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117th out of 121 books
—
14 voters
The Film That Changed My Life: 30 Directors on Their Epiphanies in the Dark
The movie that inspired filmmakers to direct is like the atomic bomb that went off before their eyes. The Film That Changed My Life captures that epiphany. It explores 30 directors’ love of a film they saw at a particularly formative moment, how it influenced their own works, and how it made them think differently.
Rebel Without a Cause inspired John Woo to comb his hair an...more
Rebel Without a Cause inspired John Woo to comb his hair an...more
Paperback, 304 pages
Published
January 1st 2011
by Chicago Review Press
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This collection of interviews with filmmakers discussing the film they remember as important to them becoming filmmakers is fairly hit or miss. If anything, the films are all worth seeing and most of the filmmakers add something to a potential viewing.
However, some of the interviews, like Frank Oz talking about Touch of Evil or Edgar Wright talking about An American Werewolf in London set really excellent contexts for why they were personally important. Danny Boyle's interview was underwhelming...more
However, some of the interviews, like Frank Oz talking about Touch of Evil or Edgar Wright talking about An American Werewolf in London set really excellent contexts for why they were personally important. Danny Boyle's interview was underwhelming...more
i read the uncorrected proof of this prior to its publication. thus far i am enjoying it very much. more to come.
this was a consistently interesting read. granted, i am an unabashed cinephile. there were directors interviewed from quite a wide swath of film history, and there were even some i knew nothing about. i was most moved by the clear indication that it is a damn good thing danny boyle has an editor (b/c his mind is constantly ratcheting away at a million miles an hour drawing connections...more
this was a consistently interesting read. granted, i am an unabashed cinephile. there were directors interviewed from quite a wide swath of film history, and there were even some i knew nothing about. i was most moved by the clear indication that it is a damn good thing danny boyle has an editor (b/c his mind is constantly ratcheting away at a million miles an hour drawing connections...more
"When they throw the water on the witch, she says, 'Who would have thought a good little girl like you could destroy my beautiful wickedness.' That line inspired my life. I sometimes say it to myself before I go to sleep, like a prayer." --John Waters, describing the movie that changed his life
Terrific interviews with filmmakers about one (or sometimes two) films that profoundy affected their lives and work. My favorites were Edgar Wright (who picked An American Werewolf in London) and John Wate...more
Terrific interviews with filmmakers about one (or sometimes two) films that profoundy affected their lives and work. My favorites were Edgar Wright (who picked An American Werewolf in London) and John Wate...more
First of all, it was really nice to read this book in conjunction with Farber's book. While Farber can be overwhelmingly negative, every chapter in this book is an interview with someone gushing about a film that had a huge impact on them. Something about this interview format felt too unpolished. The author is just too present, and I maybe would have preferred the answers as an sort of essay instead of straight-up Q&A. I agree with some other reviewers that the concept is good, but perhaps...more
This is an enjoyable book for movie buffs. It not only describes the movies that are selected, but they give some good background information on directors. This in turn fills out some the these director's movies as you can now see how they were influenced and the results of that influence. A very interesting book.
Jan 12, 2013
Michael
rated it
2 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
only the most hardcore movie fanatics
Shelves:
bathroom-book
I bought this for my bathroom at home, thinking that it might be interesting to pick up once in a while and read interviews with famous (and some not-so-famous) filmmakers about the ONE film that inspired them to get into filmmaking.
Unfortunately, many of the interviews are just a bit boring. Perhaps it's because of the interviewer -- who seems to interject a lot of his own opinions into the interviews where they don't really matter -- but in many cases, none of the epiphanies are really all tha...more
Unfortunately, many of the interviews are just a bit boring. Perhaps it's because of the interviewer -- who seems to interject a lot of his own opinions into the interviews where they don't really matter -- but in many cases, none of the epiphanies are really all tha...more
I read five of the thirty: guy maddin and l'age d'or, Michel gondry and le voyage en balloon, jay duplass and raising arizona, george romero and tales of hoffman, and john waters and the wizard of oz. Some of the others interviews looked interesting but I'm not going to read them.
May 26, 2011
Faith
added it
i couldn't resist checking this out from the library when i saw the first interview was with Edgar Wright talking about 'American Werewolf in London'!
I found the interviews in this book a bit hit-and-miss. I liked Edgar Wright very much, as “An American Werewolf in London” is the only horror film I have ever enjoyed and his comments clarified a lot of my own thinking about the film. John Landis, John Waters and Kimberly Peirce articulated their thoughts very well but some of the other directors wandered between pretentious and uninterested. A lot of it may depend on how you feel about the films they claim changed their life. Rian Johnson said...more
A mixed-bag of thoughts on films considered influential by film-makers. A worthwhile read for film buffs.
Jun 13, 2011
Lauren
marked it as to-read
just heard the author give a commencement speech at the University of Oregon Journalism graduation.
There are few things as wonderful as reading people who are passionate about something talk about it. It's even better when they're people you respect and are interested in and the thing they're passionate about is something that you're also passionate about. Anyone interested in films, filmmakers or filmmaking should read this book.
Bit hard to get through if you haven't seen the film they're talking about. But I powered through.
Some interesting interviews; others, not as much.
Jun 18, 2013
Lee Fritz
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