Product Description: The visionary Wachowski brothers of The Matrix fame use their filmmaking skills to bring to life the iconic Japanese cartoon with their newest groundbreaking film Speed Racer, starring Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, Susan Sarandon, Matthew Fox, and John Goodman, to name a few. The Art of Speed Racer contains production ephemera including: exclusive storyboard art, character sketches, shooting script, and still photos. Speed Racer will also contain observations by film crew, lending insight into the complicated process of making this movie. The Art of Speed Racer is a chronicle of, and tribute to the film, and is sure to appeal to racing fans and new and diehard Speed Racer fans alike.
Look at the title - that's NOT what you get. Infact it's the opposite ! It's the screenplay, with a tiny proportion of the tons of art actually done for the film included up front.
When I first read the other comments here unfortunately I didn't pay them too much mind, as generally with 'art of' books there are many reviews unfairly marking the book down if it wasn't the final approved rendering that directly pertains to a frame of the movie. Which is not how concept art or movies work. So, silly me, I went ahead and bought both this and the Dark Knight book, both by the same publisher.
All I can say is sorry guys, I should have listened to you! Obviously the comments at the front, talking about the film's visual leaps and the importance of the artists in defining this inherently visual movie, were written before the book was anywhere NEAR its final form.
All these comments mean nothing - there aren't even any credits for the artists!
What's there is great, but it's like one of those old movie novel adaptations where you get some photos in the middle. Only this time there are a few pictures at the front. Poor poor effort for such a visual movie and and 'art of' book.
I'm sorry I didn't 'try before buying', and I think I'll write to the Publishers Universe of my dissatisfaction and their disingenuous title. They also did the Dark Knight one, which was likewise disappointing, but more sneakily titled.
Well, I Love It If you want 254 pages of art from the film, this isn't it. Instead you get a lot of art, costume designs, character profiles, and the complete shooting script.
a tease, but weak overall Like the earlier reviewer, I feel the book would have done far better to dump the script and fill the blank pages with concept art. The photos of the vehicles were impressive, and the logo art allows readers to "get" jokes that blast by too fast to comprehend in the theater (like why one racing team was dressed like vikings), but for the most part the book teases you with art, and then you find yourself reading an artless script. Save your money for the next PIXAR "art of" book.
ehh pretty poor art book really. the book is 2/3rds script and the artbook section is small and not that informative to the design process.
Delghtful reliving of 'Speed Racer' on paper This book is a fun keepsake for anyone who enjoyed the movie and wants to spend more time immersed in the fantastic color and images of the world presented to us in "Speed Racer." Beautiful artwork makes this book a keeper, but the inclusion of the full screenplay adds an interesting element as well. Recommended for fans of the movie.
Anything Goes Trivia
Trevor
Megaton Man
