Making of Memento, The

A behind-the-scenes look at the cult film that's taken critics and audiences by storm.

Christopher Nolan's Memento--the deceptive, ambiguous tale of a man with short-term memory loss consumed by the need to avenge the rape and murder of his wife--has already been hailed by critics as "a new classic" (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone), provoked more discussion than any other film of 2001, and in a near-instant established Nolan as a major player in the industry.

In The Making of Memento James Mottram aims to take the reader--backwards, of course, like the story's structure--through the complete process by which this watershed film was brought to the screen. Utilizing interviews with Christopher Nolan and his brother, Jonathan (author of the short story on which the film is based), as well as members of the cast and crew, including Guy Pierce and Carrie-Anne Moss, Mottram details life on the set and the experience of filming. He also looks at the critics' reactions, explores the film's themes, and discusses its place in cinema history. In addition, a full set of credits is included along with a plot summary and the complete text to the original short story, as well as a look at the process by which it was transformed into a screenplay.

All totaled, The Making of Memento is the perfect companion to what is sure to be regarded as one of the first great films of the new century.

A behind-the-scenes look at the cult film that's taken critics and audiences by storm.

Christopher Nolan's Memento--the deceptive, ambiguous tale of a man with short-term memory loss consumed by the need to avenge the rape and murder of his wife--has already been hailed by critics as "a new classic" (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone), provoked more discussion than any other film of 2001, and in a near-instant established Nolan as a major player in the industry.

In The Making of Memento James Mottram aims to take the reader--backwards, of course, like the story's structure--through the complete process by which this watershed film was brought to the screen. Utilizing interviews with Christopher Nolan and his brother, Jonathan (author of the short story on which the film is based), as well as members of the cast and crew, including Guy Pierce and Carrie-Anne Moss, Mottram details life on the set and the experience of filming. He also looks at the critics' reactions, explores the film's themes, and discusses its place in cinema history. In addition, a full set of credits is included along with a plot summary and the complete text to the original short story, as well as a look at the process by which it was transformed into a screenplay.

All totaled, The Making of Memento is the perfect companion to what is sure to be regarded as one of the first great films of the new century.

James Mottram is a journalist and the author of two previous books on cinema, The Coen Brothers: A Life of the Mind and Public Enemies: The Gangster Movie A to Z. He lives in London.