An enjoyably deep dive into the interaction between cinema and psyche.
Celebrated movie critic and film studies teacher Thomson (Moments that Made the Movies, 2013, etc.) implores viewers to scrutinize themselves as closely as what’s playing on the silver screen—or YouTube.
Whether reclining in a darkened movie theater or on your couch at home, there’s a lot more happening on our collective screens than the fantastic images might suggest—and it appears as if the author has considered them all, including the screens themselves. Readers will need to possess a storehouse of cinematic knowledge that stretches all the way back to D.W. Griffith and Fritz Lang to fully appreciate the rich and robust dissertation Thomson undertakes with ease. Those lacking that price of admission should probably slip out and at least prime themselves on Citizen Kane, Persona, and Psycho to try and catch up. But once they do, they’ll see that Thomson not only closely mines those legendary films, but also the likes of Pretty Woman, Heat, and The Godfather as well. The author’s encyclopedic knowledge of cinema history makes for some truly fascinating associations—often in the space of a single poetic phrase. Reams have already been written about Leni Riefenstahl’s Triumph of the Will (1935), but how many other authors or critics could careen so effortlessly between that infamous work of Nazi propaganda and a Gatorade commercial featuring Yankees great Derek Jeter? Or the heretofore-unknown relationship between Persona and recent DirectTV spots starring actor Rob Lowe? In probing these uncanny parallels, along with other cinematic information, including story, editing, and sound, Thomson assuredly seeks to expose the magician’s many secrets—but only so we can all access a better appreciation of the wonder of film. “If you really want to watch a film,” he writes, “you must be ready to recognize your own life slipping away.”
An enjoyably deep dive into the interaction between cinema and psyche.Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-101-87539-1
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 1, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2015
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
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