Projections 4: Film-Makers on Film-Making

Since 1992, John Boorman and friends have put together Projections, a yearly forum where filmmakers from all disciplines write about their craft. Projections 4 was published in 1995, to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the first public exhibition of the Lumiere Brothers' new invention, Le Cinematograph.This year's edition is split into seventeen articles divided into six sections. The Centenary begins with a transcript of a 1948 interview with Louis Lumiere, followed by what has perennially been my favorite continuing section, The Burning Question. This year's question, "In this year, when we celebrate 100 years of cinemas, what is the greatest gift and worst legacy of the movies?", is answered by 16 directors from all around the world, whose careers span the past half century. Some answers are short and to the point, while more than one filmmaker spends pages clarifying their viewpoint. Then Martin Scorsese talks about his former fears of shooting anamorphically.The Journal. Every year, Boorman recruits a director to keep a copious diary recounting their previous year. In 1994, Boorman asked writer/director James Toback, whose year started out with a large quake in Los Angeles and proceeded to go downhill from there.The Career talks to Arthur Penn and Ken Burns about their years struggling to maintain their individual vision.The Process is rather self explanatory. Six articles about filmmaking from various points of view. The first two cover Oscar winning screenwriter Leslie Howard's tumultuous Hollywood career, in his own words. We then move to a dilapidated theatre in New York, where Louis Malle, Andre Gregory and the cast of "Vanya on 42nd Street" offer their views on making this unique movie. Sound design guru Walter Murch speaks about the early days of American Zoetrope and sound in cinema. From the Malaysian set of Beyond Rangoon, John Boorman has a great exchange with Eddie Fowler, longtime prop master to David Lean. This section ends with cinematographer John Seale comparing his collaborative efforts with many of his directors.Gotta Dance includes what became one of Gene Kelly's last discussions about the art of choreography in film. Sally Potter adds her thoughts about dance in cinema, during post production for her own "The Tango Lesson".Farewell sums up the lives of two artists who were lost in 1994, Federico Fellini and Sandy Dennis. The book ends with Lindsey Anderson's summation of working with John Ford on The Quiet Man.I bought the first Projections book on the recommendation of a filmmaker friend shortly after its release. I have pre-ordered every issue since, often before I even knew what the contents would entail in any particular year. The entire series has consistently been that good.If you are a major film fan or a budding filmmaker, this series must be on your bookshelf. Although, if you are like me, they'll never spend much time on the bookshelf.