| Title | : | The Film That Changed My Life: 30 Directors on Their Epiphanies in the Dark |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1556528256 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781556528255 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 304 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 2011 |
Rebel Without a Cause inspired John Woo to comb his hair and talk like James Dean. For Richard Linklater, “something was simmering in me, but Raging Bull brought it to a boil.” Apocalypse Now inspired Danny Boyle to make larger-than-life films. A single line from The Wizard of Oz--“Who could ever have thought a good little girl like you could destroy all my beautiful wickedness?”--had a direct impact on John Waters. “That line inspired my life,” Waters says. “I sometimes say it to myself before I go to sleep, like a prayer.”
In this volume, directors as diverse as John Woo, Peter Bogdanovich, Michel Gondry, and Kevin Smith examine classic movies that inspired them to tell stories. Here are 30 inspired and inspiring discussions of classic films that shaped the careers of today’s directors and, in turn, cinema history.
The Film That Changed My Life: 30 Directors on Their Epiphanies in the Dark Reviews
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"When they throw the water on the witch, she says, 'Who would have thought a good little girl like you could destroy my beautiful wickedness.' That line inspired my life. I sometimes say it to myself before I go to sleep, like a prayer." --John Waters, describing the movie that changed his life
Terrific interviews with filmmakers about one (or sometimes two) films that profoundy affected their lives and work. My favorites were Edgar Wright (who picked An American Werewolf in London) and John Waters (who picked The Wizard of Oz.) -
Thirty directors: both classic and upcoming, talk about seeing the film that changed their lives. They discuss why it changed them, how and all the reasons it was pivotal to their careers and if they ever met anyone associated with it as their careers progressed. A revealing look at thirty directors and over thirty films as some couldn't narrow it down to one. A feast for cinema buffs. - BH.
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Not super useful or interesting.
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i read the uncorrected proof of this prior to its publication. thus far i am enjoying it very much. more to come.
this was a consistently interesting read. granted, i am an unabashed cinephile. there were directors interviewed from quite a wide swath of film history, and there were even some i knew nothing about. i was most moved by the clear indication that it is a damn good thing danny boyle has an editor (b/c his mind is constantly ratcheting away at a million miles an hour drawing connections between things and leading to bizarre tangents), and that john waters is one of the more entertaining interviewees i have ever read. kevin smith was kevin smith and i expected as much. the inclusion of "E.T." in the list of films was a laugh at first but the way this guy talked about it made me want to watch it again . . . anyone who knows me and my regard for spielberg knows just how much praise that garnered for the director's ability to evoke a feeling.
this is worth reading if you really really enjoy film and the behind the scenes stories of how they are crafted and the inspirations that spur their creation. -
Entertaining and engaging read that will occasionally surprise you (Richard Linklater choses Scorsese's Raging Bull. Neil Labute tags Truffault's Soft Skin), and often make a whole lotta sense (Atom Egoyan's selection of Bergman's Persona, John Waters goes ga ga over Wizard of Oz). Some directors cannot seem to stop talking (the aforementioned Egoyan has plenty of interesting things to say about Persona) while others appear somewhat tongue-tied(Chris Miller barely seems to get started on Woody Allen's Sleeper before he's suddenly done). Still and all, plenty to keep any film lover turning the page.
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I particularly enjoyed reading about the films with which I'm familiar and about the directors I admire. There were a few interviews with directors or about films I'd never heard of, and those were, of course, less compelling. Still, it is fascinating to see how these artists influence and inspire each other. And after reading this book, I'm fairly certain that everyone is influenced and inspired by Martin Scorsese and Orson Welles.
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"If you love movies and talking about them, you will enjoy browsing this book. It’s like participating in a book club about films."
Read Mirdza's review on the library's blog:
http://carnegiestout.blogspot.com/201... -
I throughly enjoyed this book. I have only seen maybe a few of the movies listed, but am intrigued to see the others. It was interesting to read about other directors and the one film( or sometimes two) that changed their lives!
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I like books like this once in a while. They invariably lead me to movies I haven't seen yet or haven't seen in quite some time.
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Q: Give me two movies that impacted your life as a moviegoer?
A: The 1967 Disney Jungle Book was one for sure. I was four or five when it came out and I was just all about it for weeks after I saw it. I think I saw it at the Fox Theater in Atlanta, which is always a great place to see a movie to this day. Toys, games and books from Disney films are nothing new. I had them all from The Jungle Book! I just wanted to be Mowgli and hang out with Balloo the Bear.
Q: Anything else?
A: Yes. The quartet of George Sanders as Shere Khan, Sebastian Cabot as Bagheera, Sterling Holloway as the snake and Phil Harris as Baloo have the top spot in my voice actor Hall of Fame.
Q: What's your second choice?
A: A little different type of film and a few years later it was The Exorcist. That movie was all you heard about at the time it came out. I had to see it, though frankly I wasn't really ready to experience what I saw. I kept bugging my dad to take me to go see it, so he finally took me to Emory Cinema to check it out. It scared the crap out of me! I definitely couldn't sleep that night. Seeing it now, I see how slowly it moves in the first half...and I mean that as a compliment. You couldn't get away with easing into a plot so methodically today I'm pretty sure. The movie originally to me was about the devil and the shock aspects, but today I see it as the story of Father Karras and his loss of faith as the film's center. I still love the movie, but now in a completely different way.
Q: Any criticism of it?
A: I would lop off the last five minutes of it completely. I don't need to be shown what happens and have it explained to me. I think the movie should end with Father Karras.
Q: Any movies from "The Film that Changed my Life" that has inspired you to watch it?
A: I've seen most of them, but the fact that George Romero picked an unlikely candidate in "The Tales of Hoffman" makes me want to check it out. I laughed out loud on a couple of John Water's takes on "The Wizard of Oz." I also need to watch "L'age d'or" as it is so full of images, my one viewing years ago clearly didn't suffice in being able to remember what Guy Maddin was referring to for the most part. -
Closer to 3.5 stars. It was interesting, I did enjoy it but it’s not a great group overall. Two people of color, 2 women and one of those is the same person. Mostly white men talking about other white men. Some interviews were incredibly pretentious and annoying, particularly Bogdanovich and Kevin Smith. Their egotistical perceptions of themselves completely shone through. The smartest choice was to end on John Waters talking about The Wizard of Oz. That interview was truly amazing and interesting and insightful. Don’t regret reading it, would just love to see a better version.
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Kept this one in the bathroom for a while, and the book's really suitable for that, reading a few questions and answers at a time. The best interview is kept for last, with John Waters discussing Wizard of Oz.
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An interesting perspective on directors and the film that influenced them. It doesn't offer much more than interviews with a select group of both independent and studio directors, but it is engaging.
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Rating: 3 1/2
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I would have liked to hear from a more diverse group of directors.
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This collection of interviews with filmmakers discussing the film they remember as important to them becoming filmmakers is fairly hit or miss. If anything, the films are all worth seeing and most of the filmmakers add something to a potential viewing.
However, some of the interviews, like Frank Oz talking about Touch of Evil or Edgar Wright talking about An American Werewolf in London set really excellent contexts for why they were personally important. Danny Boyle's interview was underwhelming while John Waters had me laughing so hard I teared up...
In the end, I suggest that if you have an interest in any of the many films you should just watch them adn these short interviews might add to your reading of those films. But the filmmakers fare worse, looking either unsure of why they are committing to just one film or sounding so pompous like they picked the best EVAR to be influenced by..
But then again the Directors Cut of Armageddon is the film that changed my life - who am I to judge? -
I bought this for my bathroom at home, thinking that it might be interesting to pick up once in a while and read interviews with famous (and some not-so-famous) filmmakers about the ONE film that inspired them to get into filmmaking.
Unfortunately, many of the interviews are just a bit boring. Perhaps it's because of the interviewer -- who seems to interject a lot of his own opinions into the interviews where they don't really matter -- but in many cases, none of the epiphanies are really all that interesting.
I would recommend this book only to most hardcore movie fanatics.
Disclaimer: I haven't read the whole book, but I have read at least ten interviews scattered throughout the book (there are 30). I will probably update this review again after I've read more. -
First of all, it was really nice to read this book in conjunction with Farber's book. While Farber can be overwhelmingly negative, every chapter in this book is an interview with someone gushing about a film that had a huge impact on them. Something about this interview format felt too unpolished. The author is just too present, and I maybe would have preferred the answers as an sort of essay instead of straight-up Q&A. I agree with some other reviewers that the concept is good, but perhaps not executed in the best way.
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There are few things as wonderful as reading people who are passionate about something talk about it. It's even better when they're people you respect and are interested in and the thing they're passionate about is something that you're also passionate about. Anyone interested in films, filmmakers or filmmaking should read this book.
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This is an enjoyable book for movie buffs. It not only describes the movies that are selected, but they give some good background information on directors. This in turn fills out some the these director's movies as you can now see how they were influenced and the results of that influence. A very interesting book.
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The concept was really clever and the interviews I ended up reading were cool and revealing but nothing could save this book from the fact that I didn't know of/hadn't seen/actively disliked every movie featured except for ET, the Wizard of OZ, and the Seventh Voyage of Sinbad. Okay, and maybe Paper Moon. So I probably wasn't the audience for this.
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I read five of the thirty: guy maddin and l'age d'or, Michel gondry and le voyage en balloon, jay duplass and raising arizona, george romero and tales of hoffman, and john waters and the wizard of oz. Some of the others interviews looked interesting but I'm not going to read them.
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Bit hard to get through if you haven't seen the film they're talking about. But I powered through.
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i couldn't resist checking this out from the library when i saw the first interview was with Edgar Wright talking about 'American Werewolf in London'!
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A mixed-bag of thoughts on films considered influential by film-makers. A worthwhile read for film buffs.
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Some interesting interviews; others, not as much.
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Found the book really insightful. For my own personal picks If I had to pick one it would truly be hard, it would be between GOODFELLAS, PULP FICTION and CLERKS
