The Big Picture: Cloth Book

Goldman is always compulsively readable. (If you doubt, track down "Adventures in the Screen Trade," "Hype and Glory," or "The Season," for me his best three books about show biz.) This collection -- and it is very much a collection -- is no exception. If you're a Goldman fan and you missed these short essays in "New York" magazine and "Premiere," the book is worth getting (though perhaps not for the hardcover price Applause is asking -- I'd wait for the paperback myself).Some of the other generally positive reviews on here have made several negative remarks and they're all true. Embarrassing number of typos. Repetitive. Truly terrible book design -- par for the course with Applause. But I'll say this much: The book kept me a lot more entertained than Goldman's most recent book, "Which Lie Did I Tell?," a somewhat unworthy follow-up to "Screen Trade." And it contains, as one of the other reviewers mentioned, a massive smackdown on "Saving Private Ryan" -- perhaps annoying if you loved the film, but absolutely hilarious if you didn't. The only serious flaw or bias I detect in Goldman's attitude is that he romanticizes the movie era when he first fell in love with movies -- say, the '40s and '50s -- and constantly uses the classics of his childhood as a stick to beat modern movies with. The fact is, probably there were just as many stupid movies back then as there are now, deservedly forgotten. Movies as an art form are still so young that it seems inaccurate to say they've gone downhill, when in fact there have been many peaks and valleys over the last 100 years. Goldman never seems happier than when he's saying movies have never been worse. (Then later in the book he says they've gotten worse still.) The fact is, there are movies getting made now that wouldn't have stood a chance 10 or even 5 years ago. So, when reading this autopsy on movies from 1990-1998, take it with a grain of salt. And enjoy.

i hail william goldman, i really do. he's smart, he writes beautifully ... and he is perhaps the only commentator on hollywood who knows what he's on about. so why oh why did his publishing house break every rule in the book (no pun intended)? godawful jacket design, pathetic type-setting, and typos willy and nilly. a real shame because william "the screen god" goldman deserves better. far better. he's the best damn journalist (i guess it's ok to call him that) on the planet -- pound for pound, that is -- and next time i hope somebody spends $5 extra to do his words justice.

A good, common-sense look at what's wrong with mainstream American movies. Especially note his evisceration of "Saving Private Ryan", one of the most overrated films of the past ten years.

While Mr. Goldman is no Pauline Kael in terms of film analysis (he plays fast and loose with language rather than constructing fine-tuned essays), he does have a biting sense of humor and is more than willing to laugh at Hollywood, star power, and yes, even the average American filmgoer. The best essay in the book, "Who Killed Hollywood?," discusses not only the ageless conflict between art and commerce, but the eventual destructiveness of the Oscars, the dearth of talent both behind and in front of the camera (not to mention the corporate suite), and the inevitable nostaligia that creeps in whenever one compares the stars of today with those of the past. Goldman clearly loves the art of cinema and his passion shows at every turn, allowing the reader to have great fun with each successive essay. While the content is a bit repetitive at times (covering the 1990s, he returns again and again to "the biggest star" and Oscar notes), the overall tone is refreshing. Goldman is also willing to admit his love of less-than-noble films (he respects the high-brow, but is more of a populist than he might admit), and he does not shy away from puncturing the self-important and well-respected. A must for film buffs.

This book isn't just informative, it's fun! I had read some of the essays when they were originally published in "Premiere," but there are enough essays in THE BIG PICTURE I hadn't read to make the book worthwhile. The other articles were all previously published in "New York" magazine, "Los Angeles Magazine" and "The Daily News." So, if you haven't read the articles in all those places already, I recommend this book to any movie fan. Goldman is as good a commentator/critic as he is a screenwriter (two time Oscar winner, incidentally).