From: reiher@ficus.cs.ucla.edu (Peter Reiher)
Subject: Books on film (was: Heather's Marilyn)
Organization: UCLA Computer Science Department
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 93 00:39:45 GMT

>> s1mbm@isuvax.iastate.edu writes:
>
>>> It's true that I could
>>> stand to learn *a lot* more, and would appreciate recommendations from
>>> you and others on works that would help me broaden my knowledge of film.
>
>> Works that would help you broaden your knowledge of film?
>> Is there a reason why you'd prefer that to actually *watching*
>> lots and lots of movies and making up your own mind?

There are some books that can help you learn more about film.  For instance,
Truffaut's book on Hitchcock.  Reading it is no substitute for watching
Hitchcock's films, but it's a useful supplement.  Truffaut has many
interesting insights into Hitchcock's films, and, since his book consists
mainly of his interviews of an unusually forthcoming Hitchcock, one can
get many fresh angles on the films this way, direct from the horse's mouth.
This book is a useful antidote for those who claim that the directorial
nuances that critics point out are a lot of bosh, as Hitchcock makes very
clear how intentional most of this stuff really was.  Generally speaking,
it seems clear to me that listening to the insights of people who have
spent their lives studying and working on films can teach one a lot about
them, possibly things one would never notice oneself simply watching the
films.  Since most of us will never have the opportunity to sit down with
a director or screenwriter or famous critic and talk to them in depth about
film, their books are the next best thing.

Also, if one's interest is film history, simply watching the films will
only take you so far.  A good place to begin reading about film history
(assuming one wants to begin somewhere near the beginning) is Kevin
Brownlow's "The Parade's Gone By", which concerns itself with American
silent film.  Brownlow's two companion volumes, "The War, the West, and
the Wilderness" and "Behind the Mask of Innocence", are only for those
with a fairly deep interest in American silent film.

"Memo From David O. Selznick", consisting largely of actual memos from
Selznick, gives some interesting insights into how Hollywood worked during
its golden age.

There are innumerable star biographies, mostly of dubious value unless
you are particularly interested in the star him- or herself.  Some of the
directors' memoirs are a bit more interesting for film students, as they
tend to deal more with how films were made than who slept with whom.
Michael Powell's autobiography, "A Life in the Movies", has a very good
reputation.  I can't recommend Ingmar Bergman's biography, "The Magic
Lantern", for these purposes, as it has very little to say about how or 
why he made any of his films.  (Though there is a lot of material there 
that sheds light on why he was so obsessed with certain themes, so if your 
interest is gaining further understanding of Bergman's films, perhaps this 
isn't such a bad book.)

"The Devil's Candy","Indecent Exposure", and "Fatal Subtraction" give an 
interesting course in modern American filmmaking, I've been told.  A recent 
book edited by John Boorman, whose title I've unfortunately forgotten, 
consists of contributions from a number of directors concerning how they 
worked during the previous year.  The book contains a diary written by 
Boorman that supposedly offers a lot of insight into how producers select 
the films they're going to make, and how very difficult it is for even an 
established filmmaker to get something going.  If anyone is truly interested, I 
can dig up the title of this book.  It's intended to be the first in an annual 
series.

-- 
		Peter Reiher
		reiher@wells.cs.ucla.edu

Newsgroups: rec.arts.books