Charles Frazier's novel Cold Mountain won the National Book Award in 1997. It has been adapted into a film starring Nicole Kidman, Jude Law, and Renee Zellweger. In this well-assembled and lavishly illustrated moviebook, the author and filmmaker Anthony Minghella talk about this ambitious and complicated project which was shot mostly in Romania and Virginia. There are 170 full-color photographs and drawings plus a 32-page portfolio of behind-the-scenes glimpses by Brigette Lacombe. Also included are extensive sections on the film's pre-production, production, and post-production stages.

Speaking extensively on his view of the movie's major theme, screenplay writer and director Anthony Minghella says: "Cold Mountain is about a man returning from war, so the story is really about the aftermath of war and the effect of war on the world away from the battlefield. I realized I was in territory that is very, very interesting — and very fresh. The journey of Inman (whose name is not unlike Everyman) is also one of a series of tests — he's tested by hubris, by courage, by vanity, by romantic love, by his coarse desires and by his loyalty. Inman is on a spiritual journey and I realized the book was an American version of The Odyssey in so far as it's about a man who's weary of war, who's been away from home longer than he ever expected. Inman struggles to return home but every conceivable obstacle is placed in front of him."

It's not very often that a director describes a storyline as a spiritual journey. We also were impressed with his take on the importance of the performances by actors who only appear in small roles: "Each encounter is an important encounter. One thing I've learned as a screenwriter and dramatist is that every single person in a play of screenplay is, at one point of another, a leading character. If, for instance, a waiter comes in and says, 'I'm sorry, the chicken is off tonight,' and the camera is on the character as he delivers the line--well, at that moment, he is the leading character. You can't say to the audience, 'Don't pay attention to him, he's not as important as the next person who's about to speak.' "

Also included are comments by the actors, producers, director of photography, film editor, production and costume designers, and those responsible for the music.