POTC Books

[Jib]

Saw a great display of POTC books at my favorite Borders today. Noticed a few books that I had not yet picked up. One was a "Making of the POTC" and another was a DK book on the trilogy.

Just wondered if any of you read these titles and could give me your opinion.

[Maggie Crowe]

I've got the Visual Guide. It's nice for pics for garb and accessories, and it has a nice cross-cut of the Black Pearl, with the different areas of the ship. Nice for teaching my little pirate about a bit of history.

"The Art of ..." is on my wish list.

[blackbonie]

I've got the Visual Guide. It's nice for pics for garb and accessories, and it has a nice cross-cut of the Black Pearl, with the different areas of the ship. Nice for teaching my little pirate about a bit of history.

"The Art of ..." is on my wish list.

i bought that one too for the pictures,and there are cool facts about the movies that i never knew.

[Caraccioli]

I ordered Bring Me That Horizon: Pirates of the Caribbean - The Making of the Swashbuckling Movie Trilogy by Michael Singer and Timothy Shaner sight unseen from Amazon. (I have bought "Making of..." books about dozens of movies - I often get them to learn how things were done and for inspiration for haunted house rooms.)

Having said all that, I don't recommend this book at all. It's full of breathless, Tiger Beat style descriptions of the major players (Although I did learn that Gore Verbinski is apparently a minor deity), yet revealed little of interest about the "making of..." aspects IMO. It's not at all as in-depth as I'd hoped. There's some interesting stuff, but not nearly enough compared to some of the other books I have on movies. The pics are only so-so IMO...a lot of major scenes of which I would have been delighted to have nice clear photos are not included. The fascinating world of ILM is not explored very well. There are some decent, candid, off-screen shots, but that's not what I was buying the book for.

I'd definitely skim this one before you buy it. It sounds like I might have been happier with the Visual Guide. (I usually avoid VGs because they often pretend like they're encyclopedias of important fact instead of a collection of photos of props and miniatures from a movie. Maybe I'm just a movie book snob.)

On an off note, I was checking stuff out of the local library when I spotted the Star Wars Visual Encyclopedia in the return pile. I asked the library gal (who is a pal of mine), "Why on earth (so to speak) would someone want the SW Visual Encyclopedia for three weeks? To check on some facts for an important report?" It's a coffee table book for fans! (Ok, I guess I am a movie book snob.)

[Maggie Crowe]

(I usually avoid VGs because they often pretend like they're encyclopedias of important fact instead of a collection of photos of props and miniatures from a movie. Maybe I'm just a movie book snob.)

OK, I have to say, while I liked the PotC3 VG book, it's pretty much a collection of photos of props and costumes. There are some cool features, but I'm the mom of a 5-year-old, so we're easily entertained. I also like to see the detail in the costumes. So, I'm not sure the VG is for you.

Now, on the other hand, I just got a good look through The Art of PotC. THAT book is amazing. The whole thing is the concept art, from the first movie, where they didn't have the actors pinned down, to the last, with some AMAZING detail sketches. It's absolutely gorgeous, and I've let me captain know that one goes on me Christmas list.

[John_Young]

Star Wars, PotC, 007, Superheroes, Stargate SG-1... Whatever the genre, I have not been disappointedin DK's series of Visual Companions. Well true some of the books leave out some items that need to be addressed, but hey all books do that.

Incidently, Sam's Club (for those that have one) has the PotC Trilogy update companion for a nice price.

[Jib]

DK Books are some the finest made! Use them for travel over seas all the time.

The POTC DK book I saw was rather thin and had only photos with few drawing of the ships. It told a brief version of the 3 movies in story form. Perhaps thier is another book I have not seen?