The Force Is with You: Mystical Movie Messages That Inspire Our Lives [Paperback]

Stephen Simon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2002

Movies are the most electrifying communications medium ever devised and the natural conduit of inspiring ourselves to look into the eternal issues of who we are and why we are here.

So says film executive Stephen Simon, producer of more than thirty films, including Somewhere in Time and What Dreams May Come. Simon illuminates for the first time, with humor, energy, and passion, this emerging category of Spiritual Cinema; a genre finally being recognized for what it is: a metaphoric pathway to explore such things as the nature of love, the meaning of life and death, the concept of time and space, the visions of our future.

Movies have become our windows to the universe. The sheer imaginative power of the screen has shaped the way humanity views itself, the world, and the cosmos. The increasing technology of cinema has given us the opportunity to see before our eyes images that reflect all that imagination can conjure up—not only to ask the questions plaguing us since humans first contemplated the heavens, but to pose some answers as well.

Through his exploration of more than 70 movies that best represent the genre in all its aspects, Simon gives us his personal interpretation of these films and the extraordinary messages they embody.

Here is a wealth of inspiration, including the inside stories behind the making of many films and the familiar names who participated in their making. This is a book that will break ground for the many visionary storytellers and filmakers to come, and most of all, their audiences.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Hampton Roads Publishing (October 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1571743499
• ISBN-13: 978-1571743497
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #934,502 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finding Spiritual Meaning in Cinema, April 12, 2003

By 

Cynthia Sue Larson "www.realityshifters.com" (San Francisco bay area, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Force Is with You: Mystical Movie Messages That Inspire Our Lives (Paperback)

Hallelujah! We finally have a book that's dedicated to covering the newly emerging category of spiritual cinema! THE FORCE IS WITH YOU is written by Hollywood insider Stephen Simon, who writes straight from his heart about the significant messages in more than 70 movies. Spiritual Cinema is all about exploring the meaning of love, life, death, time, and space -- which are the topics I most enjoy seeing in the movies. Most of my favorite movies are included here: The Matrix, Sliding Doors, Somewhere in Time, The Kid, Frequency, Star Wars, Lost Horizon, The Sixth Sense, Ghost, What Dreams May Come, Defending Your Life, Groundhog Day, Contact, Phenomenon, Powder, Being There, The Truman Show, Sleepless in Seattle, Family Man, and It's A Wonderful Life.

What I love best about THE FORCE IS WITH YOU is the way it so clearly conveys a sense of hope, inspiration, and purposefulness about the way humanity learns about its worst fears and greatest hopes through stories. Yes, we love to vividly imagine the end of the world... but we also love to dream of ways we can find solutions to our biggest problems. We know that it's not easy being more spiritually and psychically evolved... but we love to imagine how those of us who are different can be accepted in mainstream society.

THE FORCE IS WITH YOU is priceless for clarifying what the new genre of "Spiritual Cinema" is all about, and for providing an inspiring list of the most spiritual movies of all time. It is my deepest hope that this book will help establish awareness in film-makers everywhere of the importance of making spiritual movies, as it helps movie-goers better understand the significance of the movies they see.

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Look Closer, November 25, 2002

By 

Michael S. Waren "schoeder" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Force Is with You: Mystical Movie Messages That Inspire Our Lives (Paperback)

Author Stephen Simon writes an excellent book about spiritualism and the messages in movies; movies that speak to the emotional context of a person's soul. I realized that the messages Mr. Simon writes about the very things that I found missing in most mainstream films. (Thank God I live in city where art houses exist, but I realize not everyone has that luxury) Finally someone was able to show that there is more going on up on the big screen than what meets the eye. Every movie that he writes about in his book is in some way or another a winner, regardless of what it did in box office receipts. Still this book is a lot more than just a much of plot synopsis and message of some really great movies. Mr. Simon writes about his life growing up in movie industry. His battle to get both "Somewhere in Time" and "What Dreams May Become" (both based on books by author Richard Matheson-a great writer himself) made into films. His elation of getting both films made and then watching as the critics ripped both of them both apart , only to become resurrected and warmly welcomed on cable, video and DVD by thousands of people years later. Plus, his very telling reasoning on why mainstream movies have to stay "commercial," he writes volumes in a few pages that will generate debate for years to come. Whatever your spiritual beliefs, I think there is something in this book for every movie lover.

This is new movement and a new way of thinking about movies and I'll gladly be in the front row watching as those beautiful, special images and messages flicker over me.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is a force to be reckoned with!, November 9, 2002

By 

Elle - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Force Is with You: Mystical Movie Messages That Inspire Our Lives (Paperback)

If you've ever watched a movie with an extraordinary message and wondered afterward, "What was that about?" then read this book!

After reading this thoughtful and reliable account of many of the most profound movies ever made, I was struck by the realization that Hollywood Insider/Producer Stephen Simon is a visionary, writing about the underlying messages in visionary movies, to (if you are drawn to this book) visionaries themselves.

I'm a writer and found "The Force Is With You" to be a writer's dream come true. Not only is it chockfull of insights into the spine and spirit of some of the most influential movies of our time, it's an inspiring work about inspiring storytellers, and how their stories eventually got made into movies that impact both our lives and our "take" on who we are, and why we're here.

All in all, Stephen Simon's insights into the movie industry that, for him, has been bred in the bone, as well as his personal perspective on life, love, death, and the universe itself, is entertaining, inspiring, and has shifted my consciousness about the power of mystical messages in the movies that influence our lives. After reading this book, I'm quite sure that if we only had more self-described "loose cannons" making movies these days, the world would be a better place.