Any fan of aesthetics or Wes Anderson will adore this book. It's a fun examination of his style, his worldbuilding, and the mythology that has come up around the director as his films have become more mainstream and popular.

I have some mixed feelings about this book. If you're looking for a discussion about the content of Anderson's films, you won't find that here. But if you're looking for an exploration of how other filmmakers have influenced Anderson's work, this is the perfect book for you. It's deeply reported and broken up into digestible chunks with a lot of visual aides. I'm sure fans of Anderson will love this one!

This book is just beautiful. It was so fun to learn a little bit more about Wes Anderson’s movies, for example my favorite Fantastic Mr. Fox and more. Beautifully designed and illustrated, informative and engaging. Perfect as a coffee table book for a Wes Anderson fan!

A beautiful look at the imagery of Wes Anderson films in direct comparison to other films and inspriations. Useful introduction for analysis.

I'd always wanted to know how Anderson would select music for his movies. The world building in his movies are so distinct, that you know instinctively that any song he choses to add would immediately be anachronistic in its nature, and yet somehow, he manages to find songs from decades past and present that fit like a glove, that don't seem out of place in his make believe world.
This was my favourite chapter going in when I began reading the book. Too heavy for me at times to appreciate the throwback and callbacks the author points out to all of the inspirations that Anderson incorporates in his works, but for a film buff, I guess... there really can never be enough information about their favourite director.
I like pace of the narrative, not too slow or bowed down by the filmography of Anderson nor is he in awe.
overall, a well researched put together book on the creative process and influences of one of our most unique filmmakers of contemporary times.

Wes Anderson is truly a phenomenon, with a unique artistic style that’s impossible to overlook. Once you’ve experienced one of his films, it stays with you forever. His distinct style, those colors, the attention to detail... I don’t know anyone who could remain indifferent. Time to dive into Anderson’s world!

Despite my high hopes and expectations, I can't give this book a glowing review. The reason is simple—the font used for the text made the reading experience unpleasant for me. It felt as though the flow of the text was disrupted. Yes, this book is more of a 'coffee table' book, but as a fan (and I imagine most dedicated fans would agree), I wanted to engage with the content beyond just looking at the pictures. No matter what I tried, reading felt like a struggle, and I found myself constantly delaying it. Normally, I don’t nitpick about fonts, but in this case, it seriously affected my enjoyment. I wish the font had been something easier and softer on the eyes.

That said, if we set the font aside and focus on the content, it was an interesting read. The author analyzes Anderson’s various artistic works (films), helping the reader understand his signature style, distinctive elements, and where certain influences originate. There’s a lot to think about, explore, and discover. The book is packed with images, so there’s plenty to look at too. While I haven’t seen all of Anderson’s films (or even heard of some), as I dove into the factors highlighted in the book, I quickly began noticing the similarities and his 'signature' style—almost like a textbook! 😊

Overall, this is a nice, comprehensive book for Wes Anderson fans. There’s plenty of intriguing material, though I personally would have liked to learn a bit more about Wes himself.

Thank you so much, NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group, for this fantastic reading experience and for the ARC copy!

Review in Estonian: https://brixieblog.wordpress.com/2024/10/24/the-worlds-of-wes-anderson-adam-woodward/

Deep dive into the world of Wes Anderson. I enjoyed this book as it provided insight to his way or making movies.

This was a beautifully illustrated and formatted book! It was also quite an interesting read and great analysis into all of Wes Anderson's inspirations and the ways they've been intertwined into his own work—either as an homage or as something you can clearly see has coloured his perception of the world and the artform.

To be honest, I didn’t particularly like this book but probably it’s my fault.
Maybe I don’t love Wes Anderson enough.

I appreciate many Wes Anderson movies, especially for their look. This was a fun exploration of his movies. What I liked the most were the many, many stills from movies Anderson says provided inspiration, along-side stills from his movies. If you're a fan of Anderson or are interested in the movie-making process, I think you'll enjoy this book.

This is an essential read for any Wes Anderson fan - and for film lovers in general, really. Like everyone else on this page, I absolutely adore Wes Anderson's work - his quirks and idiosyncrasies and flawless sense of humour, let alone his masterful storytelling. It was such a joy to explore the varied influences that combined to create his magical legacy. And the book itself - its layout and distinctive voice - is a perfect ode to Anderson's style. I absolutely have to buy it in a physical format when it is released! Truly something to treasure.

This is a really fun book that looks at Anderson’s films in comparison to his influences, complete with beautiful stills and other photos! I enjoyed reading about the connections in some of my favorite films of his (Moonrise Kingdom and Fantastic Mr Fox)

I would love to see a completed physical copy of this book as reading it on my phone just wasn't quite the same. I have a feeling this will be a book for any Wes Anderson fan. It's full of information and details that any Wes Anderson fan (or movie buff) would be interested in. I learned so, so much about film and the attention to detail he has in creating his masterpieces.

"In all his films, Wes Anderson turns the mundane into magic by building distinctive and eccentric worlds. But how well do you know the man behind the camera? Discover the inspirations of one of our most revered auteurs with The Worlds of Wes Anderson.

Anderson's playful and vibrant aesthetic is universally admired - but how has he managed to create such a recognisable identity?

From Hitchcock and Spielberg to Truffaut and Varda, there are countless homages and references scattered throughout Anderson's filmography, while his cultural anchor points go far beyond film and into the worlds of art and literature.

Evocations of place and time underpin his work, from mid-century Paris in The French Dispatch to grand pre-war Europe in The Grand Budapest Hotel, while cultural institutions - such as Jacques Cousteau and The New Yorker magazine - are other touchstones.

For Wes Anderson fans and cinephiles alike, this is an essential insight into the creative process of one of the world's most unique filmmakers."

Wes Anderson is a genius. His films are culturally spot on while also being so uniquely his own.

This was so interesting! I'm not a huge Wes Anderson fan but I love movies so I've watched and enjoyed several. They're all unusual, in a good way, with quirky characters and odd backstories. What makes this book so amazing is how the author shows the influences that led to those movies.
I didn't realize how many of my most beloved movies were the influence behind Wes Anderson films, movies like Harold and Maude and My neighbor Totoro that influenced how I view life. The author does a brilliant job bringing out those influences, even showing specific shots from many films.
Even if you don't like the analysis, the pictures chosen are amazing. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

I'm definitely not the target audience for this book, being only a casual Wes Anderson enjoyer (I've only seen a handful of his films for example)
Think the hardcore film buffs will get more out of it than I did. It IS impeccably researched and put together in an aesthetically pleasing way.

I absolutely loved this book! Not only does it cover the making of his films, it also skillfully pairs them with the films that most influenced him. This is illustrated by side-by-side photos and commentary throughout (including from Wes Anderson himself). The author knows his film history -- he writes for Little White Lies, a magazine I recently discovered, that goes in-depth into specific films. He is definitely using his skills in this book! The book is structured into nine loosely themed chapters with 4 mini essays. He calls it a "treasure hunt" rather than an exhaustive recounting of the films and it is very effective. Some of the influential films include, The 400 blows, Tokyo Story, Harold and Maude, The Magnificent Ambersons, Husbands, The Grand Illusion, Torn Curtain, La Chinoise, The Last Detail and many Satyajit Ray films. I am considering creating my own double features at home pairing one of the classic films with a Wes Anderson film. I was sorry the book ended -- I could have kept on reading. I will definitely be buying copies of this book for myself and as gifts for friends. I highly recommend this book!

Thank you to Netgalley and Quarto Publishing Group – White Lion for an ARC and I voluntarily left this review.

As a huge Wes Anderson fan, I had a lot of fun reading this book.

Each chapter focusses on a different theme of Anderson's films and contains four parts, and then every part is about a different creator and how they inspired the director. Most of them are other directors and their films. But there are also painters and musicians.

The author did a lot of research for this book; everything is described in great detail. You can clearly see his passion and love for films. At the moments I felt like some connections were not as big as he claimed, but a lot of them were supported by quotes.

The only real minus is that some parts had just too much information: the inspirations listed one after the other with no longer explanation. This is definitely a book that you want to read slowly or even go through one part at a time to really benefit from the knowledge.

I love that all the films mentioned in the book are listed together. It saved me from creating my own list of things I should watch to really appreciate Wes Anderson.

DNF not my cup if tea sadly. But I'll give it the standard 3 star since I didn't read it. Please don't take this as a bad sign I'm just very picky woth my reads and if I'm not interested or don't have the time I usually don't read the book then.

An amazing curated book for die hard Wes Anderson fans! Illustrations and photographs were nostalgic and intentional. This would make an amazing gift for any fan!