Customer Reviews

The Citizen Kane Crash Course in Cinematography: A Wildly Fictional Account of How Orson Welles Learned Everything about the Art of Cinematography in Half an Hour. Or, Was It a Weekend?

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This book does not provide the depth that I expected at all! If one takes away the "wildly fictional" portions, the informative bits about cinematography is reduced to a mere 9-10 pages. Namely, 1)lens of varying focal lengths are used to different shots like, establishing shots, long shots, mid shots, close ups, 2) what is 3-pt lighting, 3) never cross-over the 180-degree line, 4) Remember to capture the various wide, mid, closeups for every scene and don't forget the cutaways,

This is really a fictitious story (presented in a script form) about Welles and Toland's 2-day spree on booze and sex in Hollywood (with Toland giving VERY short lessons to Welles on the very basics of cinematography in between). The 1st 30 pages of this 120-page book does not present anything on cinematography at all!

Quoting 2 lines from the book (so that you can have an idea of some of the "wild" contents,
"Welles rushes toward the enticing "ladies of the evening" and scooping Jean up in his arms he heads for the masterbedroom with Marlene and Greta bouncing and giggling closely behind. The massive bedroom door slams shut, leaving Toland standing there along in the middle of the suite, still holding the 75mm lens and surrounded by all the equipment."

"Before you could say 'orgy' the entire after-hours party, Toland included, was in the pool, playing and kissing and groping and thrusting and leaving Madam Gaylor and the head chef ambivalently sneaking glances at the erotic display and sipping their champagne."

The author knows a lot about cinematography but not much about Welles. The writing is at the high school level and full of jargon; in fact, the book is full of quite a bit of useless information, including charts and graphs that mean nothing. The story is, well, pointless. The drawing were done merely to avoid copyright issue; what you have is a book about photography with no photographs or stills. The background research was done via google and wikipedia. On the positive side, the author does admire Greg Toland.

Mr. Worth,

Earlier today I finished reading the "Citizen Kane Crash Course in Cinematography"...and, as I had hoped would be the case, I was not only entertained, but also educated.

I couldn't help but smile when I read the Foreword...you see, I just finished reading "If Chins Could Kill" last week, so I was still digesting Bruce Campbell's hilarious narrative of his adventures with Sam Raimi & Co. (and getting an education on low-budget special effects to boot) when I picked up your book, so it was almost as if I were finishing a dialogue with Bruce and having him hand the conversation off to you!

And what a conversation your book turned out to be! I can say with some conviction that the two or so hours total I spent on it taught me more useful information in an easily-retainable form than the countless hours I've spent looking through other books that claim to break down the art of filmmaking. You've taken the fundamentals of camerawork--the vast majority of which still holds true in our high-definition age--and couched it in a wide-open, freewheeling tale of the decadence of Hollywood's Golden Age. I lost count of the times I laughed out loud as my mind's ear heard the words you placed in Orson Welles' mouth booming out in his inimitable voice. But as I laughed, I also learned...and any story that can make a reader do both wields a great deal of power.

I'm currently editing footage I shot of my cousin's wedding with two miniDV cameras (after he saw the butchery of my brother's wedding video by a family friend with an expensive camera and no clue how to use it, he enlisted my help...the fact that he was also the lead in one of my earliest no-budget productions probably had a hand in it as well, but I digress...), and as I held one of those small plastic cassettes in my hand, the vision of Gregg Toland reverently holding up the can of 35mm film crossed my mind..."this is what all the fuss is about." And even though the "this" has gone from film to tape and is rapidly moving from physical media to the realm of ones and zeroes, the same rules apply...and that's what makes a book like yours an instant classic. I definitely see myself reading this book a few more times in the near future and holding onto it as a valuable reference.

Anyway, I just wanted to share my thoughts on the book, for what they're worth, and to thank you for sharing such a great story--true or not, it's definitely a tale worth passing on!

I'll start off by saying this book taught me nothing new. As a filmmaker myself (in the past) I have a good grasp of Cinematography. However...I didn't 'go to school' to learn, I learnt from watching films, which led to A LOT of trial and error on the set. Had I have read this book first, it would've saved me time, money, film stock and more importantly embarrassment.

An odd structure. Part fiction, part fact, part technical manual, part shooting script, part novel...the way it mixed fact and fiction reminded me a lot of Bruce Campbell's book 'Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way'.

The story is quite straightforward. Orson Welles was about to make his first film, you may've heard of it; 'Citizen Kane'. The only drawback was Welles knew quite literally nothing about filmmaking. He goes on a voyage of Cinematic discovery over the course of a weekend with acclaimed Cinematographer Gregg Toland to learn how movie magic is accomplished. Mr. Worth manages to shoehorn in some sex to spice things up a bit (now THERE'S something you don't usually get in textbooks) and the plot moves at a cracking pace...I'm not really used to being titillated AND educated at the same time and it was a little disorientating at first...a bit like Linda Lovelace reciting Pi in the middle of 'a scene'.

As far as I understand the facts, Welles knew about directing people from his stage work, but had no experience behind a lens. A secretary at RKO took some A4 sheets and cut a hole in the middle. Into the hole she taped a 35mm film cell. On the papers she wrote "ESTABLISHING SHOT", "MASTER SHOT", "CLOSE-UP" etc. and Welles could hold the page up to the light to see a visual representation of the term in the form of a 'still' from RKO's back catalogue. From that crumb of information, he then got a banquet from Gregg Toland.

I certainly would recommend it for students to read BEFORE they pick up a camera, as it covers all the basics in a very clear and concise way. And I think Welles enthusiass will enjoy it too.

I must mention that in Roger Corman's recommendation for this book, in ONE sentence he manages to plug THREE of his own films. Now THAT'S what I call a shameless self publicist !

I've made, literally, hundreds of purchases from Amazon over the last decade and this is the first time I've felt compelled to write a review. This book is a complete waste of time, money, and trees. It vaguely covers 101 level concepts like basic lighting, lens selection, and the concept of "crossing the axis". Most of that info should be freely available on the internet, with the added advantage of getting to skip the authors lame hollywood fantasies about what Orson Wells and Greg Tolland might have done with hookers, drugs, booze, etc. I'd suggest Sidney Lumet's "Making Movies" or pretty much anything other than this book. I deeply regret purchasing it and have no idea how it ever got a positive rating.

"The Citizen Kane Crash Course in Cinemaphotography" is truly one of the WEIRDEST books on filmmaking I've ever read... in a good way. Basically, it's a primer on the basic rules and tenets of cinematography... couched in a totally fictional account of Orson Welles and DP Gregg Toland's hedonistic weekend in L.A. If you're looking for anything remotely resembling truth or biography... this isn't it; but if you're looking for a fearlessly fun way to learn the basics of shooting a film, lighting, etc.-- I think you'll enjoy this. And what the book lacks in biographical truth, "The Citizen Kane Crash Course" makes up for in sheer passion for its subject, its characters, and filmmaking itself. At the end of the day-- sure, this is an entertaining lesson on photography, but more importantly, it's a celebration of the beauty of celluloid images... and the practical techniques that go into making them.

This book is perfect for upcoming young filmmakers such as myself, who haven't learned the basics in filmschool yet or will never be able to do so.

That is what the book does pretty well, teach you the basics, and that is what it should do! It is just enough to build up on with your own style and creativity.

Classic Coverage for example is a technique i never heard of before, but that i use now making my shorts, and i experimenting around it. The tips in the book are really easy to apply to your everyday filmmaking, and you'll do so quickly.

Also the book is well written, very entertaining and not too long.

A must-buy!

I had the pleasure of being in a class taught by David Worth, and what else is there to say except that the man knows the business very well?

His passion for film and admiration for Welles and Toland are evident in every page of this book, and there's information about cinematography around every corner. I know I'll remember the FOUR Ts whenever I'm trying to make a film, and everything else is great too.

The narrative is just very fun, and even if none of it happened (even though someone said it should have), this book is worth reading if you want to be entertained and learn more about Orson and the art of cinematography.

--Daniel M.

Every session of my class "American Film History" I highlight the film "Citizen Kane." How could I not? In the process of talking about the film I show a small clip from a documentary of the history of cinematography. In the documentary, modern day cinematographers talk about the film, the unique use of "deep focus" and the skills of the cinematographer Greg Toland and director Orson Welles. One quote by a cinematographer, whose name escapes me, goes on to say: "What fun they must have had making this picture." And there is a photo of Toland and Welles laying on the floor behind a camera.

Indeed, what fun they must have had. Opening up the toy box (or is it a Pandora's box?) that is Hollywood and seeing what they could play with.

This book is a "wildly fictional account" of that fun and what it must have been like to work creatively with a young up-and-coming director (Welles) and the crafty veteran cinematographer (Noland).

One wonders, of course, how much truth there is in this story of the two as they hire whores and drink themselves into oblivion - but there is a point where it doesn't much seem to matter. The point is to enjoy the story as much as you can.

What is unique about David Worth's book is that you can actually learn something in the process. Where probably 95% of the books about cinematography are dry tomes bent on putting you to sleep, this approach of fictionalizing a true relationship gives you a way of enjoying the story WHILE learning something. If I had only one complaint - I wish the book was longer and had delved more into the history of 1940's Hollywood - a time as long past as the Brown Derby and Schwab's Drug Store.

Bottom line, frankly, is that this book is a fantastically fun fictional account of the collaboration between Welles and Toland. Dive into this story like you would a dessert. Enjoy it to the fullest.

I did not read the reviews listed above, and this was a mistake since reviewer number 1's identification of the book as "a complete waste of time, money, and trees." Absolutely right: not only is the book vulgar in tone (to no real practical end), it is also SINGULARLY without any of the information about cinematography that its title ("A Crash Course in Cinematography") promises. I learned nothing that a basic Wikipedia search wouldn't uncover for anyone interested in the basics of cinematography. Like reviewer number one I have a major case of buyer's remorse. I won't even take this one to the book exchange, lest some other hapless reader pick the book up and lose even fifteen minutes of their valuable time on what is the worst book I have ever come across in my long career as a reader. Having written this review, I am now putting the book in the garbage can.