Average customer rating:
|
The Sense and Sensibility: Screenplay & Diaries : Bringing Jane Austen's Novel to Film
Emma Thompson Manufacturer: Newmarket Pr ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover Similar Items:
ASIN: 1557042608 |
Amazon.com
Emma Thompson spent five years translating Jane Austen's work to the screen. Fans of the film will treasure this beautiful volume that includes her screenplay, diaries of the writing and the filming, and many gorgeous color pictures from the film.Book Description
This engaging and beautiful book includes the complete Academy Award-winning script and Thompson's own diaries detailing the production of the film, reviewed by Stanley Kauffmann in The New Republic as "vivid, funny, and gamy." 88 photos including 36 in color.Customer Reviews:
Emma Thompson's dazzling adaptation of Jane Austen's novel.......2001-11-28
Be aware that this is the Original Script, not to be confused with the Shooting Script. This should be clear as soon as you beginning reading, because originally Thompson had the scene shifting back and forth between Mrs. Dashwood and Elinor/John and Fanny Dashwood (credit for this revision must go, I believe, to Film Editor Tim Squyres, who recut the scene so that we get all of one side and then the other instead of alternating back and forth as in the original script). Overall the strengths of Thompson's script are in two main directions. First, she manages to convey the scope of the novel in a two-hour screenplay, no mean task. Second, the little details she adds to Austen's story are simply marvelous. For example, her use of Shakespeare's Sonnet 116 ("Let me not the marriage of true minds"), which Marianne and Willoughby share to their great mutual delight and which Marianne repeats standing in the rain looking at Willoughby's new estate. In fact, Thompson revised the first scene to make it even better, having Willoughby misquote a key word in an elegant bit of foreshadowing. Thompson also makes one nice little change at the end. While Austen has Elinor bolt from the room to cry outside during the happy ending. Thompson creates a wonderful moment by having her stay in the room and having the rest of her family flee. There are not too many scenes where you are crying and laughing at the same time, but Thompson certainly created one (and has the added virtue of relying on herself as an actress to nail the performance as well). All of these are marvelous examples of playing to the strength of the cinema to bring Austen's novel to the screen.
But we get much more than just the screenplay in this volume, because Thompson includes excerpts from her diaries kept during both the writing of the screenplay and the actual production of the film. It would be nice if there was more insight into what she was thinking when writing the screenplay as I am always interested in how decisions were made and where inspiration comes from, but Thompson makes up for that with her little tales of working with director Ang Lee and the rest of the cast in making the film. Finally, in the Appendices, there is a very choice little treat, namely Imogen Stubbs' Prize-Winning Letter, written to Elinor from Lucy. Do not worry; by the time you read it you will understand why it is so hysterical. There is also a list of the fine homes and estates where "Sense and Sensibility" was filmed if you happen to be roaming around England and are interested in looking for such things.
A look inside the making of the film.......2000-11-21
There is wit in the descriptions and the photos, all well-captured. The journal entries are entertaining and a good look into the making of a movie. Although be forewarned -- because they dress like the characters of S&S, they do not talk like them. There is definitely some verbal crudeness in the book, men and women alike, but if you can overlook that (or are used to it) then this book will be a delightful read for any Jane Austen fan.
A fascinating look at a remarkable film........2000-07-07
Fortunately for the rest of the world, Ms. Doran changed her mind, and some twenty-five years after that first erroneous conclusion, has brought us this wonderfully witty, and extremely faithful film version of this first novel by Austen. As producer of the Kenneth Branagh/Emma Thompson film, DEAD AGAIN, she became acquainted with the woman who was not only a phenomenal actress, but also a gifted writer-one with a sense of humor and a strong romantic bent. These two qualities had proven to be the stumbling block over nearly ten years of searching for the right scriptwriter for Sense and Sensibility.
It took nearly seven years to come up with something close to a shooting script, sandwiched as it had to be between Thompson's many award-winning acting chores. Serendipity was obviously at work, however, and eventually, a budget was established, and casting accomplished.
Many of the actors Emma had envisioned in various roles had participated in a read-through the year prior to the filming; they were all in the film, in those same roles.
While the Dashwood ladies are all suitable beautiful, it is the men who are truly gorgeous. ("Repellently so," writes Ms. Thompson in the diary portion, referring to Hugh Grant. "He's much prettier than I am.") With his look-alike Richard Lumsden, they are the brothers Ferrar, Edward and Richard, with Greg Wise as the fickle Willoughby. Alan Rickman (be still my heart!) brings maturity and virility to the role of Colonel Brandon. The sets and costumes are sumptuous.
Interspersed with the actual shooting script and the diaries are some 50 photographs, 36 of them in luscious color. One script looks pretty much like another, but this one allows Ms. Thompson's wry wit to shine, especially in some of the non-spoken words. Of course, not every scene from the book could be included; the movie would have been more than six hours had they been. But the essentials are here, along with all the major characters. Providing testimony to just how perspicacious was the choice of writer is the number of awards garnered by Thompson for this, her first film script.
The diaries portion begin with a production meeting on January 15, 1995 and continue through July 9 of that year. A very small mention is made of Hugh Grant's visit to California, where he'd gone for his next film project after the completion of filming his scenes in England. A final two pages describes the 'location' houses chosen to represent those lived in by the families in the novel.
It may come as somewhat of a surprise to some readers to discover rather explicit language in the diaries. In addition to an apparent fascination with the alimentary process, our Emma has a bit of a potty-mouth, as do some of the gentleman involved, and their words are recorded, one presumes unhappily, all too accurately. They seem curiously jarring and out of place in a book otherwise devoted to the pristine words of Jane Austen.
Nevertheless, this is a lovely, hefty book; one which will bring the reader back to it time and again. There is always a new and enjoyable nugget to be mined from its various depths.
Great marriage of screenplay and journal writing.......2000-02-28
Excellent Book!.......2000-01-04
Average customer rating:
|
Story Sense: A Screenwriter's Guide for Film and Television
Paul Lucey Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Similar Items:
ASIN: 0070389969 |
Book Description
This is the first true textbook for a course in screenwriting. Story Sense provides specific strategies for writing story, character, and script. A wealth of techniques are suggested so that screenwriters can select those that work best for them. The book has been conceived as a working manual for screenwriters and offers hands-on advice for solving the many problems that crop up as the work progresses. In addition, the book includes examples of script format, a glossary of film terms, the Writer's Guild's compensation terms, and such insider examples as a sample studio script evaluation form, a sample script analysis, a sample studio reader's questionnaire, and a sample re-write.Customer Reviews:
Story Sense.......2007-07-18
One of the Best.......2006-01-01
Most In Depth, Useful Screenwriting Book.......2004-11-01
The best screenwriting I've seen!.......2003-05-08
Absolutely great book.......2003-02-18
Average customer rating:
|
The Film Sense
Sergei M. Eisenstein , and Jay Leyda Manufacturer: Harcourt ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Similar Items:
ASIN: 0156309351 |
Amazon.com
The theory of "montage" or editing, developed by early Soviet filmmakers, reached its deepest expression in the writings of Sergeii Eisenstein, undeniably the most profound theorist of film art. This book contains the clearest and most accessible introduction to his ideas about the cinema. Eisenstein, who directed "The Battleship Potemkin" and "Alexander Nevsky," was a master propagandist as well as a superb filmmaker. In this book, he argues passionately that these two crafts are closely related.Book Description
Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein, born in Riga in 1898, first achieved world fame with his silent film, Potemkin in 1925. Although he only completed six films in his lifetime, he is considered one of the most influential film-makers and film theoreticians of all time.The Film Sense draws upon Eisenstein's experience in the creation of Strike, Potemkin, Ten Days That Shook the World, Old and New and Alexander Nevsky to discuss films as a medium that would appeal to all the senses, not just the emotions and the intellect. The book also includes a complete list of his work and a bibliography.
Customer Reviews:
Tough but interesting..........2000-11-14
THIS BOOK WILL NOT IMPROVE YOUR FILMS!.......2000-02-28
A must read for all filmmakers, The basis of all great films.......1997-11-10
Average customer rating:
|
Sense of Direction: Some Observations on the Art of Directing
William Ball Manufacturer: Drama Publishers ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Similar Items:
ASIN: 0896760820 |
Customer Reviews:
A priceless beginner's (or not beginner's) book!.......2005-09-30
Sobering Testament.......2005-09-01
Some great stuff.......2005-07-17
An impeccable and indespensable document.......2000-07-26
Great passion communicated with cool logic.......1999-12-18
Average customer rating:
|
Compression for Great Digital Video: Power Tips, Techniques, and Common Sense (With CD-ROM)
Ben Waggoner Manufacturer: CMP Books ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Similar Items:
ASIN: 157820111X |
Book Description
Compression for Great Digital Video is an essential reference for encoding digital video and audio for the Web, CDROM, DVD, and other media. Digital video professionals achieve better and faster results by learning everything that happens before compression (shooting, editing, and capturing) and after compression (getting files on the server, getting reliable bandwidth, and end-user configuration). This book provides a solid foundation in the fundamentals of light, vision, and compression technology applicable to any compression software. It also teaches how to use the most popular applications to optimize files for maximum quality, efficiency, and manageability.Customer Reviews:
Balance of breadth and depth.......2004-10-21
Interesting in some Ways.......2003-05-23
MUST HAVE for anyone working in DV Production.......2002-11-08
Full Disclosure: I am not a compressionist nor have I ever met Ben. Although, he has answered more than one of my questions in the COW Cleaner Forum.
This book is for compressionists, people who want to be compressionists, and people who on occasion need to pretend they're compressionists (pg. 3). With this clear objective stated up front, Ben opens up and let's his brain pour out over each and every page, all 447 of them.
Right from the beginning I was more than a little intimidated and excited at the same time, just from reviewing the Table of Contents. Ben organizes his knowledge into 25 chapters, a glossary, index and a CD-ROM. I will not list all 25 chapters but trust me, if you can think of it Ben covers it.
The first section (Chapters 1-11) is about general principles of vision, compression, and how compressed video operates (pg. 3). No matter what compressionist category you think you fall into, you will learn something in these first chapters, even if it turns how to be how much you forgot since grade school.
The next section (Chapters 12-24) covers specific video tools and technologies (pg. 3). Ben covers them all and yes, I read them all even the ones that I do not use. Most of the information here I was already formula because when I first started working with Cleaner I studied (yes, studied) the manual. However, now that I have my feet wet the information covered here makes more sense.
The last Chapter (Chapter 25) consists of three extensive tutorials that highlight many of the concepts, formats, and tools discussed throughout the book (pg. 3). They cover; Streaming, Progressive Downloading, and Animation for Video Games. So, if your work covers any of these your in luck, if not (such as me) than you may need to read certain Chapters again to pick up what you missed the first time. The CD only contains short snippets of each projects source files. If you'd like the full-length content you will have to order a DVD-ROM from Ben's website. I have to cry foul here, sure you don't need the full-length content to `get the point' but no where on the outside of the book does it tell you that you will only get snippets. I mention this for those of you that get angry over `thin slim' CD's.
Compression for Great Digital Video is an easy and delightful read. It's not very often that you come across a book that covers this much technical information and yet still manages to be clearly understood. Ben fully explains everything that he mentions and often he even provides additional references should you require more information. This book is a MUST HAVE for anyone who find themselves compressing digital video.
A must have............2002-10-23
A must have............2002-10-23
Average customer rating: |
The Corporeal Image: Film, Ethnography, and the Senses
David MacDougall Manufacturer: Princeton University Press ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Similar Items:
ASIN: 0691121567 |
Book Description
In this book, David MacDougall, one of the leading ethnographic filmmakers and film scholars of his generation, builds upon the ideas from his widely praised Transcultural Cinema and argues for a new conception of how visual images create human knowledge in a world in which the value of seeing has often been eclipsed by words.
In ten chapters, MacDougall explores the relations between photographic images and the human body-the body of the viewer and the body behind the camera as well as the body as seen in ethnography, cinema, and photography. In a landmark piece, he discusses the need for a new field of social aesthetics, further elaborated in his reflections on filming at an elite boys' school in northern India. The theme of the school is taken up as well in his discussion of fiction and nonfiction films of childhood. The book's final section presents a radical view of the history of visual anthropology as a maverick anthropological practice that was always at odds with the anthropology of words. In place of the conventional wisdom, he proposes a new set of principles for visual anthropology.
These are essays in the classical sense--speculative, judicious, lucidly written, and mercifully jargon-free. The Corporeal Image presents the latest ideas from one of our foremost thinkers on the role of vision and visual representation in contemporary social thought.
Average customer rating: |
FILM FORM; THE FILM SENSE Two Complete and Unabridged Works
Manufacturer: Meridian Books ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback ASIN: B000GSBKXM |
Average customer rating:
|
In the Realm of the Senses (BFI Film Classics)
Joan Mellen Manufacturer: British Film Institute ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Similar Items:
ASIN: 1844570347 |
Book Description
Declared obscene in Japan, where it has never been shown in its entirety, Oshima Nagisa's In the Realm of the Senses was shown uncut at the Cannes Film Festival in 1976; thirteen screenings were required to satisfy audience demand. The unprecedented explicitness of the sexual acts depicted in the film caused widespread controversy. But this is not a film that sets out simply to shock. Oshima's account of a couple whose sexual obsession finds its ultimate expression in murder (based on a notorious true-life incident in 1936 Tokyo) was animated by deep political convictions.Customer Reviews:
Essential reading for Oshima buffs.......2005-11-10
Average customer rating: |
Film form;: Essays in film theory, and The film sense (Meridian books, MG 10)
Sergei Eisenstein Manufacturer: World Pub. Co ProductGroup: Book Binding: Unknown Binding ASIN: B0007E9PC8 |
Average customer rating: |
Sense and Sensibility
Emma Thompson , and Jane Austen Manufacturer: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Similar Items: ASIN: 0747530602 |
Books:
Recommended Books