Movie Books

OK, for an example of how large my film book collection is, these are the Scorsese-related tomes in my library...



The Scorsese Picture: The Art & Life of Martin Scorsese, David Ehrenstein
A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies, Martin Scorsese & Michael Henry Wilson
The Age of Innocence: A Portrait of the Film including the Screenplay, Robin Standefer
Gangs of New York: Making the Movie including the Screenplay, Luc Sante
Perspectives on Raging Bull, Steven Kellman
After Hours (screenplay), Joseph Minion
Taxi Driver (screenplay), Paul Schrader
BFI Film Classics: Taxi Driver, Amy Taubin
Bringing Out the Dead (screenplay), Paul Schrader
GoodFellas, Ultimate Film Guide, Iain Colley
GoodFellas (screenplay), Martin Scorsese & Nic Pileggi
Casino (screenplay), Martin Scorsese & Nic Pileggi
Wiseguy: Life in a Mafia Family, Nicholas Pileggi
Casino: Love & Honor in Las Vegas, Nicholas Pileggi
Woodstock: An Inside Look at the Movie The Shook Up the World and Defined a Generation, Dale Bell with a foreward by Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese Close Up: The Making of His Movies, Andy Dougan
Scorsese: A Journey Through the American Psyche, Paul Woods
The Scorsese Connection, Lesley Stern
Scorsese (Virgin Film), Jim Sangster
Scorsese by Ebert, Roger Ebert
Scorsese on Scorsese, Ian Christie & David Thompson
Martin Scorsese: Interviews, Peter Brunette
Martin Scorsese: A Journey, Mary Pat Kelly
The Cinema of Martin Scorsese, Lawrence S. Friedman
Scandalizing Jesus: Kazantzakis's The Last Temptation of Christ Fifty Years On, Darren Middleton with an essay by Martin Scorsese
Street Smart: The New York of Lumet, Allen, Scorsese, and Lee, Richard Blake
A Cinema of Loneliness: Penn, Stone, Kubrick, Scorsese, Spielberg, Altman, Robert Kolker
Italian and Irish Filmmakers in America: Ford, Capra, Coppola, and Scorsese, Lee Lourdeaux
Italianamerican: The Scorsese Family Cookbook, Catherine Scorsese & Georgia Downard
American Film Institute Life Achievement Award Program
And the press kits for The Last Temptation of Christ, After Hours, Bringing Out the Dead and A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies


So that's one filmmaker. Granted, he's my favorite living filmmaker and there are bunches of books about him and his movies, but still: you get the idea. Lots and lots o' books.

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"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra

Various screenwriting and film theory books, a book about the art direction in Batman Begins (a gift), the published screenplay for Good Night, and Good Luck., and some others I'm forgetting.

There are plenty of good film reads for us cinephiles, and right now I'm just about finished with one of them:


Written by Kenneth Anger, I'm surprised at how much I'm enjoying this. Most of this book is cine-geek "common-knowledge-gossip", however Anger is able to make some of the most gruesome of Hollywood tales into a black comedies, fitted with appropriate pictures which hammer in his cynical humor. I'm eager to finish this one and move on to its sequel. I should report on that one once I'm finished.

So the question posed to you is: what have some of your favorite film read been? I'm sure there are many, and I'm eager to hear your experiences and views of them.

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Imagine an eye unruled by man-made laws of perspective, an eye unprejudiced by compositional logic, an eye which does not respond to the name of everything but which must know each object encountered in life through an adventure of perception. How many colors are there in a field of grass to the crawling baby unaware of 'Green'?

-Stan Brakhage

I think there's a similar thread to this, but maybe it was just a thread that drifted off topic.

Anyway, a couple of the (very) few I've read.




And, if it's anything like the film



I'm pretty sure that HP and mark (will) have some very good suggestions.

I can't say I've read much more other than a couple not worth mentioning because they're fanatics that delve WAY too deep into things to the point of absurdity.

I'll second Easy Riders and Raging Bulls, fascinating insight at times and almost reads like fiction with the such huge personalities and drama etc.

This one made for an interesting read when was writing my dissertation -

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If you are in to the acting prospect of films I suggest



He (apparently) coached actors like Leonardo DiCaprio and Helen Hunt and connects a lot of what he teaches to different actors and films. I found it really interesting.

I loved Hollywood Babylon. Kenneth Anger is really funny. The sequel is much less catty and for me, less entertaining. Most of what I remember is a long droning screed against Ronald Reagan.

This is a really good one, about film censorship:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Obscene-Inde...3396620&sr=1-2

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You cannot have it both ways. A dancer who relies upon the doubtful comforts of human love can never be a great dancer. Never. (The Red Shoes, 1948)

This isn't exactly a film book but an aesthetic observance

Have you read into Chekhov or Stanislavski?

Yeah I finished the first, (which was great), and in the midst of the second. His second book begins with the death of Gloria Swanson which is rather uneventful...

This was a book I bought yesterday about shots in movies, and how you can use them in films that you make. Very interesting and helpful.

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Through the darkness of future past
The magician longs to see
One chants out between two worlds:
Fire walk with me.

I just finished this book not too long ago. The first part of the book covers how the Studio System peaked, declined, then gave rise to New Hollywood. It deals with the early years and rise of of Francis Ford Coppela, George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, Brian De Palma, John Milius, and Steven Spielberg. They cover their early lives, their film school careers (save Spielberg who never actually went to film school), and their movie careers.

I did have a few issues with it though. Since the movie was published in 1979, the filmography's discussed are limited. Which does suck since Brian De Palma I think had his best work in the 80's with Dressed to Kill, Body Double and Blow Out, and they don't talk about Red Dawn with regards to Milius. Not to mention Scorsese has an all time great movie in three different decades. And while Taxi Driver is discussed and that part of the book is awesome, it does suck not to read about Goodfellas, After Hours and The King of Comedy. And since it was published in 79, that means there was very little info on Apocalypse Now. But I doubt it would ever have surpassed the Heart of Darkness documentary. Finally when discussing the influences of Star Wars they do talk about Joseph Campbell and the movie serials, they neglect to discuss Kurosawa's influence.

Otherwise this is a pretty damn good book.

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Fear and Loathing in MoFo... The Gunslinger 45's Top 50 Favorite Films

In the 10 Ring: Gunslinger45's reviews

Hey Gunslinger, check out Conversations with Scorsese by Richard Shickel if you haven't already. They basically talk about his whole filmography up until The Departed, I think. Scorsese loves to talk so thankfully there isn't too much Shickel interference, it's a great read though

I need to read it. Thanks dude.

I've read almost all of Tarantino's screenplays. I know I've read other screenplays, can't remember what though... Barton Fink is one.

Also read Making Movies by Sidney Lumet, in high school.

I've read a lot of but haven't finished quite a few others, like Easy Riders, Raging Bulls (Gunslinger, you might like that), Herzog on Herzog, and others.

Currently reading Make Your Own Damn Movie by Lloyd Kaufman.

Been meaning to read these two.

I also read this in high school. Interesting book, if I remember correctly he has some interesting ideas on creativity and whatnot. But, I'm not sure I buy the whole transcendental meditation thing.

Those are just a few that I have

Years ago... when my daughter was young... I bought a book called "The Nightmare Before Christmas : The Film, The Art, The Vision". Its a really cool book..... it even has the lyrics to the songs.. pictures of the stop animation and the actual short poem book the movie was based off....




Recently I obtained this. I am a HUGE del Toro fan. I love it!!!