Product Description

Philip French has called Alex Cox, 'British Cinema's oldest enfant terrible'; it's a description that its recipient fully approves of. He is the genuine article, a radical, international, independent filmmaker, who is also a good writer, insightful commentator on cinema now, and expert critic of the power of Hollywood. He grew up with a passion for the pictures, and this book has as its centre the filmmaking autobiography of a fine director, the journey through all the major films he has made and how he has made them, including his new film, now in production. He takes us to varied locations, including the US, Mexico, and Nicaragua, where he made "Walker" with the cooperation of the Sandinista government. His book is full of fresh ideas, rare insights into many films of all kinds and into the people he's worked with including greats like Dennis Potter and Harry Dean Stanton. As well as being the confessions of a radical filmmaker, "X Films" is also the most readable working manual yet for the independent filmmaker. Enfant terrible he may be, but Alex Cox is also ahead of the game and is a pioneer and promoter of new forms of filmmaking for the cultural revolutionaries of the 21st century - visual, visceral but interactive, with multiple narrative possibilities.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #388345 in Books
• Published on: 2008-07-30
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 336 pages

About the Author
Alex Cox is a filmmaker, his best-known films 'Sid and Nancy', and 'Repo Man', often credited as one of the first truly independent movies. He also acts in films and is the author of a number of screenplays. He has written extensively on film for such as 'Sight and Sound', 'The Guardian' and 'Film Comment'. From 1988 to 1994, he presented 'Moviedrome' on the BBC.

Customer Reviews

Cox at the Controls
As teenagers into punk music, my friends and I all somehow knew that Repo Man was a movie we were supposed to see. I have no idea where that came from, it must have been osmosis, since none of us really liked the music of the LA punk scene which appears in the film. And when we did rent it, we reveled in its strangeness (completely unaware of the Kiss Me Deadly allusions). Then Sid and Nancy came out and we were there, opening night, at the dingy art-house theater, once again reveling in a compelling story with great music. Then came Straight To Hell, which was a must-see due to Joe Strummer's presence, although even at age 15, we knew a mess of a film when we saw it. Then came Walker, which we recognized as politically right on, although less gripping to our teenage sensibilities. (I recently rewatched the Criterion edition of it, and found it pretty uneven on the whole.)

And then...? Well, then Alex Cox kind of faded out of sight to us. I had completely forgotten about him until I was watching the 2005 documentary The Spaghetti West, in which he appears as a commentator. That led me to look up his filmography and see what he'd been up to in the intervening two decades, and check out some of the five other feature films he'd completed (since joined by The Searchers 2.0 which makes for ten total, or the "X" of the title). Personally, I found 1996's Death and the Compass (based on the Borges short story) pretty much unwatchable due to its muddy picture and sound. 1998's Three Businessmen is much better technically, and marginally better in terms of sustaining my interest. 2002's Revengers Tragedy (based on an early 17th-century play), while certainly not likely to appeal to a wide audience, is definitely worth checking out.

Anyway, what Cox does is go through his ten features (not including The Winner, which he took his name off), outlining the genesis, preproduction, production, and aftermath of each. For those with an interest in indie film, it's pretty illuminating, as Cox gets into the nitty gritty aspects of cobbling together international financing and distribution, and how that all affects locations, actors, shooting schedules, logistics, marketing, etc. Some of this gets too detailed, and while it's nice that Cox is eager to give accolades to his crews, I could have done with a little less namechecking of the lighting second assistant, or fourth gaffer, etc. Still, his candor is refreshing, and he's a much better writer than many filmmakers. Cox is a solid raconteur, with a very readable, chatty prose style, often filled with humor. If you're thinking about life as an indie filmmaker, this is well worth picking up just to get a taste of the wide range of challenges involved, as well as the rich creative rewards.

The Film Book Of 2008
Whether you know Alex Cox from Repo Man, Sid And Nancy, Walker, 'Moviedrome' or his career in Mexico, I can't recommend X-Films highly enough.

Informative, entertaining and often very amusing, Cox's book is both a detailed account of an unusual life well lived and a guide to the highs and (many) lows that come with making movies for a living. Indeed, anyone who's thinking of a career as a film director would do well to read X-Films and then think again, safe in the knowledge that Cox had the courage to pursue such a perilous existence.

Essential Reading
Alex Cox's inimitable enthusiasm for film has never been more evident than it is in this book. Taking each of his feature films--with the exception of 1997's 'The Winner', which he dismisses as something he had to make to drum up more money for the then-unfinished 'Death And The Compass'--on a chapter-by-chapter basis, X Films is not only a great read, it makes dipping in and out again extremely easy. Recommended without reservation. Roll on Cox's guide to spaghetti westerns!