Review: Elysium: The Art of the Film

Check out my review of Elysium: The Art of the Film by Mark Salisbury!*

Elysium: The Art of the Film is a fascinating 176 page behind-the-scenes book about the design of Neill Blomkamp's Elysium (2013) and was published August 6, 2013.

Here's the official description: "From Neill Blomkamp, the director of the acclaimed District 9, comes Elysium, an eagerly awaited sci-fi blockbuster starring Matt Damon and Jodie Foster. All will be revealed in Elysium: The Art of the Film, which will feature a Foreword by Blomkamp, and wealth of stunning production art and photos, including the input of legendary designer Syd Mead (Blade Runner, Tron)."

Former Empire Magazine editor Mark Salisbury has written many other books, including Prometheus: The Art of the Film, and Burton on Burton. This one doesn't disappoint.

The logical flow of the designs and the pages makes it an easy book to breeze through or read. Elysium: The Art of the Film breaks the illustrations into two parts: Designs from "near future" Earth and Elysium. Each section has a design that matches the feel of the film.

The foreword by Neill Blomkamp is succinct and fascinating and shows his fascination with the visualization process. He said they did 3,000 distinct pieces of concept art, so picking the ones that show up in the book must have been hard. It's amazing how much concept art they packed into 176 pages including 2 gatefolds with additional satellite and robot designs.

Elysium: The Art of the Filmis a great book and is worth picking up. My only objection is that it doesn't highlight the concept artists besides the legendary Syd Mead. Most of the concept art featured is done by Aaron Beck, Christian Pearce and Leri Greer.

Be warned though! The book has a few spoilers, so make sure you watch the film before getting the book.

Here are some images from the book.


ISBN-10: 1781162476
ISBN-13: 978-1781162477


Official Elysium Summary
In the year 2159 two classes of people exist: the very wealthy who live on a pristine man-made space station called Elysium, and the rest, who live on an overpopulated, ruined Earth. Secretary Rhodes (Jodie Foster), a hard line government official, will stop at nothing to enforce anti-immigration laws and preserve the luxurious lifestyle of the citizens of Elysium. That doesn’t stop the people of Earth from trying to get in, by any means they can. When unlucky Max (Matt Damon) is backed into a corner, he agrees to take on a daunting mission that if successful will not only save his life, but could bring equality to these polarized worlds.

Directed by Neill Blomkamp
Cinematography by Trent Opaloch
Production Designer by Philip Ivey
Starring: Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley, Alice Braga, Diego Luna, Wagner Moura, William Fichtner

Release date: August 9, 2013 (US), August 21, 2013 (UK)

Official Site: http://www.elysium2013-movie.com/

TM & © Copyright 2012 Alphacore, Media Rights Capital, QED International, TriStar Pictures Industries, Inc. All rights reserved

*Disclaimer: Review copy of book provided by Titan Books. This in no way affected the opinions of the author and the opinions do not reflect the opinion of the publishers.