Hatchet Job: Love Movies, Hate Critics by Mark Kermode
Presentation copy inscribed and signed by the author on the title page thus: "To Matthew Best wishes & thanks! Mark Kermode" (the inscription was in black felt pen & has gone through to the following Copyright page); Picador 2013 1st ed/1st printing, 311pp., text sound, slight browning & rubbing to the page extremities at the very top, slight browning & staining to those at the very bottom, slight bumping & rubbing to board corners at the bottom & to the top & sides of both boards - heavier to the base of both boards, slight bumping & rubbing to the bottom of the spine - heavier to the top, one very small bump to right hand edge of front board, the dust jacket is rubbed & creased at top & bottom with a small tear to the top & bottom of the front, scuffing to the corners (+ very small loss to the rear bottom left hand one), both covers are also slightly marked.
'A wry, robust and developed defence of accountable critical voices' 4 stars, Total Film. For decades, the backbone of film criticism has been the hatchet job - the entertaining trashing of a film by professional reviewers, seen by many as cynical snobs. But with the
arrival of the internet, have the critics finally fallen under the axe? With movie posters now just as likely to be adorned by Twitter
quotes as fusty reviewer recommendations, has the rise of enthusiastic amateurism sounded the death knell of a profession? Are the democratic opportunities of the internet any more reliable than the old gripes and prejudices of the establishment? Can editing really be done by robots? And what kind of films would we have if we listened to what the audience thinks it wants? Starting with the celebrated TV fight between film-maker Ken Russell and critic Alexander Walker (the former hit the latter with a rolled-up copy of his Evening Standard review on live television) and ending with his own admission to Steven Spielberg of a major error of judgement, Mark Kermode takes us on a journey across the modern cinematic landscape. Like its predecessor, The Good, The Bad and The Multiplex, Hatchet Job blends historical analysis with trenchant opinion, bitter personal prejudices, autobiographical diversions and anecdotes, and laugh-out-loud acerbic humour. It's the perfect book for anyone who's ever expressed an opinion about a movie.
Mark James Kermode (né Fairey; born 2 July 1963) is an English film critic, musician, radio presenter, television presenter and podcaster. He is the chief film critic for The Observer, contributes to the magazine Sight & Sound, presents a weekly Scala Radio film music show and the BBC Four documentary series Mark Kermode's Secrets of Cinema, and is a co-presenter of the film-review podcast Kermode & Mayo's Take alongside long-time collaborator Simon Mayo. Kermode previously co-presented the BBC Radio 5 Live show Kermode and Mayo's Film Review, and previously co-presented the BBC Two arts programme The Culture Show. He is a member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and a founding member of the skiffle band the Dodge Brothers, for which he plays double bass.
Will ship by Royal Mail 1st Class Signed for, well packaged.
(£5.39/ure)