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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
This was so much better and more interesting than I was expecting. I figured it was going to be a book of individual essays, and planned on skipping the ones about movies I hadn't seen or didn't care about. Instead, the author ties the whole of 1999 together, giving context not just for what happened in getting these films made, but what else was happening around them. I loved it.
funny
informative
medium-paced
funny
informative
medium-paced
If you have even the slightest bit of interest in film or film history, this book is a must read. Not just for the very insightful albeit zany behind the scenes tales about some of our favourite movies but for the inspiration it gives a new generation of people to be touched by this medium and the drive that will fill the new filmmakers that will want to make something as soon as they turn the final page. Just like the beginning of 1999, its a call to create something daring, something fresh and new. To rebel against the normality of blockbuster shlock and conveyer belt movies and just like the films of this books era, challenge and change the landscape of film to come.
[4.5 stars] “Best” is the kind of book that exists for a very specific type of person. You know, the person that has decades worth of inconsequential pop culture details stored away for no other reason than to be a ringer in bar trivia.
Brian Raftery, a former Entertainment Weekly reporter, clearly loves the movies, and he’s written the perfect love letter for nostalgia seekers that may have lived through a golden age of Hollywood but didn’t know it at the time.
Nostalgia aside, I was most struck by Raftery’s approach to the book. Acting as part journalist and part historian, he effectively broke down the zeitgeist of 1999 by placing it firmly in context: early years of the internet, Y2K hysteria, pre-9/11 gilded world view, economic growth, and the beginning of partisan politics.
These macro experiences shaped the artists that made many of the 30 modern classics – blockbusters and art house alike - presented in “Best.” And, Raftery’s engaging writing style, skill at transitions and dot-connecting made this anything but a dry read.
With hundreds of personal interviews, as well as 40-pages of references, he did the work to bring a comprehensive view to a year that brought us everything from “The Matrix,” “The Blair Witch Project” and “The Sixth Sense” to “American Beauty,” “American Pie” and “Boys Don’t Cry.”
There were so many fun facts presented - my favorite being M. Night Shyamalan did a polish of the “She’s All That” script to get out of a contract with Miramax and the Weinstein brothers - that I found the whole book nearly pitch perfect.
My only complaint? The chapters dedicated to films I didn’t care for, specifically “Rushmore,” “Fight Club” and “Magnolia.” There were still interesting tidbits that make me want to revisit these films, but these chapters also didn’t hold my attention in the same way as others.
Which is to say, this book only for those that want to dive deep into pop culture history. But, if you spend time with “Best,” I can guarantee it will bring a smile to your face. Especially if you remember experiencing many of the groundbreaking cinematic moments Raftery describes in a theater in 1999.
Brian Raftery, a former Entertainment Weekly reporter, clearly loves the movies, and he’s written the perfect love letter for nostalgia seekers that may have lived through a golden age of Hollywood but didn’t know it at the time.
Nostalgia aside, I was most struck by Raftery’s approach to the book. Acting as part journalist and part historian, he effectively broke down the zeitgeist of 1999 by placing it firmly in context: early years of the internet, Y2K hysteria, pre-9/11 gilded world view, economic growth, and the beginning of partisan politics.
These macro experiences shaped the artists that made many of the 30 modern classics – blockbusters and art house alike - presented in “Best.” And, Raftery’s engaging writing style, skill at transitions and dot-connecting made this anything but a dry read.
With hundreds of personal interviews, as well as 40-pages of references, he did the work to bring a comprehensive view to a year that brought us everything from “The Matrix,” “The Blair Witch Project” and “The Sixth Sense” to “American Beauty,” “American Pie” and “Boys Don’t Cry.”
There were so many fun facts presented - my favorite being M. Night Shyamalan did a polish of the “She’s All That” script to get out of a contract with Miramax and the Weinstein brothers - that I found the whole book nearly pitch perfect.
My only complaint? The chapters dedicated to films I didn’t care for, specifically “Rushmore,” “Fight Club” and “Magnolia.” There were still interesting tidbits that make me want to revisit these films, but these chapters also didn’t hold my attention in the same way as others.
Which is to say, this book only for those that want to dive deep into pop culture history. But, if you spend time with “Best,” I can guarantee it will bring a smile to your face. Especially if you remember experiencing many of the groundbreaking cinematic moments Raftery describes in a theater in 1999.
Would have liked it to be more in-depth but it was a nice revue of the year in film.
This book is cool. If you love movies, you'll enjoy this book.
The book tells in each chapter the story of one or more (mostly American) movies of 1999, how they were made, how they were received and what they represented. The nicest part about reading the book was re-watching (or watching for the first time) the movies that are covered by the book. And by watching them all together and reading the book one does get a full sense of what 1999 was like, not only in cinema but in the US in general; the book reflects how cinema was influenced and impacted by events like Columbine, Y2K, the gulf war, and overall the end of the millennium.
I thought the book was going to rely purely on nostalgia to be effective (the way many current tv shows and movies are), but it's actually quite objective about the quality of the movies and how they endured in the culture. And then again, one can't help but feel nostalgic, specially right now (mid COVID-19 pandemic) when the future of cinema is so uncertain. Also, those were damn good movies, and I'm so happy the book ends with my favorite: Magnolia.
Minor problems I had with the book are that a central narrative thread is lacking a bit, it all kinda comes together in the epilogue but I wish it had felt a bit less episodic in the earlier parts. And in a couple of chapters the author introduces movies where he doesn't seem to have much to say and should have just left them out, specially The Mummy and The Limey.
Music For this book:
Magnolia (Original Soundtrack)- Aimee Mann
American Beauty (Original Score) - Thomas Newman
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
' "I put my heart - every embarrassing thing I wanted to say - in Magnolia"
' "You'd receive these extraordinary memos about the number of thrusts into a pie" says Chris Weitz. "and eventually you negotiate it down to a certain number." The filmmakers and the MPAA wound up settling on two thrusts'
'The elements that made American beauty seem so fantastical back in 1999 make it all the more relevant in 2019: its self-entitled pervert; its angry, screen-addicted teen; its fuming Nazi-lover next door. Like many of the movies of that year, American Beauty plays like an accidental warning of what was to come. You just had to look closer." '
'December 31 1999
It was new Year's Eve, and on a private beach resort in Mexico, a handful of couples had gathered to celebrate the end of the century. Brad Pitt and his then girlfriend, Jennifer Anniston, were there."
'As a certain madman once said: Losing all hope is freedom.'
The book tells in each chapter the story of one or more (mostly American) movies of 1999, how they were made, how they were received and what they represented. The nicest part about reading the book was re-watching (or watching for the first time) the movies that are covered by the book. And by watching them all together and reading the book one does get a full sense of what 1999 was like, not only in cinema but in the US in general; the book reflects how cinema was influenced and impacted by events like Columbine, Y2K, the gulf war, and overall the end of the millennium.
I thought the book was going to rely purely on nostalgia to be effective (the way many current tv shows and movies are), but it's actually quite objective about the quality of the movies and how they endured in the culture. And then again, one can't help but feel nostalgic, specially right now (mid COVID-19 pandemic) when the future of cinema is so uncertain. Also, those were damn good movies, and I'm so happy the book ends with my favorite: Magnolia.
Minor problems I had with the book are that a central narrative thread is lacking a bit, it all kinda comes together in the epilogue but I wish it had felt a bit less episodic in the earlier parts. And in a couple of chapters the author introduces movies where he doesn't seem to have much to say and should have just left them out, specially The Mummy and The Limey.
Music For this book:
Magnolia (Original Soundtrack)- Aimee Mann
American Beauty (Original Score) - Thomas Newman
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
' "I put my heart - every embarrassing thing I wanted to say - in Magnolia"
' "You'd receive these extraordinary memos about the number of thrusts into a pie" says Chris Weitz. "and eventually you negotiate it down to a certain number." The filmmakers and the MPAA wound up settling on two thrusts'
'The elements that made American beauty seem so fantastical back in 1999 make it all the more relevant in 2019: its self-entitled pervert; its angry, screen-addicted teen; its fuming Nazi-lover next door. Like many of the movies of that year, American Beauty plays like an accidental warning of what was to come. You just had to look closer." '
'December 31 1999
It was new Year's Eve, and on a private beach resort in Mexico, a handful of couples had gathered to celebrate the end of the century. Brad Pitt and his then girlfriend, Jennifer Anniston, were there."
'As a certain madman once said: Losing all hope is freedom.'
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
I don't know very much about film or film history, so I decided to educate myself with a seemingly innocuous run down on the movies made in 1999. I was only 8 years old in '99, but I figured I'd be able to relate and understand a little of what Raferty discusses. I wanted to dip my toe in to the world of serious film analysis, if you will.
Raferty moves through the book with a semi- chronological/partial genre organizational structure. In each chapter, he gives a brief plot synopsis and then provides the cultural significance of the film with a tag of the commercial results of each movie. Raferty is a strong writer with an intriguing voice and includes many interviews with the actors, directors, writers, and producers. At face value, the book is a pretty decent overview, at least from my point of view, which is incredibly limited.
It isn't my lack of movie knowledge, however, that makes me dislike this book.
Raftery's perspective is microscopic at best. He views each of these movies through his experience as an upperclass white American male. Apropos to old school liberal mentalities, he gives a few nods to minorities. These pieces are tone deaf and seem to be added as an editorial afterthought. His reference to the Asian American actor in America Pie is particularly worrisome. Raftery includes a quote from the actor (who was only given one line in the movie) which says: "[the role] meant something in the way people perceive Asian Americans." This seems to say, "Good for you with your minority hire. You have placated the liberal masses" (eye roll) . Raftery moves on from this idea after dropping the quote and never mentions any Asian in the entirety of his book again (it's true. I paid attention). Further on in the book, in the very likely chance that the reader missed his Asian actor reference, Raftery goes on with a chapter that he dedicated to two, as he calls them, "black films" (The Best Man and The Wood). In this segment, Raftery discusses how African Americans were finally demanding to see something different on screen (I'm pretty sure that desire existed well before 1999). This chapter is a mere 11 pages long. It should be noted that 23 pages are focused singularly on Fight Club, while 26 pages go to his effusive praise of Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut (this page count does not include the numerous references both films have in chapters beyond their own).
He does end his book with a beautiful portrait for Boys Don't Cry, but he misses his mark as the majority of this chapter isn't really about the political or cultural implications of the work. Rather, Raftery focuses on the battle the film had with the MPAA. He highlights the overimportance of movie ratings and the need for the cagey society to be more closely monitored. The end.
The underpinning of his book comes from the basic premise that movies connected with culture in a way they had never done before. He lists the "new" archetypes of the day: dissatisfied teens, dissatisfied husbands, dissatisfied workers (basically a whole lotta dissatisfaction). Amazingly, one of the common troupes of pop culture that Raftery doesn't cover is that of greasy old men caught in an infinite loop of reliving frat boy days. "Yes!" Raftery cries out, "Films really got us back then!" Of course, this is only true if by "us" you mean the one had by white middle class men. With this in mind, I suggest a slight addition to the title: Best. Movie. Year. Ever. (If you are a typical, white, middle-aged American male)
Raferty moves through the book with a semi- chronological/partial genre organizational structure. In each chapter, he gives a brief plot synopsis and then provides the cultural significance of the film with a tag of the commercial results of each movie. Raferty is a strong writer with an intriguing voice and includes many interviews with the actors, directors, writers, and producers. At face value, the book is a pretty decent overview, at least from my point of view, which is incredibly limited.
It isn't my lack of movie knowledge, however, that makes me dislike this book.
Raftery's perspective is microscopic at best. He views each of these movies through his experience as an upperclass white American male. Apropos to old school liberal mentalities, he gives a few nods to minorities. These pieces are tone deaf and seem to be added as an editorial afterthought. His reference to the Asian American actor in America Pie is particularly worrisome. Raftery includes a quote from the actor (who was only given one line in the movie) which says: "[the role] meant something in the way people perceive Asian Americans." This seems to say, "Good for you with your minority hire. You have placated the liberal masses" (eye roll) . Raftery moves on from this idea after dropping the quote and never mentions any Asian in the entirety of his book again (it's true. I paid attention). Further on in the book, in the very likely chance that the reader missed his Asian actor reference, Raftery goes on with a chapter that he dedicated to two, as he calls them, "black films" (The Best Man and The Wood). In this segment, Raftery discusses how African Americans were finally demanding to see something different on screen (I'm pretty sure that desire existed well before 1999). This chapter is a mere 11 pages long. It should be noted that 23 pages are focused singularly on Fight Club, while 26 pages go to his effusive praise of Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut (this page count does not include the numerous references both films have in chapters beyond their own).
He does end his book with a beautiful portrait for Boys Don't Cry, but he misses his mark as the majority of this chapter isn't really about the political or cultural implications of the work. Rather, Raftery focuses on the battle the film had with the MPAA. He highlights the overimportance of movie ratings and the need for the cagey society to be more closely monitored. The end.
The underpinning of his book comes from the basic premise that movies connected with culture in a way they had never done before. He lists the "new" archetypes of the day: dissatisfied teens, dissatisfied husbands, dissatisfied workers (basically a whole lotta dissatisfaction). Amazingly, one of the common troupes of pop culture that Raftery doesn't cover is that of greasy old men caught in an infinite loop of reliving frat boy days. "Yes!" Raftery cries out, "Films really got us back then!" Of course, this is only true if by "us" you mean the one had by white middle class men. With this in mind, I suggest a slight addition to the title: Best. Movie. Year. Ever. (If you are a typical, white, middle-aged American male)