Gilliam on Gilliam (Directors on Directors) [Paperback]

Terry Gilliam (Author), Ian Christie (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Directors on Directors | Publication Date: June 15, 2000

An intimate look at the films of Terry Gilliam, visionary director and animator

Terry Gilliam is a famously candid commentator on his own work, and in these specially recorded interviews, he reflects on how his Midwestern childhood and early career as an animator--including his work as the only American member of Monty Python--prepared him to undertake his extraordinary adventures in cinema.

His films are distinctively dark, fantastic, and strangely hilarious. From the medieval mock-epic Monty Python and the Holy Grail to the mythic, paranoid worlds of The Fisher King, Twelve Monkeys, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Gilliam has pursued a totally personal, uncompromising vision. This has led to legendary battles with studios and financiers, notably over The Adventures of Baron Munchausen and Brazil, which is now widely considered a classic.

The book includes Gilliam's storyboards for the films--a unique glimpse at his creative process--along with his original cartoons and black-and-white photographs throughout.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ian Christie is the co-editor of Scorsese on Scorsese and the author of Arrows of Desire: The Films of Powell and Pressburger.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Faber & Faber (June 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0571202802
• ISBN-13: 978-0571202805
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,241,359 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, flawed, and funny, February 15, 2000

By 

Tim Benzedrine - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gilliam on Gilliam (Directors on Directors) (Hardcover)

As someone said on the back cover (neatly stealing my idea), Gilliam on Gilliam is like something Phillip Dick might have written. It is paranoid, neurotic, nutty, and fascinating look at filmmaker Terry Gilliam.

It is, truly, Gilliam on Gilliam, with the book in total an interview with the filmmaker. Gilliam talks about the battle for Brazil, his frustrations in the early Python films (was was stigmatized as the arty image guy), and his intricate intentions in later films.

Most interesting to me, other than how it reminded me of how much of his films, sadly, I had forgotten, was how much visual work he puts into his films. That is relatively clear from screen, but even more apparent after you read through this book.

Equally interesting to the biz geek in me was reading Terry's pitched battle for budget credibility. After having budget troubles on two films (Brazil and Baron Munchausen), Gilliam had a financial scarlet letter to sport and it has been tough for him to convince the studios that he is not a risky budgetary bet. Hard to believe that such a prolific and successful filmmaker could still be auditioning, but there it is.

Anyway, an interesting and informative book. Not for those who are mildly interested, but a treat for Gilliam geeks who want the inside skinny on everything from De Niro's bizarre behavior in Brazil, to the casting of Jon Pryce, to underlying mythic chain operating in The Fisher King.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great! (For Gilliam fans, that is...), April 10, 2001

By 

Pedro Pontes (Rio de Janeiro, RJ Brazil) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gilliam on Gilliam (Directors on Directors) (Hardcover)

If you happen to be a Terry Gilliam fan, you have to read this. If you don't happen to be a Gilliam fan, but are an aspiring filmmaker, this is an invaluable source of insight. Hell, there are many pros who should read this!

Reading these interviews puts you inside the creative mind of a filmmaking genius (yes, I dare say that). There's a reason for everything that's on the screen, and one understands that Gilliam's knack for weirdness is a little more than that... there's more to his filmmaking virtuosism (wild camera angles and moves) than there is when they make it in your average Nike comercial. If you wanna know what I mean, well, read the book.

Also, I don't recommend this much to Python fans. Certainly, a good part of it talks about the Python days, but it doesn't talk about their creative process much - it's more about the making of the films and Gilliam's animations.

10 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent overview and insight into Terry's films and mind, June 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Gilliam on Gilliam (Directors on Directors) (Hardcover)

If I had to utter one complaint about this piece, it would be that it is terribly, if understandably, one-sided. The book is terrific in showcasing Gilliam's opinions and feelings on his career and films, but that's the only opinion we receive. After hearing Burgess denounce his masterpiece, "A Clockwork Orange," I've been under the impression that an artist's opinion on his own work, while priceless, is nothing more than that; an opinion. This must be especially true in the medium of film, which more than any other medium is a collaborative effort. A book including interviews with producers, actors, technicians, designers as well as the director would make for a thorough and multi-layered overview on any film. Having said that, this particular book still succeeded in offering a peak, no matter how slight, into the workings of what I humbly consider to be an unspoken genius of our times.