Book Description
Robert Bresson makes some quite radical distinctions between what he terms "cinematography" and something quite different: "cinema"-which is for him nothing but an attempt to photograph theater and use it for the screen.
Director of The Trial of Joan of Arc, Pickpocket, A Prisoner Escapes, Diary of a Country Priest, Money, and many other classic films,
Robert Bresson is, quite simply, one of the most brilliant cinematographers in the history of film.
Customer Reviews:
A fundamental approach to know the master of masters!.......2004-08-22
Bresson was a poet . His clear and smart thoughts about the cinema are so clearly expossed that breathe honesty all the way .
If you still do not know the Bresson filmography and you are a real hard lover of the cinema , it is time for you to get close to that unique film maker.
A real jewel.
Must have for any non-Hollywood Style Filmmakers.......2003-05-14
If you want a step by step, how to make film book, you're better off browsing the bookstore at your local film school.
If you are a novice filmmaker, and you want to make art with film or video, and you want a guidebook on how to THINK and FEEL about your chosen art form, this is a must.
Bresson inspired the French New Wave filmmakers, and in my opinion was one of the few directors this world has seen who actually considered the particular reality of the moving image and created a set of principles to guide his choices as a director based on the medium itself, and not on any inherited traditional technique. One of the primary divisions in film theory is whether you believe film to be an extension of theatre or something entirely different.
For Bresson theatre is a more intellectual, mind based experience, whereas film is an EXPERIENTIAL art form. Bresson was highly interest in TRUTH over the APPEARANCE of truth. For Bresson the camera and audio recorder capture the essence of a thing, and therefore he cautions against using actors, and sets, and instead suggests people being themselves and shooting on actual locations.
This book is actually a collection of notes that Bresson wrote to himself over the course of his career. It is a wonderful look into the mind of an artist. In this book I have found a kindred spirit, whose insights into the nature of film and film production are distilled down to their essential forms. What kind of Truth does the camera capture, what elements go in the mise-en-scene which add or distort that truth, how do you illicit the inner truth of the actor (model) while still maintaining the requirements of the plot and script?
There are two books which have, for me, opened up the truest possibilities of film as an artform. These books are: "Notes on the Cinematographer" by Bresson, and "Sculpting in Time" by Tarkovsky. These books are a must read for anyone interested in exploring the true potential of film as an art form.
Also, this book goes in and out of print fairly regularly, so you should buy it whenever you see it being sold. Its relatively inexpensive, but contains a wealth of knowledge. It makes a great gift for someone interested in film or video as an art form.
Writing With Images.......2003-03-08
"Notes on the Cinematographer" is a tidy, Zen-like summation of the special aesthetic Bresson brought to film. 'Cinema' to him was simply filmed theater. He wanted movies to do something more, to create a new language of images that could express a character's inner states and moods (I think this goal, more than anything, explains why he's so often labeled a 'spiritual' director). Bresson wanted faces, not actors; events, not scenes; "BEING instead of SEEMING." To this end he insisted on amateurs over trained actors, noises over music, slowness and close-ups over speed and pans. Cinematography as Bresson explains it here is a unique form of writing. His efforts to make an essentially mechanical & visual medium parallel the inwardness of the written word has to be one of the strangest and most fascinating projects in the history of film. Not surprisingly, he writes beautifully, and these aphoristic koans, surrounded by all that empty white space, are as haunting as anything he captured on film. A tiny masterpiece.
Notes on the Cinematographer.......2002-08-29
Not what I expected. This book is more philosophical, than literal. I like it, but it's like reading a lot of proverbs, you cannot absorb it all, only the few that strike you at that moment.
Towards a Poetics of Film.......2000-08-10
There is no better guide to the process and experience of making a film. Though its epigrammatic style makes it at first seem abstract, Notes on the Cinematographer is essentially a step-by-step handbook on what to do (and more so, what not to do) with actors and a movie camera. The title is so unintentionally misleading as to the subject of the work, which contains not a single line on lighting or photography ('cinematographer' is Bresson's rhetorical name for 'film-maker') that I believe it has obscured what would otherwise be a justly renown (and more readily-available) classic text on filmmaking.
This book stands also as an intriguing commentary on Bresson's films, on which is it is difficult to say anything adequate.
Book Description
Liverpool-born author Tony Barrow worked beside The Beatles as the world-famous group's own public relations man through each exciting phase of their dazzling career in the sixties. His up-close-and-personal profiles of John, Paul, George, and Ringo probe their true personalities and reveal their amazing lifestyles as no other book has done
Barrow gives a devastatingly honest, powerfully authoritative, and absolutely credible eyewitness account of how his history-making clients acted in and out of the spotlight. Also published here for the first time is his astonishing collection of photographs, including candid snapshots taken in the sanctuary of dressing rooms and hotel suites from where press and paparazzi were excluded.
Barrow watched the Beatles' "greatest gig of all" at New York's Shea Stadium and, at Paul's request, he made a personal souvenir recording of The Beatles' final concert at San Francisco's Candlestick Park.
The author lets his quirky Liverpudlian sense of humor run all through the text because "rock 'n' roll was never invented to be taken too seriously."
Customer Reviews:
John, Paul, George, Ringo and Me.......2007-09-03
Very interesting insight into the life of the Beatles. Tony Barrow reports first hand his experiences as their PR person.
Readable Glimpse of The Beatles in The 60's.......2007-07-31
The people who actually surrounded The Beatles in their heyday were few, so it's good to get their perspective. While there are some parts of the book that drag, for the most part it's an interesting read by a 'regular guy' who didn't seem overwhelmed by the superstars he was working with. There are some factual errors that even the most basic Beatle fan would catch, as when he says Ringo wrote many songs, but only a few were recorded by The Beatles (there were two).
Barrow often focuses on his job as publicist, sometimes offering trivial info. Still, it's good to get it on the record. He knew Brian Epstein well, and gives him a lot of ink. This is not a book for the casual Beatle fan, but if you've read the rest of them, you will probably want to check it out.
The same old story.......2007-04-17
I've always thought Tony Barrow should publish a book about the Beatles, but my idea was slightly different. I used to read those articles he would write for the "Beatles Monthly Book" and find them very interesting. Tony's challenge was to look for something new to write about the Beatles at a time when their story had been exhaustingly told in countless biographies. So he would choose a specific topic and explore it in full, thus providing us with up close views of different aspects in the life of the Beatles: "The Beatles and Money", "The Beatles were Night People", "The Beatles in Clubland", "The First Record John ever bought", etc. I've always thought he should select the best pieces and publish them in a book. Together they would form an original and detailed mosaic of those hard days and nights from an insider's perspective. Instead, Tony chose to give us just another Beatles biography. That makes "John, Paul, George, Ringo and Me" rather predictable at times. After all, the Beatles' chronology will always be the same, whether told by an insider or by a researcher. Most of us know the sequence of facts by heart, now, and reading this book feels like watching a familiar scene from a different camera angle. Whatever exclusive views Tony has to share are few and far between and concern mostly his work as the Beatles' press agent. Perhaps this is a book Tony felt he had to write. As someone who was once close to the Beatles, at least on a professional level, maybe he owed it to himself to write his own Beatles biography. The outcome is nothing spectacular, but still a worthy read for any Beatles fan.
Interesting in places, not a home run.......2006-07-19
This is a somewhat disappointing book because of Barrow's writing style, what he chooses to focus upon and what he leaves out. He had tremendous access to the Beatles, but one gets the distinct impression that he never really knew them, except superficially. Though he claims he eventually got close to John Lennon, he only bothers to detail one evening where the two got drunk. He was never in their houses, invited out with them and was never in the studio. He also never saw the boys after their split in 1969, which makes it obvious he was never that close to any of them. This leaves a large gap in the volume which Barrow chooses to fill with stories from his own life or from the life of Brian Epstein.
However, there are some fascinating aspects to the book and parts of it are riveting. Barrow devotes a chapter to dissecting each Beatle personality and this by far the most interesting section of the book.
Paul comes across as charming, adorable, press-savvy and hugely ambitious. Barrow makes the note that it was always Paul who checked his looks in the mirror before every photo shoot. George is portrayed as a decent, friendly and amiable bloke, but one whose psyche was destroyed by Beatlemania and the rigors of touring. Barrow does go into some detail about George's prodidigious womanizing, which dwarfed even Paul's exploits with the ladies.
The section on Ringo is interesting and it's obvious Barrow never really got to know Starr. He paints the Beatles drummer as a silent person unable to make conversation because he felt he had "academic deficiencies" and because he was a late-comer to the group. I was a little offended that he basically portrays Ringo as a stupid man incapable of small talk beyond a few pithy one-liners. Anyone who has seen Ringo in interviews knows he abounds with charisma and humor. Barrow makes it out that Ringo was an inconsequential member of the group, musically inferior and just along for the ride. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Barrow's recollections of John are the most seering. John's caustic and often cruel humor was directed against Barrow for several years. The press chief relates a story where John deliberately embarrassed Brian Epstein by grabbing him in the crotch during a business meeting. Poor Brian stood there, gasping in emotional and physical pain, while John plopped down in his chair, laughing.
It's hard to tell who Barrow liked the most of the Beatles, though one senses it's John, despite the fact that Paul was the friendliest, most self-effacing and approachable.
Barrow also brings out new information on the Beatles manager, Brian Epstein. The chapter on Brian is both riveting and extremely sad. Talk about self-destruction! His chapter on the Beatles in Japan contains much new information, as well as their hellish experience in Manilla. Barrow also dishes up new information on John's mental state in the aftermath of his "The Beatles are more popular than Jesus" remark in 1966. Who knew that prior to the press conference, John buried his head in his hands and cried?
The low points of the book are Barrow's tendency to write about himself, particularly in the first few chapters. Readers want to know his recollections of the boys, not details about his own life. A brief synopsis of his own life would have sufficed. Barrow's style is also bare-bones and spare, with little pizzazz.
There are some errors of fact and Barrow gets his dates wrong in several places. He also throws in some dubious quotes which contradict the actual facts. For instance, does anyone think John really said, "Pete Best was a great drummer, Ringo was a great Beatle?" Lennon has often been quoted as saying Pete was sacked because his drumming was not up to snuff.
Barrow's section on the Beatles famous meeting with Elvis in 1965 is one of the high points of the book. But his version flatly contradicts the Beatles own version, where they all claim (except John), that they never jammed with Elvis. Yet Barrow has Elvis and his sychophants providing guitars to the boys so they could sing "I Feel Fine." This strikes one as ludicrous since George, Ringo and Paul have all been adamant that they never sang or played with Elvis. Something is definitely wrong here.
I read the book in one evening and if you're a Beatles fan, this is essential reading. I just wish Barrow would have revealed more and gone into greater detail about personalities and lifestyles of the Fabs.
Barrow's Memoir fills in some gaps.......2006-07-02
There are so many Beatles books they are divisable into categories: memoirs of those involved, technical/reference works on recording and performing specifics, those that cover specifc periods and projects, and the most useless of all, overviews of their entire lives by those with no special connection to the Beatles or no special access to historical materials.
Barrow, was of course, an employee of Brian Epstein's NEMS organization and as such, his memoirs are worth reading. He had special access.
The good points: his section on the many disasters of 1966 is fantastic and his presentation of this year has made me think of it in a whole new way. His depiction of the butcher cover controvery, the awful Manila and Tokyo episodes, as well as the fear of bible-belt assassins all through the summer tour of the US is compellingly written and detailed.
Also very interesting are the depictions of how the Beatles fan club and the Beatles Book publication worked with Barrow, as the chief PR man, to spread the image of the lads. Barrow, like many old timers, is quick to remind us how much today's entertainment industry sucks compared to the old days. I can't say he's wrong there.
There's an excellent photo supplement as well, including a number I haven't seen before.
On the other hand, there are, as is inevitable in these memoirs, errors of fact or contradictions. Here are three I spotted on first reading:
1.) he accuses Alistair Taylor of "defect[ing]" (p.236), yet a few pages later Taylor is sacked by the dreaded Allen Klein (p. 248). According to Taylor's own recent memoir, the latter is certainly accurate.
2.) Barrow says that Lennon and Cynthia were divorced in November 1969 (p.241). But...didn't he marry Yoko in March of 1969? And wasn't the single, "The Ballad of John and Yoko," descriptive of their travails in trying to get married, released in May 1969? Unless bigamy was legal in the UK in the '60s....how could this be?
3.) There's one bit of confusion in the chapter, "The End of the Road," where Barrow calls the Dodger Stadium show, Aug 28, the "penultimate" show. Because he describes that show--perhaps it would be better described as "tumultuous"--AFTER the actual last show of the tour, Candlestick Park on Aug 29, it sounds as if he's made a chronological blunder.
(my own facts are checked against Mark Lewisohn's epic and indispensable, "The Complete Beatles Chronicle.")
The title of the book isn't fantastic and reminds me of
"John, Paul, George, Ringo... & Bert," a 1970's
play by Willy Russell. The cover art is just bizarre. The Fab Four are shown in sharp black and white glory while the ghostly image of Barrow hovers below. Weird. The index sucks.
Entertaining and specific, despite the occasional mean-spirited comment.
Customer Reviews:
If all that followed had songs THIS good///.......2007-05-13
I grew up watching the T.V series & listening to the songs this way.
I recently watch the entire series & I wonder...what were they thingking ?
It's dated but fun (for a Beatles fan) at least.I knew some of the
animation was done In Australia but I didn't realize how many episodes
were done here. This book is facinating,if only because most of the
people working on it were learning as they go. Yes,the show is cheap
looking (now) but HOW it got to look that way is just the begining...
I wish the book was better set out & in color but it is what it is & it's
worth the read especialy if you watched the show in the 60's. Oh yeah,
if you REALLY know your Beatles stuff...can YOU spot ALL of the mistakes
in the episodes/sing-a-longs that are NOT listed in this book ????
A fun read!.......2006-08-15
A great referance book about the making of those classic Beatles cartoons!
Beatletoons for the Real Fan.......2006-01-30
A book born out of a childhood love for the series, Beatletoons, The Real Story Behind the Cartoon Beatles is one that will be enjoyed by Beatles Cartoon fans, but it may not translate well to a general audience. Highlghts include insights into the 1960s television and animation industries, and a few pages on character development for the animated figures. The few photos of the living, breathing Beatles are not too clear. I'd love to see more clean, clear, artwork in the book...in color if possible. Still, chidren of the 60s will who tuned in every Saturday morning will likely enjoy it.
Awesome.......2005-09-08
I thought that Beatletoons was an awesome buy. It is a must have for every big Beatles fan. I am only sorry that I was not old enough to catch the airing of the cartoons when they were released in the 60's. This being so, I thought that Beatletoons caught me up on everything that I had missed. The book goes into great detail about the steps taken to create the hit series and gives a synopsis for every episode produced. I do recommend Beatletoons for every die-hard Beatles fan.
Excellent Back Story for Brodax' Up Periscope Yellow.......2004-12-05
I produced this series for the ABC network. It was a huge hit and cleared the path for my production of the motion picture, YELLOW SUBMARINE. Axelrod's book was well researched and offers the complete story graphically and otherwise of the series. I was very pleased with it. Makes a wonderful X-Mas gift.
Average customer rating:
- The Beatles: The Real Story of the Liverpool Street Kids
|
The Beatles: The Real Story of the Liverpool Street Kids (Docubook) (The Docubook Series)
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ASIN: 1933299525
Release Date: 2005-05-01 |
Product Description
No Beatles fanor music fan of any generationshould be without this comprehensive exploration into the greatest band of all time. They shook the world, they created the soundtrack for a generationmore than just a musical groupthey were a part of our lives. From beginning to end, the Beatles story is told through first-hand accounts and in-depth interviews with over forty friends, relatives, musicians, and managers. Highlights include: a rare interview with John Lennons sister, Julia Baird, where she breaks her long silence; tales from the road with tour manager, Mal Evans; and interviews with doomed ex-Beatle Stu Sutcliffe and Beatles press manager, Tony Calder just to name a few.
Customer Reviews:
The Beatles: The Real Story of the Liverpool Street Kids.......2007-07-05
I was really disappointed in the content of this book. I expected and hoped for more substance.... Poorly done..
Product Description
The real behind the scenes, irreverent view of The Beatles with 16 pages of photos.
Average customer rating:
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The Beatles: The Real Story of Theliverpool Street Kids (The Docubook Series)
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ASIN: 1933299223 |
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The Beatles;: The real story
Julius Fast
Manufacturer: G. P. Putnam's Sons
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ASIN: B0006BWLOQ |
Customer Reviews:
Best Detailed Hold'Em Book Out There.......2007-09-21
We Bought all Three Harrington on Hold 'Em books and I'm still reading through the first one. There are real examples that you can read through and decide if the way you would play them matches how they should be played. He'll tell you precisely why the hands should be played that way. I can't wait to read the next two. There are excellent insights into starting hands, playing against aggressive players...well you just have to get the book to find out all the goodies inside. I have many other books on poker already (Super System I and II, etc.) but this book by far is the best one out there for No Limit Hold 'Em. Especially if you want to refine your play. I'm an advanced player but this is great for beginners too. It brings you back to basics. Enjoy!
Great book! Don't buy this if you are going to play against me........2007-09-17
This book has really helped me improve my game. It is very thourough, and gives you example hands with detailed explainations as to why you should play them a certain way. Don't read this if you want to stay mediocre in your Texas Hold-em game play.
Harrington on Hold'em Vol 1.......2007-09-16
Helpful, essential; valuable information. Not boring or hard to read, but delightful, enjoyable, easy to read, understand, and apply. One of the best books available.
Excellent Strategies.......2007-09-08
Few players rape the tables as brutally as Harrington. In this valuable book he 'tells em as they is'. Standard strategies like the 'San Andreas Meat-grinder' (perfect for unloading double buffers into an end-zone packed with natural flankers) and the 'Chicago Steamer' (a honey-trap that could leave your opponent fencing against a semi-Lazarus) are explained with great attention to detail. He also has plenty of cavaliar gambits for more experienced snipers to deploy. Although the 'Fibonacci Fallout Shelter' may be too complex to smoke out an amateur cave-jacker, he claims that you can use it against pros to rotate the step of a goose-dance. Just DON'T try to detonate a Dutch grenade with it- use the 'Tallahassee jail-break' instead! My favourite is probably his slant on playing the 'Kentucky Monkey' (the best racket to reverse the polarity of a south-bound pot). Although there is the danger of being drowned in a mud-slide before the penultimate flipper, it usually guarantees the chance to fire a clockwork shotgun into the flood.
PS. I haven't tried my hand in any tourneys yet, but I did beat the rest of the Redhart family once- after I decided to go all in before the flop (with an unsuited 4 7) and pulled a straight.
The best no limit tournament guide.......2007-09-01
Dan Harrington and Bill Robertie take you step by step to show you how to become a winning no limit tournatment player. Their secret lies in the problems at the end of every chapter to show you exactly how a no limit tournament is played. Their style is easy to read and understand (providing you have a basic knowledge of poker) and the attitude is open minded and thoughtful of the reader. You will learn a lot from these books. Books? Yes, you will need the entire set of three volumes to fully understand the concepts that Harrington and Robertie are trying to teach you. It will be well worth the investment. The final volume (III) gives very concrete examples of the playing styles of many of the pros you see on TV as Harrington tries to get into poker thoughts of the champions of this game. I am only getting better because of Harrington on Hold'em Vol. 1,2 and 3.
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Inside "60 Minutes"
John Little
Manufacturer: Allen & Unwin
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Binding: Paperback
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1 Video Tape (60 Minutes), and 1 Paperback (book). Building upon the success of her bestselling book and PBS pledge success "Organizing from the Inside Out," Julie Morgenstern offers an entirely new, breakthrough system for taking control of your schedule and your life. In this program, Julie offers invaluable new insights and tools that will help viewers take control of their time, and help each of us have the time for what's really important in our lives
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Video Tape. Now with Bill Moyers Dec 5, 2003. Inside the Pentagon: Two Part Interview with Chuck Spinney former Pengaton analyst. Photo essay by photographer Lori Grinker.
Books:
- On Becoming Baby Wise: The Classic Sleep Reference Guide Used by Over 1,000,000 Parents Worldwide
- On the Track: A Guide to Contemporary Film Scoring, Second Edition
- One Church, Many Tribes : Following Jesus the Way God Made You
- Out Of The Inkwell: Max Fleischer And The Animation Revolution
- Politically Incorrect Jokes from the Net
- Producing Great Sound for Digital Video
- Queer Cowboys: And Other Erotic Male Friendships in Nineteenth-Century American Literature
- Reality Check (Turning Seventeen)
- Red Ain't Dead: 150 More Ways to Tell If You're a Redneck
- Relax--You May Only Have a Few Minutes Left: Using the Power of Humor to Overcome Stress in Your Life and Work
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