Double Lives, Second Chances: The Cinema of Krzysztof Kieslowski Hardcover – January 1, 1999

I purchased this book and "The FIlms of Krzysztof Kieslowski" by Joseph Kickasola at the same time.Both books explore the Kieslowski's cinema from his early documentaries to his last masterpieces offiction. But I firmly believe Kickasola's book runs much deeper on analysis and interpretation than Insdorf's.Nevertheless, this text is an excellent beginning to study Kieslowski's life and oeuvre.

FANTASTIC FILMMAKER WHO DIED FAR TOO EARLY.

Insdorf gives some great insight to both the meanings in the films and the Director's thoughtprocesses.

Does justice to the depth and multilayered brilliance of the films.

Product was exactly as described and was shipped promptly. Thank you.

(Amazon Reviews is not really set up for comparisons. I read four books on Kieslowski essentially simultaneously: (i) Double Lives, Second Chances, (ii) The Cinema of Krzysztof Kieslowski, (iii) Krzysztof Kieslowski by Monika Maurer and (iv) Kieslowski on Kieslowski. By ‘simultaneously’, I mean that I read the just specific content on each film, before watching that film on DVD. I regard (i) as the best of the four - although (ii) is a very close second. So my review of (i) will be the most detailed. If any reader happens to find any review of interest, (s)he might choose to look at one or more of the others.)(i) is a splendid analysis of Kieslowski's work. The author also appears in several of the DVDs giving comment on the films. The book gives serious insight. That is wonderful, and I recommend this book whole-heartedly, but I should express some reservations, which apply to this book as well as the other three. One dominant theme of Kieslowski's films is 'What are the roles of chance, will and destiny in people's lives?' All four authors address this, but somehow miss how this question of how this might actually apply to Kieslowski's own films. All four authors recognise and highlight numerous repetitions of incidents throughout the canon. Just one example: in Dekalog 6 and the associated feature-length A Short Film About Love, the milkman has to trouble his customer for return of the empties. This also occurs in The Scar. The authors generally shy away from considering whether such repetition is chance (this is a part of everyday life and so the recurrence is not surprising), will (the recurrence was a deliberate statement by Kieslowski) or destiny (the recurrence reveals something of the subconscious of Kieslowski). In general the authors tend towards will, but - with the prominent exception of (ii) - look for cinematic significance in this. There may not be any. (ii) quotes Kieslowski as saying that he often did this just to intrigue the cinephiles and so the authors' attempts to find significance may be misplaced.One further issue which I feel the authors miss is the role of glass in Kieslowski's films. Throughout the entire canon, vast numbers of shots are through windows, or reflections in mirrors, or through magnifying devices such as telescopes, or through distorting devices. Most of the authors refer to this in discussing individual films, but surely there is a role for a holistic view of Kieslowski's apparent obsession with glass?To conclude, let me repeat that I think this single book is the best of the four, but the other three also make valuable contributions.

Kieslowski changed my life. I watched RED first, then WHITE and Finally BLUE. I've never watched anything that moved me so. So much better than anything that comes out of Hollywood( except for the occasional Shawshank). Ann Insdorf does a great job narrating the DVD--in the 'extras' section of the trilogy. Based on her performance, I bought 'Double Lives'. I enjoyed her personal observations of the master at work. I loved her book. My only complaint is I wanted more analysis of the Trilogy(and the Decalogue). But she gives a fantastic job on the Trilogy DVD set. She's a true scholar of the sage.

I have been an enormous follower and keeper of Kieslowki's work since a fateful afternoon when I stumbled upon a showing of "Blue" several years ago. This of course came to a bittersweet juncture when K died in 1997. Regardless, this book accurately captures the the development of this extraordinary director... and writer. Insdorff presented some interesting insights in her writing amidst some oversights: the car in Blue was a Puegeott, not BMW, and no mentioning of "Blue's" Julie's accident interruption in court in "White". Although Kieslowki's beginnings and earlier works like his string of documentaries and "Decalogue" are crutcial to his foundation as an outstandingly brilliant director as showcased in the Three Colors trilogy, I wished more expoundment was made on the his final three works which is truly poetry in images.