Going to the Movies: A Personal Journey Through Four Decades of Modern Film - Paperback

by Syd Field (Author)

A life in film. An extraordinary career. An unforgettable story--from the "most sought-after screenwriting teacher in the world" (The Hollywood Reporter)

"[Field's] illuminating, consistently entertaining memoir displays enough wit, intelligence, and empathy to inspire a host of great films."--Publishers Weekly

What makes a great movie great? An actor legendary? A screenplay extraordinary or just ordinary?

Syd Field has spent a lifetime seeking answers to these questions. His bestselling books on the art and craft of screenwriting have become the film industry's gold standard.

Now, Field tells his own remarkable story, sharing the insight and experience gleaned from an extraordinary career. Using classic movies from the past and present--from Orson Welles' Citizen Kane to Lana Wachowski and Lilly Wachowski's The Matrix--Field provides a guided tour of the basic elements common to all great films. You'll learn:

- What makes La Grande Illusion a groundbreaking timeless classic
- How Casablanca teaches one of the most important elements of creating memorable characters
- Why Pulp Fiction might be one of the most influential films of our time

In Going to the Movies, Field introduces the legendary filmmakers, films, and stars who shaped his understanding of the medium, from French director Jean Renoir to The Wild Bunch's Sam Peckinpah. Rich in anecdote and insight, Going to the Movies is both entertaining and informing, deepening every moviegoer's appreciation of the magic behind the silver screen.

Front Jacket

Featuring insights ... analysis ... great films and filmmakers from "the most-sought-after screenwriting teacher in the world" "(The Hollywood Reporter)."
A life in film. An extraordinary career. An unforgettable story -- from noted lecturer, teacher, and bestselling author Syd Field.
What makes a great movie great? ... An actor legendary? ... A screenplay extraordinary or just ordinary?
Syd Field has spent a lifetime seeking answers to these questions. His bestselling books on the art and craft of screenwriting have become the film industry's gold standard.
Now Syd Field tells his own remarkable story, sharing the insight and experience gleaned from an extraordinary career. Using classic movies from the past and present -- from Orson Welles' "Citizen Kane to Andy and Larry Wachowski's "The Matrix -- Field provides a guided tour of the basic elements common to all great films.
Learn what makes "La Grande Illusion a groundbreaking, timeless classic ... how "Casablanca teaches one of the most important elements of creating memorable characters for the screen ... why "Pulp Fiction might be one of the most influential films of our time.
Discover the legendary filmmakers, films, and stars who shaped Field's understanding of the medium.... Meet Jean Renoir, the great French director who steered his young Berkeley protege away from medicine into film.... Watch a dazzling young Francis Ford Coppola as he directs his thesis film at UCLA.... Spend an amazing summer with Sam Peckinpah as he shares the screenwriting techniques behind his classic western "The Wild Bunch.
Rich in anecdote and insight, Going to the Movies will both entertain and inform, deepeningevery moviegoer's appreciation of the magic behind the silver screen.

Author Biography

Syd Field (1935-2013), the internationally renowned "guru of screenwriting," was the author of eight bestselling books on the subject, including Screenplay, published in twenty-three languages and used in hundreds of colleges and universities nationwide and around the world. He was inducted into the Final Draft Hall of Fame in 2006 and was the first inductee into the Screenwriting Hall of Fame of the American Screenwriting Association. He was also a special consultant to the Film Preservation Project for the Getty Center.