She Treads Softly: The Movie Book

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

The Movie Book

The Movie Book
Phaidon Press, 1999
Hardcover, 512 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0714838472

Nonfiction

highly recommended

From the Publisher:

The Movie Book is an A-Z guide to 500 celebrated individuals who have made a landmark contribution to the medium of film.

The entire industry is represented - from actors and directors to costume designers and special-effects wizards; from major movie moguls and pioneers of the silent screen to some of today's most worshipped idols. Packed with absorbing details and rich with history, all genres of cinema are included - from Hollywood blockbusters to French New Wave; from groundbreaking science-fiction films to animation classics; and from screwball comedies to film-noir thrillers.

Each entry is evocatively illustrated with a high-quality film still, photograph or cinematic sequence; each is also accompanied by an authoritative text that reveals the significance of each name within the history of film. In addition, The Movie Book uses a comprehensive cross-referencing system and glossary to guide the reader through the complexities of the motion-picture industry.

My Thoughts:

The Movie Book is not a comprehensive guide to everyone ever associated with the movie industry. What it is, however, is a selection of people associated with the cinema. Each page has a small amount of information about the person, but prominently features a large photo from a movie. The pictures from the movies are what makes the book interesting and fun. If you are looking for an encyclopedic index, this isn't for you. If I was going to be picky, there are some names that should have been included and others that could have been left out. All in all, though it is a marvelous coffee table book and suits that function well. (This was another used book store clearance bargain.) Highly Recommended

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John Updike's six rules for reviewing:

1. Try to understand what the author wished to do, and do not blame him for not achieving what he did not attempt.

2. Give him enough direct quotation--at least one extended passage--of the book's prose so the review's reader can form his own impression, can get his own taste.

3. Confirm your description of the book with quotation from the book, if only phrase-long, rather than proceeding by fuzzy precis.

4. Go easy on plot summary, and do not give away the ending.

5. If the book is judged deficient, cite a successful example along the same lines, from the author's oeuvre or elsewhere. Try to understand the failure. Sure it's his and not yours?

To these concrete five might be added a vaguer sixth, having to do with maintaining a chemical purity in the reaction between product and appraiser.....Review the book, not the reputation.... Better to praise and share than blame and ban. The communion between reviewer and his public is based upon the presumption of certain possible joys in reading, and all our discriminations should curve toward that end.