Whew! It took me a month but I finished it. I must confess that there were moments when I despaired of ever seeing the end - but my love of horror filWhew! It took me a month but I finished it. I must confess that there were moments when I despaired of ever seeing the end - but my love of horror films and plain, bulldog determination allowed me to pull it off.
I was a horror movie fan in my teens and early twenties - then slowly moved away from the genre as the terror got more graphic. I am a fan of the the creeping variety (like the The Omen), but grand guignol disgusts me. Then, I did not have access to a VCR for quite some time between the middle eighties to the middle nineties, and horror rarely comes uncensored to India - so most of the really frightening movies never made it to Indian theatres. I picked up the horror habit again in the middle of the last decade, and left it again a year ago when torture porn began dominating (torture is really difficult for me to watch). It's like an addiction which I can't quite get rid off.
This book allowed me to recall my yesterdays with a sweet nostalgic pain, as I curled up with a coffee in front of the TV on a rainy Friday afternoon with a stack of horror videotapes to get me through the weekend. In 700+ packed pages, Kim Newman has done a stupendous job of compilation: he lists down horror stories from the sixies up to the present - I don't think there're many that he has missed. He touches upon all the subgenres (vampires, ghosts, zombies, torture etc.), as well as the few auteurs. Newman does not restrict himself to conventional horror, but analyses those films which fall outside the conventional horror flick (e.g. David Lynch) also - hence the title, "Nightmare Movies".
But all said and done, the book is information overload. In his intention to explore all facets of horror, the author has forsaken any in-depth analyis. Agreed, it may not be possible to any level in a such an ambitious project without proving unmanageable: yet, it limits the usefulness of the book. You will not get any insight into the reason why we frighten ourselves to death by reading this book. At best, it is a geography and history of horror. The ardent fan will find many a familiar face on the journey: but if you are not that into horror, it would be advisable to leave this book alone.
Satyajit Ray, along with Ingmar Bergman, was my first taste of serious cinema. They taught me that movies not only entertain, but also enchant and ediSatyajit Ray, along with Ingmar Bergman, was my first taste of serious cinema. They taught me that movies not only entertain, but also enchant and edify.
This book is a detailed exploration of Ray and his work - a fantastic journey into the mind of an auteur. Most of his movies are discussed in detail, embellished with beautiful photographs and interviews with the great film-maker himself.
It is extremely distressing that this book has so few ratings on GR. It is really a fantastic work, on how one can translate the written word into movIt is extremely distressing that this book has so few ratings on GR. It is really a fantastic work, on how one can translate the written word into moving images on a screen.
I harboured ambitions become a film director once: it was because of that I purchased this book. I am glad I did.
The author illustrates, with both failures and successes (according to her, that is) how the POV, colour, tone, metaphor etc. of language are metamorphosed into visuals of film. The analysis is fantastic and worth reading again and again: and one can try applying it to other adaptations one has seen.
Nandakishore
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