Book picks similar to
Polanski and Perception: The Psychology of Seeing and the Cinema of Roman Polanski by Davide Caputo
cinema
aesthetics-focus
director-polanski
film-criticism
The Lost Art of Putting
Gary Nicol - 2018
To be childish is to expect a certain outcome will come your way, that you deserve to hole the putt or that you shouldn’t miss from a certain distance. The Lost Art of Putting will help you become more child-like on the greens and less childish. Leading tour coach Gary Nicol and performance coach Karl Morris have 60 years’ combined coaching experience. It is their belief that the game of golf is not about finding ‘the’ way to do it but more a case of discovering, or perhaps more importantly uncovering, ‘your’ way to do it. The perspective and concepts they share with you in this book have the potential to liberate you so that you can experience what you are truly capable of on the greens.
Fear: The Autobiography of Dario Argento
Dario Argento - 2014
For many years Argento's ground-breaking shockers like Deep Red, Suspiria, Inferno and Opera meant box-office gold. Now the maverick auteur, lauded as the Italian Hitchcock and the Horror Fellini, has written his autobiography, revealing all about his fascinating life, his dark obsessions, his talented family, his perverse dreams, and his star-crossed work.With candour and honesty, Fear lifts the lid on Argento's glittering career, from his childhood mixing with glamorous Italian movie stars to his start in the fledgling field of cinema criticism, Argento shares compelling anecdotes about his life growing up in La Dolce Vita Rome. Born into a family that breathed cinema, as a child Dario Argento was a voracious devourer of books and films. Bored by school so much that he fled to Paris, the young Dario felt at ease only in the darkness of a cinema - where he found fertile soil in which his solitary nature and overflowing imagination could flourish.But it was his experience as a journalist that led to his life-changing encounter with Sergio Leone, for whom he and Bernardo Bertolucci wrote the script for Once Upon a Time in the West. Meanwhile, the mind of the future director developed a desire as ambitious as it was magnificent: to make a film in a new style, distinct from all others. Channelling the films of Hitchcock, Lang and Antonioni triggered a wealth of ideas that changed the history of cinema.His first film came out in 1970 - The Bird with the Crystal Plumage. In no time at all the name of Dario Argento was known across the globe. And soon enough a series of classic films including Deep Red and Suspiria saw the light of the projector beam. Dario Argento is a maverick auteur who captured his personal demons on celluloid.At last, his fascinating life story can be told: his passions, his loves, his fears. In his autobiography, alongside the tale of an inspirational film director making his mark on the world, one glimpses the anxieties of a driven but shy man, in love with cinema and life itself. Adapted from the Italian translation and illustrated with rare photographs, the award-winning and critically acclaimed Master of Terror tells all. So put on your black leather gloves and start turning the pages of Fear for the answer to every question you've ever wanted to ask about the weird and wonderful world of Dario Argento.
Don't You Forget About Me: Contemporary Writers on the Films of John Hughes
Jaime Clarke - 2007
Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Weird Science, Pretty in Pink, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and Some Kind of Wonderful are timeless tales of love, angst, longing, and self-discovery that illuminated and assuaged the anxieties of an entire generation. Fondly nostalgic, filled with wit and surprising insights, don't you forget about me contains original essays from a skillfully chosen crop of novelists and essayists on the films' far-reaching effects on their own lives -- an irresistible read for anyone who came of age in the eighties (or just wishes they did). Featuring new writing from: Steve Almond * Julianna Baggott * Lisa Borders * Ryan Boudinot * T Cooper * Quinn Dalton * Emily Franklin * Lisa Gabriele * Tod Goldberg * Nina de Gramont * Tara Ison * Allison Lynn * John McNally * Dan Pope * Lewis Robinson * Ben Schrank * Elizabeth Searle * Mary Sullivan * Rebecca Wolff * Moon Unit Zappa
Ernie: The Autobiography
Ernest Borgnine - 2008
. .we gasped when he took on Frank Sinatra in From Here to Eternity. . .we were riveted by his compelling performances in The Dirty Dozen, Bad Day at Black Rock, and Ice Station Zebra. . .and we laughed at his television sitcom McHale's Navy. We loved all of Ernest Borgnine's many portrayals, but what did we know about the man behind the famous roles? Now for the first time, he tells us in his own words the fascinating story of his life in this witty, candid, and revealing memoir. For more than fifty years, Ernest--or "Ernie" as he's known to his friends--has been one of the most recognized, celebrated stars in Hollywood as well as a respected, talented actor, and a living legend. Stretching from his childhood as the son of Italian immigrants to a spectacular career that is still thriving in his 91st year, from the early days of live TV to the voiceovers for The Simpsons and SpongeBob SquarePants, Ernie tells of the trials and tribulations on his road to fame, the friendships he shared with some of the silver screen's biggest stars, and the glamorous leading ladies he loved. Acclaimed for his ability to play sensitive and tough-guy roles equally well, he was also famous for squaring off against some of Hollywood's most formidable actresses--including Bette Davis in A Catered Affair and Joan Crawford in Johnny Guitar. Recalling his experiences starring in classic movies such as The Poseidon Adventure, The Wild Bunch, and Escape from New York, he reveals personal insights and irresistible stories about cinema's greatest icons--including Spencer Tracy, James Stewart, Kirk Douglas, Montgomery Clift, Gary Cooper, Janet Leigh, Raquel Welch, Gene Hackman, Rock Hudson, Sammy Davis, Jr., Tony Curtis, Alan Ladd, Glenn Ford, and Burt Lancaster. And with characteristic frankness, he also talks about his off-screen loves and passions. A must for every film buff, Ernie: An Autobiography is a fascinating memoir--filled with secrets, well-remembered details, and never-before-told stories--of a star who has thrived in the changing world of Hollywood for more than half a century, and endeared himself to legions of fans everywhere. "(Borgnine's) anecdotes are gleefully self-deprecating. . .he comes off as the kind of guy you'd like to have a beer with." --NY Post "With astute observations on the Hollywood hierarchy and tales about everyone from Lee Marvin and Steve McQueen to Bette Davis and Kim Novak, (Borgnine) writes with an unassuming, no-nonsense tone. His love of filmmaking and his respect for his fellow actors permeates the pages of this engaging and satisfying memoir." --Publishers Weekly "Modest and sweet. . .nicely boiled. Borgnine neither lashes out nor pulls punches." --Entertainment Weekly "Now for the first time, (Borgnine) tells us in his own words the fascinating story of his life in this witty, candid, and revealing memoir. A must for every film buff. Fascinating. . .filled with secrets, well-remembered details, and never-before-told stories--of a star who has thrived in the changing world of Hollywood for more than half a century, and endeared himself to legions of fans everywhere." --Turner Classic Movies, TCM.com ". . .a satisfying detailed account of a decades-long career that also included memorable roles in durable blockbusters like The Wild Bunch and The Poseidon Adventure. He comes across as an unspoiled, nice guy who enjoyed his success. . .One of the finest unghosted Hollywood autobiographies." --ALA Booklist "A super read. . .Ernie: The Autobiography by Ernest Borgnine is as nifty as he is." --Cindy Adams, NY Post
Stan and Ollie: The Roots of Comedy: The Double Life of Laurel and Hardy
Simon Louvish - 2001
But despite many books about their films and individual lives, there has never been a fully researched, definitive narrative biography of the duo, from birth to death.Louvish traces the early lives of Stanley Jefferson and Norvell Hardy and the surrounding minstrel and variety theatre, which influenced all of their later work. Louvish examines the rarely seen solo films of both our heroes, prior to their serendipitous pairing in 1927, in the long-lost short "Duck Soup." The inspired casting teamed them until their last days. Both often married, they found balancing their personal and professional lives a nearly impossible feat.Between 1927 and 1938, they were able to successfully bridge the gap between silent and sound films, which tripped up most of their prominent colleagues. Their Hal Roach and MGM films were brilliant, but their move in 1941, to Twentieth Century Fox proved disastrous, with the nine films made there ranking as some of the most embarrassing moments of cinematic history.In spite of this, Laurel and Hardy survived as exemplars of lasting genius, and their influence is seen to this day. The clowns were elusive behind their masks, but now Simon Louvish can finally reveal their full and complex humanity, and their passionate devotion to their art. In Stan and Ollie: The Roots of Comedy: The Double Life of Laurel and Hardy, Louvish has seamlessly woven tireless and thorough research into an authoritative biography of these two important and influential Hollywood pioneers.
Robert Altman: The Oral Biography
Mitchell Zuckoff - 2009
After an all-American boyhood in Kansas City, a stint flying bombers in World War II, and jobs ranging from dog tattoo entrepreneur to television director, Robert Altman burst onto the scene in 1970 with M*A*S*H. He reinvented American filmmaking, and went on to produce such masterpieces as McCabe & Mrs. Miller, Nashville, The Player, Short Cuts, and Gosford Park. In Robert Altman, Mitchell Zuckoff has woven together Altman's final interviews; an incredible cast of voices including Meryl Streep, Warren Beatty, Paul Newman, among scores of others; and contemporary reviews and news accounts into a riveting tale of an extraordinary life.
Cut!: Hollywood Murders, Accidents, and Other Tragedies
Andrew Brettell - 2005
It might also have been the most jinxed. Among its stars, James Dean was soon killed in a car crash, Sal Mineo died several years later, murdered by an unknown assailant, and the beautiful Natalie Wood died mysteriously when she fell from a docked pleasure boat and drowned. This heavily illustrated book recounts these and many other tragic events that have haunted the Hollywood movie community from its early-twentieth-century beginnings to the present day. Here are accounts of the sudden, premature deaths of stars like Rudolph Valentino, Montgomery Clift, and Peter Sellers. Here too are stories about celebrities who died young because of alcohol or drug-related problems--John Belushi and Elvis Presley among many others--and of the tragic 1998 murder of comedian Phil Hartman. Car wrecks, plane crashes, and other deadly accidents sent Jayne Mansfield, Grace Kelly, and Carole Lombard, to untimely deaths, and accidents occurring during film production have taken several lives, perhaps the most dramatic being the helicopter crash that killed Vic Morrow in 1983. The tragic stories of many Hollywood personalities are told in Cut!, the definitive volume on the fleeting lives of movie celebrities, some of whom became more famous in death than they had been in life. Hundreds of photos, many in color.
The Official Razzie Movie Guide: Enjoying the Best of Hollywood's Worst
John Wilson - 2005
A paperback guide to 100 of the funniest bad movies ever made, this book covers a wide range of hopeless Hollywood product, and also including rare Razzie ceremony photos and a complete history of everything ever nominated for Tinsel Town's Tackiest Trophy.
The Gross: The Hits, the Flops: The Summer That Ate Hollywood
Peter Bart - 1999
A backstage glimpse of the realities of the new Hollywood focuses on the film releases and strategies of the summer of 1998, showing why Godzilla was fated to fail and how Spielberg triumphed.
Uncommon Knowledge
Judy Lewis - 1994
Set against a backdrop of Beverly Hills mansions and lavish parties, Uncommon Knowledge is a behind-the-scenes memoir of Hollywood in its heyday. But it is also the unforgettable story of a difficult but ultimately triumphant journey of self-discovery. Photos.
Ray Harryhausen: An Animated Life
Ray Harryhausen - 2004
In the animator's own words, accompanied by hundreds of previously unpublished photographs, sketches, and storyboards from his personal archive, this book details Harryhausen's entire film career, from 20 Million Miles to Earth and Earth vs. The Flying Saucers to Clash of the Titans and Jason and the Argonauts. In words and images, this book explains the basics of special effects and stop-motion animation, along the way telling entertaining tales of working with the film stars of the day, such as Laurence Olivier, Maggie Smith, and Lionel Jeffries. Film buffs will relish such revelations as how Raquel Welch was picked up by a flying dinosaur in One Million Years B.C., why the octopus in Mysterious Island was really only a sixtopus, and what Medusa's blood was made from in Clash of the Titans.
Criterion Designs
The Criterion Collection - 2014
This volume gathers highlights from designs commissioned by the Criterion Collection, featuring covers, supplemental art, and never-before-seen sketches and concept art plus a gallery of every Criterion cover since the collection’s first laserdisc in 1984. From avant-garde experiments to big-budget blockbusters, cult favorites to the towering classics of world cinema, the depth and breadth of what film can be is on display in these striking images. Whether painstakingly faithful re-creations or bold re-imaginings, the stunningly diverse designs collected here offer new ways for cinephiles and design aficionados alike to engage with the world’s greatest filmmakers.