The Films of Peter Weir [Hardcover]

Jonathan Rayner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1999 | ISBN-10: 030470122X | ISBN-13: 978-0304701223

The Films of Peter Weir examines the Australian director's short films and feature productions since 1970. Analysis of the films is based on the identification and interpretation of recurrent meaning structures, and the tracing of stylistic and thematic continuities across the filmmaker's career. Weir has worked in Australia and Hollywood, and consideration of his films includes study of the circumstances of production, recognition of the contribution of the director's collaborators, and analysis of texts used as sources or allusions from literary and visual arts. Weir's less well known Australian films of the 1970s receive equal treatment alongside the high-profile productions such as Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975). The films are treated in chronological order, with chapters devoted to pairs of films linked in their timing and subject matter, such as Witness (1985) and The Mosquito Coast (1986), as well as to individual key works.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In his academic analysis of Peter Weir's work, including Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975), Gallipoli (1981), Witness (1985), and Dead Poets Society (1989), Rayner (English/media studies, Univ. of Wales) explains how the Australian director has forged a distinctive voice by merging European art film style with Hollywood genre conventions. Rayner's examination of Weir's short films and 13 features (The Truman Show, the 14th, is referenced but was apparently released after the book was completed) leads him to conclude that Weir's work illustrates "a consistent range of themes: liberty and repression, youth and innocence against age and disillusioned knowledge, clashes of culture and the celebration of unique but unpredictable and inexpressible personal experience." Rayner also explores the rebirth of Australian film, which like many other national cinemas was overwhelmed by Hollywood after World War I. His fluency in film history makes this particularly suitable for informed readers.?Kim R. Holston, American Inst. for Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters, Malvern, PA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"The second edition of Rayner's book differs from the first in several ways. The author has added eight stills from Weir's films, a discussion of The Truman Show, a more extensive bibliography, Internet resources, and a concluding chapter...Recommended."" -Choice"

"The second edition of Rayner's book differs from the first in several ways. The author has added eight stills from Weir's films, a discussion of The Truman Show, a more extensive bibliography, Internet resources, and a concluding chapter…Recommended."" -Choice"

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 228 pages
• Publisher: Cassell (January 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 030470122X
• ISBN-13: 978-0304701223
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,696,268 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An ok analysis of the Australian auteur, June 27, 2006

By 

Hairy Lime (ND, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Films of Peter Weir (Paperback)

"The Films of Peter Weir" analyzes the body of work of the Australian director from his earlier art house movies up through the Hollywood movie The Truman Show in 1998.

The chapters each analyze two of Weir's movies. Sometimes this is interesting (the chapter on Gallipoli and The Year of Living Dangerously), but in other chapters, it's kinda weird (Dead Poets Society and Green Card?). I thought the best information came in the chapter on Picnic at Hanging Rock and the chapter about The Year of Living Dangerously, in which the author compares the structure of the film to a wayang, or a Javanese shadow play.

The book was a slow read for me, though, and I think it's because the writing felt like an academic trying to write on a popular subject rather than a popular writer writing about it, (if that makes any sense). If you're a die-hard Weir fan, you will definitely want to get this book. But I see there are a few other books on Weir out there, so those might be more suitable if you're just a casual fan.

1.0 out of 5 stars dull disorganized writing, July 17, 2011

By 

Benny - See all my reviews

This review is from: Films of Peter Weir (Paperback)

I only read the 1998 first version of this book and I was so disappointed that I read very little of it. Each chapter discusses two Peter Weir movies almost as if paragraphs about each movie were shuffled together so the paragraphs jump jarringly from one movie to the other, from one set of characters to the other. Characters are often referred to only by first name or last name, so if you don't know the cast list for each movie really well, it is often unclear which movie a particular paragraph is referring to. Each paragraph seems to pick a new idea out of the blue that has nothing to do with previous paragraphs, so there is no sense of presentation or organization or development of ideas. To make matters worse, the writing style is dull and pedantic as in this example "That a satisfactory generic ending may be reached, despite the evident subversion of codes, is suggested by further development of the same stylistic features."