2020-04-01_Total_Film

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ALTERED CARBON:

THE ART AND

MAKING OF THE

SERIES

BOOK 

ABBIEBERNSTEIN|TITANBOOKS

H

andsome coffee-table tome

unpacking the world of Netflix’s

cyberpunk series. Boasting glossy

production stills, storyboards and

concept art, it’s elevated by Bernstein’s

breadth of access, interviewing everyone

from showrunners to VFX leads and

stunt co-ordinators (though big names

are conspicuously absent). For those

wishing to revisit Bay City, it’s an

illuminating trip. Tim Coleman

STAR WARS:

THE RISE OF

SKYWALKER

BOOK 

RAECARSON|CENTURY

S

ince Blu-ray doesn’t have the deleted

scenes you’re looking for, your best

bet is this ‘Expanded Edition’, which

gives us a lot more Zorii Bliss as well as a

little more Leia than was possible on the

big screen. We meet the Tolkien-esque

‘Eye Of Webbish Bog’ and discover that

Hux finds Kylo’s hair really annoying.

Carson also clarifies a few (Emperor-

centric) plot points/controversies, all

while maintaining Abrams’ helter-

skelter pace. Matthew Leyland

MARVEL: THE

SILVER AGE

1960-1970

BOOK 

VARIOUS|THEFOLIOSOCIETY

F

ifteen epochal issues luxuriously

repackaged, from ribbon marker to

silver-laminated box. Casual fans may

baulk at the price (£150 rrp), but purists

will welcome the retro reproduction,

misaligned colours and all (the bonus

Fantastic Four No.1 goes one better,

sporting the original, era-capturing

ads). Stand-outs include Spidey’s

origin, Daredevil vs Sub-Mariner and

Silver Surfer’s duel with the devil

himself, Mephisto. Matthew Leyland

two

more

Mastershotsand

missedtargets...

THE SHORT

STORY OF FILM

CriticIanHaydn

Smithnavigates

interconnected

routesthrough

film-historybasicsin

thiscross-referential

primerDividedinto

genres

keyfilms



movementsand

techniques

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offers snapshots

of everythingfrom

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soundtotheobscure

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outButifyouneed

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QUANTUM OF

SILLINESS

Ifexcruciatingpuns

areyourideaof

double-Oheaven



thiscollectionof

jokes

witticismsand

alternativefilmtitles

mayfleetinglytickle

yourfunnyboneBut

apartfroma‘Binge

OnCringe’section

highlightingthe

series’mostpolitically

incorrectmoments

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To Diecash-ins

BEST. MOVIE. YEAR.

EVER.: HOW 1999 BLEW

UP THE BIG SCREEN

BOOK

BRIANRAFTERY|SIMON&SCHUSTER

G

o on, name a better one.

Fight¼Club. Magnolia. The

Matrix. And so many more.

At the time, 1999 felt special. With

20 years’ hindsight, it’s even more

startling, as Brian Raftery’s

impeccably researched, intensely

entertaining book makes clear.

The goal is simple: to understand

how and why such riches were released

in a single 12-month span. Raftery has

astonishing access to more than 100

actors and directors, who talk freely

about projects that remain career

highs. Equally useful is the insight of

execs and power-brokers who saw

these often weird, uncommercial films’

potential and fought to realise them.

The picture that emerges is a unique

confluence of commercial, social,

artistic and technological shifts:

pre-Millennium tension; the birth of

internet culture; a generation of

risk-takers. Raftery’s chronological

structure helps to recapture that

exhilarating sense of a cinematic gold

rush, and sometimes adds to that:

it’s apparent now that Office Space,

a flop on release, deserves a place

among 1999’s classics.

Raftery writes with panache,

linking the audience’s desire to

“see dead people” with The Blair

Pbm\ayIkhc^\m’s apparently RIP stars (a

promotional ruse), or wryly describing

anti-Jar Jar hostility as a “Gungan din”.

Although the book’s conclusion is

bittersweet, recognising that TV has

replaced the big screen as the place

for maverick filmmakers, Raftery

will send you scurrying to (re)watch

a gem or two, and party like it’s 1999.

Simon Kinnear

BOOKS

TOTAL FILM | APRIL 2020 SUBSCRIBEATWWWTOTALFILMCOM/SUBS