-
-
"If you love films and care about filmmakers, you'll have a hard time putting this book down. These lively conversations reveal just how much one generation of filmmakers influences the next - and how a single movie can change the course of a young person's life and career."
-Leonard Maltin, author of Leanord Martin's Movie Guide -
"A great and provocative read. Elder begins with a simple question and leads a wide variety of filmmakers down all sorts of unexpected paths. Why do we respond so passionately, even irrationally, to the movies that change our lives? The wonderful thing about being a critic or a lifelong movie lover is that life changes all the time in relation to the spells being cast on the screen. Elder's book honors that alchemic relationship many times over. It's addictive."
-Michael Phillips, film critic, Chicago Tribune
Author Archives: admin
Rian Johnson on Woody Allen’s Annie Hall:
“It’s that tightrope act that this movie pulls off. On the one hand it’s an audacious, wacky, and self-conscious gambit. You can definitely see that he was drawing inspiration from Bergman, from that audacious use of film language, breaking the fourth wall. It manages to pull it off without feeling self-indulgent or like a wacky splash.”
Danny Boyle on Apocalypse Now:
“Yeah, that’s the whole point of it, why it defies categorization, because it is deeply, deeply flawed and that’s its nature.”
Bill Condon on Bonnie and Clyde:
“I didn’t understand on first viewing how revolutionary Bonnie and Clyde was. But one of the things that happened is that because it was so controversial and there was so much written about it, it also became my way into reading about movies, which became such a huge part of loving movies. The thing that made me more interested in movies and making movies was the fact that there were some great people writing about them. The first movie that was debated on that scale was Bonnie and Clyde.”
Gurinder Chadha on It’s a Wonderful Life:
“Ultimately, I think cinema is about exploring the human spirit. Capra just somehow manages to capture the essence of human life without making it schmaltzy. Try, if you can. You can watch that film, and you know what is going on. But I defy anyone who is able to watch that film, and the end when the table is cleared, and everyone is coming in with the money—I just cannot believe there isn’t anyone with wet eyes at that point, or a big lump in their throat. I’ve seen it millions of times, and I’m just in floods of tears at that point.”