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Rating: 
Summary: A Different Look at Movies from the '50's
Review: Peter Biskind uses "Seeeing is Believing" to look back at films from the 1950's from a socio-political perspective. Using terms such as corporate liberals to define characters in films, and classifying films as either right-wing or left-wing biased, Biskind dissects several well-known films, and more than a few not well-known, from the early Cold War era based on uncommon film criticsm methods. The book is not for the typical movie fan, but for readers with more intellectual pursuits in mind.Biskind often reads too much into the films he analyzes to substantiate his points, and will quote dialogue out of context from a film under discussion, or from other films of the time. It is doubtful that the producer, director, or writer of a science fiction film like "Them" imagined their science fiction action adventure about giant ants taking over the world to be as complex as Biskind makes it out to be. It is rare that giant ant films are analyzed in the same book as such 1950's classics as "On The Waterfront" and "Rebel Without a Cause." Knowing the Hollywood studio assembly line structure of time, and the large number of contract employees who provided input into any one film, it is difficult to believe that the large number of disparate films analyzed in the book would follow the same general set of character and plot rules as Biskind imagines. The reading may not be light and easygoing, but "Seeing is Believing" gives the reader new food for thought the next time one of the films discussed in the book pops up on cable television.
Rating:
Summary: A Different Look at Movies from the '50's
Review: Peter Biskind uses "Seeeing is Believing" to look back at films from the 1950's from a socio-political perspective. Using terms such as corporate liberals to define characters in films, and classifying films as either right-wing or left-wing biased, Biskind dissects several well-known films, and more than a few not well-known, from the early Cold War era based on uncommon film criticsm methods. The book is not for the typical movie fan, but for readers with more intellectual pursuits in mind. Biskind often reads too much into the films he analyzes to substantiate his points, and will quote dialogue out of context from a film under discussion, or from other films of the time. It is doubtful that the producer, director, or writer of a science fiction film like "Them" imagined their science fiction action adventure about giant ants taking over the world to be as complex as Biskind makes it out to be. It is rare that giant ant films are analyzed in the same book as such 1950's classics as "On The Waterfront" and "Rebel Without a Cause." Knowing the Hollywood studio assembly line structure of time, and the large number of contract employees who provided input into any one film, it is difficult to believe that the large number of disparate films analyzed in the book would follow the same general set of character and plot rules as Biskind imagines. The reading may not be light and easygoing, but "Seeing is Believing" gives the reader new food for thought the next time one of the films discussed in the book pops up on cable television.
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