Book Description

From the prolific fingers of master silent movie pianist Stuart Oderman comes a collection of rare interviews with some of the most important people of a bygone film era:

Marlene Dietrich, Frank Capra, Colleen Moore, Jackie Coogan, Madge Bellamy, Aileen Pringle, Allan Dwan, Adela Rogers St. Johns, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Anita Loos, Anita Garvin, Leatriee Joy, Dorothy Davenport (Mrs. Wallace) Reid, Patsy Ruth Miller, Ann Pennington, Claire Windsor, Betty Bronson, Billie Rhodes, Minta Durfee, Jerry Devine, Lois Wilson and Constance Talmadge.

Includes photographs taken at the time of their interviews. All photos and many of these interviews have never been seen before outside of this collection. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A Trip Down Memory Lane
"Actors, away from their roles, are people, too." Stuart Oderman, a man I have tremendous admiration for, whisks his readers away from the "tabloid culture" that reiterates one junky story after the other and provides us with a breath of fresh air with his new book, Talking to the Piano Player. As stated in a previous review of mine, reading a book by Stuart Oderman, is, in a sense, reminiscent of finding an old photo album, and taking a much-needed vacation down memory lane. Stuart recalls and interviews a handful of silent film stars and filmmakers, recording their triumphs, tribulations, and tragedies in such an enthralling fashion that puts contemporary authors to shame. Mr. Oderman, requires his readers to listen, smell, taste, and feel the moment, taking a visual medium and transforming it into a roller coaster ride that you will never forget. During his adolescent years, a very mature Oderman would opt to go to theatres in New York City instead of attending school. Serendipitously, as fate would have it, he encountered silent film star Lillian Gish, during one of his theatre visits. He asked her if she knew Arthur Kleiner, a brilliant film accompanist who was playing there that day. Lillian Gish took Stuart's hand, and marched him down to Kleiner. She asked Arthur if he could give lessons to her new friend and Kleiner happily obliged. Stuart's career as a silent film pianist began. Subsequently, he was introduced to some of the most unforgettable people of this era, including, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Frank Capra, Marlene Dietrich, and many more. Talking to the Piano Player, a fine piece of writing, will resonate in the hearts and souls of every reader. Whether you love film or not, Talking to the Piano Player deserves to be part of your collection. 

Critic 2000 ... Read more

Reviews (6)

One of the most impressive books ever read
I lost my copy of this book years ago and am so glad to have it back.Anyone who admires Polanski's work will love this book.Anyone who questions Polanski's love of life, Sharon, and the World he lives in should read this book.You will understand him in a whole new light.He's amazing.Read this before any other about him. Please!!!!!!

From the heart
I have always admired Roman Polanski.He strikes me as a person with a very powerful presence and state of mind and that impression certainly comes through in his films.

Although published 20 years ago, Roman bared his soul to the world, telling his story in a way that you felt you lived his life right there beside him.

People who believe that those who have had lousy lives should be excused from taking responsibility for their crimes should read Roman's book.After all he's been through, he had every excuse in the world to be a lowlife, drunken, drug addict, thief, murderer, scumbag.Instead, this man took all the bad things that have happened to him in his life and turned it into something positive.

And even though he has expressed his emotions through his movies, he is still a very mysterious man whose depths no one will ever know.

That's what makes Roman so damn intriguing.

Paradoxical Roman - by Polanski
The myriad and often contradictory superlatives that define Roman Polanski are evident in his 1984 autobiography.A man of immense dichotomy:by turns exquisitely sensitive and dazzlingly brilliant yet capable of staggering insensitivity and cruelty; a singularly gifted filmmaker who has sometimes betrayed that talent completely; a man blessed with the reciprocal love and devotion of three of the world's most beautiful women (most notably Sharon Tate) and yet easily capable of sexist and loutish behavior, etc.The parade of paradoxes attendant to Polanski's life make for fascinating reading, evoke extremes of admiration and disdain on the part of the reader, and ultimately remind us that the author, like life itself, is not easily defined nor pigeonholed by a pool of platitudes.

As this tome lacks the direct input of anyone other than Polanski himself, much of the director's foibles and missteps are congealed in the inevitable patina of celebrity and privilege.But that's not the whole story - by far.Polanski's appalling childhood and the Manson murders of 1969 (Polanski's pregnant wife and unborn child were murdered by disciples of the would-be messiah) undoubtedly contributed to the self-destruction that is too frequently an underlying theme in his life.

The passages in which the author pays noble tribute to Tateprovide a touching - and fitting - legacy to the lovely actress whose abundant goodness - her superior heart and her abiding selflessness - are manifest in Polanski's memories.It is, ultimately, this aspect of the book that remain in the reader's memory - long after the last page has been turned.In Polanski's relationship with his late wife - we are allowed to observe the director's vulnerability, tenderness and love - qualities that are all too frequently sublimated in his own overweening arrogance, pride and machismo.

"Roman by Polanski" is a satisfying and compelling read for those of us who, though incensed by some of the director's sophomoric actions, still find a commonality with the chaotic and passionate aspects of his personality.For this reason, the loss of his filmmaking genius in America is very unfortunate indeed.

Polanski is a genius.
Polanski has led one of the most interesting lives of anyone in the film industry, and it was great to read about his many misadventures, misfortunes, and mistakes, as viewed from the director's perspective.I'drecommend this book to anyone who likes the Polanski's films or has beenintrigued by his sensationalized history.

One of the best books written about a murder.
There are so many true crime books written and none of them come close as this touching and shocking account from the great director Roman Polanski.Everyone knows about the murder of his wife but not so many know how ittruly affects someone.The section that got me the most was Romandiscussing how much he misses Sharon whenever he packs a suitcase (sheloved to pack).No matter how much we like to hear gory details aboutsomething like that case we never get to hear how it takes it's toll onloved ones.Maybe if we heard more accounts like this, this countrywouldn't obsess and make a hero out of Manson and his freaks of a"family"! ... Read more

Book Description

Howard Hawks is the first major biography of one of Hollywood's greatest directors, a filmmaker of incomparable versatility whose body of work includes the landmark gangster film Scarface, screwball comedies like Bringing Up Baby and His Girl Friday, the Bogart-Bacall classics To Have and Have Not and The Big Sleep, the musical Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and aviation classics and Westerns like The Dawn Patrol and Rio Bravo. Sometime partner of the eccentric Howard Hughes, drinking buddy of William Faulkner and Ernest Hemingway, an inveterate gambler and a notorious liar, Hawks was the most modern of the great masters and one of the first directors to declare his independence from the major studios. He played Svengali to Lauren Bacall, Montgomery Clift, and others, but Hawks's greatest creation may have been himself. As The Atlantic Monthly noted, "Todd McCarthy . . . has gone further than anyone else in sorting out the truths and lies of the life, the skills and the insight and the self-deceptions of the work." "A fluent biography of the great director, a frequently rotten guy but one whose artistic independence and standards of film morality never failed." -- The New York Times Book Review; "Hawks's life, until now rather an enigma, has been put into focus and made one with his art in Todd McCarthy's wise and funny Howard Hawks." -- The Wall Street Journal; "Excellent . . . a respectful, exhaustive, and appropriately smartass look at Hollywood's most versatile director." -- Newsweek. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

"Good Enough"
This is a very good book. Hawks apparently left no papers, and some aspects of his life are undocumented. (For example, McCarthy keeps mentioning Hawks' great friendship with Gary Cooper, but because of both men being dead and no documentation, Cooper remains a very shadowy presence in this book. Hawks' friendship with William Faulkner gets far more space, since Faulkner left papers.)

So there is not a lot about "the inner Hawks." However, there is a lot about Hawks' films. Once the talkies begin, there is a chapter on practically every film Hawks made. I was fascinated by the stories behind the films, how long it took some films to get made (Hatari began as an idea for a movie with Cooper), the films Hawks never made (apparently a very traditional vampire film), and his frequent tangles with Howard Hughes.

McCarthy did a lot of research, and he does not uncritically accept the stories Hawks told (frequently told) about his work. So if you like the films of Howard Hawks and are familiar with books such as Hawks on Hawks and Howard Hawks Storyteller, this is a book that you will still get a lot out of.

To use a term from Hawks' films: "This book is good enough."

"There's no `there' there ..."
McCarthy's reach far exceeds his critical grasp in this one-dimensional biography of a Hollywood icon. Like the famous description of 1930s Los Angeles - "there's no `there' there" - McCarthy's superficial account of Hawks' life, times and work is a sprawling, unfocussed mess. Clumsily written and sprinkled with the tongue-twisting Varietyese McCarthy employs at his day job (he's the uber critic at the Hollywood trade paper, usually a very perceptive one), this book is a difficult read as well as a shallow one. The definitive biography of Hawks, whose life was every bit as complex and multi-layered as his films, remains to be written. Whatever his other talents, Mr. McCarthy is no Boswell.

That Others May Live
This is a true life adventure about the Air Force's para jumpers, a group of heroes I've never heard about. In fact almost no one realizes that they are the ones on tv doing all those splashy things.They are the ones that dove out of the helicopters looking for John F. Kennedy Jr. They are the ones who are out there to save floundering people in the ocean. They are the ones who help with NASA and the space program to dive in the ocean and rescue or support the astronauts and equipment. I always though that those people who did this were the Coast Guard or Navy--no as I have learned.

What this book does is tell the real life story of a local Long Island boy Jack Brehm, who winds up trying to make it in life by entering into this elite outfit, this fraternity of men even tougher than the Navy Seals or the Army Rangers, and does it. It tells the story of their training and the danger of each mission and how regardless of how good you are, regardless of what excellent shape you are in, any mission can be your last. The scenario for this real life adventure is supported by a cast that is Jack Brehm's family. A group of normal rambunctious kids who turn into teenagers and then adults while their father goes to work each day at the base and jumps into danger to save others. Then its home to the kids and wife.

The contrast of a cold calculating job where a mistake can easily cause loss of life, and the warmth of the family make a juxtaposition that is really fascinating.

I loved the book because it was a about a real hero. Someone who risks his life that others may live-and then he goes home and plays with the kids. Real life! Only for a very few whom we never hear about unless tragedy strikes.

If you like real life adventure, I recommend it! ... Read more

Book Description

The only major biography of Sam Peckinpah in print, David Weddle's If They Move...Kill 'Em! tells the wild story of Peckinpah's life with novelistic verve and does justice to one of the most important bodies of work in American cinema. Born into a clan of lumberjacks, ranchers, and frontier lawyers, David Samuel Peckinpah served in the Marines and then made his way to Hollywood, where he worked on a string of low-budget features before being hired as a writer for Gunsmoke in 1955. Quickly becoming the hottest writer in television, Peckinpah went on to direct a phenomenal series of features, including Ride the High Country, Straw Dogs, The Getaway, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, and The Wild Bunch. The life he led -- glamorous, wild, and beset by personal demons -- is as vivid as his films. A hopeless romantic and a grim nihilist, inspiration to such luminaries as DePalma, Scorsese, and Tarantino, Sam Peckinpah was an audacious American original. If They Move...Kill 'Em! is his wild and woolly story. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Tragic examination of the Sam Peckinpah myth
David Weddle's fine biography of director Sam Peckinpah "If They Move...Kill'em!" is a harrowing book, detailing an extraordinary professional life wrought with alcoholism, drug addiction, rage and eventually paranoia. This book doesn't attempt to brush Peckinpah off the mountain he will forever possess, but it does detail his inspirations, influences and life-long battle with the demons within. Peckinpah was indeed tortured, an Ernest Hemingway or even Jack Kerouac of his time. He was also one heck of an SOB.

As a fan of Peckinpah's extaordinary films, including "The Wild Bunch," "Cross of Iron," "Straw Dogs" and "The Getaway," I was always perplexed by the erratic quality of the films later in his career and his eventual disappearance from the filmmaking scene. I suppose Weddle's work provides an uneasy answer to these questions, and I think his arguments about Peckinpah living the life of the characters he created in his films is valid.

Peckinpah's legend has always overshadowed Peckinpah's work, which is why such underrated jewels as "Noon Wine," "Junior Bonner" and "The Ballad of Cable Hogue" have been overlooked. I appreciate Weddle's attempts at exposing this myth, and revealing the troubled inspirations and obsessions of Peckinpah. I have problems with the way Weddle skims the surface of many of his films, rarely providing much critical insight or interpretation. But to do so would be treading on the groundbreaking territory of Garner Simmons' ultimate work "Peckinpah, A Portrait in Montage." Weddle should be applauded for avoiding areas that perhaps have already been covered.

To support his argument, Weddle ignores films from Peckinpah's resume, and makes several generalizations which are not entirely accurate. As the years go by, curious viewers will eventually realize that "Cross of Iron" was one of his great films, just as they will also begin to appreciate the gritty greatness of "The Getaway." These films will never serve as examples of the eroding talent of Peckinpah. Though I do agree with Weddle that "Bring Me the Head of Alfred Garcia, "The Osterman Weekend" and "Convoy" are hollow shells of a once-great talent.

"If They Move...Kill'Em!" is eye-opening and disturbing. It needed to be written. Many artists who rose to prominence during the 1960s and 1970s suffered a similar Peckinpah fate - cocaine addiction, alcoholism, a life of excess. That he was still able to make his films was a stunning achievement. That he took 10 years and 5 films off of his life (at the very least), is an American tragedy. Weddle has done a good job at revealing a man who not only was his own worst enemy, but who lived the ignoble life of the tortured artist to the extreme. To know Peckinpah the man, is to eventually understand his utterly unique films.

Even the worst of us. . .Sometimes the worst most of all.
As I peddled my latest play, "Rust To Dust", I thought I was being pretty cute by describing it as "The Glass Menagerie meets The Wild Bunch". Working under the false pretense that my work uniquely combined the "hot ice and wonderous strange snow" of Williams' delicate and tender memory play with Peckinpah's bloody machismo driven Darwinistic fables, I thought I had something rare. Wrong.

According to Weddle, Sam Peckinpah himself had already beaten me to the punch.

In reading David Weddle's expansively researched and annotated biography of one of film's great colorful and tragic characters, I rediscovered the suprisingly sentimental and softly poetic side of Peckinpah.

Influenced tremendously by the symbollic stage poetry of Tennesse Williams (Sam was one of his champions!)along with the he-man adventures of John Ford, Howard Hawks and John Huston, Peckinpah brilliantly (admittedly only consistent in three films)managed to combine both seemingly polarized worlds.

Weddle really brings to light the complex character of Sam Peckinpah. Weddle pulls no punches and portrays the director as abusive, selfish, self destructive, malignant and paranoid. He also illuminates the softer, romantic side that created some legitimate and heartbreakingly penetrating works of art. Sam felt moved by poetry and the longing we all have to find the innocent and pure sides of our selves. He searched for salvation. Even in the hearts of deeply flawed and violent men. Knowing that he, like his famous protagnists, would only find it in honorable death.

Weddle does a fine and admirable job painstakingly finding the autobiographical currents running through all of Peckinpah's work.Weddle really shines as a film critic as he deconstructs all of Sam's work. He deftly balances negativity with effusiveness like a fine concert pianist. Like Williams' masterpieces, Peckinpah used his art to exorcise his demons.

It is so refreshing to learn that Peckinpah did not just educate himself on a diet of films, as so many young directors choose to limit themselves. He was a voracious reader of philosophy, history and literature. He loved the stage.

Many of Peckinpah's fans will already know much of the incidents present in the book, which will cause one to skim. But when Weddle works to humanize a deeply misunderstood artist, this book really shines.

"Let's Go!"
If there has ever been a man for whom the phrase "consumed by his inner demons" was apt, that man was director Sam Peckinpah. And as David Weddle makes clear in this massive and massively detailed biography, Peckinpah's films bring many of these demons out to strut or cower on the silver screen. As Weddle remarks, almost everyone who loves film can remember the first time he saw THE WILD BUNCH, and yet, like almost all of Peckinpah's "serious" films other than RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY, it was severely mutilated by studio meddling.

Not since Orson Welles has there been a famous director who had so much trouble with studio interference. And yet there were clearly times when some intelligent interference was more than justified... MAJOR DUNDEE falls completely to pieces in its "third half," to echo Tom and Ray of CAR TALK. THE BALLAD OF CABLE HOGUE is a giant void at its center... where there should be a love story, there's absolute vacuum, despite the talents of the performers. STRAW DOGS is repellant and unmemoriable despite the efforts of Dustin Hoffman. Sam turned every film in which he had much control into a psychodrama in which his characters wrestled with Sam's own problems. In this, he was a true auteur.

Weddle's research is overwhelming and his information about Peckinpah's childhood, college days and TV career is very enlightening... but he makes a major mistake in trying to relate these early experiences of Peckinpah in the most mechanical and naive way to Peckinpah's massive later psychological problems. We even listen in to some of Peckinpah's innermost thoughts, which is pretty preposterous in a supposed work of nonfiction.

And as another reviewer has noted, the list of influences on Peckinpah has a gigantic lapse--- other directors! Apart from a few random mentions of John Ford, there's hardly a hint that Peckinpah ever went to movies, or ever studied the works of other directors. Yet his early films burst onto the scene precisely when there was a directorial ferment almost without precedent in US and international film-making.

Peckinpah's film career is a sad and disturbing litany of maniacal career- and self-destruction. After alcohol withered his talents to a minimum, he discovered cocaine, and spent the rest of his short life in a moronic haze penetrated randomly by spurts of insane violence and agression... until his heart stopped abruptly. Ironically, in his decline he did a couple of by-the-numbers potboiler action films, and these were the only ones of his films that made real money for the studios. His best known, and best, films, like the WILD BUNCH, were box-office failures and not available for viewing even today in their uncut, unmutilated forms.

It's almost all here, a repellent and tragic story that only a Shakespeare could really do much justice to. Recommended, if you've ever wondered what kind of man could have had the vision embodied in the first 15 minutes or the final 15 minutes of THE WILD BUNCH.

A masterful innovator
I am an avid reader of biographies. They are a difficult genre to critique because everyone has their own ideas about what parts of an individual's career and what works of the individual should be focused on. My indicator of a great biography is how well the biographer can flesh out personal history to not only help us understand the individual but to demonstrate how the individual's character eventually infuses his works. With accuracy and grace, David Weddle taps into the events of Sam Peckinpah's life and lays out the specific moments that molded the man and his works. Weddle wields a mastery of lyricism in prose that makes the ride all that more enjoyable. Compared to previous works about Peckinpah's life, this work is a compassionate study of a complex human being who made films that moved people. We now can understand an otherwise misunderstood man. Also, Weddle shows how Peckinpah attempted to utilize all that he had learned in theater, televison and life to tell his stories in film as truly as possible. Weddle's biography is a must read for film students, film makers and any person who loves the movies. I highly recommend it.

Peckinpah in paperback
this is a terrific book - a model movie biography. the author seems to have the perfect distance from Peckinpah - knew him personally but not so intimately as to get sucked into the emotional maelstrom that the director seemed to engulf his associates and family in. At the same time he has obviously done his leg work. What is worth noting is how he always sets Peckinpah in the context of his times throughout his life. You get the feeling that Weddle could have doubled the length of the book and still kept it riveting. It's a good thing this book has finally come out in paperback since the hard back edition seems to be out of print. ... Read more

Reviews (21)

Decent
If you're looking for a biography rather than a filmography that encapsulates Kubrick's career, try Vincent LoBrutto's Stanley Kubrick: A Biography. Reading more like a list of facts and figures rather than a true narrative, this nevertheless has many redeeming qualities (although LoBrutto's monotonous prose style is not one of them), including compulsive readability. The book moves chronologically through Kubrick's film career, giving insightful details into the making of many pictures (many of these details are not found elsewhere but neither are they especially useful, either), but details of the man, of Kubrick, are rarely forthcoming. This should come as no surprise, considering Kubrick's insistence on privacy and refusal to be glamorized, but it is frustrating, when you reflect that in a biography, the man should take center stage, the works a less distinguished role. Given the wealth of material regarding each film's genesis, perhaps this should be considered more a biography of each film with incidental details on the director.

Light & Smoke & Mirrors
This was the first full biography of Stanley Kubrick I read, buying it in hardback as soon as it was published. There had been very little biographical info on the director until his death in 1999 and I think I read most of the books about his films up to that point.
I was disappointed with this bio. It got to the point where the last sentence in every third paragraph read, "And there was only one man for that job, and that man was Stanley Kubrick."

I found John Baxter's bio, also called STANLEY KUBRICK, much more entertaining and enlightening.
If you've seen Kubrick's daughter's short film, "The Making of THE SHINING," on THE SHINING DVD, you get a glimpse of the rewriting frenzies that went on--a genuine shock to me since Kubrick's films appeared so tight and controlled ("We make it up as we go," Jack Nicholson jokes as a Kubrick assistant literally cringes), a look at the director's temper when a scene doesn't go right, and the scenes featuring his disregard for Shelley Duvall border on cruelty.
All of this is more than you'll find in LoBrutto's biography.

How to write a book about a filmmaker
If you want to know about Stanley Kubrick, outside of viewing his films, this is THE book !

This book fills in the blanks, about this enigmatic filmmaker, with a very concise, pre-history, to his notariety as director of such films as "Paths of Glory" and "Dr. Strangelove".

It is from these "roots", that his story REALLY begins !

Be patient to get to those "famous" years, for it is this story, that explains, the "how" and "why" he is regarded so highly.

Very good biography on the genius himself.
I must say that I was absolutely astounded to find so many bad reviews on this book, or even mediocre ones for that matter. Many have cited problems such as it being a book of speculation and trivia, and that Lobrutto's writing style is borish. I suppose I can somewhat agree with the latter criticism, for the book does get tedious at times, but that shouldn't distract any true Kubrick fan from enjoying this otherwise informative and interesting looking into the life of one of cinema's only real Genius'. The book is above being simply standard in it's research and thus does gravitate a certain amount of authority on the subject. If nothing else I have to compliment Mr. Lobrutto on his dilligence and dedication to writing such a weighty book on a very enimatic subject. In that regard this book should not be viewed in terms of "Why couldn't he have told us Stanley's favorite chess piece" and should be read as "Wow - I didn't know that the camera lense used in Barry Lyndon was taken off of a satellite!" Please, to whoever is thinking of buying this, don't listen to all those other morons who insist that this book is junk, they are all obviously misguided souls who simply live to criticize. Buy it and enjoy. (oh yeah, its also got some great photo's in there as well.)

A Plutarchian Biography
Apologetic to Stanley Kubrick, STANLEY KUBRICK: A BIOGRAPHY (c. 1997) by Vincent LoBrutto is a first order inquiry which sets the Plutarchian biographical tone of Stanley Kubrick as a benevolent director pursuing his childhood infatuation with the photographic image. Vincent LoBrutto concentrates on the interesting behind-the-scenes business dealings Mr. Kubrick contends with in Hollywood. He also describes Stanley Kubrick's initial inspiration to photography in high school; the exertion and drive Kubrick demonstrated to complete a film; his relationships with some of Hollywood's biggest stars; Kubrick's impartial business decision to make movies in England; his experiences with contracts, lawyers, and lawsuits; the polite opinions of cohorts and co-workers regarding Mr. Kubrick himself; a few of Mr. Kubrick's own views regarding his life pursuing cinema; and his hobbies, marriages, and habits.

The biography falls short in one regard that it paints too good a portrait of a director who allegedly never lost his temper; it glosses over any motivation for his two divorces; it emphasized some personal information (such as he liked hot dogs) and de-emphasized others (was Kubrick right-handed or left-handed? or was Kubrick a rated chess player?). The book further does not explore the differences between brilliance and genius: would Stanley Kubrick have been able to pass the test to join Mensa?

Using secondary and tertiary sources typical of biographies, Vincent LoBrutto fails to capture the historic Stanley Kubrick with this work steeped in the mechanical aspects of his subject's life. Sparing the reader a lot of technical jargon regarding Stanley Kubrick's cinematographic technique, Vincent LoBrutto does delve in the personal view and values which contributed to Stanley Kubrick's initial motivation to make movies.

Yet this is just one single biography, and as more information regarding Stanley Kubrick comes to light, more biographies about this auteur director should be writtened and read (there are 400 biographies on Ghandi) to fully capture all the facets, good and bad of a brilliant director. A contrasting biographical technique, to be read in conjunction with this work, would be: STANLEY KUBRICK: A BIOGRAPHY (c1997) by John Baxter, which adds some additional information not covered by Vincent LoBrutto. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Leni Riefenstahl: Five Lives traces the fascinating and controversial life and work of the famous German photographer-filmmaker. Riefenstahl started her creative career as an aspiring dancer in the 1920s in Germany and then became a movie actress. She starred in a number of films, taking challenging roles that were sometimes dangerous and physically rigorous, such as the ice-bound and skiing roles in Storm over Mont Blanc, The White Flame, and SOS Iceberg. These outdoor films foretold the spirit of adventure that later guided Riefenstahl's photography career.

The crux of controversy that overshadows Riefenstahl's career is her handpicked appointment by Adolf Hitler to direct the infamous Nazi party rally film Triumph of the Will. Although, according to her memoirs, Riefenstahl tried to withdraw from the film, she created a work that depicted Hitler's plane descending from the clouds as if it carried a god, and she has been accused "of having significantly increased, by means of this film, the emotional bond of the Germans to Hitler." Riefenstahl then went on to direct the German film Olympia covering the 1936 Olympics. With WWII came great change and Riefenstahl's eventual imprisonment by the French. In her later years, she continued her photography career by documenting her trips to Africa and getting her scuba license in her 70s. Her close-up underwater pictures of sea life float like a dream in vivid color. For as damning as her association with the Nazis is, Riefenstahl is a complex and talented artist. This book is full of remarkable images of her acting and directorial career as well as her still photography, and it includes a detailed biography of her life and career--complete with family and personal pictures. --J.P. Cohen ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Wonderful Photos, Great Book
This is the story, with wonderful photographs, of the many phases of the life of this incredible woman. Her long and colorful life is chronicled in this excellent work, which includs many previously unpublished photos. At age 71, Leni started Scuba diving, and underwater photography, beginning yet another career and perhaps her best work. Riefenstahl was very involved in FIVE LIVES and the book gives considerable detail and insight into her personal and professional life. It is a wonderful collection. Not to be missed by any serious student of the history of film or photography.

A Superb Photographic Tribute to a Remarkable Woman
How different would Leni Riefenstahl's life have been had she not filmed Triumph of the Will? One can only speculate what films she would have directed and starred in after World War II were it not for Hitler insisting she do the film.

Riefenstahl has been referred to as a Renaissance woman, and she most certainly was. She was a creative being and expressed her creativity in dance, acting, directing, photography and ocean diving. These five areas, spanning her entire long life, are the subject of this sumptuous coffee table book.

Editor Taschen Angelica is to be commended on compiling this life-work on Riefenstahl while Leni was still alive to assist in the selection and arrangement of the photographs. The segment on the mountain films is worth the price of the book alone, but the color images of the Nuba are also amazing.

Riefenstahl's revenge against those who denied her her cinematic craft after World War II was being able to live to 101, and seeing her life-long accomplishments compliled into this book. Rumor has it Jody Foster is at work on a film project about Riefenstahl. One hopes Foster will get it right and cover her entire life, not just the years that caused so much controversy.

Hollywood couldn't invent it
A biography in pictures of arguably the most influential female film-maker in the history of the medium...though all too many people in the industry are afraid to admit to it. Made the greatest propaganda film in history (unfortunate choice of subject matter) and the most important and influential sports documentary of all time (Olympia). Dancer, actress, director, producer, still photographer, underwater cinematographer...an astounding list of accomplishments driven by a desire to perceive and record the world around her has compelled Leni Riefenstahl since the beginning of the twentieth century.
Oversized, handsomely produced volume (typical Taschen quality) is packed with rare photographs and fascinating commentary. Note: sparkle in eyes of 19-year old dancer and 99-year old legend is exactly the same.

Gorgeous book--a must have!
As gifted as she is controversial, Leni Riefenstahl's "five" lives are imminently fascinating as this impressive book will prove! Even to the uninformed or casual observer, this edition will entrance. A great addition to your library, especially if you are impressed by the 102 year old dynamo who continues to prove filmmaking and photography as an art form. A living testament to the fact that "bodies in motion, stay in motion!"

You can tell a book by its cover
The striking front cover on this book is a publicity still as Junta, in the movie "The Blue Light" 1932. As impressive as the cover is, it gets better when you open it to reveal hundreds of artistically shot photos. Dr. Ruth says bigger is not necessarily better. However in this case it is; something about the size of the photographs add to their striking appearance. Most are in grainy black and white with some color sections. This book is just a wee to large to fit in my oversized bookshelf. So I am making a larger shelf to display the books front view.

Just as you assume that this is a great coffee table book you will find that there is more too it. Luckily the pictures are not cluttered or distracted by alpha pneumonics. All the descriptions are in a separate section. The title of the book is appropriate as it portray s the different vocations of Leni. (Dancer, Actress, Director, Photographer, Diver)

This book also enhances the viewing experience of Leni's films. ... Read more

Book Description

Martin Scorsese's challenging and often controversial films are a record of the most personal achievement in modern American cinema. Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Gooodfellas--these titles conjure up a world and a style of filmmaking that he has made his own, one of a savage beauty of great intensity and truth.

The interviews which make up this book chart the journey that Scorsese has taken across the years in search of new subjects to engage and absorb him, and in the process reveal a man who, like Michael Powell and Francios Truffaut, has an unbridled passion for film--a passion which is evident in every frame of his work.

This new, revised edition includes chapters on Goodfellas, Cape Fear, The Age of Innocence, and other projects up to Casino, thus bringing up to date the story of America's most exciting and articulate contemporary filmmaker.
... Read more

Reviews (6)

A Book That Would Satisfy ANY Scorsese Fan
I bought this book out of respect and deep admiration for Martin Scorsese. What I got was keen insight into a creative genius. The numerous interviews reveal a side to Scorsese that not many people see outside the camera. It's a lot more personal than that. When he talks about his movies, he ultimately parallels them to what his life was like at that time. So it's a fine blend of his personal life mixed with his professional life. There's also the obvious vibe that this man always was and always will be a student of film; his passion is infinite. Perhaps that's what makes him as influential and well-respected as he is.
You're the best there is, Marty!!

Answers Scorsese Fans' FAQS
This reader felt almost privileged to read these interviews, lectures, and conversations with Martin Scorsese. He simply shares everything, and indeed he is, if nothing else, a true fan of movies!

The insightful words of Scorsese, arranged to parallel his filmography up through New York Stories, are annotated by the redoubtable editors Thompson and Christie. Scorsese is arguably the greatest postmodern artist, (and I would have to say the only postmodernist I unhesitatingly adore -with possible exception of Matt Groening), and the reader really gets to see how Scorsese constructs a film. His inspirations are as predictable as directors Pasolini and Powell, yet as diverse as Mahatma Ghandi and Little Richard. He loves all with equanimity and enthusiasm.

That's the joy of this book... the guy loves movies, loves making them, and all that energy just shines through.

Extremely valuable resource for the student of film, but good fun for the humble film buff, too. Bonus: interesting black and white photos you won't find elsewhere. Excellent (though naturally out-of-date) filmography appendix.

A fascinating peek inside the mind of a film master
I absolutely devoured this book, essentially reading in two sittings a day apart. A rare and privledged look into the mind of Scorsese in his own words, followers of his work will be thrilled with the insights and anecdotes. Anyone half-aware of the man's work can recognize the thought that goes into it, but these interviews reveal the incredible depth and passion for film and its history that underlies his craft.

An essential read for anyone that considers her- or himself a film buff.

An absolute must for the Scorsese-reverent
There are few filmmakers more brilliant than Martin Scorsese, and this book provides wonderful insight into the sources of his obsessions. Almost any book on Scorsese is worth reading, but this volume gives equal time to his less-appreciated, (but no less wonderful), films like The King of Comedy and After Hours. By far, the most informative book on Scorsese yet.

A good look at the Master at work
It's always interesting to hear from the Master himself what his thoughts is about all of his films. Like Truffaut's "Hitchcock on Hitchcock" this is a MUST for every film buff. Read it and emjoy. ... Read more

Book Description

A New York Times Notable Book of the Year

"Easily the best book on Orson Welles."--The New Yorker

Orson Welles arrived in Hollywood as a boy genius, became a legend with a single perfect film, and then spent the next forty years floundering. But Welles floundered so variously, ingeniously, and extravagantly that he turned failure into "a sustaining tragedy"--his thing, his song.Now the prodigal genius of the American cinema finally has the biographer he deserves. For, as anyone who has read his novels and criticism knows, David Thomson is one of our most perceptive and splendidly opinionated writers on film.

In Rosebud, Thomson follows the wild arc of Welles's career, from The War of the Worlds broadcast to the triumph of Citizen Kane, the mixed triumph of The Magnificent Ambersons, and the strange and troubling movies that followed. Here, too, is the unfolding of the Welles persona--the grand gestures, the womanizing, the high living, the betrayals. Thomson captures it all with a critical acumen and stylistic dash that make this book not so much a study of Welles's life and work as a glorious companion piece to them.

"Insightful, controversial, and highly readable--Rosebud is biography at its best."--Cleveland Plain Dealer ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Masterfully written, and truly indispensible for Welles fans
David Thomson and Simon Callow both released biographies of Orson Welles at about the same time, and it seems the two will be perpetually linked in reviews. Certainly Callow's book is the more deeply researched, but it is Thomson's which tries and succeeds to get into the soul of the elusive Welles. Free from the overwhelming piles of research which make Callow's book exhausting, if still fascinating, Thomson is free to pick and choose which details he wishes to emphasize, and he does a marvelous job of it. Thomson's account of Welles' final years, for example, with its use of choice anecdote and observation, is brief and heartbreaking. His insights into the films are immensely interesting as well. Even if I did not agree with them all, they did have the effect of making me go back to the films themselves to have another look, which is perhaps the ultimate compliment one can pay Thomson. "Rosebud", unlike Callow's book, is written by someone who genuinely admires Welles. Thomson doesn't fail to point out Welles' shortcomings and failures, but his critiques are free of Callow's sniping. Thomson refrains from gossip, doesn't weigh himself down with trivia, and in the end, has written the one truly indispensible biography of Welles.

Tries to be avant garde, ends up just pretentious
I was so looking forward to reading this book, but it turned out to be not at all what I expected. Perhaps I'm too used to a more conventional style of biography, but I found "Rosebud" hard to get through. As fascinating a person as Orson Welles was, parts of this book were still slow going. The author constantly interrupts the narrative with "dialogues" between himself and...himself? The publisher? An imaginary reader? It's hard to say, and seems to be used mostly to insert his own presence into the biography, and to do an end run around any potential libel.

Other unnecessary bits include a whole chapter of this dialogue between the author and his imaginary friend as they watch the first few minutes of "Citizen Kane," and another entire chapter about how the author became a fan of Welles. This is supposed to be a biography of Orson Welles, not a book about how David Thomson feels about Orson Welles, and how Thomson has taught "Citizen Kane" in his class for years, blah blah blah. Every time Welles' own story gets interesting, Thomson pops up to remind you he's there. Ideally, a reader shouldn't be bombarded with the presence of the author in a biography.

There is some interesting information, but the book as a whole is not put together very well.

Lack of facts make for a better bio!
David Thomson's , though undeniably detailed and well researched, was also lacking in many respects. This was a good thing.

Several years back, upon my brother's behest, I picked up a book entitled by Simon Callow. Callow's book was intensively researched, shattering the godlike Wellesian visage that existed within my mind due to Welles' own self promoting exaggerations. The imposingly thick tome only covers the first 26 years of Welles' life, and though entertaining, I found Callow to be highly skeptical , a bit removed from his subject and utterly exhausting.

Thomson's work, in comparison to Callow's, may seem rushed and under researched, but that is only part of its charm. Thomson has no ill intentions of passing himself off as someone who has done vast amounts of research, but merely as a great admirer of Welles willing to ask questions and make bold observations. Not blinded by hero worship, Thomson is ready and able to criticize Welles for what he sees as a genius' failures or shortcomings, and I believe he is able to do so in a way that does not lend itself to Callow's skepticism. If I wanted to read a straightforward text on the life of Welles, I could easily do some research and find books like Frank Brady's biography, but Thomson's is anything but conventional, inviting the reader to partake in some musings and discussions on an enigmatic character with the stylistic flourish of the most engaging novelist.

Thomson is able to expand upon the aspects of Welles' life that he finds most fascinating or noteworthy, leaving me to feel as though Welles' earlier radio and theatre work, which Callow goes into extensively, were not of great interest to Thomson. It is upon Welles' entry into film that really picks up, and though Thomson reveals a frustratingly sad side of Welles, it is not altogether cynical and abrasive. Thomson is uninterested in simply providing an unbiased view of Welles, for which I applaud him, as offers up very personal opinions that may or may not be wholly justified, but they all encouraged me to second guess myself, second guess Welles and see things from another perspective.

is no "Idiot's Guide To" anything, and for that I was grateful. Another rehashing of the same tired "...and then this happened, and this is what Welles said about it..." is precisely what Thomson avoided.

Thomson provides an examination of Orson Welles in a light I had previously not seen, basking the legend in an unappealing, and all-too-human glow that lovingly gives fault to fantasy, adding a character and life that could easily be overlooked by "sticking to the facts" as it were.

David Thomson is simply not the man to be writing a straightforward biography. He lovingly embraces his subject, attempting to recreate a destroyed man by examining his cinematic triumphs, his humanistic failures and, yes, even his quirky physical traits. For this unique view, is a more valuable text to me than a thousand exhausting Callows.

One genius deserving another
David Thomson is, now that Pauline Kael is no long with us, arguably the finest film critic writing in English. And this is the Welles book history has waited for, the one only Thomson could write. Not in any way a conventional biography, "Rosebud" is a brilliant meditation on the meaning of Orson Welles' life and art. He might have less stringent champions, but he's probably never had a fairer one. A perfect compliment to Frank Brady's "Citizen Welles" (the best conventional Welles bio) and Peter Bogdanovich's "This is Orson Welles."

An absolute JOY to read!
WOW! I can't say enough about this book, its amazingly well written. Thomson engages the reader like no other biographer out there. There may be some speculation in it, but it all works to the advantage of his story: adding charater and life to details that otherwise would be written as vague value statements and boring lists of events. I've simply fallen in love! (with Orson, with Thomson, with the whole World all over again!)
The format is one of the best parts, divided into brilliant mini-chapters, supplemented with quotes and excerpts, and frequent interruptions for fun bits of dialogue between reader and author. In a word: Essential! ... Read more

Book Description

Credited with having "opened the floodgates of screen permissiveness" in 1959 with the landmark "nudie" The Immoral Mr. Teas, legendary independent softcore filmmaker Russ Meyer has continued throughout his 30-year career and 23+ films to expand the limits of screen freedom with such genre classics as Lorna (1964), Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1966), and Vixen (1969). Long recognized as an American auteur and honored by numerous international retrospectives of his work, Meyer's story provides valuable insights into independent filmmaking, the history of the modern sexploitation genre, and cinema censorship.Researched from underground, popular and film literature, this book also incorporates much of the material contained in Meyer's own vast archive, to give an in-depth study of the director dubbed "King Leer." ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Let The Meyer Buyer Beware!
Anyone expecting a definitive biography of the life and work of the Sultan of Sexploitation be warned -- this is anything but a biography! Instead, it is a BIBliography of newspaper and magazine articles having anything remotely to do with the auteur, his campy cinema classics and the ridiculously endowed women who graced them with their wildly varying acting abilities but always welcome presence. There are also numerous references to documents used during the obscenity trials that periodically hounded his career, particularly in connection with one of his best films, "Vixen."

However, these entries -- which are broken down by his personal life, his wives, the aforementioned actresses and, primarily, his films -- do contain one-paragraph descriptions that -- either by design or by accident -- reveal interesting tid bits on Meyer's sometimes fun, sometimes testy, but always interesting relations with his casts, his distributors and a public
that was never at a loss for strong feelings about the Man and his Mammarial MacGuffins. Also, there is a concise and well written essay at the beginning which covers Russ' career from his WWII newsreel shoots (including the invasion of Normandy) to the inception of his still unfinished video reminiscence of his work and the writing of his massive (and hideously expensive) three-volume autobiography, "A Clean Breast."
In the end, until a real biography comes along (the jury's still out on whether the new "The Very Breast of Russ Meyer" is a bio or just another reference guide) this 1990 squib will suffice as a provider of facts, figures and leads for hungry Meyer fanatics who've exhuasted all the web sites. And the crazy poster reproductions and pictures of the ladies don't hurt either. ... Read more

Book Description

Michael Reeves died at age 25 in 1969, between the end of Swinging London and the collapse of the British film industry--an apt candidate to represent all that could have been. This critical biography claims Reeves as the great, lost auteur of British cinema and traces his conception of film back to his childhood and formative experiences. Benjamin Halligan examines Reeves' films in the context of the times, citing The Sorcerers and Witchfinder General as foreshadowing and critiquing the psychedelic and revolutionary zeitgeist. Reeves's earlier work on the fringes of the freewheeling European exploitation cinema is also covered, with particularly emphasis on his Revenge of the Blood Beast.
... Read more

Book Description

Alfred Hitchcock's films are a testament to his autonomy-but there was one person whose ideas and advice he valued above all others: his wife, Alma.

Who was the woman behind the most famous film director in the world?

Pat Hitchcock O'Connell offers rare insight into the life and career of her mother and father, and finally reveals Alma's extraordinary contribution to the Hitchcock legacy. Filled with fascinating personal anecdotes, Alma Hitchcock is also Pat Hitchcock's story-that of a young girl growing up in Hollywood, and her own on-set experiences in such films as Psycho and Strangers on a Train. With behind-the-scenes stories, moving testimonies from friends and family, and never-before-seen personal photos from the Hitchcock family album-as well as some of her mother's favorite recipes-Pat Hitchcock O'Connell illuminates the lives and careers of her parents as only a daughter could. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

A daughter's tribute to her mother
I really enjoyed reading this biography because I have been a huge fan of Alfred Hitchcock for years and have always wondered what his family life was like. Who better to tell us than his and Alma's one and only daughter. While it was interesting to read about the film stuff in this book, I am so happy she did not go into analyzing them because ultimately I don't see this as a critical film book. As a family memoir and biography, this worked for me. While I would never try them, I loved reading through the menus and recipes in the back of the book because it gives you and extra special peek into the Hitchcock daily life. Alma was a wonderful woman, feisty like nothing else, a huge contributor to his films and others, and obviously a wonderful mother. Pat Hitchcock did a great job bringing us into her childhood and family life.

Disappointed
I have been waiting for someone to write a book that would recount the huge contribution that Alma Reville Hitchcock made to the films for which she received little or no credit. Unfortunately Pat's book does not do this in any depth.

The book is poorly written and disorganized skipping from one time period to another without transition. At times it is difficult to know who the speaker is with the use of many long quotes.

She is obviously uncomfortable calling her parents Alma and Hitch and so switches back and forth between those names and Mama and Daddy.

The book is not a bio of Alma but rather a blend of the work of Alma, Hitch, and Pat. There is little fleshing out of characters and aside from mentioning that Hitch listened to Pat or that Pat codirected or wrote a film script there is little detail of what Alma did.

Alma is portrayed as a mother of her time who was content largely to stay at home and cook. Pat portrays an idyllic family with a "daddy knows best" philosophy. If this book is intedned to document Alma's huge contribution to Hitch's films, it falls short.

Disappointed
I have been eager for someone to write a bio of Alma Hitchcock who is said to have been an even greater cinematographer than her husband. When I saw her daughter had a bio coming out I rushed to get it.

I can't tell you how disappointed I am. The writing is terrible. The book is extremely disorganized. The author is obviously uncomfortable referring to her parents as Alma and Hitch rather than Mama and Daddy so she constantly switches back and forth. Worse than that she praises and affirms her mother's choice to be "modest" and not claim for herself the MAJOR role Alma played in nearly all Hitch's films once they met. Pat praises Alma's choice to emphasize being mother, wife, cook when the reality is still that Alma never gave up her career and actually codirected a number of "his" films - a fact she gives passing reference to.

Also in spite of the fact that the rumors that he was, at the least, difficult to live with abound, she paints an idyllic picture of family life with virtually few ripples. She is not a good story teller. Having just finished reading "An affair to Remember" (Hepburn and Tracy)and being nearly wiped out by the emotion of it, I found this one is as far opposite as one could get. I guess it will fall to someone else to write honoring and analysing rather than simply refering to the amazing art of Alma Reville Hitchcock.

Amazing insight only Hitchcock's daughter could provide!
I have been a Hitchcock fan for years and have always been intrigued by the quiet, petite woman beside the giant behemoth of a man. Now I know her story thanks to this intimate memoir written by the Hitchcocks' only child Pat Hitchcock O'Connell. Pat delves deep into the recesses of her memory, it seems, to bring the reader the details of life in the Hitchcock home. Alma was a remarkable woman, very instrumental in the production of all of her husband's films and a wonderful homemaker to boot. She was a little spitfire of energy, but also quite reserved. She put "Hitch" in his place when he acted up and she was always there by his side when he needed her--which was always! The photos and Alma's recipes and menus in teh back of the book add another level of intimacy to this memoir, practically bringing the reader into the family fold and the Hitchcok world. Alma was quite the successful gourmet cook--as her husband's corpulence proved! While it seemed Pat included a bit too many interviews with friends and family, it just only served to confirm Alma's enormous influence and presence in the Hitchcock legacy.

I highly recommend this book to ALL HITCHCOCK FANS and to all who love to read a good family biography! Thank you, Ms. Hitchcock O'Connell for this long-awaited glimpse into your family life. ... Read more

Book Description

John Carpenter, a quintessential horror movie director, is a true film auteur--a writer, director, composer, producer, editor, and actor--whose unique and inspired work has brought him the praise and admiration of both film critics and horror cultists. He is both the product of and an important participant in the American filmmaking tradition, and the intelligent, moody, and strange films with which his name is so quickly associated are sometimes simply Westerns in disguise.Essentially a lengthy, lively, and candid interview with Carpenter, this book covers his background, his inspirations, and his ups and downs in Hollywood and thoroughly discusses each of his films. Among the many and varied subjects that pop up are his Bible Belt childhood, German expressionism, Howard Hawks, John Wayne, The King, Barbra Streisand, Michael Myers, Kurt Russell, Stephen King, quantum physics, and attractive female extras.Among Carpenter's films are Dark Star, Halloween, Assault on Precinct 13, The Fog, Escape From New York, The Thing, Christine, Big Trouble in Little China, Prince of Darkness, They Live, Village of the Damned, In the Mouth of Madness, and Escape From L.A. In addition to penning most of the screenplays for the films he has directed, he co-wrote The Eyes of Laura Mars. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

If you are a fan of John Carpenter, then you need this book!
Featuring details from all his films, including the writing, the problems, the music and everything in between. This is an essential book for any John Carpenter fan! It also gives details of his childhood, Howard Hawks and other films that have inspired him, Growing up in Bowling Green and his time learning the trade he knows so well.

finally a great book on a great director.
this book is great. it covers every film in good detail and carpenter doesn't sugar coat any details and shares some great stories. this book is contagious and essintle reading for any who loves the films of john carpenter or films in his genre. do your self a favor and buy this book now!

An essential for any fan of John Carpenter.
While I have always been a huge fan of John Carpenter, enjoying each of his movies on more than just one level, I never really knew that much personal information about the man behind the camera. This book changes all that with a lengthy interview that touches on topics both professional and personal. Both film buffs and Carpenter fans will come away feeling as if they have been talking with the quiet, self-deprecating man that has written, scored, and directed such trend starting classics as Halloween and Escape from New York. This is required reading for any Carpenter fan. Highest recommendation.

Like Carpenter talking to you in your living room
In John Carpenter: The Prince of Darkness, French author and magazine publisher Gilles Boulenger conducts a lengthy (book-length, obviously!) interview with the man who has done more for the horror movie genre than any other director working today.

In the book, Carpenter touches on and discusses each of his films - from the student project Dark Star from 1970 to his most recent (at the time of this book) The Ghosts Of Mars - revealing his thoughts and memories on the inspiration, method, problems, filming, cast, box office, lessons learned from his successes and failures, and more.

We learn of such disparate topics as: his first initial directing efforts as a child; being inspired by German expressionism; the inspiration drawn from Howard Hawks movies and how many of Carpenter's films are simply westerns in disguise; his early obsession and present-day compulsion to make films; and even trying to write a movie for Barbara Streisand (sort of!);

It is a wonderful, in-depth look into the mind of a modern-day director. Particularly interesting is seeing, through Carpenter's own words, his growth in maturity as a director, both in his craft and, sadly, learning how the "studio system" really works--executives who don't know what they're doing making decisions that usually worked to the disadvantage of the film.

Through the book we read, fascinated, as Carpenter's career comes to resemble a roller coaster - we read as the director's films slowly rise in terms of success, accolades, and budget, culminating in a huge hit or peak - invariably followed by a huge failure, sending Carpenter plummeting back down the ride that is a career as a film director, resulting in him basically having to start over from scratch.

Author Boulenger is an intelligent and insightful interviewer. He seems to know every minute detail about Carpenter's movies and often brings to the table telling insights and interpretations that even Carpenter hadn't thought of, but readily agrees to.

The book is generously illustrated with photographs and some sketches, including a handsome 24-page collection of color photos.

Only a few minor problems for me with the book: while each of Carpenter's films are touched on and discussed, some are not "...thoroughly..." discussed as the book's back cover offers. While one can argue their quality or importance, some films, such as Body Bags and Elvis: The Movie--among others--are allotted just one or two pages.

Also, while the behind-the-scenes photos in the book are interesting and fun to have, many of the production photos reproduced here are very common and have been seen many times before. More unique, less often-seen photos would have been nice.

But those two minor quibbles cannot begin to take away from the greater achievement of the book - a fascinating, thoughtful, career-spanning, one-on-one personal conversation with the man who's made some of the most important and interesting horror movies in the past few decades.

Highly recommended.

A Great Primer
John Carpenter: Prince of Darkness is a great primer for all of Carpenter's fans. You will not learn much about the man's life, or the man himself for that matter. Even though this is an interview book, Carpenter reveals suprisingly little about himself. Some of his ideas and convictions are touched upon, but briefly.

This book is really like a short making-of for each of Carpenter's films, starting with his early childhood efforts to his latest Hollywood venture, Ghosts of Mars. In here, you will learn all about the troubles he had getting into the business and the way in which he persevered, until he made the one film that made him famous.

That film, Halloween, is discusses in great lengths in this book. And why not? This is probably Carpenter's most famous (and arguably best) film. But the fun doesn't stop there. You'll get great interviews about the Escape films, about The Thing, about Big Trouble in Little China, about Vampires, about They Live, Prince of Darkness, Christine, The Fog... Each and every film Carpenter has touched is discussed here.

I have to admit that I had a great deal of fun reading the chapter on my favourite film of his, In The Mouth of Madness. I loved reading all the little anecdotes and about all the problems he faced while doing these films. As a matter of fact, Carpenter opens up and tells all about the making of these films and keeps very little secret (except in the case of Ghost of Mars, where he turns suddenly very cold and evasive).

My only problem with this book is that it is too short. You never feel like you're getting the whole story. These short chapters (most of them barely 10 pages long, half of these pages comprised of pictures) never really get into the films themselves. The interviews sometime feel a bit shallow. Maybe I feel this way because I'm such a big fan of Carpenter's and I'd love reading more about his thoughts and ideas. I guess that proves I'm a true fan. And after reading this book, I'm sure you will become one as well. ... Read more

Book Description

This memoir and show-business primer from one of film and TV's most successful writer-producer-director-actors (Pretty Woman, Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, Mork & Mindy, Murphy Brown) gives sound advice on how to create comedy, break into TV, shoot movies, and deal with Hollywood. 40 b/w photos. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Up there with "Harpo Speaks" for all-time feel-good bios!
This book is a joy! Garry Marshall is a fine writer of jokes for stand-up comedians of yore, sitcoms &, apparently, of full-length show biz autobiographies. He discusses his life in an extremely entertaining way. His asides - about moviemaking, camerawork & tips on the directing/producing process - are enjoyable for everyone, not just aspiring filmmakers. There are (truly) laugh out loud sections as well (Two Words: Kathi Wathi)...this is a man who seems to live his life with passion & decency & drive, ALWAYS with the added bonus of humor. Yes, he dishes the "dirt" about his celeb peers, but in a completely non-malicious way. Best of all, here's a man who accomplishes much but doesn't take himself too seriously. Good-humored, good-hearted, crisply written & hilarious. Can't recommend this book highly enough!

Garry is my directing God!
Pretty Woman has been my favorite movie since I saw in in the theater at the age of fifteen and since then Garry Marshall has been my favorite director. But Garry proved what a great person he is when I attended a book signing for this book back in 1995. I was only twenty, and pretty much the only young woman in line. Most of the people in line were young men giving him treatments, which really disgusted me. But when I finally got up there I just stared at him, the first thing he said to me was that I was very pretty, so I started crying like the girl that I am. He held my hands and just smiled at me, and I told him that Pretty Woman was my favorite movie and thanked him for making it and told him that I wanted to be an actress, so he signed my book "Andrea a very Pretty Woman here's hoping you Happy Days as an actress." that made me cry as well:) His daughter Lori was also very sweet which just proves what a great dad he is as well.

As for the book, of course it's fabulous! You get to learn behind the scenes info on, of course Pretty Woman, but all his other shows and movies as well. His sense of humor cracks me up, especially when he overheard someone talking about Exit To Eden saying "That movie was so bad he doesn't deserve to be Penny Marshalls father!" I laughed SOO hard at that. Not to mention that you can't help but love a director who thanks his wife at the end of every one of his films.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants to know the ends and outs of the entertainment industry from a vetern who knows what he's talking about!:)

I Want A Sequel
A most amazing book about a most amazing man. Follow Mr. Marshall's assertive and generally hilarious approach to breaking into the world of comedy writing - and beyond. The book is a bit of a family affair (forward by sister Penny Marshall, and co-authored by daughter, Lori) chronicling his often hysterical trek from an allergy-laden childhood to the life of a very successful actor, writer, producer, and director. I've had the unique pleasure of meeting this man in person, and he truly is as determined, grounded and compassionate a man as this book reflects...all with that sparkling sense of humor!

A fine person
I used to think I was in love with Garry Marshall because of his films and sitcoms, but now it's because he's truly a fine person. Read the book and I think you'll agree. If you're a screenwriter thinking about writing for sitcoms, this should be required reading. I'm more of a spec writer, so I just enjoyed the stories and laughs. This is a story of one of the most successful people in Hollywood and more importantly, a good father, brother, son, and grandfather.

No Sleeping Allowed
No need to be woken ... it IS funny. Garry the master of comedy. If your starting in "Show-Biz" it's a must read. ... Read more

Book Description

Sam Girgus argues that Allen has consistently been on the cutting edge of contemporary critical and cultural consciousness.Allen continues to challenge notions of authorship, narrative, perspective, character, theme, ideology, gender and sexuality.This revised and updated edition includes two new chapters that examine Allen's work since 1992. Girgus thoughtfully asserts that the scandal surrounding Allen's personal life in the early 1990s has altered his image in ways that reposition moral consciousness in his work. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Boring!
I expected an intelligent and interesting interpretation of Allen's major movies, but I got some highbrow gibberish instead. The author starts by talking about Allen's life (a short overview would in my opinion be enough) and then goes on to "interpret" his movies. In the first place, he quotes too much and commentates the statements that other critics have given about Allen's movies (he obviously lacks fresh and original ideas)... To make a long story short, it's an extremely boring book about an extremely funny and amusing subject. ... Read more