The Five Most Inspirational Books About Film

Read any good books lately?
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ChiO
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The Five Most Inspirational Books About Film

Post by ChiO »

OK, you literate cinephiles, you.

Sight and Sound conducted a poll of film critics to name the five most inspirational books about film. Fifty-one critics responded with dozens of titles (published in the June 2010 issue).

No formal poll here, but I'm curious as to what five books about film you dear contributors have found to be the most inspirational or useful or important...and why.

What saith ye?
Everyday people...that's what's wrong with the world. -- Morgan Morgan
I love movies. But don't get me wrong. I hate Hollywood. -- Orson Welles
Movies can only go forward in spite of the motion picture industry. -- Orson Welles
feaito

Re: The Five Most Inspirational Books About Film

Post by feaito »

How difficult...Only five?... Great topic ChiO

- The Illustrated Encyclopedia of the World's Great Movie Stars - Ken Wlaschin (1979); Simply because it was the first book on Cinema that fully introduced me into the enthralling world of Classic film stars

- Love in Film - William K. Everson; Because it's one of the best books I've ever read; the choice of films is perfect and the author's tastes and views matches mine quite perfectly. I've discovered many a great film thanks to this book. I'm constantly re-reading it.

- Sin in Soft-Focus Pre-Code Hollywood - Mark A. Vieira and Complicated Women - Mick La Salle; Because they introduced me in the Pre-Code world, my latest discovery of some (quite a few) years ago....

- The Films of the Thirties and More Films of the Thirties - Jerry Vermilye; Because they focus on the films of my favorite decade and I've read it over and over again.

- Gotta Sing! Gotta Dance - A History of Movie Musicals - John Kobal,; Because it might be the greatest film on musicals ever written.

- The Parade's Gone By by Kevin Brownlow - A landmark masterpiece I discovered late in my life & Hervé Dumont's Bio on Frank Borzage- one of the best scholarly books on any director that I've ever read. Simply perfect. And Borzage is one of my favorite directors too.....

- The Speed of Sound - Scott Eyman & The Shattered Silents -Alexander Walker; Because both chronicle magnificently the transition from Silent to Talking Pictures.

I know I'm well past 5 books, but I can't refrain to mention one of the best Biographies I've ever read: Myrna Loy's Being & Becoming (You can't get any better...a fabulous actress and an amazing human being)
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Lzcutter
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Re: The Five Most Inspirational Books About Film

Post by Lzcutter »

The two I keep within arm's reach:

The Parade's Gone By by Kevin Brownlow

The Speed of Sound by Scott Eyman

I also keep Eyman's Print the Legend as well as The Lion of Hollywood nearby when I am responding to posts both here and especially at TCM City where facts aren't always as important as they should be.

Sin in Soft-Focus and Katz's Encyclopedia of Film round out my short list.

Nitrate Won't Last is also close by.
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"Film is history. With every foot of film lost, we lose a link to our culture, to the world around us, to each other and to ourselves."

"For me, John Wayne has only become more impressive over time." Marty Scorsese

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ChiO
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Re: The Five Most Inspirational Books About Film

Post by ChiO »

Thanks for your lists. It looks like I need, at a minimum, to pick up Sin in Soft Focus.

My list:

Theory of Film: The Redemption of Physical Reality (Siegfried Kracauer, 1960) -- In part, a sentimental choice because in 1976 it was the first theoretical film book I read. At the time, I was certain that I understood it even though I had seen very few of the movies he referenced and had little expectation that I ever would see them. Now most of those movies are in my collection and I question whether I understood anything he wrote. Film, when properly used in his view, is the recording of reality as a manifestation of the inner life. Or something like that. But this book made me start to think about film. Pauline Kael wrote:
Siegfried Kracauer is the sort of man who can't say 'It's a lovely day' without first establishing that it is day, that the term "day" is meaningless without the dialectical concept of 'night,' that both these terms have no meaning unless there is a world in which day and night alternate, and so forth. By the time he has established an epistemological system to support his right to observe that it's a lovely day, our day has been spoiled.
But what does she know?

This Is Orson Welles (Orson Welles & Peter Bogdanovich, ed. by Jonathan Rosenbaum, 1992) -- I run hot and cold on Bogdanovich as a director, his commentary track to CITIZEN KANE is one of my greatest disappointments, and he insists on wearing that ascot, but he is a wonderful interviewer. Welles feeds his myth, denigrates his myth, contradicts himself depending on mood and the moment, and provides insights to his movies and film in general. This is Orson Welles, one of the giants of the 20th century.

Incredibly Strange Films (V. Vale & Andrea Juno, eds., 1986) -- Lurid pictures! Screaming posters! Buying this on a lark in 1986, I wondered who these people and movies were: Doris Wishman? Joe Sarno? Ray Dennis Steckler? SPIDER BABY? DEMENTIA? BLAST OF SILENCE? They put the "termite" in Farber's "termite art", that's what. A true antidote to what ails you. The chief enemy of creativity is "good" taste. -- Pablo Picasso.

More Than Night: Film Noir in Its Contexts (James Naremore, 1998) -- There are books and essays aplenty on film noir, but this one is head and shoulders above them. From the first chapter, "The History of an Idea", to the last "Noir in the Twenty-First Century", Naremore exposes the weak links in how noir is often conceptualized and, in doing so, provides a history as thrilling as a Cornell Woolrich story, film analysis, and hope for the future of noir.

The Theater and Its Double (Antonin Artaud, 1958) -- Alright, this is a cheat. It is about theater and not movies, and even has some nasty things to say about movies, but this makes the list because I couldn't choose between Accidental Genius : How John Cassavetes Invented the American Independent Film (Marshall Fine, 2005) and A Third Face: My Tale of Writing, Fighting, and Filmmaking (Samuel Fuller, 2002). Actor and theater theorist Artaud espoused what he called "The Theater of Cruelty", a theater that engages the audience so that they are not mere spectators, that forces people out of complacency and into action. A pretty good way of looking at film, too.
Everyday people...that's what's wrong with the world. -- Morgan Morgan
I love movies. But don't get me wrong. I hate Hollywood. -- Orson Welles
Movies can only go forward in spite of the motion picture industry. -- Orson Welles
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Re: The Five Most Inspirational Books About Film

Post by MichiganJ »

ChiO wrote:I run hot and cold on Bogdanovich as a director, his commentary track to CITIZEN KANE is one of my greatest disappointments, and he insists on wearing that ascot, but he is a wonderful interviewer.
I couldn't agree more. Have you read Who the Devil Made It? It's a terrific collection of Bogdanovich interviews with 16 directors and will likely be on my list.
"Let's be independent together." Dr. Hermey DDS
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ChiO
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Re: The Five Most Inspirational Books About Film

Post by ChiO »

Got it right beside me here, MichJ. It came thisclose to being on my list. Worth having if only for the Edgar G. Ulmer and Joseph H. Lewis (July 14th is coming!) interviews.
Everyday people...that's what's wrong with the world. -- Morgan Morgan
I love movies. But don't get me wrong. I hate Hollywood. -- Orson Welles
Movies can only go forward in spite of the motion picture industry. -- Orson Welles
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Re: The Five Most Inspirational Books About Film

Post by MichiganJ »

I'm with Fernando…Only five? (I'll be good)

World Film Directors Volume One 1890-1945 and Volume Two 1945-1985 edited by John Wakeman (Well, not that good. Two volumes count as one!)
Never been shelved. Their place is right on my desk. Filled with biographical detail and filmographies. But it's the bibliographies that seal the deal.

City of Nets by Otto Friedrich
A highly detailed account of Hollywood in the 1940s. Read it at least four times and each time it's a page turner. Reads like a novel.

Chaplin: His Life and Art by David Robinson
Probably the best biography I've read on anybody.

Behind the Mask of Innocence by Kevin Brownlow
As great as The Parade's Gone By is (and it most certainly is), I return to this much more, particularly since many of the films Brownlow discusses have finally become available to see.

Who the Devil Made It by Peter Bogdanovich
As mentioned above, this contains insightful and entertaining interviews with a number of great directors. Many interview books seem dull to me, but because Bogdanovich is a director himself as well as a fan, these are interesting and informative.

Honorable mention:
Truffaut's Hitchcock. I'm not even that big of a Hitchcock fan, but I love this book.
"Let's be independent together." Dr. Hermey DDS
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Re: The Five Most Inspirational Books About Film

Post by charliechaplinfan »

I love books as much as I love film. My personal favorites are

The Parade's Gone By - Kevin Brownlow manages to put the beginnings of cinema in an order that makes sense and manages to condense the silent era into that one book. A masterpiece and often used as reference.

It's so difficult to chose the book about Chaplin, I'm tempted to go with David Robinson's His Life and Art and vote instead for Jeffrey Vance's Charlie Chaplin, it contains lots of text and interviews and has lots of pictures.

1001 Films to Watch Before You Die
- OK, I know this book is subjective but it got me started on the great works of World Cinema of which I am a great fan, it has rarely let me down.

Behind the Mask of Innocence - Kevin Brownlow - well researched and interesting to read.

Garbo - Mark A Vieira - I like the trend towards books that have a good measure of text and illustrations. I'm often find biographies don't have enough illustrations in to follow the person's life. Mark Vieira's books are good examples of how these kind of books can be done well. I have Sin in Soft Focus wihch Fernando has mentioned, it's a beautiful book too.

Chio, do you have a link to the Sight and Sound survey?
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
feaito

Re: The Five Most Inspirational Books About Film

Post by feaito »

Garbo - Mark A Vieira - I like the trend towards books that have a good measure of text and illustrations. I'm often find biographies don't have enough illustrations in to follow the person's life. Mark Vieira's books are good examples of how these kind of books can be done well. I have Sin in Soft Focus wihch Fernando has mentioned, it's a beautiful book too.
I'm currently reading this book and so far I think it's one of the best of its kind I've ever read. It definitely gives a unique view on Garbo's career and includes some amazing photographs.

I also bought the two books about Thalberg written by Vieira. Looking forward to reading them!
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ChiO
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Re: The Five Most Inspirational Books About Film

Post by ChiO »

CCF asked:
Chio, do you have a link to the Sight and Sound survey?
Why, of course. http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/pol ... s_home.php

MichJ is the only person to mention any the top five vote-getters in the poll, but, alas, he made it only his honorable mention. Only goes to show there are a lot of fine books for all tastes.
Everyday people...that's what's wrong with the world. -- Morgan Morgan
I love movies. But don't get me wrong. I hate Hollywood. -- Orson Welles
Movies can only go forward in spite of the motion picture industry. -- Orson Welles
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Re: The Five Most Inspirational Books About Film

Post by Lzcutter »

There are times I wish I liked Bogdanovich more. I appreciate his archiving of interviews in Who the Devil Made It and Who the Devil's In It but, too often for me, his ego gets in my way. That said, I do enjoy very much his book on Allan Dwan.

Another one I keep close by, Cameron Crowe's book on Billy Wilder.
Lynn in Lake Balboa

"Film is history. With every foot of film lost, we lose a link to our culture, to the world around us, to each other and to ourselves."

"For me, John Wayne has only become more impressive over time." Marty Scorsese

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Re: The Five Most Inspirational Books About Film

Post by MissGoddess »

I love Peter B. as a writer and commentator, but I can't stand his movies.

That quote by Pauline Kael was hilarious, ChiO.
"There's only one thing that can kill the movies, and that's education."
-- Will Rogers
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Re: The Five Most Inspirational Books About Film

Post by charliechaplinfan »

I have two of the books in the top 5 but didn't include them, Hitchcock by Truffaut because I haven't got around to reading it yet and David Thomson's Biography of Film, I find he doesn't say enough about his subjects.

Thanks for the link, it's fascinating. I'm afraid some of the books look a little high brow for me. After our discussion on Bergman I'd love to know which is the definitive book on him, I saw a couple mentioned.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
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Re: The Five Most Inspirational Books About Film

Post by charliechaplinfan »

This article has made me dig out my Biographical Dictionary of Film by David Thomson and start using it a little more. He's great on the classic stars and directors, he loses his way a bit on the more modern ones, I don't think he's really into modern film but that's not really a problem for me, I rarely want to find out about anything that's younger than I am.

One other thing I noticed when I looked at the article is there are two David Thomson/Thompson's that write about film, wither that or it's a type error.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
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Re: The Five Most Inspirational Books About Film

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Dictionnaire du Cinéma -Ed. Larousse, 1986. A really comprehensive survey of all cinemas worlwide which includes articles on actors, directors, countries, technicians, etc. and on technical subjects as well (light, cameras, etc.).

David O. Selznick's Hollywood by Ronald Haver. A huge volume that contains a vast sum of informations about cinema as a whole with fantastic illustrations.

Romantic Comedy in Hollywood by James Harvey. The best study of comedies I have ever read, beautifully written.

Frank Borzage by Hervé Dumont. A brilliant survey of the career of one of my favourite directors. Excellently written with in depth research.

The Parade's Gone By... by Kevin Brownlow. Do I need to present it? I spent 6 months translating this marvellous book and I think many people have already said what makes it special.
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