Hey /film/! Any of you like or own any books on film? If you do do you have any preferences, or disapprove of particular authors? What are your general thoughts on film theory? I own a couple and enjoy having them in my library.
I don't own any film books in physical form but FASA has ranked highly with me as soon as I found out about it. I'd certainly like to purchase it myself. The list alone is still pretty interesting.
http://www.artandpopularculture.com/List_of_films_from_Film_as_a_Subversive_Art
Do you have the hardcover? I'd like to find a good version, first pressing if possible but I don't know if it's hard to find.
And yes it's truly an investment because many of these books will maintain or increase their value. I bought this book for 40-50 bucks when it was released. New copies are over $200 now. https://www.amazon.com/Music-Library-Jonny-Trunk/dp/0955006112/
Anyone know of any books written by an old master that talks about their approach to filmmaking? Looking for something to read after coming across a few of von Sternberg's comments on film. Preferably from a director with a strong sense of geometry in their composition. Like all of those old cats like Sternberg, Ford, Lang, etc.
You might try Eisenstein who wrote a few books. I can't think of a lot of others from the early film era who actually wrote books.
There's a 2-volume collection of film essays from Hitchcock which may ne interesting. These sorts of collections will be different from a "book" though, as the director may have written many different pieces under different circumstances spanning many years.
Sculpting in Time - Tarkovsky
Images - Bergman
Transcendental Style in Film - Paul Schrader, writer of Taxi Driver, focuses on Ozu, Bresson, and Dreyer
Fellini on Fellini was interesting and a fun read, but there's not much to really learn from it
I'm hoping to read Caligari's Children and Ozu by Donald Richie and maybe Ozu's Anti-Cinema by Yoshishige Yoshida soon
I'd like to get the Bava book from Tim Lucas because it's a very high quality product. Also very expensive! i thought I had a scan of it somewhere....
>Introduction by Martin Scorsese. Foreword by Italian Horror Pioneer Riccardo Freda. This is the Complete Story of Mario Bava's life and careers as director, cameraman and special effects artist. Interviews with more than 100 actors, co-workers, friends and family members. The Definitive Study of each of his films: production histories, cast biographies, critical analysis, and video information. Never-before Published Photos including the only color shots taken on the set of BLACK SUNDAY. Original Mario Bava Storyboards - including the boards for the unfilmed project BABY KONG. Original Mario Bava Artwork - Some in Full Color! Bava's Secret Filmography: His uncredited works as director, cameraman and special effects artist. Complete Videography and Discography. Eugenio Bava (Mario's father) Filmography
Just in case you need more details of Jonas Mekas' personal life
<A Dance with Fred Astaire is an extraordinary collection of anecdotes and rare ephemera from the life of legendary artist, filmmaker and bon vivant Jonas Mekas, featuring a dizzying cast of cultural icons both underground and mainstream. Memories, diary entries, conversations, and insights into his work sit alongside collages of beautifully reproduced postcards, newspaper cuttings, film negatives, lists, posters and photographs, envelopes and letters, book covers, telegrams, cartoons and doodles. Mekas has kept and archived the artifacts of his life as a cultural touchstone down to the minutiae, all of which is brought together here in the form of a unique and fascinating scrapbook of a life lived with the highest artistic commitment. Guided by Mekas’ distinctive prose and suffused with warmth, A Dance with Fred Astaire is rhapsodic, poetic and funny as all get out. A revealing visual autobiography of a genuine culture hero.
http://shop.mexicansummer.com/product/jonas-mekas-dance-fred-astaire/