BOOK REVIEW: Sucker Punch: The Art of the Film by Zach Snyder

It's now become customary for huge Hollywood films to produce elaborate art books detailing all the behind the scenes of a film's production. Most of these books focus on makeup and special effects and art direction and Zach Snyder's book "Sucker Punch: The Art of the Film" is no different. Snyder is very light on words in the book which is good since film is a visual medium and the visuals should do the real talking.

The book is filled from page to page with lush photographs and drawings from the film depicting all parts of the production from all the elaborate dream sequences of the film. The book showcases all the design aspects of the film from early character sketches (and how they progressed throughout production) to a complete breakdown of each of the dream sequences and the designs of all the characters that inhabit them.

The book works best for art directors, storyboard artists, and character designers as many pages are spent depicting these processes of the film. Snyder's film is a tour de force of visual spectacle which is adequately documented in the book. The book also contains early examples of the film posters and all of the final ones that were released prior to the film which is great for those fans of the film who were unable to see all the various versions when the film was originally released.

The casual viewer to this book may find little to be excited by this book which is not surprising in the slightest bit. These types of books are really designed for the "fan" who wants to know more about the details of the film's production. Because the book is 90% pictures and art there is very little in the book to actually "read." Instead you have to view these books as an excellent example of a "coffee table" book.

I naturally love to know about the behind the scenes on elaborate Hollywood features and this book is catered more towards the design aspects of the film making process and not the actually implementation of making a film. If this is the type of book that you are looking for (and you enjoy Snyder's film) then this will be a great addition to your library.