Fifty Contemporary Filmmakers

by Yvonne Tasker (Editor)

Fifty Contemporary Filmmakers examines the work of some of today's most popular, original and influential cinematic voices. Each entry offers both an overview and critique of its subject's career and works, looking at the genres in which they work and their relationship to other film and filmmakers. It covers figures drawn from diverse cinematic traditions from around the world and
*Luc Besson
*James Cameron
*David Lynch
*John Woo
*Julie Dash
*Spike Lee
*Joel and Ethan Coen
*Martin Scorsese
*Mira Nair
*Wim Wenders
With each entry supplemented by a filmography, references and suggestions for further reading, this is an indispensable guide for anyone interested in contemporary film.

Genres: Film

480 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Lee Kofman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the selection of film directors discussed here. But the essays are quite dry, overly academic, and often in my view too focused either on critical-theory type of criticism or on simply recounting the content of films. I wanted more of the interpretation of themes and other art-focused analysis. I think at least in part this is because the book took on so many filmmakers that essays had to be short and the ability to go deep was reduced. But in larger part this is just the reflection of what I think is generally wrong with how arts are discussed in academy. I did though enjoy some essays, learned a bit more about how to analyse films and there were a few well written essays too, such as the one on David Lynch.