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David Worth

The Citizen Kane Crash Course in Cinematography: A Wildly Fictional Account of How Orson Welles Learned Everything about the Art of Cinematography in Half an Hour. Or, Was It a Weekend? Paperback – Illustrated, September 1, 2008

by David Worth (Author), Muse Greaterson (Illustrator)

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This book brings to life the 60-plus year Urban Legend of the infamous weekend between Orson Welles and the Oscar winning cinematographer, Gregg Toland (Wuthering Heights, Citizen Kane). Guaranteed to provoke controversy as it instructs and entertains, this ""graphic textbook"" deftly merges the fictionalized account of an Orson Welles and Gregg Toland Hollywood weekend with all of the basic ABCs of cinematography.

Print length

121 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Michael Wiese Productions
Publication date

September 1, 2008
Dimensions

11.02 x 0.37 x 7.16 inches
ISBN-10

1932907467
ISBN-13

978-1932907469
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Michael Wiese Productions; ILL edition (September 1, 2008)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 121 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1932907467
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1932907469
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13.4 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 11.02 x 0.37 x 7.16 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,907,904 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3,457 in Video Direction & Production (Books)
- #3,661 in Movie Direction & Production
- #9,054 in Movie History & Criticism

Customer Reviews:
23 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		69%
4 star		7%
3 star 0% (0%)		0%
2 star		7%
1 star		17%

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Amir Azizi

hands down the worst book I ve ever read about film making

Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2015

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hands down the worst book I ve ever read about film making.

This book is a " A Wildly Fictional Account " , its not a " Crash Course in Cinematography " what so ever, a terrible waste of money and time, I am a book lover, I read a lot and I rarely say that I hated a book but in this case, I hated this book by all means.

Its a fictitious story about how Citizen kane was made and its not a cinematography guide, truly a TERRIBLE book.

2 people found this helpful

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Alvin Lee

A waste of time

Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2010

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This book does not provide the depth that I expected at all! If one takes away the "wildly fictional" portions, the informative bits about cinematography is reduced to a mere 9-10 pages. Namely, 1)lens of varying focal lengths are used to different shots like, establishing shots, long shots, mid shots, close ups, 2) what is 3-pt lighting, 3) never cross-over the 180-degree line, 4) Remember to capture the various wide, mid, closeups for every scene and don't forget the cutaways,

This is really a fictitious story (presented in a script form) about Welles and Toland's 2-day spree on booze and sex in Hollywood (with Toland giving VERY short lessons to Welles on the very basics of cinematography in between). The 1st 30 pages of this 120-page book does not present anything on cinematography at all!

Quoting 2 lines from the book (so that you can have an idea of some of the "wild" contents,
"Welles rushes toward the enticing "ladies of the evening" and scooping Jean up in his arms he heads for the masterbedroom with Marlene and Greta bouncing and giggling closely behind. The massive bedroom door slams shut, leaving Toland standing there along in the middle of the suite, still holding the 75mm lens and surrounded by all the equipment."

"Before you could say 'orgy' the entire after-hours party, Toland included, was in the pool, playing and kissing and groping and thrusting and leaving Madam Gaylor and the head chef ambivalently sneaking glances at the erotic display and sipping their champagne."

9 people found this helpful

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Ron. Harris

A wonderful, concise little course in Cinematograpy told within the framework of the Great Welles masterpiece!

Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2017

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For any fan of cinema who would enjoy a "crash course" in Cinematography, this is the book for you! Lots of information laid out in an amusing, entertaining fashion within the framework of Orson Welles learning as he goes along, making his great masterpiece.

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caesarrdn

Worth a second read...and a third...and a fourth...

Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2010

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Mr. Worth,

Earlier today I finished reading the "Citizen Kane Crash Course in Cinematography"...and, as I had hoped would be the case, I was not only entertained, but also educated.

I couldn't help but smile when I read the Foreword...you see, I just finished reading "If Chins Could Kill" last week, so I was still digesting Bruce Campbell's hilarious narrative of his adventures with Sam Raimi & Co. (and getting an education on low-budget special effects to boot) when I picked up your book, so it was almost as if I were finishing a dialogue with Bruce and having him hand the conversation off to you!

And what a conversation your book turned out to be! I can say with some conviction that the two or so hours total I spent on it taught me more useful information in an easily-retainable form than the countless hours I've spent looking through other books that claim to break down the art of filmmaking. You've taken the fundamentals of camerawork--the vast majority of which still holds true in our high-definition age--and couched it in a wide-open, freewheeling tale of the decadence of Hollywood's Golden Age. I lost count of the times I laughed out loud as my mind's ear heard the words you placed in Orson Welles' mouth booming out in his inimitable voice. But as I laughed, I also learned...and any story that can make a reader do both wields a great deal of power.

I'm currently editing footage I shot of my cousin's wedding with two miniDV cameras (after he saw the butchery of my brother's wedding video by a family friend with an expensive camera and no clue how to use it, he enlisted my help...the fact that he was also the lead in one of my earliest no-budget productions probably had a hand in it as well, but I digress...), and as I held one of those small plastic cassettes in my hand, the vision of Gregg Toland reverently holding up the can of 35mm film crossed my mind..."this is what all the fuss is about." And even though the "this" has gone from film to tape and is rapidly moving from physical media to the realm of ones and zeroes, the same rules apply...and that's what makes a book like yours an instant classic. I definitely see myself reading this book a few more times in the near future and holding onto it as a valuable reference.

Anyway, I just wanted to share my thoughts on the book, for what they're worth, and to thank you for sharing such a great story--true or not, it's definitely a tale worth passing on!

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Perkins

Recommended for beginners, professionals and anyone interested in film.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 28, 2010

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I'll start off by saying this book taught me nothing new. As a filmmaker myself (in the past) I have a good grasp of Cinematography. However...I didn't 'go to school' to learn, I learnt from watching films, which led to A LOT of trial and error on the set. Had I have read this book first, it would've saved me time, money, film stock and more importantly embarrassment.

An odd structure. Part fiction, part fact, part technical manual, part shooting script, part novel...the way it mixed fact and fiction reminded me a lot of Bruce Campbell's book 'Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way'.

The story is quite straightforward. Orson Welles was about to make his first film, you may've heard of it; 'Citizen Kane'. The only drawback was Welles knew quite literally nothing about filmmaking. He goes on a voyage of Cinematic discovery over the course of a weekend with acclaimed Cinematographer Gregg Toland to learn how movie magic is accomplished. Mr. Worth manages to shoehorn in some sex to spice things up a bit (now THERE'S something you don't usually get in textbooks) and the plot moves at a cracking pace...I'm not really used to being titillated AND educated at the same time and it was a little disorientating at first...a bit like Linda Lovelace reciting Pi in the middle of 'a scene'.

As far as I understand the facts, Welles knew about directing people from his stage work, but had no experience behind a lens. A secretary at RKO took some A4 sheets and cut a hole in the middle. Into the hole she taped a 35mm film cell. On the papers she wrote "ESTABLISHING SHOT", "MASTER SHOT", "CLOSE-UP" etc. and Welles could hold the page up to the light to see a visual representation of the term in the form of a 'still' from RKO's back catalogue. From that crumb of information, he then got a banquet from Gregg Toland.

I certainly would recommend it for students to read BEFORE they pick up a camera, as it covers all the basics in a very clear and concise way. And I think Welles enthusiass will enjoy it too.

I must mention that in Roger Corman's recommendation for this book, in ONE sentence he manages to plug THREE of his own films. Now THAT'S what I call a shameless self publicist !

3 people found this helpful

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