Anything About Books

[criterionmaster]

Post anything to do with books. This is like a random section for books.

[criterionmaster]

This is pretty funny review for 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die book:

Must See? I Don't Think So., August 9, 2005
Reviewer: hittingthebooks.com (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews
I usually like reading books like this, books full of all sorts of cool, but rather useless (unless you're planning on competing on Jeopardy! or a devoted cineast) information. Such books often send me searching for more information on new subjects. I thought this book would be lots of fun to read. It wasn't.

The first thing I want to know is, what planet do these movie critics hail from? They write these lavish articles, praising movies for things that most people go out of their way to avoid. It seems like half of these "must-see" films are either horror and/or horrifically violent, or else highly/purely sexual in theme. Some I had never heard of before, nor do I ever want to again: The 120 Days of Sodom (based on the writings of Marquis de Sade) and Videodrome are two of the worst. And if the films aren't sickening in subject, then often they are about the despair and futility of life. Ok, so life is hard and meaningless sometimes. I don't need a movie to tell me that.

Also, who chose the pictures to be included in here? There are pictures in here that are extremely disturbing, to put it mildly. I can't imagine what some of them would do to a young child who happened to pick it up and flip through it. I know they would have given me nightmares when I was younger. Some still managed to give me the heebie-jeebies.

There are a lot of good movies listed too. But plowing through the trash to find them got real tiresome real quick. Towards the end I was only skimming the entries, trying to avoid the more gruesome pictures (I didn't succeed) and only reading up on movies I had actually heard of.

If you are fanatical about cinema, and are more interested in nifty camera angles and lighting techniques than in being entertained, then 1001 Movies might have some interesting suggestions for you. For the everyday moviegoer, I would say that in the time it would take to read through this book, you could watch all three of the Lord of the Rings films end to end. And that would be time much better spent.

[criterionmaster]

Another review of the book that makes me want to barf is:

Slanted to Horror and Recent Films; Not Woman-Friendly, February 20, 2005
Reviewer: Danusha Goska (Bloomington, IN) - See all my reviews

"1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die" is slanted toward the tastes of teen male fans of the grotesque and the sensational who are unaware of, or don't care about, older and more woman-friendly films.

Just flipping through the book is an unpleasant experience if you aren't looking forward to seeing large images of a woman's eye being sliced open by a razor weilded by a male hand (p 74), a woman being hung by her neck, her mouth smeared with blood (p 639), a monster and a bloody body (p 653), a giant human cockroach eating another bloodied human body (p. 804), etc. etc. etc.

This emphasis on horror, the sensational, and the grotesque, and on the presence of females as the objects of horror, is demonstrated by the book's front cover -- Janet Leigh screaming in horror before her character was stabbed to death in "Psycho."

Molly Haskell, in "From Reverence to Rape," records how films, that used to feature an abundance of female characters in a variety of ranges, now focus on male ticket-buyers. This book focuses on males, as well.

Female stars are given very short shrift. Example: unless I missed it, there is not a single photograph of Greta Garbo in this large, heavy, 960 page book, with photographs on almost every page.

Greta Garbo? Greta Garbo? Not a big enough star?

Okay, it's understandable that a 14 year-old male fan who thinks of "Star Wars" as an example of the Dark Ages of filmmaking would have never heard of Greta Garbo, but when a book christens itself with the pretentious title, "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die," the reader is entitled to expect a bit more knowledge.

I guess Garbo's sin, in these editors' eyes, is that she was never stabbed to death in a film, or eaten by a giant, slimey monster. (One can almost hear the editors of this book thinking, "Man! Cool!")

Another star completely missing from this book -- Rudolph Valentino.

Umm ... do I need to explain this?

See, boys, half of the human race consists of women. Women like to watch movies, too. Once upon a time, Hollywood gave women beautiful men to ogle. Valentino was the first male megastar. His funeral was one of the most important events in the twentieth century history of the celebrity.

Guess you missed that ... while watching "Dawn of the Dead" one more time.

Readings of the relatively few women-friendly films that are mentioned are hopelessly off-key and uninformed.

"Broken Blossoms" is lauded for its use of oil-coated lenses.

Never, in the full page review, is it mentioned that "Broken Blossoms" is a full-length, mainstream Hollywood movie treatment of domestic violence, and that it contains a scene where the film's female protagonist, played by Lillian Gish, a huge star, is *beaten to death,* on camera, by her father.

It is remarkable that an early, silent film was so brave. No mainstream Hollywood film since has treated domestic violence against women with such power and frankness.

Even if you didn't care a whit about domestic violence, even if your only concern were for technique, you'd have to mention that Gish won praise for her ability to depict the girl's terror as her father breaks in on her hiding place.

The book never utters a word about the film's treatment of domestic violence, or even Gish's legendary handling of it.

The book has other flaws. Many of the more recent films listed are pleasant, but are not films that you should worry about dying before seeing. So, breathe easy about a lot of these pleasant but mediocre films.

In at least one case, a spoiler -- the ending of a movie whose ending you should not know before seeing the film -- is revealed. There may be spoilers in other comments, as well. I don't know, because, after a while, I stopped reading. This is not one of the 1001 books I must read before I die.

[mixed]

I agree with her in the respect that most 14-16 year olds were unaware that films were being made before star wars. Stars of the 30's, 40's and 50's often go unappreciated. Though everything else she says is pretty feminist. I'd also say rhe name of the book is pretentious. A book which I expect blasts on about films like 2001 and pulp fiction like the're that great!

[PTAhole]

Yes, 2001 and Pulp Fiction ARE that great. Two of the greatest of all time.

[criterionmaster]

Yeah two of the best of all time but just because this book, and every other book is right in saying they are some of the best doesn't mean they still don't include 100's of films I need to see and want a guide and this is like an all in one guide for me. But yeah I just think the title is funny.

[criterionmaster]

Is the book The Aztec any good? I have been wanting to check it out forever now, but it's so big I don't want to read it unless it's fantastic.

[criterionmaster]

www.craveonline.com/filmtv/articles/04648071/the_best_stephen_king_adaptations.html

do you guys agree, disagree with these "best king adaptations"?

[captainofbeef]

Obviously not. No Shining or Stand by Me???

[mixed]

Stephen King has written a new book as Bachman! Just out...

The Regulators came out in 1997 and the Bachman books collection was first released in 1987, I think I see a pattern Mr King ;D

[captainofbeef]

When does that come out?

[mixed]

It came out on the 12th here in the UK

[captainofbeef]

Hmmm, I'll have to make a stop at Borders

[mixed]

Btw if you don't know by now this is old pre Carrie King, an old story that wasn't published. I'll pick it up soon I think.

[captainofbeef]

^Yea, I knew that. I bought it and read it...

[mixed]

It seems like a bit of a rip off at the moment, only being in hardback and all. £10 or more for a 200 odd page book? Nahhh I'll likely wait for paperback or a price reduction.

Edit! Haruki Murakami has a new book out called after dark. I want this, well, need to read more of the guys work after only having read Kafka on the shore which I loved. Again though, only a few hundred pages in hardback. Annoying