Cinema Now
Category: Books,Humor & Entertainment,Movies
Cinema Now Details
Review ""Like all art forms, film is a media as powerful as weapons of mass destruction; the only difference is that war destroys and film inspires."" -- Nicolas Winding Refn Read more About the Author Andrew Bailey is a freelance writer and cinephile based in San Francisco whose articles on film and filmmakers have appeared in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and many other publications. His favorite works include The Last Picture Show (1971), Vertigo (1958), Les Enfants du paradis (1943-45), I Walked with a Zombie, (1943) and 3 Women (1977); his cinematic heroes range from Hitchcock, Lang, and Bergman to Lynch, Haneke, and Denis. His idea of unadulterated movie bliss is the moment Ann Savage turns vituperative on Tom Neal in the front seat of his vehicle in Edgar G. Ulmer's Detour (1945). Read more
Reviews
I love Taschen's books as beautifully made objects. They're works of art themselves. It doesn't matter if they're hardcovers or "flexible covers" as they call them. The binding, printing, paper, photography and editing are everything a book lover could want. I get a sensual pleasure just from hefting them, turning their glossy pages, inhaling their inky, bookish scent.I have many of their cinema and art books and have never bought one that disappointed me, but "Cinema Now" stands out as superior because it will introduce even cinema-savvy readers to directors they probably don't know, and that alone is worth the price, as any cinephile looking for unexplored territory will understand.It's other virtues - outstanding photos reproduced on the finest paper with the best production values - has many of the same qualities I look for in films. Unlike some of Taschen's film titles, this is a fat, hefty book with some meaty and informative text, although as always, it is image oriented, not a deep analysis.You can buy many of these Taschen titles at unbelievably discount prices for the quality of the books. I'd also highly recommend their books on Jean Renoir, also available inexpensively, and on Bunuel, Fellini, and Kubrick. Their icons series is even more photo oriented and smaller in size, but equally well made as books.If I ever do a serious house cleaning of my overburdened bookshelves, my Taschen books will be the last to go.
