sorry
The original Thomson book was a landmark in the 70s but later updates have been very disappointing for their lack of geographic range and interest in modern international directors. His writing is stylish and entertaining and he does come up with some useful insights and i like his taste generally (champions Renoir, Mizoguchi, Rivette, not so keen on Fellini and Ford). He also failed to carry out a couple of corrections i proposed, but let’s call that minor foolishness
Bresson’s is a seductive gift for understanding his work, it’s helped his reputation and influence but it’s also arrogant and misjudged in certain areas (e.g its use of models) i.m.o. The critics who participated in the poll are mainly British and American and they have shown little interest in the literature from a wide range of countries; British, American and French books dominate. This may partly be a reflection of the lack of translations of significant writers in neglected countries, but it’s still a failing. I’ve done a list anyway in the lists section which includes many of the books mentioned in the poll, and some others too. Truffaut’s Hitchcock is a classic of course and Bazin is a great mind. Sarris was important for the development of auteur theory in the US (and elsewhere)
tp. damn thing didn’t react when i clicked
I have no idea how one could settle on 5 without any specific criteria. Completely dependent on what area of film your interested in (Director, Actor, Cinematographer, etc.), the vantage point of reader (Entertainment, Academia, Aspiring to be a director and etc.), which world view you’re looking for, which time period you’re looking for, something all encompassing, something/someone specific, and dozens upon dozens of other criteria.
Some of my favorite books are African Filmmaking North and South of the Sahara, Postcolonial African Cinema: Ten Directors, and Ex-Iles: Essays on Caribbean Cinema. Most books about African cinema will go to the postcolonial perspective eventually and will in all likey hood reference Frantz Fanon. I would suggest getting familar with his work as well if you’re going to delve into African films.
I also enjoyed the Contemporary Cinema of Latina America and Past Imperfect: History According to the Movies. The latter is up and down as far as quality goes because it was written be over a dozen different writers. Each film is given a different write up, though there are a tad too many films on WWI and WWII.
Sight & Sound didn’t settle on five, the books above were the top 5 in the poll overall, but all the participants’ selections of 5 favourites were listed. Thanks for your own suggestions, Malik
Being rather young and naive I’d not read all of the top 5, so the poll has proved quite useful to me. Having read so few of the books mentioned I can’t really comment on the list as a whole but I was really disappointed to see how under represented sound was. There are countless tomes on light & cinematography but only 2 critics (Sukhdev Sandhu & Charlotte Garson) included books dedicated solely to the aural in their personal lists. I know this was a poll of critics not of film makers and I know I shouldn’t be surprised but it was disappointing to see such a vital, fascinating aspect of cinema practically ignored. In case anyone is interested, the two books in question are Chion’s ‘Film: a Sound Art’ and Philip Brophy’s ‘100 Modern Soundtracks’ both of which are excellint.
Sorry for my misreading. :o :)
Robot Ghosts and Wired Dreams: Japanese Science Fiction from Origins to Anime
Starting Point: 1979-1996 (book about Hayao Miyazaki)
For the anime enthusiasts. I’d also recommend going through Midnighteye.com for someone who is interested in Japanese cinema left of the center. Plenty of wonderful book reviews there. And one of my favorite movies sites!
Malik, those books on the cinema of Africa north and south of the Sahara sound like a good read, even though I haven’t seen any cinema yet from the continent.
T.J. Royal
Link: http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/polls/film_books_topfive.php
1. A Biographical Dictionary of Film by David Thomson
2. Notes on the Cinematographer by Robert Bresson
3. The American Cinema: Directors and Directions 1929-1968 by Andrew Sarris
4. Hitchcock by François Truffaut
5. What is Cinema? by André Bazin
I found this Web article so far to be the highlight of my day. Now I have an idea of what direction I can go in with my film reading, whenever I decide I want to get beyond reading biographies that don’t necessarily poke and prod the reasons and thoughts on film making itself.
Anybody else have their thoughts on this, which way somebody ought to go to further their knowledge?
Footnote: On the BFI site I came across this wonderful piece by David Thomsen about “the tyranny of the visual” that applies very much to the lack of storytelling quality in mainstream movies, but that seems to find its reward regardless. It centers on the cinema of Jacques Rivette in particular.
Link: http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/feature/110