Book Review #7
Antonioni's Blow-Up
by Philippe Garner & David Alan Mellor
A treat for cinephiles and fans of Antonioni's film. The stills from the movie are excellent. (I wish there were even more of them.) Following the photographs are two essays, accompanied by photos, additional film stills, magazine covers and paintings, that basically (though not entirely) end the book: "Fleeting images: photographers, models and the media -- London, 1966" by Philippe Garner and "Fragments of an unknowable whole: Michaelangelo Antonioni's incorporation of contemporary visualities -- London, 1966" by David Alan Mellor. The former deals with the influence of pop culture (music, fashion, photography, the "birds of Britain," etc.) on the making of "Blow-Up." While it is informative and comprehensive, it lacks a certain degree of depth. The Mellor essay, however, is very heady and intellectual, so much so, that even after a second reading I still had trouble assimilating much of what I had read. It goes into great detail, discussing the contributions of photographer Don McCullin, who took the actual photographs used in the film, painter Ian Stephenson, whose paintings represent the work of the neighboring artist portrayed in the film, and art director Assheton Gorton, who supervised the interior and exterior look of the film. The essay also references the Zapruder film footage of President Kennedy's assassination, a Polaroid photograph taken at the time of the killing, Christian allusions to David Hemmings' doubting Thomas and the resurrection of the corpse, as well as the otherworldly energies associated with Maryon Park where the film's murder may or may not have taken place.
by Philippe Garner & David Alan Mellor
A treat for cinephiles and fans of Antonioni's film. The stills from the movie are excellent. (I wish there were even more of them.) Following the photographs are two essays, accompanied by photos, additional film stills, magazine covers and paintings, that basically (though not entirely) end the book: "Fleeting images: photographers, models and the media -- London, 1966" by Philippe Garner and "Fragments of an unknowable whole: Michaelangelo Antonioni's incorporation of contemporary visualities -- London, 1966" by David Alan Mellor. The former deals with the influence of pop culture (music, fashion, photography, the "birds of Britain," etc.) on the making of "Blow-Up." While it is informative and comprehensive, it lacks a certain degree of depth. The Mellor essay, however, is very heady and intellectual, so much so, that even after a second reading I still had trouble assimilating much of what I had read. It goes into great detail, discussing the contributions of photographer Don McCullin, who took the actual photographs used in the film, painter Ian Stephenson, whose paintings represent the work of the neighboring artist portrayed in the film, and art director Assheton Gorton, who supervised the interior and exterior look of the film. The essay also references the Zapruder film footage of President Kennedy's assassination, a Polaroid photograph taken at the time of the killing, Christian allusions to David Hemmings' doubting Thomas and the resurrection of the corpse, as well as the otherworldly energies associated with Maryon Park where the film's murder may or may not have taken place.
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