by Matt Zoller Seitz
with an introduction written by Anne Washburn
Published by Harry N. Abrams
1st Edition February 10, 2015
256 pages
If you are anything like myself and are still caught within the the lustrous, melancholic afterglow of "The Grand Budapest Hotel," Writer/Director Wes Anderson's finest film excursion to date, and you wish to delve even deeper inside the mythical Eastern European world of old, then look no further than The Wes Anderson Collection: The Grand Budapest Hotel, Author Matt Zoller Seitz's lavish companion book to his equally lavish and extraordinary publication The Wes Anderson Collection from just last year (and profiled in the March 2014 section of this site).
As with Seitz's previous gorgeous tome, this new volume is triumphantly more than simply a celebration of Wes Anderson's most recent film. This is yet another meticulously researched and presented publication that gives the reader and fan a front row seat into Anderson's creative process while also creating a reading and visual experience that is as enlightening and as labyrinthine as the film itself.
In addition to the plethora of film stills, behind the scenes photos, conceptual artwork, storyboards, screenplay excerpts, and interviews with the film's leading actor Ralph Finnes, Costume Designer Milena Canonero, Composer Alexander Desplat, Production Designer Adam Stockhausen and Cinematographer Robert Yeoman, Seitz provides us with three extensive interviews conducted with Wes Anderson during various stages of the film's post-production/pre-release period in which all manner of topics from cinematic influences, character motivations, story and plot developments to even the writings of Author Stefan Zweig (which inspired the film and some of which are also included within this book) were vibrantly discussed.
Additionally, Seitz collaborates with a team of esteemed writers, playwrights, film critics, and film historians, including the University of Wisconsin-Madison's very own David Bordwell, who all contribute essays concerning various aspects of the filmmaking process (shot compositions, set design, visual effects, etc...) and how they each relate to Anderson's most recent opus.
What results is a book that is deeply intoxicating, illuminating and surprisingly does not decrease the magic of the actual film itself. In fact, I feel that what Seitz has achieved with this book (just as he achieved with his previous installment) is to fashion a reading experience that serves to enhance the viewing experience of "The Grand Budapest Hotel," as one would easily be able to return to the feature film with an even greater appreciation for how it was all conceived and executed. And furthermore, viewing the film again, I feel, would inspire you to then return to Seitz's book to discover even more about the process behind the product.
Most importantly, Seitz has also gone quite the distance in giving Wes Anderson full credence as a serious filmmaker whose cinematic escapades are made of the purest artistic intent and not smug, self-congratulatory, superior minded motion pictures meant to keep all potential audiences at arms lengths.
Matt Zoller Seitz's The Wes Anderson Collection: The Grand Budapest Hotel is completely inviting, unquestionably immersive and the perfect reading selection for fans of not only Wes Anderson, but of the full art and artistry of the movies.
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