- Paperback: 272 pages
- Publisher: Faber & Faber (Jun 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0571211240
- ISBN-13: 978-0571211241
- Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.8 x 1.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 4,624,244 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Review
"As befits its title, "It Don't Worry Me" is an historical joyride unburdened by nostalgia or the weight of received wisdom. Gilbey's insights are as fresh as his enthusiasm is infectious."
--Dennis Lim, Senior Editor, "The Village Voice"
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
--Dennis Lim, Senior Editor, "The Village Voice"
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Description
The 1970s were the Golden Age for American film-making, with the emergence of such talents as Scorsese, Coppola, Spielberg, Lucas, De Palma, Altman, and Malick. Ryan Gilbey looks afresh at the remarkable movies of this era, and their gifted makers. Today these directors are sometimes lambasted as sellouts or burn-outs, but their best films of the seventies - from "American Graffiti" to "The Conversation", "Nashville" to "Carrie", "Badlands" to "Taxi Driver" - still feel as urgent and innovative as they did on first release, and still inspire young film-makers at a time when movies are once more depressingly formulaic. These directors cultivated a fascinating eclecticism, driven by creative hunger and insatiable imagination. But what in the American scene were they reacting against, and just as crucially, what were they celebrating (or pillaging from other sources)? Gilbey also considers directors who established a body of work in the seventies (Woody Allen), who blossomed as the decade progressed (David Lynch, Jonathan Demme), or who were prominent figures without being prolific (Stanley Kubrick, Terence Malick). He takes each film and assesses its place in history while also scrutinizing it as if it were coming to a cinema near you this Friday.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I am a former film student so am a sucker for these kind of these books. Yet, Gilbey's view on the 70's American film may be at times what we've all heard before but mainly his is a fresh view and offers a new way of looking at great films which are falling into the trap of being seen as hackneyed examples of the works of enfant terribles. His writings and observations on the work of Coppola, Altman, Allen and especially Lucas and Speilberg highlight aspects of their work that we as viewers may have overlooked due to familiarity. I found this book while on holiday and whiled away many hours and found myself unable to put the book down!
1 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I am an avid reader of Ryan Gilbey's film reviews and although I do not always agree with the man, he sure knows his onions. This is a fresh look at the classic films and film-makers of the 70's. The interesting premise is in setting the reviews without the benefit of hindsight. Fascinating and oddly poetic in it's execution.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
2 reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Witty, brilliant survey of Seventies Cinema
17 Sep 2004
Format:Hardcover
Granted, I am already a fervent fan of the "Raging Bulls-Easy Riders" Seventies filmmakers, the era when American Cinema flourished- and yet Gilbey's work brought me fresh, witty insight into the works. The author is a master of the succinct summation that captures a detail in the films you might overlook, even with repeated viewings, plus the book is great fun to read. It's a perfect balance of scholarship and entertainment, with just enough potentially divisive opinion making to keep you plunging ahead to finish a chapter. There is an obvious debt to Pauline Kael but Gilbey's fresh perspective on the era (due to his youth) lends the analysis more insight and depth than Kael. It's a shame this book isn't getting more distribution. The author needs a better publicist in the US! Keep writing, Mr. Gilbey! A new generation needs your writing to remind them of what they're missing at the soulless multiplexes of today!
I Heart The Seventies AND this book
29 Oct 2007
Format:Paperback
It's refreshing (and rare) when a film critic understands that movies are more than an extension of literature and theater. Most critics merely review the screenplay and the acting, but Ryan Gilbey obviously appreciates all of the elements that go into filmmaking, from the visual compositions to the lighting, editing and art direction to the psychological sense of space to the aural textures and everything in between. I love that he writes so deeply and intelligently about "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore," a Scorcese masterpiece that is usually ignored. As a teenager in the seventies, I watched that movie a dozen times, fascinated by the tiny details that Gilbey brilliantly explores. With the recent revival in seventies cinema worship, I was afraid there was nothing left to say on the subject. But Gilbey brings a sharp probing eye and intriguing new insight to the films he discusses. He dares to tackle DePalma without going on and on about the obvious Hitchcock nods. He gives "American Grafitti" the full credit it deserves as a truly groundbreaking work of cinematic layering that predates Robert Altman's "Nashville." He ingeniously points out that "The Godfather" might not have earned its classic status without the superimpositions of "Godfather 2". He presents compelling theories as to why Peter Bogdanovich and William Friedkin never lived up to their early successes. He reminds us how innovative "Annie Hall" was at the time, how interesting Jonathan Demme can be, and how complex Terrence Malick films are. My only complaint: Sometimes it's obvious that Gilbey was just a baby when these films were released (he seems to assume that DePalma was well-respected/received during that era, etc.) but it's nice to know the films can still work their magic after all these years. I wish he had written more about the directors' later films but I guess that's another book. At least he mentions them briefly, and also tips his hat to the new wave of auteurs like Wes Anderson, David Lynch, etc. Personally, I believe we are living in a new Golden Age of Cinema that rivals the seventies. Since the late nineties, the "indies" have given us so many new interesting directors and eccentric visions that it's hard for the average filmgoer to keep up with them all. Maybe the talented Ryan Gilbey will turn his critical lens on the last ten years of moviemaking for his next book -- and blow away all those boring critics who can't stop reviewing movies as if they're writing book reports for English class.
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