Video Production Books

If you love "The Golden Age" of Motion Pictures you will love this book.
He was a talented & special man. This is a Great Read from a Great Director.

The names William Witney and John English across a movie screen were as familiar to me as a stop sign at an intersection. But being a kid, I saw them in my mind's eye as mustached and gray at the temples. English looked like Earl Flynn and Witney was a likeable slob type whose coat did not button over his gut. For good or bad, his very auto bio reveals a man who simply "worked for a living" but did it very well, not aware of doing anything special. That he was able to retire without looking back, spending his golden years among the pines and mountain lakes of east Tahoo country deep into his 80s, helps explain why his book is no longer than it is. You should know ahead of time William Witney was not a gossip
and with few exceptions did not write to down or belittle people who worked with him in these classic movies. His stature as a person rises but his book suffers as history. Don Red Barry and Carole Landis are tragic figures, but there is so much more he could have told us about making movies. We simply have to be content with a small slice of what might have been a big, big cake with icing.

This book is, indeed, a dandy for the old Saturday afternoon movie "serial" buffs. Mr. Witney certainly captures the atmosphere of Republic Pictures, home of the best-of-the-bunch when the studio was producing top of the line westerns and serials dating back to the '30s. (Republic also produced some outstanding non-western features, including "The Quiet Man", directed by John Ford, starring John Wayne.)

The book leaves bits still "hanging to the cliff". More focus could have been placed on the stars and off-screen activity that took place while filming those old screen gems. Also noticeable is Mr. Witney ignoring Roy Barcroft, the only actor specializing in "bad guy" roles ever to be signed to a ten-year movie contract ... and it was with Republic.

Although chapters are headlined for special serials, such as "The Lone Ranger", not enough detail to the subject is submitted, leaving true devotees of these old "goodies" wanting more.

McFarland & Co Publishing presents "IN A DOOR, INTO A FIGHT, OUT A DOOR, INTO A CHASE" (Paperback) - William Nuelsen Witney was an American film director --- He is most famous for the movie serials he co-directed with John English for Republic Pictures such as "Daredevils of the Red Circle" (1939), Zorro's Fighting Legion (1939) and "Drums of Fu Manchu" (1940) --- Born in 1915 in Lawton, Oklahoma, Witney broke into the movie business in 1933 as a messenger boy and four years later became a director at the ripe age of 21 --- He was pressed into service on a Republic Pictures serial after the director was fired.

He directed a large number of Western films over his career, and is credited with devising the modern system of filming movie fight sequences in a series of carefully choreographed shots, which he patterned after the musical sequences of American director Busby Berkeley. Prolific and pugnacious, Witney began directing while still in his 20s, and continued up until the late 1960s --- During a 40 year career, Witney worked on two dozen serials, including the popular Lone Ranger, Dick Tracy and Captain Marvel shows --- He directed more than 60 feature films, many of them 1940s and 1950s B-Westerns, along with hundreds of episodes of TV shows such as "Lassie," "Wagon Train" and "Bonanza."

Quentin Tarantino singles him out as one of his favorite directors, particularly for The Golden Stallion (1949), a Roy Rogers vehicle --- Witney also directed Master of the World (1961) starring Vincent Price and Charles Bronson --- "I've found directors I like, but William Witney is ahead of them all," director Quentin Tarantino told the New York Times in 2000. "I think it's so cool that he began as the king of cowboy serials and ended with a black exploitation film -- That's a career, man."

Witney went on to direct or codirect 23 Republic serials --- Though he enjoyed a long career as a feature film and television director, it is the Republic serials for which he is best remembered --- This engaging story is a behind-the-scenes look at the heyday of the Hollywood cliffhanger, the making of the movies, and the people involved in them.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
BIOS:
1. William Witney
Date of Birth: 15 May 1915 - Lawton, Oklahoma
Date of Death: 17 March 2002 - Jackson, California

TABLE OF CONTENTS: (Title and Page Numbers)

Acknowledgments - vii

Foreword by Francis M. Nevins, Jr. - 1

Preface - 3

1. The Serials Remembered - 5

2. Rex, King of the Wild Horses - 22

3. Larry Wickland - 28

4. Darkest Africa - The First Serial Under the Republic Banner - 39

5. The Old Order Changeth - 47

6. Rider of the Painted Stallion - 59

7. I Lose a Friend and Gain One - 76

8. John English - 90

9. The Lone Ranger - 101

10.That Old House - 113

11.The Director's Guild - 129

12.Daredevils of the Red Circle - 143

13.Zorro's Fighting Legion - 160

14.Two Duds and a Hot Water Tank - 172

15.Captain Marvel - 182

16.Bill O'Sullivan - 196

17.The Dog Teams - 208

18.Eddy White - 224

A Filmography - 233

Index - 243

Check out a new book from Empire Publishing - "GENE AUTRY WESTERNS" (Hardcover) - by author Boyd Magers, like no other book on Gene Autry --- all of Gene's Mascot, Republic and Columbia westerns included, as well as his half-hour TV Episodes --- each segment contains the release date on each film ... major production credits ... complete cast (including character played) ... all songs included, songwriter and who performed them in the film ... running time of each film ... dates of the filming ... bios on the cast and major players (Smiley, Pat Buttram, Cass County Boys, Herbert J. Yates, directors, leading ladies, songwriters and various heavies, etc.) ... locations that were used ... budgets and negative cost ... stunt people involved ... analysis and synopsis on each film ... notes and comments (including film and cast background info, salaries paid, working titles, etc) ... comments from Gene and many other cast members on each film ... theater exhibitors comments at the time of the films release ...this tribute was written from the heart and it shows.

Hats off and thanks to Les Adams (collector/guideslines for character identification), Chuck Anderson (Webmaster: The Old Corral/B-Westerns.Com), Boyd Magers (Western Clippings), Bobby J. Copeland (author of "Trail Talk"), Rhonda Lemons (Empire Publishing Inc) and Bob Nareau (author of "The Real Bob Steele") as they have rekindled my interest once again for B-Westerns and Serials --- If you're into the memories of Movie Serials, this is the one you've been anxiously waiting for --- Witney and McFarland & Co have captured the moment, please stand up and take a bow --- all my heroes have been cowboys!

Total Pages: 246 ~ McFarland & Co ~ (March 2005)

This book is, indeed, a dandy for the old Saturday afternoon movie "serial" buffs. Mr. Witney certainly captures the atmosphere of Republic Pictures, home of the best-of-the-bunch when the studio was producing top of the line westerns and serials dating back to the '30s. (Republic also produced some outstanding non-western features, including "The Quiet Man", directed by John Ford, starring John Wayne.)

The book leaves bits still "hanging to the cliff". More focus could have been placed on the stars and off-screen activity that took place while filming those old screen gems. Also noticeable is Mr. Witney ignoring Roy Barcroft, the only actor specializing in "bad guy" roles ever to be signed to a ten-year movie contract ... and it was with Republic.

Although chapters are headlined for special serials, such as "The Lone Ranger", not enough detail to the subject is submitted, leaving true devotees of these old "goodies" wanting more.

This book combines the inspirational story of the making of "Mad Hot Ballroom" with starting tips for the beginning documentary filmmaker. For fans of the documentary and for aspiring documentary filmmakers, it provides interesting and amusing stories from behind the scenes of one of the top ten documentaries of all time. It is by no means a how-to guide for making a documentary; however, there are some good tips and starting points for research into the process. The book's strong point is the inspiration and the passion behind the project as well as the inside look that the author provides on the process. The author actually could have focused completely on the inspirational stories behind the documentary to make it appeal to a wider audience, with an appendix at the end of the book for tips and information of the documentary-making process (or, she could have written two different books). However, Sewell manages to make the double focus work well because of her passion and enthusiasm. Overall, this is a quick and enjoyable read, recommended for fans of the documentary and for beginning documentary filmmakers looking for some inspiration and tips to start them on their journey.

Interesting story, since this became the doc of the year and then some. It was a personal story, which was nice, but did not really fill in the information I was hoping for (as an amateur/first-time indie video doc). It is a great companion to the Mad Hot Ballroom doc itself, because, as with all good stories, the scenes behind the camera were very compelling. But it's not the only book you should read if you are just starting out because it is short on many of the details. They went big budget compared to most novices/indies, so much of it does not apply to those who are.

Amy-I just came across this on Amazon, and it was great. I bought the movie, but the dvd is not working.
You inspired me to make a movie about a bar on the beach. Why don't you and Charlie and the kids come out and stay with us?
Nick

Having just taken a course in film production I bought this book because Amy Sewell's movie was highlighted as an example of a huge success for a first time filmmaker.
One can see why. Reading this book gives an insight into how passionate and dedicated she was to make Mad Hot Ballroom. Amy Sewell's book is well written, informative and entertaining to read.
I highly recommend it.

Amy Sewell a stay-at-home mom to twin girls, with absolutely no experience at filmmaking, fell in love with the idea of making a movie about New York City's scholastic ballroom dancing program. This book follows her journey from "light bulb over the head" stage all the way through completion of one of the most successful documentaries of all time, Mad Hot Ballroom. When the author first started doing the research for the article that turned into first a film, and then this book, she was amazed at how quickly the fifth-graders from diverse economic and social backgrounds took to boring ballroom dancing; and how hard they worked to get in shape for the city wide competitions.

Mad Hot Ballroom was named by the kids, when Sewell learned that the ten and eleven-year-olds used mad as an adjective meaning very in front of everything - mad hot, mad crazy, mad cool - she knew she had the film title. An enormous relief to her director who hated the working title of Not the Same Old Song and Dance. This illustrates just how much the making of both the film and the book was driven by the kids. Without them there would be no story.

As much a primer as a narrative, the author includes all the information the reader would need to follow in her footsteps, including an action plan at the end of each chapter which reinforces the important points. Sewell is obviously enthusiastic about her subject making it a joy to read. The book is upbeat and bubbly. Using a series of amusing anecdotes to relay her story she makes the reader feel as if they are a part of the film making process.

At only 175 pages, this is a very short book, and it went all too quickly. It could have used more about the dancing and competitions to really capture the reader's interest. Even so, it would be a great addition to the shelf of any aspiring filmmaker, because it really reinforces the idea that nearly anyone really can do it with enough drive, possibly a grant or two and support from friends and family.

A book for the experts, not for the novice. Well detailed and current. Covers all aspects of make-up artistry. As a teacher in the industry, I believe it would make a brilliant textbook.

I just finished the whole book! It blew me away because I found out tons of info that I can't wait to use on my next job. It is very thorough and gives you ALL the industry standards, techniques, tips, applications, everything you need to know to do your job and take it up to a more professional level. I could not get enough of it because reading it is like spending time with a top MUA.

I just got my BFA in sculpture and do makeup and prosthetics. I spent a lot of years and money learning the basics in college. I can't emphasize how important those basics are, like shapes, colors, and anatomy. It's a big part of my makeup and designs. I'm just surprised how well it's covered in this book and it's got all the info you need laid out in a way that's easy to take in. I've bought 4-5 books easy just to begin covering all these topics they covered, and even then it would still take more books, magazines, and all my web surfing to add up to this. I wish this book was out when I first started makeup. The authors DO encourage you to go out and build your resources and references, you know, like on the specific areas you like, but this is a strong first book for a beginner as well as something I'm recommending to all my friends who've already got a lot of books and experience. They have the makeup classics, but this one is probably going to be the most useful. I love my book so much, I had it spiral bound so I can open it a majillion times.

It really does a great job of preparing you for the realities and responsibilities of being on set. Some of that info I had to find out on my own, step by step. It would have been great to have a book like this years ago! Great lessons in every chapter and great references and resources throughout the entire book, and in the back. There's a great basis for makeup: starting with art and explaining light, shadow, and how they work. Great tips on the proportions of the face as well as drawing lessons that culminate in a simple yet thorough lesson on more familiar studies of the face, eye, and lid shapes. Then it transitions to makeup and how to mix the art with makeup techniques. I realize I'm writing more than I usually do, but let me add that all the sections on makeups, hair, and especially the "How to Be a Pro" section are really informative and eye-opening.

Overall, the book delivers everything it promises. It does a great job covering color, lighting, HD setups, controlling your image, skin color and skin care, basic/beauty/effects makeups, hair, blood, tattoos, character design, breakdowns. It's all here, plus all the resources.

Now that I'm done, I wish I could find another book this great!

As a professional makeup artist working in film and theater for the last 20 years, I am always looking for good makeup books that teach new techniques and working with new products. This is not that book. As the title suggests, this is only a handbook for those who already know how to apply makeup. It touches on many topics, but does not do much teaching at all. It could be used as a reference to remind a makeup artist what steps are involved in an application technique, but there is very little in depth description of how or why to do each step.

While it does talk about HD, airbrush makeup, Tinsley Transfers, and silicone prosthetics, there is very little useful information for anyone who has not already used these products. Much of the information from these chapters can even be found online (in more detail) through a simple web search (including two articles reprinted directly from the free webzine airbrushtalk.com).

As a reference book, this book deserves 3 stars for compiling a lot of useful information into one place.

As an instruction book, I would give this book 0-1 Stars. If you are looking to learn the techniques of the makeup artist, you best choice is still Richard Corson's Stage Makeup (9th Edition)

This book belongs in every makeup artists' library. Detailed instructions, insights from respected professionals in the field. It's also very good for the beginning makeup artist offering the basic professional product tips and reference materials.

I originally bought the book b/c i was excited about the fact that the authors were including a section on HD makeup. However, that section turned out to be fairly small & did not contain as much information as i would of hoped for. I was alxo a little confused by the color theory section as it did not match up with my own knowldege of this subject. All in all i think it is a good book & would be helpful to anyone with aspirations of becoming a makeup artist.

An excellent summary of documentary film production. Provides a useful overview of the documentary film requirements. Contains a number of beneficial "tips".

I rarely read a book from cover to cover (including appendices), except for Barry Hampe's Making Documentary Films and Videos. I like the comprehensive coverage of the subject and the many practical examples. Expressing issues visually (rather than talking at the audience by voice-over or interviews) and the emphasis on verisimilitude are particularly helpful points. The book is well organized, well indexed and contains ample useful references. Emphasis on issues such as truth, what is evidence, and examining one's motives is particularly appreciated. The book is very well written, and I will likely re-read it and use it as a reference in the future.

I liked "Making Documentary Films and Videos" a lot. I am just getting into documentary film late in my life and I found Barry's book covered all the questions I had about making a documentary film. More importantly, it was very encouraging for someone just starting out. It was not overly technical and it covered every aspect of the documentary process. It was the best book on the subject I have read!!

Wow, this is a tough one. How to review a book that contains fantastic topical information, surrounded by a lot of ridiculous, pointless, unsupported editorial?

The Good: as other reviewers have noted, this book provides some great information about the process of documentary filmmaking. There is a valuable & interesting discussion of ethics that goes well beyond the "get a release" advice that is all that other sources ever mention.

I also really enjoyed Hampe's emphasis on "visual evidence", rather than meaningless, pretty b-roll & his suggestion that you should turn off the sound to see if your footage is actually telling the story, or just illustrating the dialog. His recommendation to try to reduce talking heads is a great stimulus to problem-solving, & his emphasis on the all-important need for advance scripting & good story-telling is excellent.

"Truth" with a capital T is a big issue for Hampe, & he has an excellent discussion about it & the need for the documentary filmmaker to become expert in their subject to avoid manipulation & so that the right questions are asked both in the planning stage & as the project unfolds. This level of comprehension is also efficient because it prevents the project from devolving into the classic error of becoming a fishing expedition or treasure hunt where miles of video are shot in the hopes of something interesting randomly appearing in it, while the critical information needed to stitch a story together is missed entirely. Meanwhile, filtering & organizing all the material ratchets up the cost of the project, even though "video is cheap".

Okay, so now The Bad: in a way, this author is sometimes like your crotchety old uncle who has a wealth of good experience & information to share, if you can just stand to be around him long enough to receive it. As I read this book, I went from "Oops! He's accidentally giving us a little too much info about his personal politics," to "This guy has a serious agenda", to "I can't believe a professional editor let this slide."

Although he frequently bemoans how polarized Americans politics has become, the author does his utmost to widen the gap. Relentlessly, he picks away at liberals, Democrats, unions & Hollywood.

The book sags when the pointless opinions fly thick & fast. For instance, why is it worth the space to learn that this guy hates nature programs ["How many ocelots licking their babies heads can you watch?"] yet worships the military--how many dorky war documentaries can you watch, Hampe? Why are we getting a supercilious, though flawed, lesson in "Economics 101" [if competition really invariably keeps prices down, explain the fashion industry or extravagant executive compensation, Hampe]? And what does a defense of Reaganomics have to do with filmmaking, anyway [yeah, I guess if you write yourself a check & deposit it in your savings account, then technically your revenue HAS increased]? And tell me again: why are we discussing how businesses offering their executives health insurance led to the corruption of American self-reliance? Is this guy really serious when he claims that oil companies are not necessarily profiteering in a time when Fidelity returns on the energy sector are sometimes surpassing 40%? Hampe even whines that CNN is--or at least was--wildly leftist.

The fact is that this author is not qualified to speak on these topics & makes no effort to support his statements. If you're going to sling this kind of old cheese, you REALLY need footnotes & they better be legit.

Hampe is excellent when he sticks to the subject. This book will richly deserve 5-stars if the author avails himself of a better editor next edition--preferably a pinko-commie leftist liberal to counter his own strongly distracting right-wing perspective.

The first half of the book introduces the concept of a documentary, what is and isn't a documentary, and covers the ethics involved in documentary filmmaking.

The second half deals with actually producing the documentary. He ignores equipment, which is good because that means it doesn't contain quickly outdated information.

The author does a great job at guiding a budding filmmaker through the process of making a documentary.

I am currently using the information he gives on securing funds using a proposal and treatment, planning the documentary, shooting, and editing. I've found it to be a great resource and has helped me feel like this is something I can do.

He doesn't make it sound easy, but he does make it easier for beginning documentarians by helping us avoid mistakes and plan to succeed. His insistence on planning is really helping me to get my stuff together to do this the right way.

It's an all around great book for anyone interested in filming a documentary.

I've been doing some research into film making and I picked this book up from the bookstore because it looked okay. At first I was a bit let down, but after getting into it I found it truly great! The author gives an amazing amount of examples, and even though they're a little outdated, he gives them in such ways that you don't have to have seen the movies to learn from his examples.

If you are looking for theory or for technical analysis of film, this is not the place. If your interest, instead, is insight into the thinking that goes into making (mostly mainstream) films this is an excellent starting point. Boorstin doesn't write like a movie critic or a professor of film; he writes like a very knowledgable and reflective craftsman who has insider experience on filmmaking and has been able to capture that experience into a series of analytic perspectives on the nature of "movies that work."

He breaks his analysis of the "working of movies" down into three perspectives that amount to the various levels at which the film needs to operate on or captivate its audience. A movie that "works" has to work on all three levels, though it may emphasize one over the others. First, it should appeal to the "voyeur" in the audience. We watch movies because we want to see, and a movie works at a voyeuristic level when it shows us something that we can both believe and be interested in. That sounds straightforward enough, but the voyeuristic perspective allows him to go into the "why" behind a wide range of cinematic techniques, and to introduce quite a bit of the vocabulary you'd find in another introduction to film but might not see why it was so important. Secondly, the film has to work at a "vicarious" level: we have to care about the characters in the film, and what they do has to be emotionally true. Under this heading Boorstin is able to discuss a range of topics, from Kuleshov's psychology experiments with film montage to what makes a film soundtrack work. The third level is the "visceral": films can work, not only because they are intriguing or make us feel something for the characters, but also because they make us feel something period. The rise of horror cinema is directly connected to this longing for a visceral experience: we don't just want to care about someone who is potentially being harmed but we want to feel their fear along with them. The book goes on to discuss combinations between these, the differences between narratives and films of other forms, and the difference between mainstream Hollywood cinema and avant garde or foreign cinema.

My only quibble with the book is that he doesn't address a fourth level at which films work -- maybe because it's hard to come up with a "V" word for what might be called the "reflective dimension" of film, and I believe that a discussion of this dimension would complement his other discussions and allow him to introduce in an unpretentious and insider fashion themes that are the subject of what film theorists call "ideology." Every film, at some level, has a theme -- has to have something it is "about" and this is a level that is not only of interest to film theorists but also to filmmakers. Sidney Lumet's wonderful "Making Movies" discusses this at length. For a film to work it has to have a theme and it has to somehow make sense of that theme. In some films, and not only foreign or avant-garde films, this "thematic" or "reflective" dimension is the dominant one. Take the success of the "Matrix" for example -- what makes it stunning is not only its superb visuals (voyeuristic level) or its strong narrative (such that we vicariously connect with Neo) or its tense mood (such that we have a visceral experience), but also that it forces us to think, raising interesting questions and posing tentative answers to those questions.

In the end, though, this is merely a quibble with what is still a very worthwhile book that I am glad I encountered. While the style is personal and the ideas are to some degree idiosyncratic to the author, it is a rare book that offers so much information and insight and is such an enjoyable read. (I would compare this book to other remarkable and insightful works by working filmmakers such as Lumet's Making Movies and Walter Murch's In the Blink of the Eye -- and if I had to choose which one to recommend of these three I would say that Boorstin's book is more comprehensive and can likely teach more about the nature of film and filmmaking than the others.)

For those people that just stumbled on this book and are not aspiring film makers, the insight and even the abundance of photographs from major scenes are worth the purchase price.

For the rest of us, everyone knows what makes a professional in any field is that little extra effort to be one step ahead of the next person. This book may be that next step.

A paragraph from the introduction says it all:

"How does a surgeon attack a tumor, a lawyer a murder case, or an architect a concert hall? When you learn a craft, or a profession, or an art (and film is all of these), you have to master a way of thinking as well as a set of skills. A way of approaching the problem that make techniques your tool."

The Ufa Story: A History of Germany's Greatest Film Company 1918-1945

"Making Movies Work" discusses films from three types of effects the shots have on the audience. Boorstein calls the "Voyeurs Eye" the eye we have for detail, consistency and the logic of a scene, where we gather information. "Vicarious Eye" concerns the techniques filmmakers use to relate feeling and the emotions of a scene. "Visceral Eye" appeals to the part of the brain that bypasses thinking, the 'gut' reaction. This book does not go into detail on setting up shots, but rather gives the reader a useful context in which to think about shot choice. It's purpose is to help identify the purpose of a shot or scene and why a shot gives the audience the feel that it does. I thought the book was fascinating, and it puts to direct application much of film theory.

The only reason I did not give this book 5 stars is, because it is not a smashing, shocking masterpiece. But it is still a VERY GOOD book. It gives one a great first taste on filmmaking, touching on almost every topic and field in the production process. It is also very well organized into a system of own logic, and contains quite a few funny and interesting anecdotes, which make it more like a personal friend instead of just "a book". The language is clear and "user-friendly" (which was quite important for me, English being only my second lang.), and Mr. Boorstin is like a smiling tour-guide that takes one around the various aspects of the craft. It is an excellent introduction to all people interested in film, and to all those who just want to have a good read about 'the film job' in general. Read it and You will like it, if it does not make You want to fall in love with film right away. If You already are: You will learn not just about the craft, but about creative processes and "Hollywood vs. World"-philosophy too, while You get to understand what actually makes a filmmaker. A definite 4 and 1/2.....

explains all resources all indumentary needed and best of all almost everything has high budget and low budget examples.

This book is the most concise, and comprehensive book I've seen on the subject of producing a 2D animated cartoon. While several other books focus on the art of animation, Mark Simon focuses on the nuts and bolts of "getting it done". Topics flow from planning, visualization, character design to storyboarding, audio recording and animatics, through editing, rendering and even distribution options. The sample CD-ROM has a huge assortment of demo programs to help you "work along" with the book. It is by no means the ONLY book you need to embark on animating a cartoon, but it is an essential one for any prospective cartoon filmmaker's library. Interviews with several industry professionals are included and add a perspective from the talent buyer's view. All in all a very handy resource for someone who knows what they want to do, but need guidance to realize their vision.

First of all, I just wanted you to know - this book officially kicks ass.

I have been messing around with Flash animation on and off for the past 4 years. Some of my stuff appeared on Howard Stern's syndicated TV show, and I even won a prize in an animated joke competition.

But I have been in a total slump lately - no motivation or understanding of how to improve my skills and not a decent idea to speak of. I haven't posted a new animation on my website in well over a year.

Then I received the book (Producing Independent 2D Character Animation) as a gift. It has been the jump start I needed, like shock treatment for my creativity. I've written some scripts and started storyboarding. I also did an animatic in Flash to check the timing/jokes. With the procedures outlined in the book as my guide, I intend to begin animating again shortly.

Thanks to the author for sharing his knowledge.

There is some good information in this book. If you have at least a modicum of familiarity with animation though, there's very little new about art or theory or instruction in here. The title and subtitle should be reversed in terms of importance to

Making and Selling a Short Film: Producing 2D Independent Character Animation.

Granted, this is not a flaw with the book, but I am writing this review as a caution to those who might think of it as one thing, when it is in fact another. They don't mean "I produced animation for Mary." They mean "For Mary I was involved in an animation production."

Difference being, aside from a section on tips, there is -no- mention of the process of animating, but rather name-dropping of software/hardware you'll need to run a digital version of the conventional studio, presented vicariously through the author recounting his experiences in making his short film.

All that being said, though, the tips are pretty good and the single most informative part of this entire book are the exclusive interviews with artists and suits from around the industry. These are so insightful (on the respondent's part) and so chock full of good things to know that it might have been more beneficial to chop the price in half and have the whole book just be about the interviews. Still, keeping the price the same, it's almost still worth it.

This is not a bad book by any means; on the contrary, it is one of the better, more clearly written books out there, and though there are too many purposeless illustrations, the ones with purpose are great and it's wonderful eye candy to have them in full color. I never got a chance to see it before I bought it, and ordered it into Barnes and Noble by my house...Now I'll likely be contributing it back into the world via the Marketplace as an interesting one night stand...

This book is selling for $27.99 at Barnes and Noble as of 2/24/04 - that's over $20 less than here!

Awesome reading for the die hard spaghetti western fan!

Not only a fascinating insight into the spaghetti western and its master practitioner, but also an examination of where this form stands in the context of Italian cinema as a whole. Having finished reading, I re-viewed all of Leone's films. They are totally different viewing experiences in light of the knowledge gleaned from this book. A truly al dente reading experience.

I cannot understand the first review of this book. I understood this book to be a biography of Sergio Leone, not a story about Spaghetti Westerns so I was pleasantly surprised when the author began by desribing the whole cultural background of Mr Leone. The book is certainly not without emotion, but the author has attempted to provide a detailed and unbiased insight into the life of Mr Leone.

Had the book been more "humourous" as per the intial reviwer thoughts, this would have diverted from the objective of a biography, as I am sure Sergio's life was not just fun all the time, no offense to the first reviewer ("You smell like a pig already, lets try not to make things any worse" Tuco's guard "The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly")

Mr Frayling has obviously researched his subject in a fantastically detailed way, constructing a clear picture of his life, not just by his films, but by the people around him. This is evident in that Sergio himself contacted Prof Frayling after reading his earlier book on Spagehtti Westerns as it contained information about Sergio's father that even he hadn't previously known.

Check out Cenk Kirals site for Sergio Leone info (he was thanked by the author in the book)

I worship Sergio leone. I've been a huge fan of his films since my childhood in the late Seventies. I've always wanted/needed a weighty, fact-filled bio-reference to illuminate his here-to-fore mysterious life/career. This is that book. More detailed than the expensive, picture-packed Italian book on Leone, S.T.D.W.D. will stand for a long time as the essential Leone tome. Literate, balanced, and exhaustive, this book is a triumph in every respect.

There aren't too many directors who could inspire me to read a 576-page tome about their career. In fact, apart from a handful of auteurs to whom I'm still trying to speak and the dozen or so who have opened their hearts to Cashiers du Cinemart, there aren't too many directors I'd even like to read about. Yet, of all directors-past and present-it's only Sergio Leone's name that I've been scanning for when I troll the "directors biographies" section at Borders Bookstore. Sure, sure, maybe it'd be fun to read a nicely done work on Fritz Lang or Kenji Misumi but it's Leone who presents me with the biggest challenges.
This Italian mastermind helmed a handful of films, nearly all of which would rank among my favorites. More than creating some damn fine work, Leone's style influenced untold filmmakers. His films were operas powered by the music of Ennio Morricone. His dialogue's sparseness made it all the more powerful. Leone didn't shy away from embracing the language of cinema and creating his own dialect.

Remarkably, though Leone's filmography can be tallied on both hands, the breadth of rumours and conflicting stories are enough to easily fill Frayling's tome. Luckily, Fraying isn't above questioning the veracity of his subject. While never denying Leone respect, Frayling doesn't shirk his journalistic duty to present as many facets of the fiery, passive-aggressive auteur as possible.

Something to Do with Death takes its sweet time to get moving (I had to skip the second chapter and skim a few others before getting to the real "meat" of the book) but, once it gets going, there's little that can deter the reader from delving into the life of a truly enigmatic talent. (ISBN: 0571164382)

This product was in really good conditions almost new, it just didnt arrive as i expected because of the address was written wrong apparently by the postoffice. Anyways sender was very helpful in tracking the package and eventually got it. Thanks

This is one of my favorite books on film in existance. Stephen Prince gives a beautiful analysis of Kurosawa's entire career. The way he goes into detail about each film and the meta-textual/contextual support he gives to one of cinema's greatest directors is fantastic. His writings on Yojimbo were definately the high point of the book for me (it only further cemented it as my favorite Kurosawa film).

I wish more film scholars produced such cultural and over arching comparatives as Prince presents here.

"The Warrior's Camera" is not a casual book for fans of "Yojimbo" and "The Seven Samurai." It is a dense, scholarly tome designed for film majors to study. The book takes for granted that you are familiar with the films of Eisenstein, the books of Dostoyevsky and the plays of Bertold Brecht, as well as the personal philosophies of each of these Kurosawa influences.

This is also not a biography, and none of Kurosawa's personal life is put on display. Films are dissected shot by shot in tight detail.

However, if you are prepared, "The Warrior's Camera" lends tremendous insight into a fascinating director. Each chapter focuses on philosophical themes central to Kurosawa's work, and dives into the films that most represent these personal philosophies. The strength of the individual, and the ability for personal choice, is outlined by "Drunken Angels," "No Regrets for Our Youth" and "Stray Dog." Strength of will is shown in "Ikiru" and "Red Beard." As this is a scholarly work, each chapter presents an argument and then presents evidence to support the argument.

I have come away from this book with a much deeper understanding of Kurosawa and what he was trying to accomplish with his films. Highly recommended, but be prepared to work for your knowledge.

The Warrior's Camera is a really intelligently written book with very important information about the groundbreaking director. The book is worth buying just for the Legacy section of the book, which is a wonderfully written section about Kurosawa's legacy. This section also has some great quotes from other film directors, such as Steven Spieldberg and George Lucas, and prominent film critics. The book also has some great info on his style and the way to view a Kurosawa film. If you are writing a report on Kurosawa or if you are just a big fan, make sure that you pick up this book along with his biography.

Contrary to the last reviewer, this is not, in some exclusive sense, a book "designed for film majors to study," and if one is interested, you'll do fine without any previous study of Dostoevsky, Eisenstein, or Bertolt Brecht. Some previous knowledge helps for sure - but don't let such elevated requirements discourage you from exploring Prince's work of Kurosawa scholarship. I am not a "film major"; I have read few works of Dostoevsky; I have seen only 2 Eisenstein films and read only fragments of his writings. I know more about Brecht than the other two figures, but with this said, I still gained much insight and understanding from Prince's arguments and observations. If you're still worried about it, don't hesitate to put to use one of the greatest research inventions ever: the internet.

Now on to my review: This book begins with much promise but ultimately ends in disappointment. Prince begins by stressing the importance of historically-based analysis. He suggests that one understand Kurosawa's films as "address[ing] the Japan shattered by World War II and [as helping] reshape society." (8) This is a most interesting, preliminary claim that initially promises certain fascinating paths of reading. Also, Prince begins by criticizing 'auteurism' and naive assumptions of 'authorship'. He notes that the formation of 'film studies' as an academic field imposed a "major code" that reduced all Kurosawa films to "the ideal of humanism". Now this is also promising - finally, a comprehensive work on Kurosawa, other than that of Donald Richie, that gets beyond 'auteurism'.

Unfortunately, Prince's book does not live up to these introductory assertions. First, Prince continually makes use of terms like "Zen Buddhism", "heroic ideal", "warrior ideal", instead of terms like "humanist universalism" as if they were more accurate interpretive concepts for understanding Kurosawa's films (see pp. 10, 11, 28, 30, 115). However, he never 'historicizes' these very concepts but treats them as somewhat static and a-historical. I don't think that one would find it completely convincing or that interesting if some critic put to use concepts like "Christian providence" or "protestant individualism" for the purposes of deciphering the work of Orsen Welles without demonstrating first the historic intricacies of such empty concepts and second their specific, contextual relevance to a given Welles' film-text. Thus, it must be asked: why make use of analogous empty signifiers of Japanese history and culture so carelessly in relation to Kurosawa's films? Ultimately, Prince's interpretive framework remains less than convincing , for his initial imperative to read "against the grain of history" is violated repeatedly throughout the book.

Also, it is disappointing that right after Prince criticizes the usual appeal to authorship or auteurism he categorically states, "Kurosawa's films form a series of inquiries on the place and the possibilities of the autonomous self within a culture whose social relations stress group ties and obligations." (27) From this Prince establishes his own master code for interpreting the totality of Kurosawa's work based upon the supposed `intentions' of Kurosawa-as-author. It is a code that reads Kurosawa's films as being primarily about the negotiation of the ego in the modern world. Prince continues, throughout the work, to make sense of the rich diversity of films in terms of this restricted framework. He writes, "Kurosawa's world is an arena where his characters must be tested , where they must be victorious in their goals or must be broken and defeated." (116) Later, he reduces the entire complexity of Kurosawa films into a `meta-narrative' that is "...the passage from willed optimism of the early films to the ethic of resignation and despair that pervades the late works..." (154) The meaning that Prince detects in these films is not wrong per say but way too limited and reductive. There is a vast complexity of meaning and significance in Kurosawa's diverse catalogue of films, and some of it is in direct contradiction to Prince's `auteurist' thesis. I cannot say that I was satisfied with Prince's analysis for these reasons. However, if one is sympathetic to auteur forms of criticism, then this book may be for you. Just remember what Foucault says in `What is an Author?': "the author serves to neutralize the contradictions that are found in a series of texts." Personally, I think the "contradictions" that one might locate in a series of texts serve as the sites of most interest in any interpretive investigation; thus, they should not be effaced by way of some reductive narrative of authorship.

I give this book 3 instead of say 2 stars because it is quite an extensive project providing a vast amount of helpful information, and the analyses of certain films is thorough and somewhat technical. It just had so much potential to be better. Read this alongside Mitsuhiro Yoshimoto's book.

My impression was that this book was very much like a DVD extra, made into book form, and stretched out to fill 214 pages.

It was a fun read for me, since I'm a Kevin Smith fanboy. Tons of behind-the-scenes tidbits, especially about the making of Clerks. It's always interesting to see how someone got their start, and what lessons can be taken from it. There's an interesting irony that, in making a movie about mid-90's slackers, the cast and crew worked insane hours and slept very little for weeks on end.

My only criticism was that the author does tend to get a bit fanboy-ish himself from time to time. Which is all well and good, if an author is excited about his material. However, he tends to over-gush when writing about View Askew films and their receptions.

That being said, I still enjoyed this book a great deal. It takes you into the world of View Askew, and gives it breadth and depth, which then makes the movies themselves more compelling.

If your a Kevin Smith fan, and interested in film in general check this book out. Despite many..many type-o's the book is worth a read.

As a fan of the Kevin Smith films, I found this book a great companion to the Kevin Smith Askew-Universe. It offers insight, interviews with the major players, and a great history of the films that we have come to love. You will not be disappointed.

When I first heard about this book, I was intrigued. Being a big fan of Kevin Smith and his works, I thought that this book would give a new insight into the man and his genius. Unfortunately, since I am a big fan, I had done my research by reading books like Spike, Mike, Slackers & Dykes plus the hard-to-find Mallrats book published by Kitchen Sink Press. I've also listened to all of the DVD commentaries in addition to going to see Kevin Smith speak in public.

So, I was somewhat disappointed that there was barely any new information included in this book. Not to say that this book was awful, which it is not. The book does a great job of culling all of the information about each movie and breaking it down into easy digestible form with many notated quotes from Kevin Smith and others.

Regrettably, the author sometimes slips his personal feelings when providing the View Askew timeline, which disrupts the flow of the book and loses some of the objectivity of this historian. Also, the author sometimes forces too many similes when referencing Mr. Smith. It almost seems like the author wants to emulate the pop culture wittiness that his subject has been known for.

However, in the day of instantaneous access and easily obtainable information, the task of surprising people with new information is a daunting task, especially when the subject is on someone who uses the Internet as his marketing mouthpiece. But, this book does a great job of staying on track, dishing out colorful stories and giving the reader a wonderful ride through the View Askewinverse.

An Askew View: The Films Of Kevin Smith by film and television journalist and expert John Kenneth Muir is an insightful commentary on Kevin Smith's cinematic works that have gone on to achieve a kind of cult-following, including his films: "Clerks," "Chasing Amy," and "Dogma", as well as such efforts as "Mallrats" and the ill-fated "Clerks: the Animated Series" (which was ultimately killed to make room for the then-megahit "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" game show). Interviews with Kevin Smith and other filmmakers form the backbone of this fascinating companion book that is highly recommended reading for students of filmmaking, as well as the legions of Kevin Smith fans.

This is a book about people who made the movies in Hollywood in the 1930s and 40s, but it is also a book which is packed with philosophic insights into the minds of creative people.

George Stevens, Jr. the son of the great director and producer George Stevens, Sr. ("A Place in the Sun", "Giant") is an erudite and articulate editor whose role in the founding of the American Film Institute (AFI) helped put Hollywood movies into the canon of the arts.

For readers who are looking to find the secret about the making of great movies, this book will not deliver any answers. What one comes away with is the great mystery of film. Aside from its technical demands, the cinema cannot be boiled down to a recipe of ingredients. Hitchcock, Renoir, Capra, Hawks, Ford...they all had their own ideas and only through force of will was anything good created on screen.

This book strangely confirms a paradox: movies are both a product of individual imagination, and impossible to make without group collaboration.

Would it have been so difficult to supply the names of the questioners? It wasn't like it wsa Joe Public asking the questions, but instead members of the Institute, presumably all of them directors in training. As another reviewer points out, Malick, Zwick, so many more were among the hot shots firing the questions--some of them a bit critical if you take the time to feel for the sense.

But anyhow the book is pretty amazing, when you consider all these guys had done their work back in the day and were still pretty cogent in the sixties, seventies, eighties, nineties. Stevens doesn't seem the least bit abashed to admit that all his top figures are male--only Dorothy Arzner and Ida Lupino directed movies for the top studios, among the directors of the opposite sex. An d yet Stevens glides right over them as soon as he's named them, without a word of explanation: was there a reason why the AFI failed to interview Arzner (who lived until 1979) or Lupino (who lived on and on until 1995)? I guess we'll never know. Or, if they were interviewing all these screenwriters, why they couldn't have asked some of the many prominent women screenwriters?

Speaking of screenwriting, sweet old Ray Bradbury is Mr, Caustic when it comes to John Huston's writing ability! It used to be that people said, well, he wasn't a great director, but he sure could write! (As they have said about Francis Coppola.) But Bradbury burns the chrome off Huston's bumpers. "Is Huston a good screenwriter?" asks one of the unidentified young turks. "No, he's not," RB fires back. "John doesn't know how to write. It's s shame." More power to him for firing off this fusillade while Huston was still alive and liable to snipe back! I know most of us would just as soon wait till one's powerful target has passed on.

Plenty of books feature interviews with film directors and moviemakers: but what other offers interviews of master moviemakers from the American Film Institute's seminars, which have been in existence since the founding of the renowned Institute itself? Here are directors, producers, writers and early pioneers of the art who are featured along with commentaries by great modern Institute members. Surveys of their works and art provide invaluable insights by some of the biggest industry legends, from Hal Wallis to Ray Bradbury and Ingmar Bergman. These conversations vary widely: some offer industry and professional insights, others feature reflections and movie history; still others focus on details on working with actors and translating text to film.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

This is one of the best books on film; it is so by the nature of its intelligent concentration on the great directors of Hollywood. George Stevens, Jr. has collected the transcripts of a series at the AmericanFilm Insitute; the remarks, the illustrations, the discussions are as relevant today as they were then. This book is especially welcome at a time when unqualified writers are spewing out nonsense about film. Renoir, Felline, Bergman, these are among the directors whose work this excellent book illuminates.

As a founding director of the American Film Institute (AFI) and the son of one of the most legendary filmmakers, author George Stevens Jr. is well qualified to present this superb compilation of interviews that the AFI fellows conducted with thirty-two behind-the-camera luminaries from the classic mid-20th century era of cinema, both Hollywood-based and abroad. The fact that most of these interviews took place in the 1970's does not detract from the wealth of relevant insight provided here from not only leading directors and producers but also well-regarded screenwriters and cinematographers.

For the most part, the tone is more celebratory than critical, and given that almost all the subjects were in the twilight of their careers at the time of the interviews, there is a pervasive nostalgia about the comments. That's not to say there are no heaping spoonfuls of vitriol, as the most famously acerbic filmmakers - Alfred Hitchcock, Billy Wilder and Howard Hawks among them - show unsurprising candor when discussing famously problematic people both onscreen and in the front office. For example, Wilder hurls a sharp zinger at his "Some Like It Hot" and "The Seven Year Itch" star, Marilyn Monroe, when comparing the litany of books about her to those of WWII and then pointing out that the subjects are just about the same. Similarly, Elia Kazan calls James Dean "a twisted boy", and Stanley Kramer admits to choosing an aging Judy Garland for two high-profile films during her most insecure period. Yet none of these filmmakers regret their casting decisions.

Most of the interviewees have little fondness for the Hollywood studio politics and interference that ran rampant during the production on many of their classic films. Probably as a counterpoint to what could have been, Stevens chooses to end the volume with four subjects completely outside the big studios and in fact, outside the country - Jean Renoir, Federico Fellini, Ingmar Bergman and Satyajit Ray. Their comments show how the business aspects do not necessarily have to impede the creative process. At the same time, stalwarts such as George Cukor, Mervyn LeRoy and Raoul Walsh unapologetically voice their support of the often reviled studio heads claiming that the family-like atmosphere allowed them the security to make their proudest work. Inevitably, Stevens includes his own father, who gives his famously terse responses to the questions volleyed to him.

Among the more intriguing comments are made by cinematographers James Wong Howe, George Folsey and Stanley Cortez and writers Ray Bradbury and Ernest Lehman, all of whom had to deal with the often singular, sometimes monumentally ego-driven visions of the master directors. It's interesting to note that the interview questions are not coming from adoring fans but aspiring craftsmen in the industry, some of whom eventually reached their goals later, such as Terrence Malick, David Lynch, Paul Schrader, and Ed Zwick. With this type of Q&A format, there are inevitably instances of selective memory as recollections made of the same film vary from different people involved with the production, for example, director Hitchcock and writer Lehman on "North by Northwest" or producer Kramer and director Fred Zinnemann on "High Noon". Regardless, this tome is an invaluable read for anyone interested in the production aspects during Hollywood's golden age.