Steven Spielberg Books

Marion Morris is better known to his millions of enthusiastic fans around the world by his theatrical name, John Wayne -- and to his friends and colleagues as "Duke". In John Wayne: A Giant Shadow, Hollywood historian C. McGivern presents those fans with a 465-page biography that provides an informed and informative biographical history of one of the most popular actors to ever sit a horse, or hold a pistol, or ride off into the sunset. Now now in a substantially updated and expanded third edition, John Wayne: A Giant Shadow is a strongly commended biography that does full and complete justice to an American icon. Also highly recommended as "must reading" for John Wayne buffs is McGivern's earlier title: The Lost Films Of John Wayne 0954003136, $29.95) which although published overseas by Sammon Publishing is now readily available in the United States through Seven Locks Press

Great introduction to the life of the most famous moviemaker in Hollywood, from his unique childhood to his lucky breaks to his outlook for the future. Lots of fun photographs and quotes from people who really know what makes Spielberg tick.

This book not only delves into the Twilight Zone disaster but also examines the history of stunts-gone-wrong in Hollywood. It also examines the background of John Landis which reveals much about his motivations.

If you ever wanted to find out how Steven Spielberg got started REED THIS BOOK. Ted Gottfried knows what he is doing. This book tells about his childhood,collage,and TV years. The movies it gets into (in order)are duel, jaws, close encounters, Indiana Jones, E.T., the color purple, empire of the sun,hook, jurassic park, schindler's list, jurassic park 2, and saving private Ryan. I am doing a book report on this book. I love it!

Two model trains headed running straight at each other, which soon makes them debris!, with a set up of plastic people, Steven Spielberg, one of the most famous directors in the world captured it all on film, why, because he was making a movie, not a famous movie, but his first. Six years old, you might think he is you but that's how old Steven Spielberg was when he started making a train crash film. I think this biography is very informative and interesting I suggest this book for everyone that ever wanted to learn more about movie making. This biography tells about him directing, writing and producing films and budgeting his movies.

If I gave this book a rating from zero to ten, it would be a definite score of ten.

WOW! What a neat book for Steven Spielberg's young movie fans. My nine year old grandson has just received a copy for his birthday and loved it. His parents only recently allowed him to see Jaws and the first chapter of this bio dealt primarily with the challenges he faced in the making of that movie. The boy has been talking about it ever since. A great summer read.- Judith Robinson

How could this book be anything less than great, it has the greatest subject matter, STEVEN SPIELBERG!

This is just a mind blowing book! Just amazing. The illustrations and the story accounts are truly superb, and the snippets of story and trivia are the best ones around, even having some I didn't know, and I'm a huge fan!

The pictures are of high quality, and the way the book layout is done is very well organized and detailed.

A piece of art for the making of "geek" and the Lucas/Spielberg fan!

THE COMPLETE MAKING OF INDIANA JONES is a marvelous, in-depth, well-illustrated guide to the four movies featuring everyone's favorite action-adventure hero. The cover of the book modestly proclaims it to be "the definitive story behind all four films." I don't know I agree with that statement but J. W. Rinzler and Laurent Bouzerea's book certainly sets a standard for future volumes on moviemaking.

As other reviewers have noted, the book is brimming with photos, artwork, storyboards, etc. that give the reader an unparalleled look at the four films. Likewise the behind-the-camera material gives one an education in why and how movies are made. And all for only $35.00.

Having said that, I'd like to throw out the following for what they're worth. As the book progressed, I got a feeling that the narrative was rushed. The coverage given Indy II, III and IV seemed more and more perfunctory. Also, I wondered about the book being a Lucasfilm production. According to the book: (1) everyone loved everyone else on all four films; (2) Steven Spielberg is just about the greatest thing since sliced bread; (3) things like egos, temper tantrums, etc. never intruded in the Indiana Jones film-making; etc. Maybe I'm being cynical but things seemed sanitized(?). Finally, after finishing the book, I still haven't a clue what the authors FELT about the films. They briefly summarize box office and critical reactions but you never find out if, for example, they loved Indy I, were disappointed by Indy II's shallowness and shrillness, felt Sean Connery deserved an Oscar for his ABSOLUTELY CHARMING turn in Indy III, etc. But then, if Lucasfilm is paying the check...

In any case, Indiana Jones' fans will want to add this book to their collection. Whatever my reservations, it's a great piece of work on some of the most entertaining - and profitable - films made in the past three decades. Recommended.

An Indiana Jones treasure trove! If you enjoyed this new book then check out the original 1981 book THE MAKING OF RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK by Derek Taylor, which has much more detail than J.W. Rinzler was able to print. Taylor was part of the production team and followed the crew to Tunisia. A really great read and too-long out of print.

The Making of Raiders of the Lost Ark

I've bought this book for my husband and he loved it. Guess anyone will when you're a fan or at least like the movies. This book is complete, filled with pictures, anekdotes, stories, sketches.... You just should buy it, if you're into Indiana Jones!

I can honestly say that Raiders of the Lost Ark is my favorite film of all-time. I cannot count how many times I went to the theater back in the summer of 1981 as a wide-eyed 14 year old kid and took this amazing trip alongside Indy, Sallah, and Marion. That being said, this is a review of the book and not the film.

The book was a wonderful read. I was happy to see the most space set aside for Raiders, but the behind-the-scenes look at each film was equally interesting. The illustrations were very well chosen and my favorite images were the rare on-set photos of cast and crew.

First there was ILM, covering the 1st decade of this fantastic Special Effects Company.
This is the second book of the series, covering the main movies from the second decade of existence of this company.
An execelent finishing, great value book (although it is a litle expensive, the book quality is exceptional).
Essencial to all Special Effects lovers.

One of the greatest 'making of' writers Patricia Rose Duignan's Industrial Light & Magic: Into the Digital Realm is one of my all-time favorite books, charting the journey of ILM from fledgling company in George Lucas' garage to the No.1 Special Effects company in the world. Insightful and comprehensive, this is flawless reading and has some great accompanying images from Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and surprisingly some of their lesser-known movies like Willow and Hook. An essential movie book, I just love every page, so carefully written, so rich in detail, it leaves the reader feeling that they have experienced something very special. Fantastic and brilliant. BUY IT NOW!

The book is huge and heavy. Every single page has at least several great color photographs and it is a big book. You will love to read about ILM's ventures into the digital realm. It is very technology orientated, but not too much and does talk about the film making process and ILM in general. This is well worth looking at especially for fans of ILM or those who want to see what goes on behind the scenes or for those looking for a career in this direction. This is a good place for inspiration.

Although it does not cover the more recent movies you will still get the picture here. It starts by talking about go-motion and then moves onto the first ever digital sequence and how much people slaved over it before going into detail with the evolution of that process and of the special edition of Star Wars and Speilberg's "J. Park".

The book looks fantastic. Keep it for your grandkids. I am sure they will love you for it. This is the kind of book that you will turn to time and time again just to see "how they did that".

An extraordinary book about an extraordinary company. You will know all you want to know about special effects wizardry. The book is well published, even watching its pictures is joyful.

For 25 years Industrial Light and Magic has woven magic into countless films, either subtle images through `invisible' effects such as matte paintings or through eye-popping visuals that stand out vividly against the film backdrop. ILM has made it's mark on history, for not only have they been and still are the premiere effects house in Hollywood, they have innovated and invented more technology than any other studio, additionally they have won awards for the processing and compositing technology they have created. ILM had to be the best at special effects, because their flagship title - STAR WARS - demanded the best, because that's what Lucas wanted.

`Into the Digital Realm' isn't so much an abandonment of ILM of the traditional methods of special effects, rather a point of departure for the new technology and all of things that led up to it. Indeed, ILM's work on `The Hunt For Red October' submarine work involved flying the submerged vessels from wires in a smoky room - effects do not get any more traditional than that. Released in 96, the book doesn't mention that Phantom Menace or even that the film is in production. It does have some revised images from the Star Wars special edition. As with the previous tome, this one is packed with hundreds of color photos, plus the same beautiful gate fold images.

If the center piece for the previous book was Star Wars, Digital Realms' focus is obviously Jurassic Park, because it was the first film to use CG on so large a scale, even more than Terminator 2, which ILM also did. Jurassic Park was also the test bed and showcase piece that convinced Lucas that computers had finally matured enough to bring what he had in mind to the screen for the new Star Wars films. More is the pity, because I came to loathe most of the aliens in the Phantom Menace. Digital Realm clearly explains in easy to understand terms how effects - both new and old - are accomplished, be it something as simple as making it appear as if buildings are actually much taller than they or having a velociraptor walk _behind_ a plant situated in the foreground. I have both of these wonderful books, and I strongly recommend them to anyone who is curious about ILM's history and the process of how effects are made.

This is one novelisation I did enjoy quite a bit and read more than once. Kotzwinkle did a reasonable job of somehow taking the amazingly ugly but cute at the same time alien and translating that to print, along with the kids.

The D&D scene he threw into the book was fun, as well.

I seem to be different than everyone else.I always seem to like the movie better than the book,unless the writer is skilled and doesn't overexplain or do anything else uneccesary.I thought E.T. was way too cynical and they went off on a tangent with Mary's emotional issues with her husband leaving.Kotzwinkle could have used a better editor...Hell,it'd be better if he didn't write it.I love when a book goes into detail about some things,but it was just too much.I was thinking the whole time,"I get the damn point.I got the damn point when I saw the movie,but the movie didn't go on and on with it."
Also,where is the friendship between E.T. and Elliot?E.T. just seemed cold.He reminded me of these teen to 20 somethings that have just discovered Schopenhauer or some other arrogant philosopher.To put it simply,he seemed like an unlikable know-it-all.
Mr. Kotzwinkle,if you happen to ever read this review,I suggest you read Stephen King's "On Writing" memoir.I know Stephen King has some real bad ideas for stories sometimes,but at least he knows how to write them well.He has some real good tips.
I only say it was okay because I got it from a bargain bin type place and it was short...and I've read worse.

This book is a scary book. I want people to read it because it is kind of sad. The best part of this story is the fact that the scary thing gets killed. People should read it to find out how this happened. Reading scary books is something I like to do. Buy this book to read and get some imformation.

This book is a scary book. I want people to read it because it is kind of sad. The best part of this story is the fact that the scary thing gets killed. People should read it to find out how this happened. Reading scary books is something I like to do. Buy this book to read and get some information.

This book was written from the movie, but I read it in Junior-High well before I saw the movie. What is awesome in this book is that it gives E.T.'s POINT OF VIEW on the whole story. We learn who he really is, why he is here, what he thinks, what he feels, why he does what he does... and to me that was just extremely interesting, to be inside the head of an extra-terrestrial!
Afterwards, seeing the movie was a big disappointment, because it contains none of these deep character developments... I think reading this book truly adds another dimension to the E.T. story, so I recommend it. (But beware: some of the concepts strayed from the movie, so be open to new ideas! For example, in the book, E.T. is not an ignorant baby, but is million-years-old wise).