Paul Duncan

From the moment Star Wars burst onto the screen in 1977, audiences have been in equal parts fascinated and appalled by the half-man/half-machine hybrid Darth Vader. In 1999, creator George Lucas began the story of how Anakin Skywalker grew up to train as a Jedi under Obi-Wan Kenobi, found love with the Queen of Naboo, Padmé Amidala, before turning to the dark side of his nature and becoming more machine than man.After driving the development of nascent digital technology, George Lucas perceived how he could create new creatures and new worlds on a grander scale than ever before. He created the first digital blockbuster, and met fierce resistance when he pushed for widespread digital cameras, sets, characters, and projection - all of which are now used throughout the industry. He essentially popularized the modern way of making movies.Made with the full cooperation of George Lucas and Lucasfilm, this second volume covers the making of the prequel trilogy -- Episode I The Phantom Menance, Episode II Attack of the Clones, and Episode III Revenge of the Sith -- and features exclusive interviews with Lucas and his collaborators. The book is profusely illustrated with script pages, production documents, concept art, storyboards, on-set photography, stills, and posters.

Star Wars exploded onto our cinema screens in 1977, and the world has not been the same since. After watching depressing and cynical movies throughout the early 1970s, audiences enthusiastically embraced the positive energy of the Star Wars universe as they followed moisture farmer Luke Skywalker on his journey through galaxies, meeting extraordinary characters like mysterious hermit Obi-Wan Kenobi, space pirates Han Solo and Chewbacca, bumbling droids C-3PO and R2-D2, bold Princess Leia and the horrific Darth Vader, servant of the dark, malevolent Emperor.Writer, director, and producer George Lucas created the modern monomyth of our times, one that resonates with the child in us all. He achieved this by forming Industrial Light & Magic and developing cutting-edge special effects technology, which he combined with innovative editing techniques and a heightened sense of sound to give audiences a unique sensory cinematic experience.Made with the full cooperation of George Lucas and Lucasfilm, this first volume covers the making of the original trilogy – Episode IV: A New Hope, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi– and features an exclusive interview with Lucas. The book is profusely illustrated with script pages, production documents, concept art, storyboards, on-set photography, stills, and posters.“Love people. That’s basically all Star Wars is.”— George Lucas

One of the most esteemed filmmakers of all time, Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999) was also one of the most enigmatic. He broke into the film scene at the age of 26 with the ambitious, independently produced Killer's Kiss and within a few years was working with the likes of Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, and Peter Sellers on such seminal films as Lolita and Spartacus. Having gained the support of the actors, producers, and movie studios with his early efforts, Kubrick garnered the creative control he needed to produce uncompromising masterpieces such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, Clockwork Orange, and Barry Lyndon. Polishing off 1999's Eyes Wide Shut just before his untimely death, Kubrick left behind a puzzling and positively brilliant body of work.

Master of the macabre Hitchcock is analyzed in this volume that cover his most famous films (""Frenzy, The Birds, Psycho"") and memorable cameos in all his movies.

Pocket Essentials is a dynamic series of books that are concise, lively, and easy to read. Packed with facts as well as expert opinions, each book has all the key information you need to know about such popular topics as film, television, cult fiction, history, and more. Stanley Kubrick was one of those rare directors who was both commercial and artistic. This is because he was not afraid to embrace traditional genres, and at the same time, stretch the boundaries of film with controversial themes—underage sex in Lolita; ultraviolence in A Clockwork Orange; and erotica in Eyes Wide Shut. As well as having an introductory essay, in this book each of Kubrick’s films is reviewed and analyzed, including his last film, the sexually-explicit and controversial Eyes Wide Shut.

Pocket Essentials is a dynamic series of books that are concise, lively, and easy to read. Packed with facts as well as expert opinions, each book has all the key information you need to know about such popular topics as film, television, cult fiction, history, and more. The literary style of noir both influenced and was influenced by its cinematic equivalent, film noir. Both document the adventures of hard-boiled detectives and double-crossing dames, and often feature a backdrop of corruption and ambiguity and twisted storylines that leave the characters confused and adrift. As well as the quintessential noir authors James M. Cain and James Ellroy, you can read about such lesser known British innovators as Gerald Kersh and Derek Raymond, both of whom have written landmark novels in the development of noir fiction. As well as having an introductory overview, 9 of the most significant authors in the history of noir fiction are profiled in depth. Additionally, there's a handy reference section for readers who want to know more.

The laconic private eye . . . the corrupt cop . . . the heist that goes wrong . . . the femme fatale with the rich husband and dim lover—all are trademark characters of the movement known as film noir, that elusive mixture of stark lighting and even starker emotions. "Noir" explores the dark side of post-war society—gangsters, hoodlums, prostitutes, and killers—and shows how it corrupted the good and the beautiful. Many of these films are now touchstones of classic Hollywood— The Maltese Falcon (1941), The Big Sleep (1946), Double Indemnity (1944), and The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946). This Pocket Essential charts the progression of the noir style as a vehicle for filmmakers, who wanted to record the darkness at the heart of American society as it emerged from World War into Cold War. As well as an introductory essay on the origins of film noir, this guide discusses all the classics from the heyday of the movement in detail and includes a handy reference section for readers who want to know more.

Steve McQueen found it hard to balance worldwide fame with a desperate need for solitude. Through performances that were effortless yet powerful, he connected with the people who saw him on stage, on television, in movie houses, and on magazine covers anywhere on earth. Sometimes more comfortable racing a motorcycle than in front of a camera, twice at the height of his stardom he took more than a year off from movies. Despite this, and despite dying young, he left an indelible imprint. Images, his own words, and the words of others chronicle his rise from juvenile delinquent to the highest paid star in Hollywood.Movie Icons is a series of photo books that feature the most famous personalities in the history of cinema. These 192-page books are visual biographies of the stars. For each title, series editor Paul Duncan has painstakingly selected approximately 150 high quality enigmatic and sumptuous portraits, colorful posters and lobby cards, rare film stills, and previously unpublished candid photos showing the stars as they really are. These images are accompanied by concise introductory essays by leading film writers; each book also includes a chronology, a filmography, and a bibliography, and is peppered with apposite quotes from the movies and from life.

Egoli to some, Jozi to others. Once a mining town, now the most important commercial city in Africa. It’s been home to renegades and rogues, colonialists and capitalists, the dispossessed and the newly enriched. Today it’s populated by those who call themselves Africans or Afrikaners, by blacks, whites and every shade in between, and by immigrants from all over. There are suburbs where the daily rituals of Jewish culture rival New York’s; elsewhere, the tone is more Lagos than laid-back. Remnants of the colonial era stand alongside contemporary steel and glass. In a town that prides itself on the pursuit of fortune, it’s a challenge to preserve heritage, and it is against this background that Hidden Johannesburg offers a snapshot of 28 notable buildings. From the stately mansions of the Randlords to their downtown headquarters, the clubs where they socialised and the churches where they worshipped, the architecture of early Johannesburg lives on in sandstone, granite, marble and slate. But this is a city that constantly reinvents itself, and where the old is all-too-readily demolished to make way for the next ‘big thing’. Some buildings will survive, others will be consigned to memory. Hidden Johannesburg reveals fragments of the history of this vibrant city but, perhaps, the book also tells us something about our future, for if we allow our heritage to be swept away in the name of progress, are we advancing at all?

Who was Welles? A fat guy with a deep voice who drank a lot of sherry? An unreliable film-maker who always went over time and over budget? One of the most innovative storytellers of the century? He was all of this ana more. Welles shocked Broadway with his all-black voodoo version of Macbeth, challenged the US government with his production of The Cradle Will Rock, terrified America with his spoof radio broadcast of The War Of The Worlds, and then at the tender age of 26, directed what many consider the greatest American film ever made: Citizen Kane.The popular myth is that it was all downhill from there, that Welles became a fallen genius yet, despite overwhelming odds, he went on to make great film noirs like The Lady From Shanghai and Touch Of Evil. He translated Shakespeare's work into films with heart and soul - Othello, Chimes At Midnight and Macbeth. And he refused to take the bite out of modern literature, giving voice to bitterness, regret and desperation in The Magnificent Ambersons and The Trial. Far from being down and out, Welles became one of the first cutting-edge independent film-makers.What's in this book? As well as the introductory essay Labyrinth Without A Centre, each of Welles' films is analysed and there is a handy multi-media reference guide.Pocket Essentials is a fresh new series of film books that are short, snappy, and easy to read. Packed with facts, and backed up by opinion, each book has all the key information you need to know about the world's most celebrated film directors and film genres. What's in a book? As well as an introduction to the subject, each film by a director or each genre is individually analyzed and reviewed. In addition, the director or genre's impact on the film industry is explained, and a handy reference section lists all the far weightier (and more expensive) books on the subject. For movie buffs and students, these are great little entry-level books that build into an essential film library.

The author and photographer have collaborated to reveal the artworks and architectural secrets that lie behind the doors of some well-known and lesser known, landmark buildings in and around the ‘Mother City’. These buildings are part of the country's collective heritage, reflecting the myriad cultural influences that have shaped South Africa.These ‘hidden’ interiors include the Sendinggestig Museum, South African National Library, City Hall, Palm Tree Mosque, Welgelegen, the Royal Observatory, Bertram House, the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of St George, Groote Schuur, the Old Synagogue, Irma Stern Museum and the officer’s mess of the Cape Town Rifles (‘The Dukes’). Superb photography coupled with interesting and informative text, this is essential for anyone interested in South African architecture, design or cultural history.

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Comenzando por un panorama general del cine negro, este manual profusamente ilustrado proporciona una visión exhaustiva y muy gráfica sobre el género del cine negro tanto para neófitos como para grandes aficionados, y abarca la temática que lo caracteriza capítulo a capítulo (amantes que planean un asesinato, policías corruptos, amores fatales, cine negro psicológico…). Entre las películas tratadas destacan las siguientes: Perdición (o Pacto de sangre), El beso mortal (o Bésame mortalmente), El demonio de las armas (o Gun Crazy), El abrazo de la muerte (o Sin ley y sin alma), El desvío (o Detour), En un lugar solitario (o In A Lonely Place), La brigada suicida (o Mala moneda), Retorno al pasado (o La mujer de mi pasado), Almas desnudas (o The Reckless Moment) y Sed de mal (o Sombras del mal).

Pocket Essentials is a dynamic series of books that are concise, lively, and easy to read. Packed with facts as well as expert opinions, each book has all the key information you need to know about such popular topics as film, television, cult fiction, history, and more. There's more to Scorsese's work than crime and violence. His characters are trying to attain some kind of spiritual peace with society, their family, and themselves, and in the end they try to make a decision they can live with. Hailed as America's greatest living film director, Martin Scorsese is an innovative storyteller at the height of his intellectual and emotional powers. This Pocket Essential examines his life and work.

One of the most esteemed filmmakers of all time, Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999) was also one of the most enigmatic. He broke into the film scene at the age of 26 with the ambitious, independently produced "Killer's Kiss" and within a few years was working with the likes of Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, and Peter Sellers on such seminal films as Lolita and Spartacus. Having gained the support of the actors, producers, and movie studios with his early efforts, Kubrick garnered the creative control he needed to produce uncompromising masterpieces such as "2001: A Space Odyssey", "Clockwork Orange", and "Barry Lyndon". Polishing off 1999's "Eyes Wide Shut", just before his untimely death, Kubrick left behind a puzzling and positively brilliant body of work.Every book in "Taschen's Basic Film" series features: an introduction to the director and coverage of every film he or she directed; over 100 scenes from the movies, shots of the director at work, and film posters, with explanatory captions; rare images from around the world; informative text by acknowledged experts; and, a chronology, filmography, and bibliography.

An artist’s canvas reflects the face he chooses to show to the world, but the place in which that art is made is seldom revealed.Paul Duncan was given unparalleled access into the homes and lives of fifteen of South Africa’s most revered artists. Over countless mugs of coffee or glasses of wine, he listened and observed as they spoke about their lives, loves and the way they make their art. South African Artists At Home takes the reader into some very private spaces, affording us a glimpse of what the artist goes home to at the end of the day.For some, the work space and home space are irrevocably intertwined. For others, home is a sanctuary. Or perhaps it is the studio that is the sanctuary and home is where ‘real life’ happens.Either way, if you have an interest in art, artists, and the often bizarre way that making art intersects with living life, you’ll find this book intriguing.