Tim Burton

by Antoine de Baecque

Tim Burton is one of the most popular and innovative creative forces working in Hollywood today. From his first films as a cinema obsessed adolescent to his most recent Hollywood blockbusters like Sweeney Todd and Alice in Wonderland , this new monograph by acclaimed author and film critic Antoine de Baecque, takes readers on a behind the scenes journey through Burton's eccentric career. Featuring interviews with Burton himself that reveal quirky personal anecdotes, exhaustively researched and gorgeously illustrated with film stills, set photographs and a wide selection of Burton's drawings, this vivid account of one of American cinema's greatest stars will delight fans and critics alike.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Antoine de Baecque est un historien, critique de cinéma et de théâtre, et éditeur français.
Ancien élève de l'École normale supérieure de Saint-Cloud (lettres), Antoine de Baecque est spécialiste en histoire culturelle du XVIIIe siècle. Agrégé d'histoire en 19861, il soutient une thèse de doctorat en histoire sous la direction de Michel Vovelle à l'université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne.
Carrière universitaire - Après avoir enseigné en tant que maître de conférences à l'université de Versailles-Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, puis avoir été enseignant permanent à l'université Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense au sein des Études cinématographiques du département Arts du spectacle, il est, en 2018, enseignant à l'École normale supérieure.
Carrière de journaliste - À l'École normale, il fonde la revue Avancées cinématographiques. Il publie à l'âge de 22 ans son premier article dans les Cahiers du cinéma lors de la mort de François Truffaut. Il écrit ensuite de nombreux articles et ouvrages sur le cinéma français, en particulier sur Truffaut, Godard et sur l'histoire des Cahiers du cinéma, dont il a été le rédacteur en chef de 1996 à 1998. Il est, de 2001 à 2006, rédacteur en chef des pages culture du journal Libération. À partir de 2007, il collabore au journal en ligne Rue891. À partir de 2015, il écrit dans la revue en ligne Délibéré, où il publie « Degré zéro »5, une chronique consacrée à la marche et à l'exploration de la ville (Paris puis New York).

Reviews

[Cláudia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Um livro maravilhoso - e um dos textos que mais embasaram meu curso lá no MIS. <3 Para quem quer conhecer mais sobre a obra de um dos diretores mais originais e ~malucos~ do cinema americano, recomendo demais!

Uma das melhores partes é entender realmente que há um fio narrativo não apenas em cada filme, mas nas própria carreira do Tim. Sua vida pessoal motiva, influencia sua arte; cada fase de vida é de alguma forma transmitida na tela. Vemos sua evolução enquanto diretor quando, em casa, ele aprende o que é ser pai, por exemplo. Tim também lida com uma autoreferência primorosa, elegante. Ele não tem medo de criar personagens embasados em crias anteriores, se isso significar evolução e revolução.

Um livrão, gente. E se eu já amava ele antes, agora é caso perdido. <3

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A new biography of Tim Burton that tells about his life by going through his creative process,how he started making films, & then going through them, film by film. I don't particularly enjoy the more horror/bloody ones, but The Nightmare Before Christmas is one of my favorites movies & I am an avid Johnny Depp fan. I now want to re-watch a lot of his films, after getting a peek at Burton's personality & motivations, plus the interpretations of the author, French film critic Antoine De Baecque. The illustrations from the movies are great fun & add a lot to the book. A must for Tim Burton fans & an insight into his life & work.

[Ethan Aegon · Rating 1 out of 5]

Une biographie creuse.

J'ai du mal à comprendre l'objectif de cet ouvrage qui n'explique ni le génie de l'auteur ni ses films qui sont résumés en 2-3 demies pages.
Peut-être que des lecteurs se satisferont des nombreuses photos glossy mais à l'heure d'Internet, pas sûr.

L'auteur a un style terriblement pompeux et surtout il effleure les sujets sans les expliquer, il raconte des anecdotes souvent peu passionnantes, citant quantité de noms inconnus et assure le fan service en n'oubliant jamais de pourfendre la lenteur, le manque de dynamisme et le conformisme des Studios face à Burton.

[Ron Pratt · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I originally brought this book home I intended to look at the many glossy photos and then place the book on the shelf to thumb through again some other time. However, I quickly found myself reading every page of every section before me. This is a history and analysis or Tim Burton's films, life, and influences from birth through Alice in Wonderland. Although well illustrated, this is more academic than I had expected and I'll admit that turned me off at first. But while I found myself disagreeing with the author on some points, I was quite interested to discover the author's thoughts and reasons.

This book is not ideal for the causal Tim Burton or film fan, but film students and those honestly wanting to better understand Tim Burton and his work will like enjoy and benefit from this book.

No compensation or consideration given, not even a complimentary copy of the book.

[Miss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyable bio told by examining recurrent themes in Burton's movies.

The gorgeous full colour movie stills throughout are well chosen.

I want a Burton marathon now!
I love his darker movies, you know, the ones with Johnny Depp. ;-)
(not Alice in Wonderland!)

The author does get bogged down repeating himself and his verbose style, charming on page 8, wears thin and becomes pretentious and alienating by about page 30. Which is a lot to take because there are still about 170 pages to go!

So maybe I'm giving this book 4 stars because of it's subject alone...huh.

At any rate, I enjoyed this diversion of a read.

[Jaimie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not a big fan of biographies, but this one was okay. Tim Burton is a strange and interesting persona, so the biography format is able to make links between the strangeness of his personality and the strangeness of his films, as well as to discuss the influence he has had on the modern film industry. The book is organized chronologically and separated by film, so the reader is easily able to follow the progression of Burton's artistic endeavors and see patterns and motifs throughout.

[Mika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Complet, bien illustré, bien informé, des sources sûres. Un must-read pour les fans du réalisateur.

[Elodina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un buen acercamiento a la interesante forma en que percibe Tim el mundo, y sus pasiones/obsesiones convertidas en películas.