The Film Work of Norman McLaren (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"... This handsome, classy book should prove an indispensable companion to the DVD boxed set of McLaren's work (Norman McLaren, the Master's Edition, 2006). Both pay overdue attention to a brilliant, distinctive innovator who balanced the antithetic passions of social concern and abstract art.... Highly recommended." -- Choice

Product Description

The Film Work of Norman McLaren examines his films in the context of his objectives. The first part deals with McLaren’s formative years in Scotland and England and examines his early exposure to the social, artistic, and institutional influences that were to shape his filmic output. The second part deals with McLaren’s maturation in the USA and Canada. The third part is concerned principally with his mature output. McLaren’s films contain incongruities, conflicts, and apparent inconsistencies. In exploring these aspects of his work, Terence Dobson examines the technical processes McLaren used in making his films, the oscillation shown in his films between abstract and representational imagery, and the degree of accord between McLaren’s social and artistic objectives, and his filmic achievements.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: John Libbey Publishing (January 3, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0861966562
• ISBN-13: 978-0861966561
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,725,961 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A long awaited essential book, September 15, 2007

By	M. Furniss - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'm an animation historian and teacher, and it has been shocking to me that for many years there have been few books devoted to Norman McLaren, one of the most influential animators in the world -- and none of the existing books have been recent or broadly based. Anyone who goes through an animation history course sees Neighbors, or one of his other films (I hope!!). Compare the number of books on Disney with the number on McLaren to see the injustice.
Finally, we have the long-awaited resource that has been so obviously missing -- Terence Dobson has published The Film Work of Norman McLaren. Dobson undertook study of McLaren in earnest many years ago. His numerous personal interviews with individuals who who knew McLaren date from 1990. In the meantime, Dobson has published portions of his research in a variety of places, including Animation Journal, which I edit. From these relatively small kernels of information, one could see that a major work on McLaren was on the way. Now it is here, and without question it should be part of every animation library. Due to the density of the information, it might be a bit high level for general reading by high school aged readers; however, it will appeal to college students (especially graduate level) and researchers. And at any of these levels, it serves as a valuable reference.
Dobson looks at various stages in McLaren's career, creating a broad context within the realms of film, visual art, and music, all of which are areas of focus within the author's larger research interests. A wealth of images, both black/white and color, accompany the text. A lengthy bibliography provides a list of McLaren-related resources that Dobson has found during his years of research, including documents and correspondence written by the artist.