The Citizen Kane Crash Course in Cinematography: A Wildly Fictional Account of How Orson Welles Learned Everything about the Art of Cinematography in

Worth, David. The Citizen Kane Crash Course on Cinematography: A Wildly Fictional Account of How Orson Welles Learned Everything About the Art of Cinematography in Half an Hour. Or Was It a Weekend? Michael Wiese. Sept. 2008. c.132p. illus. filmog. pap. FILM~This heavily illustrated book is a fictionalized dialog between cinematographer Gregg Toland and Orson Welles. Unfortunately, it is in many ways a prurient, misogynistic flight of fancy that teaches little if anything about cinematography. Not recommended. Background: There is an apocryphal story that Toland approached Welles when he was newly arrived in Hollywood and taught the enfant terrible of stage and radio everything he needed to know about cinematography in half an hour. Accomplished and prolific cinematographer Worth here spins that dialog out over a debauched weekend. He seems far more interested in the drinking and fornicating habits of his characters (always with the caveat that they had imported whiskey and expensive whores) than their filmmaking challenges and talents or individual character. Talk of lenses and film are at best incidental to descriptions of prostitutes hired for their resemblance to stars of the day. The conceit of this imaginary encounter and a love of bad old Hollywood get in the way of his conveying real information.--Christian Zabriskie, Queens P.L., New York.