Category: Movie books
The Making Of Enter The Dragon by Robert Clouse (book review).
Considering how popular the 1973 film ‘Enter The Dragon’ is to this day, it’s amazing how few books are available on the subject. When I came across this 1987 book, ‘The Making Of Enter The Dragon’, I hoped I could get a decent copy at a good price in the lockdown and lucked out, even […]
S.S.R.N. Seaview Technical Manual designed & written by Frederick Barr (book review).
I’ve known about this book, ‘S.S.R.N. Seaview Technical Manual’, for some time and only pulled a copy recently. Buying it directly from FabgearUSA, will also get you a free copy of two blueprint posters to put on your wall should you choose to. The original version of this book was only 40 pages long but […]
Creating Special Effects For TV & Films by Bernard Wilkie (book review).
I picked up ‘Creating Special Effects For TV & Films by Bernard Wilkie about 6 years back and only now found time to read it. The name ‘Bernard Wilkie’ should ring bells to ‘Doctor Who’ fans as he was the uncredited special effect man on its very first season. His credits are far longer. As […]
The Making Of The Planet Of The Apes by J.W. Rinzler (book review).
It’s hard to believe that the original ‘Planet Of The Apes’ was 60 years old when this book, ‘The Making Of The Planet Of The Apes’ was released in 2018. Fortunately, its author, J.W. Rinzler, was alive when he saw it the first time around. He also had access to Frazer Heston’s father’s notebooks that […]
The Creatures Of Farscape: Inside Jim Henson’s Creature Shop by Joe Nazzaro (book review).
You’d hate to see my bucket list of books I would like to read and some being doubtful that I would even see their dustcovers. Opportunity presented me with the 2004 release, ‘The Creatures Of Farscape: Inside Jim Henson’s Creature Shop’ by Joe Nazzaro. So, if you’re patient enough and look occasionally, you really don’t […]
Cinema Retro vol. 15 #44 Spring 2019 (magazine review).
I haven’t looked at ‘Cinema Retro’ for a few years now but spotting the cover of # 44 and Monica Vitti posing from the 1966 film, ‘Modesty Blaise’ did mean rare photographs, something this magazine is built around. This also applies to the other content, like ‘Fathom’ (1966). Anyway, the whole issue is dedicated to […]
BFI Film Classics: Rosemary’s Baby by Michael Newton (book review).
Nothing makes for a film to get fast tracked than being based off a successful book. In this case, Ira Levin’s ‘Rosemary’s Baby’. Interestingly, it was director William Castle who got the film rights but took up producer status so Roman Polanski could direct it. Interestingly, both Levin and Polanski are agnostic and the latter […]
Cinematography For Directors, 2nd Ed. by Jacqueline B. Frost (book review).
The release of a second edition of Jacqueline B. Frost’s book, ‘Cinematography For Directors’ is, as she explains, to covers changes and development in digital filming. Rather interestingly, the cinematographer isn’t necessarily the cameraman but there does appear grey areas between the three roles. Frost also notes that things can be more effective when all […]
Keep Watching The Skies! American Science Fiction Movies Of The Fifties: The 21st Century Edition: 2 Volume set by Bill Warren (book review).
I think everyone has heard of Bill Warren’s opus ‘Keep Watching The Skies! American Science Fiction Movies Of The Fifties’ over the years. This version, split into two volumes, should make it easier to read than the hardback at 1004 pages. Bear in mind these books are large and double column, then text-wise, you should […]
Ken Adam: The Art Of Production Design by Christopher Frayling (book review).
After reading ‘Nobody Does It Better: The Complete Uncensored Unauthorised Oral History of James Bond’ by Mark A. Altman & Edward Gross back in February, Ken Adam’s name instilled in my head and a check to see if someone had though to do a book on the film production designer. The book cover on-line belies […]
