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A review by shighley
The Hugo Movie Companion: A Behind the Scenes Look at How a Beloved Book Became a Major Motion Picture by Brian Selznick
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.