Afbeelding auteur
11 Werken 473 Leden 41 Besprekingen

Over de Auteur

Eric San Juan was the editor-in-chief for a family of weekly newspapers in New Jersey for more than a decade and cohost of the Year of Hitchcock podcast. He is the author of Stuff Every Husband Should Know (2011) and the coauthor of A Year of Hitchcock: 52 Weeks with the Master of Suspense toon meer (Scarecrow, 2011) and Hitchcock's Villains: Murderers, Mothers, and Maniac Issues (Scarecrow, 2013). toon minder

Werken van Eric San Juan

Tagged

Algemene kennis

Geslacht
male

Leden

Besprekingen

Deze bespreking is geschreven voor LibraryThing Vroege Recensenten.
I am not quite sure what I was expecting with this book, but I know it wasn't what the book actually was. It was an extremely quick read, and very dependent on your geek pop culture knowledge (which I discovered was lacking). It was fluffy though, and a bit less philosophical and more quick musings on the potential deeper meaning of certain lines from what the authors considered cult classics of geek culture.

Cute enough but I always find these sort of books unsatisfying, when what I really wanted was less a walk down the aisle of a candy store and more Tao of Pooh introspection. I do have a list of new books and movies to check out though.… (meer)
½
 
Gemarkeerd
wisemetis | 29 andere besprekingen | Aug 1, 2022 |
"Geek-hood," I realize, is all relative. I'd like to think that I have the street cred to call myself a geek or nerd. Graduate degrees in science. Book-lover. Technophile. Fantasy author. But as I read through the snippets of "wisdom" in this book, I kept thinking perhaps my grown daughter is more of a geek than I am. I got most of the pop culture references, but I think she might've gotten more of them. And (a look of embarrassment crosses his face) I am Doctor-Who-illiterate (gasp!).

The "sacred teachings" were at times mildly humorous, or cute. But surely the editors could've found some profound gems of wisdom to throw in! Perhaps I expected too much. I just didn't get much out of this.

And there was no mention of "Nerds," the candy. Too bad.
… (meer)
 
Gemarkeerd
MarkLacy | 29 andere besprekingen | May 29, 2022 |
The Films of Martin Scorsese: Gangsters, Greed, and Guilt by Eric San Juan presents a coherent understanding of Scorsese's oeuvre by looking closely at each film in chronological order.

If you have studied film or are a big Scorsese fan you may not learn a lot of new "facts" that you didn't already know. But that isn't the point of the book, it is a deeper look at what makes a Scorsese film a Scorsese film. Not just the surface elements that fall neatly under the heading of technique, though they certainly are important aspects. San Juan looks closely at relationships in the films, in Scorsese's life, and between films. This framing or contextualizing of what we have all seen and read about numerous times is the real strength of this book.

While this looks at the films at a deeper level than many film books, it is not an academic book. Some of the ideas would be at home in academia but this book is far more accessible than many academic books on film and film history. Each chapter is more like listening to a friend who loves the film being discussed tell you what they get out of it. There isn't any claim to any "correct" reading of the films but the case is made for each as a viable reading.

While this is not an academic book, I would have considered using it, or chapters from it, in courses I taught that would have included one of the films. Not because I think it is definitive but because it opens space for discussion and further thought. As a book for casual reading, it serves that same purpose, you will watch some of these films again with a slightly different perspective, maybe with a different understanding or appreciation. If you're like me, you will choose a few in particular to watch almost immediately so you can consider what San Juan is arguing as well as how you have understood the film. For me, the first three re-watches are Cape Fear, Alice Doesn't Live Here Any More, and Shutter Island. Results may vary.

I recommend this to any film history buff as well as anyone who likes to think about what a film might be saying in addition to the surface story or meaning. Scorsese fans, of course, will find a lot to appreciate here. The writing and ideas are accessible to any reader but is also deep enough for students of film to benefit.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
… (meer)
 
Gemarkeerd
pomo58 | Jul 15, 2020 |
I've read this book off and on for years and years.
½
 
Gemarkeerd
benbrainard8 | 29 andere besprekingen | Apr 18, 2020 |

Misschien vindt je deze ook leuk

Gerelateerde auteurs

Zaki Hasan Contributor
Mario Zucca Illustrator

Statistieken

Werken
11
Leden
473
Populariteit
#52,094
Waardering
½ 3.6
Besprekingen
41
ISBNs
20
Talen
1

Tabellen & Grafieken