Customer Reviews

Myth & the Movies: Discovering the Myth Structure of 50 Unforgettable Films

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Myth and the Movies puts meat on the substantial and influential bones of Christopher Vogler's The Writer's Journey by illustrating the mythic structure of 50 great films. Stuart Voytilla's selection of movies is imaginative and challenging, going beyond the obvious myth-based films to demonstrate mythic structure in the "real" world of story. Voytilla's commitment to this project is impressive. He covers all the genres -- action adventure, western, horror, thriller, war, drama, romance, romantic comedy, and science fiction/ fantasy. The book is invaluable for romance writers. By studying the sections on romance and romantic comedy they will undoubtedly gain a deeper understanding of the complex interplay between the Journey of the Heart and the Journey of the Higher Cause and -- perhaps more fundamentally -- the interplay between human emotion and the mythic structure itself. Using as examples Casablanca, The African Queen, La Strada, Beauty and the Beast, The Piano (for romance)and Bringing Up Baby, Singin' in the Rain, Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands, Annie Hall and Sleepless in Seattle (for romantic comedy), Voytilla heightens the romance writer's understanding of these all-important concepts. A worthy companion to The Writer's Journey. Highly recommended for film buffs, and screenwriters and novelists of all genres.

Stuart Voytilla's "Myth and the Movies" is a must read for anyone interested in screenwriting, story telling, or simply enjoying movies. Standing on the broad shoulders of Joseph Campbell, Christopher Vogler, and others who have demonstrated how mythology is used, Voytilla brings fresh insight and clarity to the subject. Voytilla's effort is painstaking and enormous. "Myth and the Movies" explores the mythological structure of 50 great and familiar films. Voytilla's vision is clear and precise--demonstrating a great mastery of the art form as well as possessing a lucid and incisive writing style. Voytilla's book is better than any graduate film school curriculum. Best of all, the author wastes no time focusing on non-essential elements. He cuts straight to the chase and doesn't let up throughout this marvelously insightful tome. If you want to learn how to write a story more efficiently, or even if you simply wish to derive more pleasure from watching films at your neighborhood theater, "Myth and the Movies" should be at the top of your reading list. Stuart Voytilla has written a masterpiece for all who are interested in film--whether novice, pro, or fan.

MYTH AND THE MOVIES is a remarkable achievement: an ambitious, thought-provoking, and cogent analysis of the mythic underpinnings of fifty great movies. It should prove a valuable resource for film teachers, students, critics and especially screenwriters, whose challenge, as Voytilla so clearly understands, is to constantly reinvent a mythology for our times.

After reading Vogler I was interested in how an expert might wholisticly apply his structure to actual movies.

Unfortunately, Voytilla's analysis of individual movies is rather shallow and nominal. i.e. He basically rehashes movie plots using keywords for Voglers book to name them. There is no introspection into how these elements provide drama, work with the theme of the movie, or highten an audience's investment in the hero.

The only parts of the book that I found interesting were Voytilla's analysis of Genres. Here he writes about similar structures, themes, and purposes found within genres such as comedy, adventure, action etc.

If you are at a loss to apply Vogler's works, this book will be helpful. If you are interested in breif and somewhat interesting Genre analysis and don't mind dropping a few bucks then you might pick up a couple of interesting tidbits here and there.

However, if you're looking for an analysis that truly enlightens the dynamics behind the dramatic excellence of a movie, skip this book, rent a bunch of movies and apply Vogler's ideas for yourself. (Disney movies such as the Little Mermaid are a great place to start.)

Myth And The Movies: Discovering The Mythic Structure Of 50 Unforgettable Films is a unique and original approach to showing aspiring screenwriters how story development problems were solved by analyzing the production scripts of classic Hollywood films ranging from The Godfather, Some Like It Hot, and Citizen Kane to Dances with Wolves, The Silence of the Lambs, and The Star Wars Trilogy. Engaging, informative reading for film researchers, teachers, and playwrights, Myth And The Movies will also be of immense interest to film buffs and cinema historians, as well as the non-specialist general reader with an interest in enhancing their enjoyment of the movies by understanding the mythic roots of theatrical storytelling.

Anyone interested in screen writing can probably benefit from reading this book, and people interested in film in general may find it entertaining. After all, it discusses 50 popular films and it's always interesting to read what people have to say about films we've all enjoyed. In addition, it is well written.

This being said, the film suffers from the pretention (in the best sense) of analyzing film structure according to Joseph Campbell's mythology. In fact it is a dumbed down version of Vogler's (The Writer's Journey) analysis, which itself is somewhat dumbed down from Campbell. Don't think that you are reading Campbell's work when you are reading this book (which doesn't mean that there isn't a lot of good stuff in this book, only that it is not like reading the original source).

Early on it becomes apparent that Voytilla is stressing and straining to analyze film structure according to Campbell. The films are stretched to fit the theory, to the point where we have such strange conclusions as Voytilla's idea that Martin Pawley is the hero of "The Searchers" (someone tell that to John Wayne and John Ford).Or his whole treatment of "The Invasion of the Body Snatchers" as if it was a science fiction film/article, when in fact it was a dark cautionary tale about suburban conformity in the 1950s (even if you take the literal appearance of the film, some reference has to be made to the hidden meaning as this changes completely the whole theme of the film).

Moreover, by choosing to illustrate his theory and looking only at 50 "unforgettable films", Voytilla begs the question. Better to compare 25 "unforgettable" films with 25 forgettable ones, and show that adherence to his theory is what makes the difference.

I'm not saying there isn't merit in looking at Campbell's work with respect to film (or literature for that matter). I firmly believe there is. I just didn't feel this book did justice to that endeavor.

In summary, I believe this is a fun and entertaining book, with appeal to screen writers and film enthusaists alike, but it shouldn't be taken too seriously.

I am a huge fan of this book. It invites you into a secret club of those special people who can read a script or watch a film and and decipher all of its great qualities and not-so-great qualities. It gives you a complete template of how to write a succesful story so that it commits the audience to the film through emotion. A superb book!

Stuart Voytilla's analysis of 50 films is incredible. People who are critics of myth as story structure's basic building blocks will find themselves amazed at how brilliantly Voytilla structurally disects such ungraphable movies as Almodovar's WOMEN ON THE VERGE...!

Voytilla has structured it so you need not read the book from beginning to end, just flip to whatever movie structure interests you. The chapters are separated by genre, which makes referencing easy.

A MUST HAVE reference book for storytellers of all kinds-- especially young filmmakers.

What does it take to put a move together? A director, a producer, a cast of well-known actors and actresses, and a script, right? Are all movie structured the same? Myth and the Movies may help to answer some of these questions.

Using 50 very famous films the author attempt to show that every movie follows a pattern or as the author calls it " the hero's journey". After reading this and renting a couple of the movies, the author may be onto something.

Voytilla uses horror, war, drama, romance, comedy, science fiction, action, adventure, western and thriller films to illustrate his point, and he does this extremely well. Voytilla presents clear and convincing facts to back up his claims.

The book is a valuable reference for those interested in screenwriting, becoming a playwright or the theatre in general. After reading this book you might even be tempted to take a shot at creating a myth or two of your own.

Don't know what more to say... i needed it for class and i've never even opened it. Definitely a book though.