A magnificent history of Hollywood from the invention of film to the present day, by the everywhere acclaimed David Thomson, who has established hi...
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Feb 14, 2011
Alan
rated it: 
The Whole Equation was a doomed enterprise from the very start, of course, at least in a way... one man, one volume, could not hope to encompass the whole of Hollywood's history from its inception in the 19th Century to the 21st. Yet David Thomson's discursive musings are a great success in another way, for they do provide an evocative and, I daresay, valid sense of the sweep of that history, or at least of its early years.
Thomson is a guy who is utterly enthralled by the cinema. He wa More...
Thomson is a guy who is utterly enthralled by the cinema. He wa More...
Feb 07, 2011
FrankH
rated it: 
Quite an interesting read, with an intuitive, ambitious premise -- Hollywood helped create pop culture, but in turn was itself influenced by the tides of 20th century American history and the unique personalities of the early moguls like Mayer and Thalberg, often in ways that were unpredictable. For a book that has such a rambling anecdotal feel to it, Thomson does successfully convey pieces of American cinema 'Equation'. It's ant impressionistic style, -- tell the story of Myron Selznick to
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Jun 19, 2009
Read the STOP SMILING interview with author David Thomson
The 21st Interview: David Thomson
by José Teodoro
David Thomson is a historian, critic and the author of several books on movies of tremendous influence, among them The Biographical Dictionary of Film, The Whole Equation and, most recently, Have You Seen…?: A Personal Introduction to 1000 Films and Try To Tell the Story: A Memoir. He’s contributed to publications such as Film Comment, Salon and the Guardian. His pros More...
The 21st Interview: David Thomson
by José Teodoro
David Thomson is a historian, critic and the author of several books on movies of tremendous influence, among them The Biographical Dictionary of Film, The Whole Equation and, most recently, Have You Seen…?: A Personal Introduction to 1000 Films and Try To Tell the Story: A Memoir. He’s contributed to publications such as Film Comment, Salon and the Guardian. His pros More...
Jul 07, 2007
Michael
rated it: 
I started reading this book in September 2005, and made it to the 3rd chapter - while on a cruise. Theoretically, I am still currently reading. However, I really don't know that I will have the gumption to finish the book. It was rather dry and not real interesing to me - but perhaps that is just me. It seems to me to be difficult to write the history of Hollywood in one book. The subject should be more specialized. There's too much to write about Hollywood to cover it thoroughly.
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Feb 05, 2009
Thomson (The New Biographical Dictionary of Film **** Jan/Feb 2003) claims that the strange bedfellows art and money created American film, but that full understanding of this union "is too hard" to grasp. Critics agree: Thomson may have bitten off more than he can chew. His range is amazing, and so are his digressions. Known for his incisive, biting insight into film, Thomson doesn't disappoint here. His beautiful prose, impressive knowledge, and passion for film float the book. But d
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Sep 08, 2010
Tim
rated it:
Ok, so I gave this 3 stars. This seems fair to a book that is frustrating and engrossing in equal parts. There is a quote line on the back of my copy which says something along the lines of you don't get a unicorn to pull a cart, which I think is a much more eloquent way of expressing what I felt about it.
It's a curates egg of a book, full of fascinating stories about old Hollywood, a mad dash from the 50's through too the 90's and the occasionally rather tangential aside and also the obl More...
It's a curates egg of a book, full of fascinating stories about old Hollywood, a mad dash from the 50's through too the 90's and the occasionally rather tangential aside and also the obl More...
Jan 04, 2011
Gordon
rated it:
A well-written history, actually better described as a historical riff on, Hollywood. Thomson is a very good writer, with a lot of very good ideas about movies (I took his History of Film class 30 years ago at Dartmouth, and he's a great and compelling teacher). However, Thomson indicates that he set out to write a one-volume history of Hollywood, and I don't think he succeeded on that score. The book is too meandering for that. But if you accept it for what it is, a walk through the misty leg
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May 20, 2009
Buck
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David Thomson is in love with movies, which is not surprising in itself, given his profession. Luckily (for us, not so much for him) his is the bitter, exasperated kind of love that an intelligent man might conceive, against his will, for a brainless little skank. It’s this ambivalent quality that gives his criticism its torque, propelling it beyond the naïve boosterism of the standard Entertainment Weekly puffery.
But I'm not here to talk about Thomson’s many virtues because, for m More...
But I'm not here to talk about Thomson’s many virtues because, for m More...
Jan 16, 2010
T
rated it: 
Even reviews by Pauline Kael – those classics – don’t have much impact anymore. It’s hard to say how many books have handled Hollywood seriously. Thomson’s has. You’d expect some of what’s in here: chronology, celebrity, the grit beneath the glitz. But in no small awe you’ll be by his deriving of the ‘equation’ and how he shows it to apply.
Yes. Culture, Hollywood-delivered, begins as popular gadget-entertainment, mass cheap delight. That tradition, one of technical innovation a More...
Yes. Culture, Hollywood-delivered, begins as popular gadget-entertainment, mass cheap delight. That tradition, one of technical innovation a More...
Feb 08, 2009
Ryan
rated it:
This book was very different from what I initially thought it would be. Although it claims to be "A History of Hollywood", it really is more a personal musing about film that uses Hollywood as a framework. It took some getting used to, as Thomson's style in this book is very colloquial, with lots of parenthetical flights. But once I got onto his wavelength, I found it be quite a good book. He brings up philosophical questions about film (as opposed to say, books) that I hadn't ever
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Jan 29, 2012
Art
rated it:
Generally I eat this stuff up: a well-written, insightful look at the movies that engagingly theorizes while dishing up dirt here and there. But perhaps Thomson's amazing Biographical Dictionary of Film just raised my expectations too much....
The book moves from the early silent days to the present, using Los Angeles as a sort of through-line (and Chinatown as an exemplar) but things feel half-baked at times and the framework isn't entirely nailed down.
But an enjoyab More...
The book moves from the early silent days to the present, using Los Angeles as a sort of through-line (and Chinatown as an exemplar) but things feel half-baked at times and the framework isn't entirely nailed down.
But an enjoyab More...
Jan 27, 2009
Chris
rated it:
This was a really neat look at Hollywood through a lot of different lenses - unlike a typical history, the narrative jumps around and examines the development of Hollywood and its principal figures from several different angles. Thoughtful and occasionally surprising writing.
Jul 07, 2011
matt
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excellent, absorbing, ideosynchratic, epigrammatic, anecdotal, synechdotal, aphoristic history of hollywood from a really interesting, learned, tough-minded, deeply literate, wise and witty film historian and world-class film buff
Jan 25, 2011
Jeremiah
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I had to change my review. It started off interesting but ended up (actually middled up because I gave up in the middle) self-indulgent, diary-like meandering prose. It's more about David Thomson's thought process than Hollywood.
May 31, 2007
Bill
rated it:
It's more anecdotal than I'd expected, so it's a nice read. Anyone looking to read a history of Hollywood should start here. The author inserts a little too much of himself into the text, but his research and knowledge are exhaustive.
Jan 29, 2012
Steve
rated it:
You don't have to agree with everything David Thomson says to enjoy his passionate writing. And a kick up the arse to watch a lot of films that I've been meaning to for years.
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