World War Z: The Art of the Film

World War Z - The Art of the Film
I know I should've gotten to this a lot sooner but it's taken some time for me to catch up and so, well, here it is. We all heard about the production problems that plagued WWZ from the off but the film did actually surpass expectations and become an international hit, and while the story of exactly what went wrong and who is to blame and which cavalry came to the rescue is yet to be told - and I'm sure that'll happen - what we're left with is World War Z: The Art of the Film which is actually a really interesting insight into the difference between what was originally envisioned and what actually ended up on the screen.

The central spine of the book is a copy of the shooting script - or at least a version of the shooting script, there are some pretty big differences from the finished film - against which are set sketches, stills, film plates, production art, story boards and a ton of other great stuff, that illustrate how the words on the page were brought to life by the craft of the filmmakers. Each section is arranged by location, e.g. Philadelphia, Newark Projects, Korea, Jerusalem, Wales and so on and alongside the sumptuous visual feast of colour and black & white stills are quotes from cast and crew that help to illustrate what went on and how the choices were made. These vary from fairly humdrum soundbites designed to sell the film to slightly more resonant lines about how the choices for make-up, hair, wardrobe etc. were designed to interpret behaviour or mood of the characters.

It's not a 'Making of..' book by any manner or means, those looking for more insight into craft techniques used to enact these scenes need to look elsewhere, although it is an interesting look at how the finished film, which this reviewer actually enjoyed quite a lot, differs from, at least, the version that was being made in this book. No, this is an 'art' book in the true sense of the word, filled to brim with sketches, photos, concept art, stills, matte paintings and so on that fulfil the brief of being a visual guide to the work that went into the film's design and a nice coffee-table companion for fans of the film, and on that score, it doesn't disappoint.

World War Z: The Art of the Film is published by Titan Books, and is available with free delivery from The Book Depository and on the high street from Blackwell and all good book stores.

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