The New Biographical Dictionary of Film
The New Biographical Dictionary of Film is a reference book written by film critic David Thomson and originally published by Martin Secker & Warburg Ltd in 1975 under the title "Biographical Dictionary of Cinema."[1] Organized by personality, it's an exhaustive inventory of those involved in international cinema, whether contemporary or historical, elite or esoteric. Beyond its scope, the tome is most notable for infusing subjectivity into its fact-based form; the technique may best be described as a playful deconstruction of the "reference book." Currently available in its fourth edition, the fifth was released in October 2010.
Overview
Fourth edition press notes from Random House:
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- For almost thirty years, David Thomson’s Biographical Dictionary of Film has been not merely “the finest reference book ever written about movies” (Graham Fuller, Interview), not merely the “desert island book” of art critic David Sylvester, not merely “a great, crazy masterpiece” (Geoff Dyer, The Guardian), but also “fiendishly seductive” (Greil Marcus, Rolling Stone).
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- This new edition updates the older entries and adds 30 new ones: Darren Aronofsky, Emmanuelle Beart, Jerry Bruckheimer, Larry Clark, Jennifer Connelly, Chris Cooper, Sofia Coppola, Alfonso Cuaron, Richard Curtis, Sir Richard Eyre, Sir Michael Gambon, Christopher Guest, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Spike Jonze, Wong Kar-Wai, Laura Linney, Tobey Maguire, Michael Moore, Samantha Morton, Mike Myers, Christopher Nolan, Dennis Price, Adam Sandler, Kevin Smith, Kiefer Sutherland, Charlize Theron, Larry Wachowski and Andy Wachowski, Lew Wasserman, Naomi Watts, and Ray Winstone.
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- In all, the book includes more than 1300 entries, some of them just a pungent paragraph, some of them several thousand words long. In addition to the new “musts,” Thomson has added key figures from film history–lively anatomies of Graham Greene, Eddie Cantor, Pauline Kael, Abbott and Costello, Noël Coward, Hoagy Carmichael, Dorothy Gish, Rin Tin Tin, and more.
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- Here is a great, rare book, one that encompasses the chaos of art, entertainment, money, vulgarity, and nonsense that we call the movies. Personal, opinionated, funny, daring, provocative, and passionate, it is the one book that every filmmaker and film buff must own. Time Out named it one of the ten best books of the 1990s. Gavin Lambert recognized it as “a work of imagination in its own right.” Now better than ever–a masterwork by the man playwright David Hare called “the most stimulating and thoughtful film critic now writing.” [2]
Although it looks very much like a dictionary or encyclopedia, each of the book's approximately 5,000 brief biographical sketches is highly subjective: a typical entry may begin with a birthplace and filmography but always concludes with something closer to criticism and memoir as the author examines his connection to the subject's career both academically and personally.
Thomson’s entry on Tom Cruise, for example, opens by considering the actor’s age, recognizing that detractors see him as “representative of all that is most immature in American cinema today.” Thomson notes that Clark Gable was a rising star at thirty: “Now, in our collective recollection, Gable may seem older, worldlier, and more grown-up than Cruise was at thirty. But when did Gable ever risk playing the jerk to whom Cruise was totally committed in The Color of Money? When was Gable as uninhibitedly tender as Cruise managed in Risky Business? And could Gable have survived the black-hole narcissism of Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man?” The entry closes with the actor’s late-90s comeback, calling his work in Magnolia, “his most searching and self-critical performance,” and abandoning objectivity altogether: “So, after bad years, I remain hopeful, even if all the [Mission:] 'Impossibles' put a greater load on things that might be.”[3]
History
The Martin Secker & Warburg Ltd-published first edition—the 600-page "Biographical Dictionary of Cinema"[1]—was followed by "Biographical Dictionary of Film," published by William Morrow & Co in June, 1980;[4] the third, entitled "A Biographical Dictionary of Film" would be released on November 17, 1994, by Andre Deutsch Ltd. 328 pages longer than the first edition, it added 200 new entries including Molly Ringwald.[5]
The 2004 edition was a major overhaul. Although the book's first edition contained a mere 600 pages, the fourth would overflow with 1,080, updating older entries and adding 30 new personalities. The book's cover art was reworked and the word "new" was added to its title.[2]
Upcoming Fifth Edition
The fifth edition, due October 26, 2010, appears to be a reworking akin to the 2004 update. The cover art has been reworked (There Will Be Blood replaces To Have and Have Not) along with a swell of new entries (over 100 in all, including Judd Apatow and Mark Wahlberg).
Random House's fifth edition press release:
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- In its fifth edition, and with more than 100 new entries—from Judd Apatow to Mark Wahlberg—the classic, beloved film book, better than ever.
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- For thirty-five years, David Thomson’s Biographical Dictionary of Film has been not merely “the finest reference book ever written about movies” (Graham Fuller, Interview), not merely “a great, crazy masterpiece” (Geoff Dyer, The Guardian), but also “fiendishly seductive” (Greil Marcus, Rolling Stone). For this edition, Thomson has updated and in some cases recast every biography, and has added 100 new entries (Clive Owen, Scarlett Johansson, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Heath Ledger, for example). The book now includes almost 1,500 entries, some of them just a pungent paragraph, some of them several thousand words long, every one a gem.
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- Here is a great, rare book that encompasses the chaos of art, entertainment, money, vulgarity, and nonsense that we call the movies. Personal, opinionated, funny, daring, provocative, and passionate, it is the one book that every filmmaker and film buff must own.[6]
References
- ^ a b Thomson, David (Hardcover). A Biographical Dictionary of the Cinema. Martin Secker & Warburg Ltd. ISBN 0-375-70940-1.
- ^ a b Thomson, David (November 17, 1994). "The New Biographical Dictionary of Film: Fourth Edition" (Hardcover). Random House. http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780375709401. Retrieved 2010-07-07.
- ^ Thomson, David (March, 2009) (Paperback). The New Biographical Dictionary of Film: Fourth Edition, Second Printing. Knopf. pp. 198–199.
- ^ Thomson, David. "Biographical Dictionary of Film: Second Edition" (Hardcover). William Morrow & Co. http://www.amazon.com/Biographical-Dictionary-Film-David-Thomson/dp/0686632346/ref=tmm_hrd_title_3. Retrieved 2010-07-07.
- ^ Thomson, David (November 17, 1994). "A Biographical Dictionary of Film: Third Edition" (Hardcover). Andre Deutsch Ltd. http://www.amazon.com/Biographical-Dictionary-Film-David-Thomson/dp/0233988599/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1. Retrieved 2010-07-07.
- ^ Thomson, David (October 26, 2010). "A Biographical Dictionary of Film: Fifth Edition" (Hardcover). Random House. http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780307271747. Retrieved 2010-07-07.
External links