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The Big Screen: The Story Of The Movies--and What They Have Done To Us (2012)

by David Thomson(Favorite Author)

3.96 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0374191891 (ISBN13: 9780374191894)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Farrar, Straus and Giroux

review 1: For some reason I didn't save my last review properly! Thomson is one of my favourite writers on film, but has a singular, self consciously opinionated style. I found there was much to enjoy in this book - eg the discussion of German experessionistic cinema, M in particular, or of Preston Sturges - but I'm not sure I finished the book any clearer about what the movies had done to us. Also Thomson is a prolific writer and if you've read much of his work, eg The Whole Equation (which is brilliant) you might find parts of this book a little too familiar.
review 2: Opinionated, brilliant and overwritten (can it be all three?) history of movies. Highlights for me were thoughtful profiles of Eisenstein, Spielberg and Tarantino and there is an excellent essay on 'Brie... moref Encounter' and how it encapsulates British society in the 1950s. It's pointless to complain about what isn't covered (documentaries, Iranian film for example) when the topic is this big. You read Thomson for his opinions of movies and cringe when he belittles films you love. He has no real interest in films that are simply well-acted and well made they have to do something new. That said, I find it nearly impossible to believe that films from the 1920s and 30s like 'Metropolis' that seem so corny now can be rated so highly. less

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