3. "Shame on you, King Friday." In response to Reply # 0
I figured a film scholar of your calibur would mention Andre Bazin's "What Is Cinema" amongst the top books on film. My film professor put me onto that in my senior year of high school and it really opened my eyes more than I could imagine.
Esteemed author of the celebrated, double-platinum post: "Drake - Wu-Tang Forever".
5. "RE: Shame on you, King Friday." In response to Reply # 3
What is Cinema is a great read. I read that book years ago and it really helped my shape my views on cinema. These days I really don't agree with a lot of Bazin's conclusions but his passion for the subject still makes me go back and read it.
6. "RE: Recommend me some books about film." In response to Reply # 0 Mon Jul-02-07 01:34 AM by BlueNote
These are some books that I've always enjoyed and keep going back to.
Interview Series, specifically Jean-Luc Godard and Robert Altman
The Godard book has a lot of great interviews with Godard and others and even though there is a lot of craziness spoken, the fact is that I've never heard film talked about ever than I have in this book, even if you don't agree it really gets you thinking about the medium.
The Altman one has a lot of good stories. Altman was never afraid to speak his mind quite bluntly and there's a lot of good insight into his films
This is kind of a lengthy biography about Truffaut's life which is a bit of topic, but the book really made me understand the time period of the Cahiers du Cinema and the French New Wave, it's a fun read, i got through pretty quick.
This is a book that tracks the history of censorship and how it molded the industry. It's a very interesting book that has a lot of good stories and studies films from a social historical perspective. The stuff on the Blacklist I think is great.
Written by the same guy as the last one. It tracks Francis Coppola from Apocalypse now through the 80's. The book is more again about the financial side of hollywood and how it dictated the creativity and product in hollywood as the auteur renaissance came to a close and the modern structure we have today was being made. Again it's a bit off topic but I found it a great read and an interesting story about the time of Coppola's life that's never talked about even though he was very active.
7. "A post about film books w/o the mention of David Bordwell" In response to Reply # 0 Mon Jul-02-07 08:32 AM by Sponge
is insanity (if people read his stuff other than Film Art and not mentioned him) and a crime (if people haven't heard of him or his work).
He is in the highest stratosphere (where folks like Bazin are) of thinkers on cinema.
All of his books and writings are essential and always illuminating.
For my money, the blog that he and his wife, Kristin Thompson, write is the best one on film.
I'll rec 2 of his books here; I'll gladly capsulize his other books for anyone interested:
-Film History: An Introduction (Thompson and Bordwell) - textbook -The Way Hollywood Tells It (Bordwell) - 2 essays
His wife is no joke, either - a fine historian/scholar in her own right. Her upcoming Frodo Franchise book hopefully will get her and Bordwell more readership. Like Bordwell, all her stuff is prime material. Essential.
A DVD, but just as essential as a great film book: -Visions Of Light: The Art of Cinematography
Other stuff:
(Thompson and Bordwell) - Film Art: An Introduction - Seems to be hated on. I mean, it's a introductory-level textbook and it's an excellent one at that. (Bazin) - anything (Ebert) (Sarris) - Interviews With Film Directors; American Cinema is classic, but more a personalized reference list-guide rather than a study of American movies. (Rosenbaum) - anything, but Essential Cinema would float lots of people's boats here...good starting points for what to watch (Bogdanovich) - This Is Orson Welles; Who The Devil Made It; Who The Hell's In It (Woods) - Rio Bravo
Classics/staples; older stuff:
(Ondaatje) - Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film (Murch) - In The Blink Of An Eye (Mankiewicz) - Cinematography (Bazin) - already mentioned (Agee) - Agee On Film (Burch) - Theory Of Film Practice (Durgnat) - Films And Feelings (Perkins) - Film As Film (Farber) - Negative Space - kind of irritating, but a classic (Woods) - Howard Hawks - already mentioned; Hitchcock's Films; not a fan of his later film theory-tinged works. (Truffaut) - Hitchcock - already mentioned
"Newer" stuff:
(Tirard) - Moviemakers' Master Class: Private Lessons From The World's Foremost Directors (Jarecki) - Breaking In: How 20 Film Directors Got Their Start (Lowenstein) - My First Movie: Twenty Celebrated Directors Talk About Their First film
Faber and Faber's _ On _ (i.e., Herzog On Herzog) series is great stuff.
11. "Final Cut by Steven Bach" In response to Reply # 0
Though it's billed as a book about Heaven's Gate, just as much of the book is devoted to the movie industry during its inception through the era where the filmmakers were the ones calling the shots in the 70s and how Heaven's Gate was basically the jenga piece that made it all topple. A lot of behind the scenes insight about the work of studios and producers in addition to tales from one of the most fucked up sets of all time.
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