For each director's entry, he provides a broad career overview - offering his own opinions of the major films - then includes a filmography. While I don't agree with absolutely all of his statements, his opinions are always interesting to read and well-informed, and it's nice to get a fresh (to me) perspective on such classic Japanese filmmakers as Kobayashi, Kurosawa, Ozu, Mizoguchi...
Another striking thing about this book is that Jacoby isn't snobby about which directors he includes. So he has "classical" directors like Mizoguchi in here, and also genre directors like Ishiro Honda of "Godzilla" fame and Takashi Miike. His willingness to cover drama, horror, science fiction, and gangster films in a single volume makes him more open-minded than most other aficionados of Japanese cinema, who tend to limit themselves to one or two genres. (Indeed, rare is the critic who enjoys both Tokyo Story and The Mysterians, as I do.) Another highlight is that Jacoby includes some useful appendices, such as an overview of the major Japanese film studios and a list of historical eras in Japan (handy for figuring out when all these samurai movies are supposed to take place).
Of course, since the book covers a lot of ground, Jacoby doesn't delve too deeply into any one director's work. Even "big guns" like Ozu and Kurosawa have short entries; and while Jacoby has room to challenge some common theories about Ozu, he doesn't have quite enough room to properly develop his counter-theories. Also, like most handbooks, this can get a little dry if you try to read it all in one go; I prefer to sample individual entries whenever I feel like it.
Overall, this is good stuff, and I look forward to using this book to track down the more obscure classics of Japanese cinema. As a pointless aside, many of the movies covered in this book have very amusing titles (in translation), on the order of: "Ninja Mountain Attack Saga: Duel by Autumn Moonlight!" Just thought I'd mention that, because it gave me a few chuckles.A Critical Handbook of Japanese Film Directors: From the Silent Era to the Present Day Overview
This important work fills the need for a reasonably priced yet comprehensive volume on major directors in the history of Japanese film. With clear insight and without academic jargon, Jacoby examines the works of over 150 filmmakers to uncover what makes their films worth watching.

Included are artistic profiles of everyone from Yutaka Abe to Isao Yukisada, including masters like Kinji Fukasaku, Juzo Itami, Akira Kurosawa, Takashi Miike, Kenji Mizoguchi, Yasujiro Ozu, and Yoji Yamada. Each entry includes a critical summary and filmography, making this book an essential reference and guide.

UK-based Alexander Jacoby is a writer and researcher on Japanese film.


Want to learn more information about A Critical Handbook of Japanese Film Directors: From the Silent Era to the Present Day?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...