Customer Reviews

X Films: True Confessions of a Radical Filmmaker

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Whether you know Alex Cox from Repo Man, Sid And Nancy, Walker, 'Moviedrome' or his career in Mexico, I can't recommend X-Films highly enough.

Informative, entertaining and often very amusing, Cox's book is both a detailed account of an unusual life well lived and a guide to the highs and (many) lows that come with making movies for a living. Indeed, anyone who's thinking of a career as a film director would do well to read X-Films and then think again, safe in the knowledge that Cox had the courage to pursue such a perilous existence.

As teenagers into punk music, my friends and I all somehow knew that Repo Man was a movie we were supposed to see. I have no idea where that came from, it must have been osmosis, since none of us really liked the music of the LA punk scene which appears in the film. And when we did rent it, we reveled in its strangeness (completely unaware of the Kiss Me Deadly allusions). Then Sid & Nancy came out and we were there, opening night, at the dingy art-house theater, once again reveling in a compelling story with great music. Then came Straight to Hell, which was a must-see due to Joe Strummer's presence, although even at age 15, we knew a mess of a film when we saw it. Then came Walker, which we recognized as politically right on, although less gripping to our teenage sensibilities. (I recently rewatched the Criterion edition of it, and found it pretty uneven on the whole.)

And then...? Well, then Alex Cox kind of faded out of sight to us. I had completely forgotten about him until I was watching the 2005 documentary The Spaghetti West, in which he appears as a commentator. That led me to look up his filmography and see what he'd been up to in the intervening two decades, and check out some of the five other feature films he'd completed (since joined by The Searchers 2.0 which makes for ten total, or the "X" of the title). Personally, I found 1996's Death and the Compass (based on the Borges short story) pretty much unwatchable due to its muddy picture and sound. 1998's Three Businessmen is much better technically, and marginally better in terms of sustaining my interest. 2002's Revengers Tragedy (based on an early 17th-century play), while certainly not likely to appeal to a wide audience, is definitely worth checking out.

Anyway, what Cox does is go through his ten features (not including The Winner, which he took his name off), outlining the genesis, preproduction, production, and aftermath of each. For those with an interest in indie film, it's pretty illuminating, as Cox gets into the nitty gritty aspects of cobbling together international financing and distribution, and how that all affects locations, actors, shooting schedules, logistics, marketing, etc. Some of this gets too detailed, and while it's nice that Cox is eager to give accolades to his crews, I could have done with a little less namechecking of the lighting second assistant, or fourth gaffer, etc. Still, his candor is refreshing, and he's a much better writer than many filmmakers. Cox is a solid raconteur, with a very readable, chatty prose style, often filled with humor. If you're thinking about life as an indie filmmaker, this is well worth picking up just to get a taste of the wide range of challenges involved, as well as the rich creative rewards.

I just updated my order for Alex Cox's "X-Films: True Confessions of a Radical Filmaker" as planned to be published in the USA by Soft Skull Press with ISBN-13: 978-1593761936 because of a delay in publication.

Originally it was to be released in the USA this month (June 2008) simultaneously with this UK publication by I.B. Tauris with ISBN-13 978-1845115661. The other USA product page and update of my order now indicate Soft Skull retards its USA release by three months, until September.

I would prefer to purchase the UK edition as it will be published on time, and appears to have thirty more pages. Also an e-mail I just received from the author himself indicates he has not heard from the USA publisher Soft Skull in some time, and so publication at all is in serious doubt.

This product page of the UK edition indicates release this month but provides absolutely no way to order it. The USA edition is in doubt, and at best delayed, at worst x-ed out for cancellation!

This book is essential for any student of modern film.

Alex Cox of course is the director of the seminal Repo Man (Special Edition), which presents the inspiration for many other films, including of all things Napoleon Dynamite. Cox also filmed Sid & Nancy - Criterion Collection for which the main star Oldham suffered a starvation diet in order to play the part of Sid Vicious. Cox is also the brilliant director of the spaghetti western update Straight to Hell, currently only available in The Alex Cox Collection (Straight to Hell/Repo Man/Death and the Compass/Three Businessmen) which also includes the brilliant Tale of the Magi globalization update Three Businessmen, and the modernization of Borges's short story. Straight to Hell inspired the Samuel L. Jackson role in Tarrantino's Pulp Fiction, among other pioneering and inspirational aspects. Cox also went to Sandinista Nicaragua during the Reagan regime's illegal and inhuman genocidal invasion and serial killing of teachers nurses and eletrical engineers to film the great Walker - Criterion Collection which must not be missed. Cox is also well known for his updating of the Jacobean tragicomedy Revengers Tragedy which merits repeated viewing under our current economic injustices and grossly divided classes.

Unsurprisingly the USA edition of his memoirs is delayed to be cancelled under the present Bush regime. Inscrutably amazon cannot provide us the UK edition even for eagerly ready money. This is a book not to be missed. May it soon be available, soon and very soon. See his films in the meantime. Has anyone seen his Searchers II?