A Dictionary of Cinema Quotations from Filmmakers and Critics: Over 3400 Axioms, Criticisms, Opinions and Witticisms from 100 Years of the Cinema [Hardcover]

Stephen M. Ringler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2000 | ISBN-10: 0786408499 | ISBN-13: 978-0786408498

"The cinema isn't a slice of life, it's a slice of cake"-Alfred Hitchcock. "If you make a popular movie, you start to think where have I failed?"-Woody Allen. "A film is the world in an hour and a half"-Jean-Luc Godard. "I think you have to be slightly psychopathic to make movies"-David Cronenberg. This compendium contains over 3,400 quotations from filmmakers and critics discussing their craft. About 1,850 film people are included-Buñuel, Capra, Chaplin, Disney, Fellini, Fitzgerald, Griffith, Kael, Kurasawa, Pathé, Sarris, Schwarzenegger, Spielberg, Waters and Welles among them. The quotes are arranged under such topics as acting, audience, budget, directing, locations, reviews, screenwriting and special effects. Indexing by filmmaker (or critic), film titles and narrow subjects provides a rich array of points of access for both film fans and scholars.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Quite impressive compendium" -- -Classic Images

"Recommended" -- -Reference & User Services Quarterly

"The best book of its kind ever published" -- -Images

About the Author

Stephen M. Ringler is a producer, writer, and researcher in the IMAX-style film industry. He lives in Santa Barbara, California.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 248 pages
• Publisher: McFarland & Company (November 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786408499
• ISBN-13: 978-0786408498
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 7.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,798,620 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Add to your reference library, October 29, 2001

By 

Suzanne Jones (Asheville, NC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Dictionary of Cinema Quotations from Filmmakers and Critics: Over 3400 Axioms, Criticisms, Opinions and Witticisms from 100 Years of the Cinema (Hardcover)

Writers, critics, toastmasters and others involved in the film industry will find this book useful for supplying quotes from the industry's best. And the book's organization and index supply all the buttons to gain access to what you're looking for.

But beware, all who are looking for a quickie quote. You'll open a page that's just your subject and come up for air hours later. The book might be great as a reference tool, but it's also wonderfully entertaining.

5.0 out of 5 stars Brillliant. Unique. Indispensible., March 23, 2008

By 

J. Pudwill "Professional Writer" (Southern California) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Dictionary of Cinema Quotations from Filmmakers and Critics: Over 3400 Axioms, Criticisms, Opinions and Witticisms from 100 Years of the Cinema (Hardcover)

A Dictionary of Cinema Quotations From Filmmakers And Critics by Stephen Ringler. Not a movie quotes or snatches-of-dialogue book, this is instead an unparalleled source for the best quotations ever uttered by those involved in the filmmaking business.

Brilliant observations and witticisms by Hollywood's best and brightest, covering over 100 years. Mostly zingers you've never heard before (where did Ringler find all these?!) Peerless in its selection, this book entertains, enlightens and illuminates like no other. A costly little commodity for its 207 pages, it makes up for it in the sheer quality of its 3,400 entries. A few worthy examples:

"I always thought the actors were hired to ruin the writers' lives." - Robert Benton

"Audiences attract dollars; stars attract audiences; characters attract stars." - David Geffner

"Show business is high school plus money." - Stephen Speilberg

"Hollywood never learns from its own failures, only other people's successes." - Robert Redford

The top tome on my movie book shelf.