Friday, September 20, 2013

10 Tips on Getting in More Classic Film Reading

I hear a lot of people say that they don’t read classic film related books or don’t read enough of them because they don’t have time. This is an issue for all of us really. We lead busy lives and it’s difficult to get a movie in sometimes let alone a whole book!

As you can tell by my Summer Reading Classic Film Book Challenge and my many book reviews on this blog, reading classic film books is incredibly important to me. I try my best to fit it into my life because I want to learn. There is so much to learn and even with all the books I’ve read already, I feel like I’ve only hit the tip of the iceberg. I know there is so much more out there and my insatiable curiosity won’t let me rest. However, even with my own self-motivation, I still struggle.

Here are ten tips that have helped me get more reading in. I use almost all of them on a regular basis (I have to get better at #10!). I find that I need as much motivation as possible to get in all the reading I want to do. And even then I wish I could read more. Some of these tips might help you, some might not. Look through the list and see if there are any that might help you get in more reading.

 1. Read what you want – I came up with the idea of a Summer Reading challenge instead of a book club because I wanted to people to read what they wanted instead of being assigned something. Don’t pick up a book you think you should read, pick up something you know you want to read. It can be a book about your favorite actor, actress or director or about a genre you love.

2. Challenge yourself – Make goals. Whether it’s to read 6 books in 3 months or to get that one book you’ve been reading for a long time finished by next week. You can even set page goals. For example, make a small goal to finish 100 pages of your book by the end of the day. I know this all makes reading sound like a chore. It really isn’t. Reading is a joy but it comes with effort. And it's more difficult these days with all the distractions. Our attention spans have become shorter. Reading a book will help you work on your attention span and you’ll feel accomplished after each book. Also, if you have an hour to devote to reading and you'll find you'll get advance more pages in an hour straight of reading than an hour's worth of reading in little bits. However, if little snippets of time is all you have then that’s better than nothing.

3. Keep track of your reading – I like to use a website like Goodreads. There is also LibraryThing, All Consuming and a few others. I keep track of books I’m currently reading, books I've read in the past, and how many books I want to read in a year (Goodreads has a cool tracking widget for that). You can also keep an offline journal or keep track of your reading on your blog if you have one. You can do full reviews or small ones to keep track of your thoughts on what you’ve read.

4. Find motivation – Read book reviews by other bloggers or readers, learn about new books coming out, take a look at the book section on TCM’s website, sign up for e-newsletters from your favorite publishers, talk to friends online and offline about what they are reading, etc. I find that talking to people about books or learning about them on and offline really encourages me to read more.


 5. Keep a book by your side constantly – Right now I’m reading Room 1219: The Life of Fatty Arbuckle, the Mysterious Death of Virginia Rappe, and the Scandal That Changed Hollywood. It goes everywhere with me. It’s often found in my car, at my desk at work, in my purse, on my nightstand, on the coffee table by the couch and even in the bathroom sometimes. I read it in the morning when I wake up, at night before I go to sleep and I even read it during my lunch break. Bring a book with you when you travel or go to appointments. You’ll have a lot of down time and you can get some good reading in that way. In fact, if you have a lot of travel time ahead of you, such as a long flight or bus/train trip, then bring TWO books. When you get bored of one, switch to the other. And on that note...

6. Alternate your reading – Do you find yourself overwhelmed with a particular book no matter how much you enjoy reading it? Or is the book your reading a bit of a slog to get through? You don’t have to be faithful to one book at a time. Have a few going at once. I almost always have 3 or 4 books going at the same time. I also read young adult and children’s books for work. So sometimes I’ll alternate between my classic film book and one lighter book I’m reading for my job. Or I’ll alternate between two classic film books. I also like reading general non-fiction, history, classic literature and some contemporary fiction. I try to mix things up and it keeps things interesting.


7. Reward yourself – I remember one time I was so happy that I had finished a particularly long classic film book that was chock full of just so much information, that I rewarded myself with a day of luxury. On that day, I did beauty treatments, went shopping and watched my favorite films. Your rewards don’t have to encompass entire days. They can be small too! Sometimes I even reward myself with finishing one book by buying another. Just don't reward yourself with cake. Ha!

8. Do active reading – I keep a notebook or a pad of paper and a pen handy to make notes while I'm reading. I write down quotes (with page numbers), trivia bits I liked, things that struck me as interesting, thoughts I had about what was discussed and points maybe I want to include in my review if I’m doing one. This is especially useful when you are reading non-fiction like a biography. If I don't have paper nearby, I'll take notes on my iPhone and I'll even take pictures of quotes from the book that I want to refer to later! If you're reading a book about a specific genre of film, sometimes I stop to go to YouTube or TCM's MediaRoom to watch a trailer, scene, musical number, interview, etc. that was mentioned in the book. Or if I read about a film I haven’t seen yet, I go to Netflix or Classicflix to see if I can rent it. Or I’ll look it up on TCM’s website to see if they are showing it in the future. All of this may increase the time it takes you to finish a book. However, it will make you more absorbed in the reading experience and you'll enjoy it more because you have become an active participant instead of just a passive one.

9. Be realistic – You can’t read all the books in the world. There are so many classic film books out there and more are being published every year. Even though our niche is really specific, there is still a huge variety of books on it. So be picky. As I said before, read what you want. Also, if you have a super busy schedule, be realistic about what you can fit in. You might want to read 100 books in a year but if 10 or 20 is more realistic stick with that.

10. It’s okay to put a book down – I should take my own advice because I rarely do this. If you had high hopes for a book and your reading experience has been nothing but a big disappointment, then give yourself permission to stop reading the book . There are a lot of books out there that you will enjoy. It doesn’t make sense to waste your precious time on something that you just don’t like.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

2013 Summer Reading Classic Film Book Challenge ~ Final Round-up


Here is the final round-up for the 2013 Summer Reading Classic Film Book Challenge. Check out the First Round-Up and Second Round-Up if you haven't already.

Congratulations to Laura and Travis! They completed the 6 book challenge. Instead of awarding a prize to one winner, I decided to split the prize and give them both their pick of any Warner Archive title they want.

ETA: Sara also won too! I didn't find all her reviews on my searches. Whoops! Good job Sara! I added links below and she'll also be getting a prize.

I'm very impressed with everyone's reading and reviews. Here are the last ones:

ETA: Karen of Shadows and Satin submitted 4 after the deadline but I'll still take them!

Born to Be Hurt: The Untold Story of Imitation of Life by Sam Staggs
Hollywood Myths: The Shocking Truths Behind Film’s Most Incredible Secrets and Scandals by Joe Williams
Hollywood Book of Death: The Bizarre, Often Sordid, Passings of More than 125 American Movie and TV Idols by James Robert Parish
Norma Shearer by Gavin Lambert

Laura of Laura's Miscellaneous Musings
Joan Blondell: A Life Between Takes by Matthew Kennedy
Movie Love in the Fifties by James Harvey
Romantic Comedy in Hollywood: From Lubitsch to Sturges by James Harvey
Yvonne: An Autobiography by Yvonne DeCarlo

L of Vintage Classic Scrapbook
Bonjour Tristesse by Francoise Sagan
Film Noir by Alain Silver and James Ursini
Suspects by David Thomson

Margaret of The Great Katharine Hepburn
Celluloid Gaze by Boze Hadleigh

Raquel of Out of the Past
Ava Gardner: The Secret Conversations by Ava Gardner and Peter Evans
Cagney by Cagney
Saul Bass: A Life in Film and Design by Pat Kirkham and Jennifer Bass
Young Man with a Horn by Dorothy Baker

Rich of Wide Screen World
I Do and I Don't: A History of Marriage in the Movies by Jeanine Basinger

Sara on Goodreads
The Caine Mutiny by Herman Wouk
The Measure of a Man by Sidney Poitier
To Have and Have Not by Ernest Hemingway

Sebina on Goodreads
Killer Tomatoes: Fifteen Tough Film Dames by Ray Hagen and Laura Wagner
Without Lying Down: Screenwriter Frances Marion and the Powerful Women of Early Hollywood by Cari Beauchamp

Travis of Cinemalacrum
License To Thrill: A Cultural History of the James Bond Films
Mining The Home Movie: Excavations In Histories And Memories
Korean Film: History, Resistance, and Democratic Imagination


Total Books Counted
Karen - 4
Laura - 6
L  - 5
Lindsay - 1
Margaret - 5
Raquel - 6
Rich - 3
Sara - 6
Sebina - 4
Travis - 6

(If I'm missing a link or I incorrectly counted your reviews, let me know!)

Everyone did a great job with their book reviews. Thanks so much for participating! I hope to be able to do this next year.

Friday, September 13, 2013

Saul Bass: A Life in Film and Design

Saul Bass: A Life in Film and Design
by Jennifer Bass and Pat Kirkham
Foreword by Martin Scorsese

Laurence King Publishers
(distributed in the U.S. by Chronicle)
Hardcover, 428 pages
October 2011
ISBN: 9781856697521

Barnes and Noble
IndieBound
Powell's

I was so excited when Saul Bass: A Life in Film and Design came out. I anxiously waited for a good deal and when I found one I immediately bought the book. As with most books I get really excited about, it quickly got queued along with a lot of other books that were begging for my attention. My Summer Reading Classic Film Book Challenge was just the swift kick in the pants I needed to devote some time to it.

Many people will buy this book, flip through the pages, ogle at Saul Bass' many gorgeous designs and display the book proudly in their homes. But this book deserves so much more than to just be another adornment on someone's coffee table for cursory perusing. It's a beautiful book meant to be slowly consumed with just as much time spent reading the text as looking at the designs.

The book starts off with a foreword by Director Martin Scorsese, a preface by design historian and Bass family friend Pat Kirkham and an additional preface by Saul Bass' daughter Jennifer Bass. Her preface is very touching and reads like a love letter to her dad. It's not to be missed. Right from the beginning we get the sense that Saul Bass didn't do this alone. He collaborated with his talented wife Elaine Bass and had the support of a team that grew to over 50 employees. Bass worked tirelessly up until his death in 1996.

Pat Kirkham wrote most of the text and Jennifer Bass worked on the design and layout of the book as well as curating all of the design work that is so lovingly displayed. Saul Bass had intended to write a book of his own but had to abandon it while in the middle of the process. Many of the writings in his early draft can be found within the pages of this book. It's divided into 6 chapters: 1. From the Beginning; 2. Renaissance Designer, 3. Reinventing Movie Titles, 4. Beginnings, Middles and Ends, 5. The Wheel Comes Full Circle, 6. Corporate Identity, 7. Personal Handwriting. This structure isn't immediately intuitive but works chronologically through Bass' life and career and the necessity for this structured flow becomes apparent as you work through the book.

Saul Bass' work is vast and encompasses many formats and mediums. He did movie title sequences, movie posters and ads, corporate logos, album covers, food and product package designs and he even designed buildings. His portfolio of logos for companies and organizations such as AT&T, The Girl Scouts, The United Way, United Airlines, Continental Airlines, Dixie Cups, Warner Communications, etc. is remarkable. He and his wife Elaine also directed short films, commericals and one feature length film Phase IV.

His movie title sequences are what I think most of us are enchanted by and we get to ogle at screen shots of his collaborations with directors such as Otto Preminger (they worked on 13 films together), Alfred Hitchcock (did you know that Bass "designed" the famous shower sequence in Psycho?) and Martin Scorsese (who gave Bass complete creative control).

What's really wonderful about this book is not only are Saul Bass' designs presented to us in a visually appealing format, we are also given the history, context and meaning behind each design. You'll learn a lot about why Bass decided to go with a certain look or design element. He was incredibly thoughtful and retentive and each design, no matter how simple, is packed with meaning and symbolism.

My only very slight criticism of this book is that it is presented with bias and definitely glorifies Bass and his work. His talent was incredible and after reading this I wonder if he was super-human and almost without fault? Who knows, maybe he was? Otherwise, this book is a glorious tribute to an incredibly talented man. I love the last chapter which includes quotes, reminiscences and advice from the man himself.

Here are some quotes from Saul Bass and from the book in general along with some of my favorite Saul Bass designs. I also included a making-of-the-book trailer from the publisher. This is my sixth and final entry for my 2013 Summer Reading Classic Film Book Challenge.



On Movie Title Sequences - "... the nature of films was changing, partly in terms of content but also because of competition from television - opening up new possibilities for designers like Saul." - pg 16
On Creativity - "Interesting things happen when creative impulse is cultivated with curiosity, freedom and intensity." - Saul Bass
On Conformity "... Saul noted the links between creativity and non-conformity, pointing to the fear of risk-taking and the stigma attached to failure in a success-oriented society." - pg. 32
 On Criticism -  "You see an artist, a creative person, can accept criticism or can live with the criticism much more easily than with being ignored. Criticism makes you feel alive. If somebody is bothered enough by what you have done to speak vituperatively about it, you feel have touched a nerve and you are at least “in touch.” You are not happy that he doesn’t like it, but you feel you are in contact with life.”- Saul Bass
On Movie Title Squences - "Saul believed that a film, like a symphony, deserved a mood-setting overture, and used ambiguity, layering and texture as well as startingly compact imagery to reshape the time before the film proper began.” p. 106
On the Care and Feeding of Creative People - "When a client repeatedly rejects good ideas the effect on creative people can be devastating. Joy evaporates, motivation diminishes. Conversely, when a client recognizes and supports excellent work, the motivation to be even better is enhanced.”- Saul Bass
On Saul Bass’ ideal title – “a simplicity which also as a certain ambiguity and a certain metaphysical implication that makes that simplicity vital. If it’s simple simple, it’s boring.” pg. 107 

Title sequence for Ocean's 11 (1960)



Title sequence for The Man With a Golden Arm (1955)


Cover of the music album Tone Poems of Color conducted by Frank Sinatra


Corporate Logos by Saul Bass


Anatomy of a Murder (1959) movie poster


Bonjour Tristesse (1958) movie poster




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