Scan barcode
horthhill's review
5.0
"The Hugo Movie Companion" is an excellent behind-the-scenes book about making the movie 'Hugo'. Selznick has brief one and two page essays on the time period of the movie, the historical background of movie making, and the people who are needed to make the movie. Not just the principal actors, but the technical people and what they do are described. The last chapter is an essay on how the last two minutes of the movie was filmed. There were lots of pictures throughout the book. This was a fun and informative read.
robustogusto's review against another edition
informative
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
4.0
shighley's review
5.0
First of all, this is a gorgeous book! The packaging, the photos themselves, borders, type of paper-- very elegant. I like the way it describes the making of the film from several viewpoints. After reading this, it makes perfect sense that Scorsese would choose this as his first "children's film". I enjoyed the way he described the use of 3-D to help convey depth and personality, and the importance of films and family in his life, especially the father-son bond.
Another plus to this book is that is does a wonderful job of showing how so many different people, with varying backgrounds and talents, are instrumental in completing something like a film. Kingsley's story of being passed off as a film star at age 5 is fascinating. The level of research, including watching hours of film, are amazing. If only more people would be so attentive to detail. The fact that as many props as possible were from the correct time period, using 40,000-50,000 books for the bookstore scene, using goose down to appear as dust.. wow! I didn't suspect at all that there were even 15 different automatons, some with slightly different expressions, some inspired by Mona Lisa.
The detailed description, storyboards and photographs from the party scene are also very interesting. It makes you appreciate once again how seemingly invisible the cameras are in the filming.
This book is so intriguing for adults, especially with many references that students might not fully appreciate, but for anyone thinking about film making, it would be just perfect. It is also true that each person's "story" is generally just a few pages long, which makes it very accessible.
I know that after reading this book, I will view any films I see in the future with a different perspective. And, of course, I will have to see Hugo again.
Another plus to this book is that is does a wonderful job of showing how so many different people, with varying backgrounds and talents, are instrumental in completing something like a film. Kingsley's story of being passed off as a film star at age 5 is fascinating. The level of research, including watching hours of film, are amazing. If only more people would be so attentive to detail. The fact that as many props as possible were from the correct time period, using 40,000-50,000 books for the bookstore scene, using goose down to appear as dust.. wow! I didn't suspect at all that there were even 15 different automatons, some with slightly different expressions, some inspired by Mona Lisa.
The detailed description, storyboards and photographs from the party scene are also very interesting. It makes you appreciate once again how seemingly invisible the cameras are in the filming.
This book is so intriguing for adults, especially with many references that students might not fully appreciate, but for anyone thinking about film making, it would be just perfect. It is also true that each person's "story" is generally just a few pages long, which makes it very accessible.
I know that after reading this book, I will view any films I see in the future with a different perspective. And, of course, I will have to see Hugo again.
michelle_neuwirth_gray9311's review
4.0
Very interesting behind the scenes look at the movie Hugo. Loved all the color pics. I also enjoyed hearing from so many people that were involved. Just a great read.
adt's review against another edition
4.0
The film. The music. The train station. Saw the movie in 3D twice! Purchased a copy to watch again and again on iPad, AppleTV, etc. The background in this book is enlightening without ruining the magic of the film. Unlike those awful "making of" additions to dvds. The book is full of color, photos, history. A beautiful book to own alongside the inspiration for the movie - The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Do yourself a favor and enjoy the original in hardback.
charlottejones952's review against another edition
4.0
I read The Invention of Hugo Cabret last month and really enjoyed it so I watched the movie soon afterwards. I really enjoyed the film too so picking this up was high up on my to-do list and it is a great book!
It is definitely one of the most fast-paced non-fiction reads that I have ever attempted to read and I think that part of that was my interest in the subject matter but also I think that it was due to the amount of illustrations and photographs included.
Unlike most movie companions I have seen, this book is a normal sized hardback book, not a large A4 style one, with gold foiling on the cover and a great production quality. This made it all the more enjoyable to read in my opinion.
I think that the writing style is very simple so this book could definitely be read by a younger reader but as an adult I found the information to be extremely interesting and it was a great addition to both the book and the film.
I found learning about the cast and crews’ backgrounds really inspiring and I would especially recommend this book to anyone who likes the book or film, or anyone interested in a career in film making. This is not the most in-depth book but I think there is some interesting and useful information in it.
It is definitely one of the most fast-paced non-fiction reads that I have ever attempted to read and I think that part of that was my interest in the subject matter but also I think that it was due to the amount of illustrations and photographs included.
Unlike most movie companions I have seen, this book is a normal sized hardback book, not a large A4 style one, with gold foiling on the cover and a great production quality. This made it all the more enjoyable to read in my opinion.
I think that the writing style is very simple so this book could definitely be read by a younger reader but as an adult I found the information to be extremely interesting and it was a great addition to both the book and the film.
I found learning about the cast and crews’ backgrounds really inspiring and I would especially recommend this book to anyone who likes the book or film, or anyone interested in a career in film making. This is not the most in-depth book but I think there is some interesting and useful information in it.