Booklist Reviews
Per film-critic and author extraordinaire Thomson (Why Acting Matters, 2015), although movies may have simply been entertainment for the first 60 years, their intent and purpose have steadily grown, along with their technical capability, ensuring we leave many movies not just smiling but also thinking. Thomson backs his suppositions here with discussions of movies from such great filmmakers as Hitchcock, Sturges, Welles, and more; the advent of sound; the promises—broken or kept—of storytelling; and the true person behind a movie's success. All components are thoughtfully pondered and poetically covered. Filled with analysis and musings, the book's coverage is fascinating, wide ranging (from art to critics), and immensely knowledgeable, with no aspect of filmmaking, or contributors to same, slighted in analysis. Readers ranging from filmmakers to movie buffs will learn much here. As Thomson notes, "The movies did one potent thing: they broadcast the sight and sound of beautiful people in situations of exceptional and unsettling intimacy." No wonder we like to watch. Copyright 2014 Booklist Reviews.
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