Book Description
In 1974, a low-budget, no-star horror movie was unleashed on the world, causing panic among the censors and provoking glee from its intended audience. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is still as powerful today as when it was first seen almost thirty years ago, and will return to the screens in a high profile remake this Halloween. Now, in this long-awaited companion to Tobe Hooper's groundbreaking film, Stefan Jaworzyn gives us the inside story of one of the most successful, controversial and influential horror films ever made, as well as in-depth coverage of the three sequels, various documentaries and other movies also based on the life of serial killer Ed Gein.
Packed with exclusive interviews, rare and unseen pictures, and with a foreword from Leatherface himself, Gunnar Hansen!
Customer Reviews:
A Comprehensive Guide to the Chainsaw Legacy.........2004-07-18
In 1974, a horror film would be released that would revolutionize the genre with its unrelenting terror, that film was The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
Now thirty years later, fact finder and author Stefan Jaworzyn has fashioned the ultimate literary compendium to not only Tobe Hooper's original film but the many sequels that followed.
The story of the Chainsaw franchise is related through the people directly involved, such as associate producer Kim Henkel and actors Marilyn Burns and Gunnar Hansen revealing a wealth of insightful information. As a sidenote, director Tobe Hooper declined to be directly involved but is represented through archival quotes.
The book devotes a chapter to Hooper's unremarkable pre-chainsaw efforts and is essential reading for hardcore Hooper enthusiasts only. The meat (no pun intended) of the book is devoted to that hot 1974 Texas summer when Hooper and crew embarked on the unambitious quest to make a B-movie that would turn a quick buck. The book details the difficulties in financing, making and distributing the film. Ironic, that even though this film would ultimately gross millions the makers would sadly see little profit from it. The author also goes in depth into the controversy generated by the first film, in particular the banning of the film in the UK due to the efforts of the morally misguided British Board of Film Censors. The chapters pertaining to the original film are tremendous and will prove enthralling to Chainsaw die-hards. The subsequent chapter on Tobe Hooper's post chainsaw career is less interesting, I have often thought that Hooper's initial success with the Texas Chainsaw Massacre was a fluke as most of his later efforts pretty much sucked (Lifeforce, Invaders from Mars).
The rest of the book is dedicated to the lesser sequels and also features an interesting chapter on real life murderer Ed Gein who inspired this film through his misdeeds in Plainfield, Wisconsin in the late fifties.
The chapter on Hooper's ridiculously over the top sequel is overlong. Indeed, Texas Chainsaw Massacre II was mostly a bland affair undeserving of such lenghty coverage. The less said about the third entry Leatherface:Texas Chainsaw Massacre III and Texas Chainsaw Massacre:The Next Generation the better. These films are truly amongst the worst horror films ever made notable only for the early performances of Matthew McConaughy and Renee Zellweger in Next Generation. Nonetheless, I found the chapter on Texas Chainsaw Massacre:The Next Generation fascinating at times, Henkel's comments were especially illuminating. The dim view the author and participants took of New Line's recent Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake or re-imagining was a little disconcerting as the finished product was a very decent horror film in my opinion and far surpassed any of the sequels on the fright factor.
In closing, this book will provide a plethora of information for fans of this long lasting series and should also be considered required reading for amateur filmakers everywhere. Potential readers are strongly advised to pick up Pioneer's excellent DVD release of TCM and view it again before undertaking to read this fine and very reasonably priced book.
'Chainsaw' fans: go ahead and buy it, but be forewarned........2004-04-04
As far as I know, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Companion" is the only book entirely devoted to the legendary "TCM" series. That alone makes it an irresistible purchase to any hardcore fan of the original film. And those fans won't be entirely disappointed, since this book contains brand-new exclusive interviews with many cast and crew members, plus lots of photographs (all reproduced in B&W) and dozens of trivial tidbits. Those of you who are diehard "Chainsaw" fanatics -- and you know who you are -- go ahead and buy it. It's not expensive, and you will learn a thing or two about the films.
However, judged strictly as a book, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Companion" is merely adequate. Stefan Jaworzyn has done his homework, but he doesn't distinguish himself here as much of a writer or critic, and he doesn't bring any particular insight or wit to the subject matter. Jaworzyn's book is largely told in the oral history style, using long quotes from interview subjects and letting them tell the story in their own words. The "oral history" approach has become a cliche in books of this nature and seems a bit lazy at times, but perhaps it's for the best that it's recycled (once again) here. When Jaworzyn takes over the narration, the book seems a bit flat and lifeless. The author's worst tendency is to make bold generalizations without backing them up with evidence or explanations. For example, he says that "Psycho" is the most overrated film of the last 50 years and then doesn't explain WHY he thinks so. Similarly, he declares "Motel Hell" to be "terrible" without any explanation whatsoever and casually dismisses "Deranged" as "obvious" exploitation but doesn't explain why.
Frankly, a good deal of this book is padding. There's a whole chapter, for example, devoted solely to quotes from various reviews of the first "TCM" film. While it's good for a few chuckles, it hardly merits the space it takes up. Similarly, the chapter devoted to the real Ed Gein is a space-waster: a Cliff's Notes summation of information readily available on the Internet or in dozens of books. Depending upon your degree of interest in the "TCM" sequels, nearly half the book could be considered padding. The author is highly democratic in giving roughly equal coverage to all the films in the series. It's possible that fans of the original film would be tempted to merely skim through those chapters.
I hope that this book is considered a mere first step in documenting the entire "Chainsaw" films and doesn't end up being considered the "last word" on the series. It's a worthwhile read, and I'm glad it exists, but I couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. Luckily, "TCM" fans have a variety of ways to gain real knowledge and insight into the film. First, the commentary track on the "TCM" DVD (by Tobe Hooper, Daniel Pearl, and Gunnar Hansen) is excellent. Second, there are numerous fine websites devoted to the series (several of which are mentioned in this book). And third, serious students of all things "Chainsaw" are advised to go to their local libraries and scour through anthologies of film writing and books about the history of horror movies. You'll find that numerous thought-provoking essays on "TCM" have appeared over the years, from surprisingly high-minded sources. Too bad that no one has ever thought to compile these essays into one big book.
Doesn't get to the meat of things.......2004-03-25
I'm a huge fan of both the film and the author (check out his music!) but was pretty disappointed by this book. While Jaworzyn's choice of quotes (it's told 'oral histroy' style a la Please Kill Me, etc) certainly gives insight into things such as the process of making the film and the now legennadry financial fallout that followed, very little is told about the characters or the script. The detailed descriptions of what exactly went into filming border on the academic and may bore the bejeezus out of anyone who doesn't already have a background in filmmaking. There is very little information on the writing process - maybe it's just me, but I would have preferred to hear who inspired the Hitchhiker character, for instance, than read pages about foreign licensing and shady deals.
Everything that is Saw is revealed........2004-02-02
Gathered in this book are the behind the scenes stories from those that were there of the making of one of the horror genre's truly legendary films and its sequels (with a passing, and mostly negative, mentioning of the 2003 remake). Author Stefan Jaworzyn lets the participants speak for themselves in almost uncommented upon interview clippings (he does step in clarify some details or to just share his unneeded opinion). The result is a far clearer glimpse at director Tobe Hooper (who gets a chapter of his own) and the trendsetting thriller he directed back in 1973. Hooper (who appears via interview clippings from other sources) comes across as an extremely talented man hampered with bad business skills and even worse luck in choosing who he does business with. Those he worked with mostly come across as an intelligent bunch of plain old folks completely caught off guard by the powerful little movie they worked on. The first TCM had a notoriously bad shoot and what happened afterward (in terms of the shafting by the film industry received by all) was a sad foreshadowing of what was to befall Tobe Hooper over the next thirty years. History more or less repeated itself with each sequel, though only the Tobe Hooper directed one receives truly in depth treatment. The chapter on Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3 is tantamount to Cliff Notes and largely repeats the information from the DVD extras with nothing added. Kim Henkel's The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre (or TCM: The Next Generation, depending on which video you get) is slightly more in depth, but the 'discussion' of the (at the time of writing) remake is two pages of psychic arm chair criticism that, in light of the film's box office success, seems overly harsh and a tad immature. Nonetheless, everything that is Saw is revealed, discussed, and shared and no fan of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and/or its sequels and remake will want to be without it. Highly recommended to those who proclaim the Saw as part of their family.
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Concise Companion to Shakespeare on Screen (Concise Companions to Literature and Culture)
Manufacturer: Blackwell Publishing, Incorporated
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 1405115106 |
Book Description
This Concise Companion presents a multidisciplinary range of approaches to a vast multimedia subject, Shakespeare on screen.
The book's contributors use the latest thinking from cultural studies, communications, and comparative media, in dialogue with literary, theatrical, and filmic approaches, in order to push the field forward. They consider Shakespeare on screen not only as a set of finished products but also as a process. For this reason, the volume is organized around topics such as authorship and collaboration, theatricality, sex and violence, globalization, and history.
The Concise Companion offers readers a variety of accessible routes into Shakespeare on screen and supports further study of the subject through the inclusion of a bibliography, a chronological chart, and a thorough index. At the same time, it serves as a focal point for exploring fundamental issues in the study of literature and culture more broadly, such as the relationships between elite and popular culture, art and the marketplace, text, image, and performance.
Book Description
This volume of specially commissioned work by experts in the field of film studies provides a comprehensive overview of the field. Its international and interdisciplinary approach will have a broad appeal to those interested in this multifaceted subject.This major film theory collection:Represents material under a variety of headings, including class, race, gender, queer theory, nation, stars, ethnography, authorship, and spectatorshipOffers an international approach to the subject, including coverage of topics such as genre, image, sound, editing, postmodernism, culture industries, early cinema, classical Hollywood, and TV relations and technologyIncludes concise chapter-by-chapter accounts of the background and current approaches to each topic, followed by a prognostication on the futureConsiders cinema studies in relation to other forms of knowledge, such as critical studies, anthropology, and literature.A Companion to Film Theory provides the ideal reference source for students of film theory in departments of cultural studies, media studies, literature, and sociology.
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Dmitri Shostakovich: A Life in Film: The Filmmaker's Companion 3 (The KINOfiles Filmmaker's Companions)
John Riley
Manufacturer: I. B. Tauris
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 1850437092
Release Date: 2005-01-13 |
Book Description
Between 1929 and 1970, Dmitri Shostakovich wrote almost 40 film scores of Soviet films, from Stalinist cult epics to classical literary adaptations. His long and distinguished cinema career has hitherto been overlooked. Combining analysis and anecdote, John Riley provides this first account to examine the scores and their contexts in the films for which they were written, the ways in which contemporary events shaped both films and scores, and how he thought about, developed and applied his film music.
Book Description
Released in 1967, Planet of the Apes was a top-ten box-office hit that captivated audiences with its provocative vision of the future. Over the next decade it spawned four sequels, a television series, an animated series, two comic books, and hundreds of merchandise tie-ins. To some, the Apes projects were a campy, sci-fi blast, with colourful characters and delightfully over-the-top performances. But others took the stories more seriously, as allegories on man`s struggles with such issues as race, intolerance, and
protecting of the environment.
Though there hasn`t been a new Apes movie since 1974, the popularity of the original films and TV series has endured and, if anything, expanded in the interim. When director Tim Burton`s remake of the original Planet of the Apes is released in the summer of 2001, interest in the phenomenon is certain to be rekindled on a prodigious scale.
Planet of the Apes: An Unauthorized History is a comprehensive look at all aspects of Planet of the Apes, featuring interviews, reviews, complete cast and credit information, and a behind-the-scenes look at what made this quirky science-fiction series an enduring classic.
Customer Reviews:
Thank God this ape book is out of print.......2004-09-17
It was, like already stated here, misinformative as hell. Just a cheap, perfunctory attempt to cash in on the POTA franchise.
better than the reviews posted here.......2002-12-10
This is a pithy book. In some ways I like this better than the other, bigger book. It is less of a heavy read and seems to have more interesting facts. There ARE plenty of pictures (with captions---unlike the other Apes book!), none from the actual movie, but we've all seen it a 100 times anyway. These pictures are ones you haven't seen before. I didn't find the opinionated comments of the author distracting, I thought they were cogent.
A Great Planet of the Apes Book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.......2001-12-21
This is a great book and I surgest that you buy it.There are some things that I dont like about it though.First of all I do recommend that you do not read this book from cover to cover because it gets really boring.I recommend you pick out the things you like first.If you do read from cover to cover its like reading jotted down notes on 178 pages.The thing that I hate about it though is chapter 9 does not say anything about Planet of the Apes.The book is after all pretty good though.It goes over the movies,the two TV shows,the books, and more.It is a good guild for good Planet of the Apes facts.I highly recommend you buy this book.Its great!!!!!!!!!!!!
Quite a bit of misinformation in he book.......2001-08-03
I know this book is rather msinformative. To give just one example of my own :when the author describes Charlton Heston's 1980's tv series "The Colbys" he says it ran from 1985 to 1986. Wrong! The Colbys ran until 1987!And I thought there was a problem with the date Brent lands back on earth. Doesn't he land on our future world (around) 30 years earlier than Taylor does! And Taylor has already metZira and Cornelius in the story about Brent. Did Taylor go back into orbit and crash land on earth again (31 years earlier) and meet Zira, Cornelius, and Nova's parents. I know huh? Well the book seemingly doesn't mention this inconsistency (if I am remembering the film dates right, haven't seen either film in four years). But it is certainly wrong about the series "The Colbys". And I always thought Franciscus was superb as Brent myself. And I stil do!
Ape fans beware!.......2001-08-01
This book is absolute garbage. It is poorly written, filled with factual errors and contains not a single photo from any of the films. As a matter of fact, it barely has any illustrations at all. For those looking for a great book about the Apes series, I recommend "Planet Of The Apes Revisited".
Customer Reviews:
A nightly read for me.......2002-01-07
I once saw Siskel and Ebert speak in Cleveland, Ohio. After they tossed opinions back and forth about the great and not-so-great films of that year, a person in the audience asked them how they differed as critics. Without hesitation, Gene said he was repeatedly outdone by Roger's ability to write beautiful essays. Beautiful, he said. And in this book, you are continuously hit with just that. Roger Ebert has the ability to distill the essence of a film in words that often leave me amazed. He is able to pinpoint the exact moment in a film that doesn't leave you, the moment that stays with you for days, and is able to describe the human dimensions beneath that moment with insightful detail and accuracy. As an avid fan of film, I repeatedly turn to Roger Ebert's Video Companion, not because I want to know whether or not I should watch a movie. But because I learn a little bit more about life from his reviews.
To like or dislike that is the question..........2000-04-29
On one level, I like this book. Ebert's witty and insightful reviews truly are enjoyable to read. I enjoy reading about films I know I'll never see.
I also enjoy the added features, such as the Film Clip interviews, essays, and obituaries as appendices at the end of the book.
On the other hand, I dislike the fact that many of the movies I want to read about are not in the book. I'm surprised at how many times I have turned to the book looking for a review only to come up empty handed. There can be nothing more disappointing. Granted, the book is thick enough as it is, but perhaps Roger could shorten his reviews and pack more into a volume.
Informative.......1999-09-14
Roger Ebert, by my opinion, is the greatest living film critic out there writing today. He brings a touch of intellectuality to his reviews. They are really informative and interesting. Those who say they are too long must not enjoy reading or being well-informed on a film's intellectual issues. Of course, like a good film critic, I don't always agree with his ratings (I totally disagree with his arguement on giving four stars to "The Last Temptation Of Christ"). But mostly I do, and his video guide is the best out there. I also enjoyed the fact that he keeps old reviews in print. It's interesting to read his comments on films such as "Scarface," "JFK," "Natural Born Killers," and "Apollo 13." Ebert embodies in his books how film criticsm should be approached. He makes Leonard Maltin look like a momma's boy or boy scout (he obviously didn't understand the message in "Natural Born Killers" and obviously coulden't reach the peak of intelligence Ebert shows here). In the area of video guides, Ebert's continues to be the best. I hope he keeps them coming!
Fails to serve its purpose.......1999-06-16
When I say that Gene Siskel was the better critic (and writer), it's not just sentiment talking. How in the heck does one give **** to so many perfectly average movies (like "L.A. Story") as Ebert does in his book? The biggest fault with this annual collection is that it completely fails in its intention. Ebert seems to think of this as a more in-depth version of Leonard Maltin's guide but who needs to read a full-length review of a movie to determine if it's worth a rental or watching on the late show? A better idea for Ebert would be to just issue a complete volume of his work through the years instead of dumping the same reviews (with some additional material to make it "new") on the market year after year.
More essay collection than standard review book..........1999-03-27
This is a great book. Ebert's writing style is solid and his reviews are in depth and on the mark. The only slight problem, or maybe misconception, I had with the book was that it isn't the review book you've come to expect. Instead of a quick blurb on if the film is good and worth watching,this book contains full length reviews which are a lot more comphrehensive than most review books (sometimes a little too much info is given,spoiling things if you haven't seen the film).If you're in the market for a book to give you brief good/bad reviews of films, try the Leonard Maltin book, but if you want more essay-like reviews this is for you. It does come with a small booklet with star ratings only for most films.
Book Description
Thought by many to be the greatest film ever made, "The Battleship Potemkin" directed by Sergei Eisenstein is a key film in the history of Russian and world cinema. Based on a mutiny in Odessa during the 1905 revolution, the film is noted as a pioneering milestone in the development of world cinema-especially Eisenstein's breathtaking editing.
Book Description
Mirror -Andrei Tarkovsky's most complex autobiographical film-is the subject of this critical companion. The film reconstructs and records ironic memories and emotional impressions in the life of an individual, nation, and era. The critical acclaim was overwhelming, and Mirror is still the favorite Tarkovsky film of most Russians. This book provides a production history, critical analysis, and overview of the film's initial reception.
Book Description
Eisenstein's last, unfinished masterpiece is a strange, complex and haunting film. Commissioned personally by Stalin in 1941, Ivan the Terrible placed Eisenstein in the paradoxical situation of having to glorify Stalinist tyranny in the image of Ivan without sacrificing his own artistic and political integrity--or his life. Drawing on sources that include Eisenstein's personal archive and the memoirs of those involved in the film's making, Joan Neuberger's vivid account reveals how, in almost impossible circumstances, Eisenstein managed to create a film of cinematic innovation, intellectual depth and political critique. She reveals the film to be both a great work of art and a product of the time and place in which it was made.
Customer Reviews:
Well-researched and insightful book.......2007-07-03
Neuberger's book is, like my title suggests, very well-researched and insightful. It's a must-have for anyone interested in the latest research done on this film. She's very thoughtful and balanced in her approach of evaluating the film, and I think that's highly admirable.
A New Look at an Old Classic.......2005-05-27
"Ivan the Terrible" is a film that hasn't really gotten its due from American writers. It has been dismissed as "Asian" and thus "unfathomable by the Western mind" or has gotten wrapped up in Cold War attitudes (namely that Part I is pro-Stalinist and "bad" and Part II is anti-Stalinist and "good.")
Neuberger's book sweeps away all those preconceptions and looks at how the film was made (in Alma Ata during WWII), what was made, and what was prevented from being made. As a result, Eisenstein's intentions (and dangerous predicament) in handling such a project come into focus. He tried to mix sympathy for Ivan, and Ivan's historic mission, with a sense of the tragedy that Ivan's bloodletting meant for Russia and Ivan himself. Unsurprisingly, this proved too risky a trick to pull off in Stalin's USSR, and the film was taken away from Eisenstein and was shelved.
The book brought back vivid memories of Eisenstein's film, even though I haven't seen it in years. It made me want to see it again. This book is essential reading for those interested in Eisenstein, Soviet cinema and how historical figures are used by later generations. Strongly recommended.
Book Description
Film adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays are increasingly popular and now figure prominently in the study of his work and its reception. This Companion is a lively collection of critical and historical essays on the films adapted from, and inspired by, Shakespeare’s plays. Chapters have been revised and updated from the first edition to include the most recent films and scholarship. An international team of leading scholars discuss Shakespearean films from a variety of perspectives: as works of art in their own right; as products of the international movie industry; and as the work of particular directors from Laurence Olivier and Orson Welles to Franco Zeffirelli and Kenneth Branagh. They also consider specific issues such as the portrayal of Shakespeare’s women and the supernatural. The emphasis is on feature films for cinema, rather than television, with strong coverage of Hamlet, Richard III, Macbeth, King Lear and Romeo and Juliet.
Customer Reviews:
Lightweight introduction to Shakespeare on Film.......2001-03-02
If you don't know anything much at all about Shakespeare and film and if you like criticism that is almost pure description with little argument or analysis to weight you down, then you'll probably like this book. For scholars in the field, however, the book will be a major disappointment.
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