Robert Altman: Jumping Off the Cliff Review

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Robert Altman: Jumping Off the Cliff ReviewPatrick McGilligan's thoroughly detailed biography of Robert Atlman is nothing short of one of the greatest film books of all time. McGilligan's style is exhaustive, yet easy to read, covering all the bases of Altman the man, his life and his films.
Even though it is apparent that McGilligan is a huge fan of Altman's work, he never writes with a bias. His analysis is totally fair and balanced, pointing out the both the failures and successes of both Altman the person and his films. By the end of the book, you really feel you have gotten to know the great filmmaker and have been along for the ride on all of his many exploits.
The only problem with the book is that it was published in 1989, and hasn't been updated since. While Altman's first golden period (the 1970s) is obviously well covered, we are deprived on McGilligan's analysis of Altman's second golden age (1992's "The Player" up to the present). After re-reading this book recently, I was left with a nagging desire to read McGilligan's take on Altman's career in the last 15 years. His thoughts on the twin triumphs of "The Player" and "Short Cuts," or on "Pret a Porter" (which is hinted at in the last chapter), or Altman's very personal "Kansas City" (the book has a heavy emphasis on Altman's KC upbringing), or Altman's ordeal over "The Gingerbread Man," and especially "Gosford Park" are needed.
Please, Mr. McGilligan, update this fantastic book!Robert Altman: Jumping Off the Cliff Overview

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The Playboy Interviews: The Directors Review

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The Playboy Interviews: The Directors ReviewThis isn't book about how to make films but a great book about the mind of great filmmakers. These in-depth interviews not only dissect the directors' best and worst films, but they also offer a glimpse into what makes these directors tick and how their views of the world helped shape their most memorable projects. A great read for any film fan who wants to learn more about these famous filmmakers directly from their own words. A more honest perspective on these directors then anything you may hear in the commentary and special features of any DVD.The Playboy Interviews: The Directors Overview

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George Stevens: Interviews (Conversations with Filmmakers) Review

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George Stevens: Interviews (Conversations with Filmmakers) ReviewThis book employs a concise interview approach, to one of America's greatest, and most respected directors. In all his work, from "Alice Adams", to "Swing Time", "Woman of the Year", to "Vivacious Lady", to "Gunga Din"...to his work with Laurel and Hardy, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, Kate Hepburn and Spencer Tracy...and to his later series of Oscar winning masterpieces, including "Shane", "Giant", "A Place in the Sun"...this little book exposes a man of great humanity and integrity. Though it does not delve deeply into most of the films, it does delve into the personalities of some of the colleagues he knew well.
The book therefore is not definitive, nor is it intended to be. However, I would say it prompts the reader towards further questioning. It's one of those readings that whet the appetite for further reading. I would have liked to have asked much more about the films already mentioned. Others, like "The Diary of Ann Frank", and his monumental film, "The Greatest Story Ever Told", are dealt with in greater depth, with special interviews.
The interviews also cover his participation in WW II, as Ike's film maker of D-Day, the liberation of Paris, the concentration camps...and how this seminal experience forever changed George Stevens, and his career, in some very profound ways. And, his story, without being an autobiography, possesses the immediacy of the great director's own words...with the personal filter of a writer, being replaced by the questions of an interviewer. As a result, it is most satisfying to learn his view of his world, and his era...directly.
I highly recommend the book, not only because of the story of this extraordinary man...but also, because the tight interview format allows the reader to learn much...and fairly quickly...and with this knowledge, to research further.George Stevens: Interviews (Conversations with Filmmakers) Overview
At first glance, George Stevens (1904Ð1975) appears to be the quintessential Hollywood director. A closer look at his achievements shows him to be more than just the creator of some of the smartest melodramas and comedies of the 1930s and 1940s, including Annie Oakley, Swing Time, and Gunga Din. Several of his films--Giant, The Diary of Anne Frank, Shane, The Greatest Story Ever Told, and A Place in the Sun--are regarded as some of the most important and enduring dramas of postwar American cinema. As a leading producer and director of his era, Stevens repeatedly pushed against the Hollywood grain and clashed with censors.
George Stevens: Interviews showcases the deep moral vision of a director who is as meticulous, discerning, and contemplative in his conversations as he is as a filmmaker. Although not regarded as an auteur during his career, Stevens can now be understood as one of America's most personal and distinguished directors. Throughout this collection, his increasing concern over the control of his films is evident, and, like Alfred Hitchcock and Howard Hawks, he became a producer/director who claimed absolute control over his work. His interviews show a man committed to his chosen art and fully aware of the responsibilities that come with that choice.
Paul Cronin is a writer and filmmaker.

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The Speed of Sound: Hollywood and the Talkie Revolution, 1926-1930 Review

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The Speed of Sound: Hollywood and the Talkie Revolution, 1926-1930 ReviewYou know you're dealing with a serious achievement when you read a book and can't conceive how one person was able to write it. Eyman does some amazing things in this book. He covers the BUSINESS side of the talkie revolution. He covers the TECHNOLOGICAL side of it. He covers the ARTISTIC side of it. And he covers the HUMAN side of it. Moreover, he does this in the context of a flowing narrative that drops some stories here and picks them up there, juggles one aspect with another; sets them aside, traces another development . . . without ever losing the flow, without ever losing the reader.I've read a lot of film books, and the skill and the intelligence of this one just amazed me. This is a dazzling piece of work, and it reads like a really good novel. I couldn't recommend a book more enthusiastically.The Speed of Sound: Hollywood and the Talkie Revolution, 1926-1930 Overview

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I'll Be in My Trailer: The Creative Wars Between Directors and Actors Review

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I'll Be in My Trailer: The Creative Wars Between Directors and Actors ReviewActors... can't live with them, can't fire them. Of course, actors are very special people. And of course, the main key to dealing with them is communication. However, finding the RIGHT way to communicate is often very difficult, because the way a director, writer or a producer thinks is very different from how the mind of an actor sees the creative process. (they also differ greatly from each other, but that's a whole different ballgame)
John Badham, director of some huge hits (Saturday Night Fever, Stakeout, War Games) tries to build bridges in this book, even though the title leads one to believe the tone will be fairly belligerent. On the contrary, while there are some stories about extremely bad behaviour here, Badham is being very constructive. In many cases, he puts the blame for an incident squarely on his own shoulders, even when an objective observer would think he did nothing wrong. His main goal is to facilitate the communication between director and actor, by explaining how to give direction in a way that actors can actually use. Badham himself uses the `as if'-technique (i.e. play this scene as if you got to catch the last train) to put actors in the right frame of mind. However, this approach isn't right for everyone (some actors DO want result-oriented direction), and Badham duly notes alternative approaches.
The book also provides a ton of helpful hints for almost all of the problems that can crop up on a set, acting-wise and actor-wise. When dealing with an addict, the only option is tough love. When some actors misbehave just for the fun of it or to flaunt their own power, a swift and just retribution is in order - except when you're dealing with real stars, who are beyond anyone's power to control.
The book also contains lots of interviews with actors, directors and producers who provide insights from all sides of the `war'. There's a lot of on-set anecdotes about Travolta (Saturday Night Fever) and Richard Dreyfuss, among others, and the interviewees include both huge stars, television directors, well-known actors who never made it to the A-list, and producers. The book is completely succesful at what it sets out to do, though of course the problems will remain. But now at least, there's some real help out there for directors struggling to get their cast under control.I'll Be in My Trailer: The Creative Wars Between Directors and Actors OverviewBeneath the entertaining and instructive war stories lies the truth: how directors elicit the best performances from difficult and terrified actors. You'll learn how to use proven techniques to get actors to give their best performances - including the ten best and ten worst things to say - and what you can do when an actor won't or can't do what the director wants. Includes never before published stories from veteran director, John Badham, as well as Sydney Pollock, Mel Gibson, James Woods, Michael Mann and many more.

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This Is Orson Welles Review

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This Is Orson Welles ReviewSome have criticized this book, which Welles felt was the definitive word on his films, by stating that it never deals with Orson's children or his failed marriages. That has nothing to do with what this book is about. If you are looking for a biography then look elsewhere. This is Orson Welles talking about his films and his life in film and what he was trying to do and say. When I finished reading I knew that for once Welles was getting the final word on his films and that what he said was honest. If you want to really know him as an artist I would strongly recommend reading this book. It's a very fast read even though it's crammed full of insights. As a bonus it also contains the shooting script for Magnificent Ambersons which would have exceeded Citizen Kane in its beauty if RKO hadn't cut it to shreds. I strongly recommend this book.This Is Orson Welles Overview

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501 Movie Directors: A Comprehensive Guide to the Greatest Filmmakers Review

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501 Movie Directors: A Comprehensive Guide to the Greatest Filmmakers ReviewThis is a great book for film students (I bought it for my daughter who is a film major at Syracuse University), film buffs and for us folks who love to watch movies!
As General Editor of this book, Steven Jay Schneider (who also wrote 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die)aptly summarizes, "This book is a love letter to those men and women who have changed our lives as a result of their celluloid dreams." Sit back and imagine the movies you have seen and how they impacted your life... perhaps prompted you to some action whether of the heart or for society? Moved you to tears or laughter? A great director's fine tuning of a writer's vision onto a screen does just that.
This book has colored tabs on the side of the pages for the director's birth year decade - beginning with the man who invented movies, George Melies, born in the 1860's in Paris, France, right through to David Gordon Green, born in the 1970's, writer and director of Southern Gothic coming of age dramas. The first pages of the book is a solid Table of Contents A-Z of all 501 of these great directors. Each director's page(s) has a photo of the director and some have movie stills from his or her films. Some of the diectors included in this great compendium are Alexander Korda (who helped put the British film industry on the map); John Ford (a titan in the industry who even influenced Spielberg when Steven was a runner on the 20th Century studio lot! Steven went into Ford's office and Ford 'taught' Spielberg to really "look at" his landmark sweeping vista shots carefully...'what do you see?'); George Cukor (Dinner at Eight, Grand Hotel, My Fair Lady); George Stevens (who, as the book states, had "A legendary sharp eye for detail that enhanced visual storytelling; rapport with actors produced memorable performances from Hollywood greats." and other such greats as Federico Fellini, Alfred Hitchcock, Martin Scorsese, Margarethe von Trotta and Kathryn Bigelow.
The "Top Takes..." of each director's body of work are listed to the right of each director's description of his/her piece in film history including their backgrounds, their influences...what led them to their signature styles.
My particular book came with no cover which was a disappointment as I really admire Steven Spielberg, but the inside history is 100% readable and enjoyable....and moves me to want to read more about my favority directors and to see works I have not yet screened!
501 Movie Directors: A Comprehensive Guide to the Greatest Filmmakers OverviewA copy of this valuable book is destined to find its way into the home of every true movie fan, cinema scholar, and film critic. It's a chronological compendium that profiles the 501 most important film directors of all time. Entries--augmented with a photo of each director plus movie stills from his or her films--describe such major figures as Sergei Eisenstein, Martin Scorsese, Alfred Hitchcock, Fritz Lang, Leni Riefenstahl, Orson Welles, Federico Fellini, Steven Spielberg, Robert Altman, and many, many others. Written by an expert team of film critics and historians, this book was compiled under the direction of editor Steven J. Schneider, who's 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die has sold a half-million copies worldwide to date. Readers will learn-- Why D. W. Griffith is called the father of filmmaking The details surrounding Martin Scorsese's fascination with New York The truth about Alfred Hitchcock's stunning blondes . . .and much more All filmmakers receive at least a one-page entry, which includes discussion of their work and influences, their complete filmography, and listing of awards they have received. Seventy-five directors of special importance are profiled in larger entries--two-page spreads--while 15 internationally acknowledged master directors are discussed and examined in two double-page spreads. Here is a comprehensive survey of the creative imaginations behind more than a hundred years of filmmaking. It's a wonderful book for browsing, for reference, and for gaining insights into the personalities who directed the most memorable movies ever made.

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