Book Description

Quentin Tarantino, director of Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, and writer of True Romance, Natural Born Killers and From Dusk Till Dawn, is undeniably the cult director of the decade. Here, Paul Woods traces the life, films and influences of the self-confessed 'movie geek' who has become the film stylist of the nineties, and one of Hollywood's hottest properties. Fully updated to include Tarantino's latest hit movie, Jackie Brown. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A must for a Tarantino follower.
King Pulp is a reaveling biography of Quentin Tarantino(movie wise). The book tells many interesting facts that even the most hardcore Tarantino followers will hear for the first time. Though the book tells alot about his movies,It should have gone more indepth about the man behind them. There are many very cool photos of him on the job and pictures from his movies. A must read for any Tarantino devotee. ... Read more

Book Description

This unauthorized biography recounts Speilberg's childhood, education, career, philanthropic endeavors and his latest filmmaking efforts. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

THIS BOOK SUCKED
THIS BOOK SUCKED. the first ten pages were worth reading the rest of the book is not. The other two reviews hit the nail on the head. he repeats himself over and over after the first couple chapters and tells nothing more than the dates of his movies and divorces.DO NOT BUY!!

A Pop-Biography.
I'm not quite sure what Sanello was thinking, but his biography, SPIELBERG is the biography equivalent of a one-hit-wonder. The most significant part of the book is the first few chapters that deal with Spielberg's early life. I learned some things I didn't know before. However, I guess after Sanello finished talking with a few old friends and family, he figured that was all the real research he needed to do because the rest of the biography reads like an extended version of PEOPLE magazine. There are no juicy tidbits and no in-depth research or even assumptions about how Spielberg is able to do what he does. The few times that Sanello discusses skirmishes that Spielberg had with former cast members, a short ancedote is given about their careers after the film and that is about all. Not only that, but several times throughout the book, Sanello quotes himself verbatim from previous chapters; sounding more like a freshman college student taking Lit 101 than the famed biographer he is supposed to be. Overall, SPIELBERG was a major let down. It's worth reading for the first couple chapters about Spielberg's early days, but the rest of the novel you can read yourself in the trades, newspapers, and magazines.

Superficial and disappointing
Unlike weightier bigraphies like Kevin Brownlow's terrific "DavidLean" or Simon Callow's 'Orson Welles-The road to Xanadu," thisbook feels like author Sanello didn't look much further than magazinearticles and trade clips for research.According to the dust cover, he hadover half a dozen interviews (7? that must have been exhausting!) with thedirector himself and a handful of stars (though never really trulysubstantiated), but it doesn't seem like he thought about interviewingparents, siblings, co-workers, crew members, etc. for any more details orelucidations about this icon of American pop culture. His obviousadmiration and fawning over his subject distracts from any possibleobjectivity and also grows tiresome. The book offers a basic overview ofthe director's life and work but not much in terms of how he works,communicates, or thinks. For example, there's almost nothing about hisrelationship with pivotal Amblin producers Kathleen Kennedy and FrankMarshall.Didn't they ever argue, or disagree about anything?How wereprojects brought in to the company and what was Kennedy and Marshall'sthoughts about their boss? There is also no insight from productiondesigners or cinematographers or writers or producers he worked with. Formore than just a cursory look at this director's career (up to 1995) lookelsewhere. ... Read more

Book Description

Stephen Walker is a neurotic British filmmaker with a mixed track record. His last documentary was a flop. Everyone hated it, and for a while Walker had fantasies of murdering the lot of them. But then he was inspired. He'd make a documentary that would offer a peek inside the crazy world of filmmaking. He'd direct a movie about four ambitious unknown filmmakers in their quest for fame and glory at the film festival of film festivals-Cannes.

King of Cannes is Walker's hilarious, uncensored diary of making that documentary-from finding fledgling directors who will agree to be filmed, to following their madcap adventures at the Cannes Film Festival. Walker's main cast of Cannes-hopefuls includes James Meredino, an American director who comes to Cannes with all the fanfare of a Hollywood prodigy; Mike Hakata, a young Rastafarian filmmaker from London who hijacks a telephone booth in Cannes and turns it into his office; Erick Zonca, a first-time French director who actually has a film in the official competition; and finally, Stephen Loyd, a taxi driver from East London who, along with a couple of buddies, drives to Cannes in a van emblazoned with a giant marijuana leaf, with hopes of raising money to make his film. And then there's Walker himself, practically on the verge of a nervous breakdown trying to film them in their lunatic determination to make their mark.

... Read more

Reviews (6)

LUSTY, OUTRAGEOUS AND THOROUGHLY AMUSING


If you're a film buff with a "Saturday Night Live"kind ofhumor, King of Cannes is the book for you.This lusty tale of an outrageous wannabe film maker fairly explodes with wisecracks, double entendres, and anatomical references.

Related in diary form, these are the angst loaded revelations of Stephen Walker, a British film maker who gives added meaning to neuroses and is obsessed with not only going to but making a splash at the Cannes Film Festival.

Walker wants to make it big with a documentary.He attributes this drive to his "mum," a mother who "brought him up in a house of locked doors.The downstairs loo was always locked.If my mother was in the kitchen, she'd lock the door to her bedroom."

Well, you get the picture.

Just why restricted access to the rooms in his house spawned an interest in documentaries remains unexplained.

There is much in King Of Cannes that remains unexplained, but it is often hilarious as Walker bamboozles a backer into investing cash in a proposed film.Walker'sintention is to document the experiences offour unknown but ambitious film makers who will stop at nothing to succeed at Cannes.He wants "the most dangerous, the most unhinged, the most daring, the ones who kill their grannies to get their movies made or sold."

With no performers, no story and 74 days until Cannes, Walker's quest for inspiration and cast members takes him to the Berlin Film Festival, which he finds as appealing as a brick shopping center and the films shownless than interesting - bizarre but uninteresting.

Dublin's Film Festival is also unrewarding, but the pubs are warm and friendly.

Walker's road to Cannes is more than rocky, but once there he is surrounded by total lunacy.He participates in meetings that resemble The Mad Hatter's Tea Party, discovers which pavilions have free booze or gratis Ray-Bans, and finds an indescribable cast of characters. There is Zonca, a French director, the "next Truffaut," who takes ten minutes to mount the twenty-two red carpeted steps to the entrance of the Palais as he savors his "orgy of adulation."

Of course, there are Brits, such asthe creative group who motor to Cannes in a van decorated with a mammoth marijuana leaf.Their hope is to find funding for a film titled "Amsterdam." Another Englishman commandeers a vacant phone booth for his office.

An Oxford graduate and film director, Walker lives in London.In reality, he has just completed a documentary on Cannes, "Waiting For Harvey."

He writes, "I'm waiting for Harvey Weinstein to buy the rights so I can make the movie of the book of the movie.Who knows?Maybe I'll get to Cannes."

If he does, it is hoped that he'll keep a diary.

Hilarious and Insightful
I found this book randomly in my local library, and being fascinated by the film industry I decided to give it a go. So glad I did. Clever and colorful, this book details the logistics and lunacy of aspiring filmakers running the gauntlet that is Cannes. I was inspired and touched by the subjects, awed and entertained by their tenacity and turmoil, and laughing throughout. A great read for anyone even remotely interested in the movie biz

'Frankly' dishonest
While often amusing, documentary maker Stephen Walker's account of his attempted manipulation of a handful of filmmakers at the Cannes Film Festival is ultimately a fundamentally dishonest book. Despite making a memorable if over-directed 'Everyman' documentary on veterans of the Somme, the author proved hopelessly out of his depth when faced with an industry that failed to conform to his often facile preconceptions. Walker set out to mock a group of hopefuls trying to launch their careers for comic effect, only to be occasionally frustrated in his attempts to manoeuvre them into stereotypical situations by (most of) the filmmakers' inherent professionalism and dignity. Absurdly uninformed on his subject and held in growing contempt by his own production team, he cut one duo of filmmakers out of the programme because, to his dismay, they had a successful series of meetings, only to be blown out himself by another who turned out to be a major award winner who saw through him in moments.

While often telling stories against himself and stressing his own inadequacies as a documentarian (he makes no bones about not knowing the first thing about his subject), it's often to cover up worse transgressions. In the resulting TV documentary, 'Waiting for Harvey,' one of his 'victims' produced a video tape shot before their meeting detailing exactly how Walker was going to try to get easy laughs out of his attempts to sell his feature, hitting the nail on the head with astonishing accuracy, but whereas Walker admits to all kinds of minor offences, you'll find no mention of his unmasking here - maybe his ego couldn't handle it.

It's an easy, gossipy read, but don't mistake it for the truth.

King of the Cannes a gem of a book
This book was fabuously written. It brings together the work and comedy element of the Cannesfilm festival and the characters portrayed within. I laughed all the way through.

Warning: this book is not canned!
A lot of supposedly funny books are tiresome because their authors are trying so hard to be funny, but this book is not one of them.Stephen Walker has written a really funny book because he knows how to put what'sfunny in front of you and then get out of the way.He has a great sense oftiming and an ear for the spoken word but his book isn't just about all thewild stuff that happens during the making of his documentary.Walker iswilling to show you himself making a fool of himself, the traditional soulof comedy, but he does more than play the clown.You see the drive of thedocumentary filmmaker in his need to understand what's going on inside theheads of the filmmakers he's filming.His connection to hisfilmmaker-subjects is a tilt-a-whirl checkerboard of empathy and distance. The troubles he runs into are funny, awful, pathetic, outrageous, goofy,tragic, stupid, dumb, hilarious. I like Walker because he doesn't forceanything.The things he finally doesn't understand are allowed to remainas rough and puzzling as they really are.It's definitely a funny book, areally funny book--because the tears are as real as the laughs.So whatI'm saying already is buy the book, Walker should laugh all the way to thebank. ... Read more

Amazon.com

If the U.S. were to boast one great independent film director, he would be John Sayles. Since 1979, more than 10 years before the new wave of Indie pictures challenged the conventions of Hollywood moviemaking, Sayles has been creating magnificent and utterly original films. Even more remarkably, they differ radically from one another. Who could guess that the director of The Return of the Secaucus Seven and Baby It's You could turn around and make The Brother from Another Planet, that the man behind the fabulous Secret of Roan Inish was capable also of the socially conscious Matewan, City of Hope, and Lone Star?

This interview book, another in Faber and Faber's remarkable series devoted to filmmakers on their work, is published to coincide with the release of Men with Guns, Sayles's film for 1998. The director speaks about the way he works ("I wrote The Brother from Another Planet in about a week."), the themes of his films ("There is a fantasy children's movie in The Secret of Roan Inish, but finally there is also this realistic core to it."), and his political sensibilities ("One of the ideas I was trying to get at in Lone Star is that race is an illusion but culture is very real."). Perhaps because he is such a fine writer, Sayles proves an amazingly articulate speaker. Fans of the director, as well as those discovering Sayles for the first time, will be delighted by the director's personal insights and stories. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

For lovers of Sayles' work this book is essential
If you're new to Sayles' movies or a long time fan, this book is a must. Gavin Smith asks probing and significant questions and Sayles provides insights about himself that are refreshingly matter of fact. The book is organized chronologically and examines each of Sayles' films. I have only seen Eight Men Out and Lone Star as of now but after this book I'm trying to see as many as I can. I've seen Lone Star twice and I'm going to buy the video. I rank it as one of my 10 all-time favorite movies because it is brilliant on so many levels. ... Read more

Book Description

David Merrick is the most astonishing showman of our time, and perhaps of all time. No other producer, not even Florenz Ziegfeld nor the combined lights of the Shubert brothers, has equalled his percentage of hits or his demonic flair for publicity. In this first-ever biography, Howard Kissel from his decade-long investigation reveals the man, the mask, and the myth of David Merrick. The charismatic and reclusive mogul emerges as a Broadway version of Howard Hughes, with his own panoply of eccentricities, genius and neuroses. Merrick's much publicized and oftentimes staged battles and feuds are re-ignited here full force with such major personalities as Barbra Streisand, Jackie Gleason, Ethel Merman, Lena Horne, Woody Allen, Peter Ustinov, Andy Griffith, Anthony Newley, Peter Brook, and Carol Channing. Over a hundred interviews with the major players in Merrick's drama - from his pre-Merrick St. Louis childhood as David Margoulies to his latest divorce - has yielded the first serious interrogation of a life that until now has been the sole creation of Merrick's own invention and press wizardry. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (17)

Great insight without being too heady:
This book provides a great insight into the mind of David Lynch, without getting too heady or intellectual about it (like other books can). It's an easy read, and presented in an interview question and answer style.

If you are a Lynch fan, you will enjoy this book which covers Lynch's history and some if his thought processes. Lynch realizes that his art should (and does) speak for itself so he keeps his ground and never talks about exactly what he meant in a particular shot in a film. Instead, he talks about the evoking of feelings and ideas as the genesis for his art.

I would certainly recommend this book as a more entertaining read than the competing texts, some of which are nearly ridiculus in their over-intellectualiztion.

Something For Real Lynch Fans
This book is absolutely wonderful! Yeah, there's not many pictures in it, but if you're looking for a picture book, then you will want to try and nab a copy of Lynch's book "Images", which features pretty much every piece of art Lynch has ever done. Anyway, Lynch on Lynch isn't about the pictures. It's about the man behind them. Although I agree that the interviewer tends to get a tad annoying at times, with his obvious lack of true Lynch understanding. But David Lynch is a very intelligent, warm, fun person whose personality comes through in every page of the book. The book is wonderfully separated into chapters based on the different segments of Lynch's life and career...from his childhood all the way to Lost Highway, each chapter spends a good 20-30 pages dealing specifically with each area. There is also a wonderful filmography at the end. This book is a must-read for any Lynch fan who has more than a passing interest in the man behind the movies and tv shows that have forever changed the way we view life.

The sum of one's FEARS
A fascinating read. In these extensive interviews, David Lynch tells of his journey from painting student to filmaker. He refuses to interpret his films, as he believes this strips them of their power. He reveals a lot of personal stuff like his fascination with piles of dirt and his obsession with building sheds out of found wood. Through his revelations you become acquainted with the motifs that drive him on. I especially enjoyed his explanations of his urban fears and how they transform themselves from city to city.

Interesting but not everything...
Like the rest in this series, "Lynch on Lynch" is a collection of transcripts from interviews between Rodley and Lynch. Anyone who knows Lynch, would know that he doesn't like to reval too much about his films, so don't expect to have your questions answered. Certainly not a cheaters guide to understanding his films, but does give some insights. Not enough biographical info. Very little about Twin Peaks and Fire Walk With Me. The book ends with "Lost Highway", so no "Mulholland Drive" however you can see where lost ideas from past films have been resurrected. Interesting read for true Lynchians.

Better Pick this Book Up NOW!! LYNCH IS THE GREATEST
THIS BOOK is one of the most inspirational, beautiful... amazing wonders!! I read it cover to cover in two days. I love it. I still read some of the chapters to remember how impacting this man's work has been on my life! This guy is a genius and Chris Rodley will make that achingly clear throughout this fine release from Faber & Faber Press. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Not Very Insightful
Although this book has received high praises on Amazon.com, I cannot share this enthusiasm. The main problem with this book is that it is too superficial, and too cursory. Bergman's films are loaded with meaning, symbol, and depth. This book unfortunately, is lacking in depth. The author reviews each film, and then picks out one scene or theme of each movie and discusses it. He grossly simplifies each Bergman film, and thus fails to explicate the richness of his films. The author's analysis of a key scene from The Seventh Seal is trivial and added nothing to my understanding of Bergman as a dirctor. My advice: skip this book and listen to the audio commentaries on Bergman's DVD's. They are much more illuminating.

A "must" for all Ingmar Bergman fans!
Ingmar Bergman is a legendary film producer whose work had a seminal influence on an entire generation of filmmakers and whose films are still viewed today in film classes and speciality theaters throughout Europe and the United States. In Ingmar Bergman: Magician And Prophet, film scholar Marc Gervais explores how Bergman achieve his cinematic magic through his specific choices in the use of film language and the texturing and structuring of images, sounds, and rhythms. Gervais also shows how Bergman's work continues to resonate with new generations of viewers. Ingmar Bergman: Magician And Prophet is a "must" for all Bergman fans and students of the history of cinema. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

kjh
Bob Dylan used to introduce his drummer as "the only drummer better than no drummer at all". That pretty well sums up this John Ford book.

What you can't see from home is that the book is truly tiny, about a quarter inch thick and six inches square. It's only 144 pages long; the last 35 of those pages are a John Ford filmography and the first 35 are a Bogdanovitch essay.

The interviews in between are similarly miniature, and in typical Bogdanovitch fashion they revolve more around anecdotes and personalities than film making and theory. For instance, here's what Ford says about my nominee for his best film, My Darling Clementine:

"I knew Wyatt Earp. In the very early silent days, a couple of times a year, he would come up to visit pals, cowboys he knew in Tombstone; alot of them were in my company. I think I was an assistant prop boy then and I used to give him a chair and a cup of coffee, and he told me about the fight at the O. K. Corral. So in My Darling Clementine, we did it exactly as it had been. They didn't just walk up in the street and start banging away at each other; it was a clever military maneuver."

And that's it. A good story. But a short one. Not much about the film itself, though, is there? The longest statements go on for about one full page.

Ford's thoughts on film making are scattered throughout, and it's good stuff:

-On his dislike of close-ups: "We've got this big screen - instead of putting a lot of pockmarked faces on it...play a scene in a two-shot. You see people instead of faces."

-On actors: "If you get the first or second take, there's a sparkle, an uncertainty about it; they're not sure of their lines, and it gives you a sense of nervousness and suspense."

-On film music: "I don't like to see a man alone in the desert, dying of thirst, with the Philadelphia Orchestra behind him."

Ford talks about almost every film he ever made, including most of the silents that no one's ever seen. You can read the book in one sitting, and by the end you'll have a sense of who John Ford was and what he was all about. Since Ford hated giving interviews, but was very patient with Bogdanovitch, this one is something of a standout.

It's a good book, I just wish there was more of it.

(A poster below slags the Hitchcock/ Truffaut book; don't listen to him, that book is marvelous.)

Ford on the Record
I love film interview books. There has become a great tradition of directors interviewing directors for all of posterity. Bogdanovich was successful at getting a great number of the leading directors on the record. This was his attempt at debriefing John Ford.

John Ford was quite an elusive character. He was considered a great artist inside and outside of Hollywood during his life. This short book isn't a bad attempt to have him comment on those films most precious to him and to us. Unlike Orson Welles, who made only a few films over 40 years, and spoke on them extensively with Bogdanovich, Ford speaks just a sentence or two or maybe a paragraph on some of the greatest films of all time. Grapes of Wrath? "I liked the idea of a family going out and trying to find their way in the world." She Wore a Yellow Ribbon? "I tried to copy the Remington style there." The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance? "I think they were both good characters and I rather liked the story."

I hope I haven't made it sound too simplistic, because Ford actually reveals the most important parts of his films with very few words. Just reading a sentence or two and watching the film gives you the idea of what Ford was trying to convey. It may even give these films new meaning.

The Legendary Directors Talks...Really?
This book by Bogdanovich is the first attempt to portray the art of this truly great poet in cinema. If you are looking for the facts about his life, just forget this book. But if you are REALLY interested in what kind of person he was, this classic book still remains one of the most poignant portrait of a great filmmaker. Ford rarely tells the truth, and many things that he said in this book is now considered or confirmed to be untrue by biographers and scholars. But it is not only the facts that makes a man. Through the "lies" (if you may called it), you learn a lot about his great sense of sarcastic humour, and his way of capturing people's heart: in many occasion, Ford makes fun of Bogdanovich, yet without hurting his feelings. How many people can talk to somebody like this? I, personally, have never met. Telling stories is itself an art, for somebody like Ford. And through him telling stories, you can feel the poet inside him. Actually, Ford is more honest than most of the directors of his generation. Think of Alfred Hitchcock's self-glorification as he was interviewed by Truffaut. Ford doesn't do that. He is humble and never tries to boast about his "art". He says, he just put the camera before something he found interesting. He never tells about all the difficulties he had to go through to achieve that, but you if you are a careful reader, and somebody who knows his films, you can just feel it. Bogdanovich's introduction, describing the great artist at work during the shooting of Cheyenne Autunmn is so beautiful and sad it will bring tears to your eyes. ... Read more

Book Description

Every few years in theatre a visionary comes along--a person who, with talent, drive, cunning and unfaltering tenacity, manages to focus the spotlight and brighten its beam. In London, 1992, that man was Sam Mendes. Young and inspired, within ten years Mendes would transform the darkened, boarded-up Donmar Warehouse into one of the brightest and most acclaimed theatre destinations in London's West End. In "Sam Mendes at the Donmar: Stepping Into Freedom," author Matt Wolf chronicles these ten amazing years for the Donmar and for Sam Mendes, combining accounts of numerous productions and extensive interviews with Mendes himself and more than 60 Donmar alumni: Sodheim, Nicole Kidman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Alan Cumming, Helen Mirren, Stephen Dillane and Jennifer Ehle, to name but a few. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A unique and captivating tribute
Sam Mendes At The Donmar: Stepping Into Freedom by London theatre critic and arts correspondent Matt Wolf is a close chronicle of first decade of the Donmar Warehouse, the site of unforgettable play performances which ranged from classics of live theatre to the works of contemporary playwrights such as Samuel Beckett, Brian Friel, and Harold Pinter. Celebrating The Donmar's tenth anniversary as a theater (and doubling as a farewell to Sam Mendes who has left the theater to further his career on the silver screen), Sam Mendes At The Donmar is a unique and captivating tribute enhanced throughout with black-and-white photographs and thought-provoking quotations. ... Read more

Book Description

Fierce and exciting, this is the biography of American playwright and screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky, the finest writer to emerge from the golden age of television, and the only individual to win three Academy Awards for Marty, Hospital and Network. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Mad as Hell and Still a Genius
"...(Chayesfky) called a trusted friend at NBC, John Chancellor. He asked Chancellor if it was possible for an anchorman to go nuts on TV. 'Every day,' replied Chancellor."

Paddy Chayefsky wrote NETWORK. That would've been enough to put him in the top grade of all Hollywood screenwriters by itself. Twenty-five years after NETWORK hit the screens, there were dozens of articles that his script wasn't just a satire of the media, it was a genuine prophecy.
But Chayefsky has also done what no other writer has yet to do: he's won three Oscars for screenwriting (the other films were MARTY and THE HOSPITAL).
The man is definitely work reading about. Even if I didn't have an interest in screenwriting, I believe I would still find this book interesting for its look into the "Golden Age of Television" and the behind-the-scenes stories of Chayefsky's film career. The author has done a wonderful job of coming up with a lot of great details and fascinating anecdotes about everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Sam Peckinpah to Bob Fosse to Burt Lancaster.

Paddy Chayefsky was the real deal as a writer and I know his work will be praised and studied for decades to come. Shaun Considine has done everyone a favor by giving us a look into Chayefsky's life. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Worthless
I don't know why film critics think they can get away with this kind of thing. Imagine if somebody tried to "critique" a novel, a CD, or any other type of work by retelling the narrative (or lyrics, or whatever) in his own words. Dismissed without a second thought, needless to say. But film critics write 'em and get 'em published. To what end, I don't know.

That said, this book plumbs new depths in that it's ALL the author does. There's no technical background or critical apparatus at all, merely scene by scene retellings of the films along with a bit of blather about "themes". The book's errors have been mentioned, but it should be reiterated that these are of a number and level of ignorance that's truly jaw-dropping. (My favorite is Kagan's identification of the drunken Shriners of "Killer's Kiss" as "some kind of street entertainers".)

One of these days, Kubrick will get the film-by-film analysis he deserves. This one ain't even a beginning.

One wonders why Kagan bothered
Kagan's tome on the works of Stanley Kubrick breaks ranks with the films it seeks to illuminate by accomplishing something those works do not - Kagan's tome is terribly BORING and ultimately says very little about the subjects it hopes to explore.

Yes, the Third Edition covers every Kubrick film right up to Eyes Wide Shut, claiming to be the only book on Kubrick to do so. Even if that boast is true, it does very little to address the glaring flaws that make this book one to be avoided.

While all of Kubrick's films are covered, most of the text on each are rambling, haphazardly written summaries of the films' plots, information we presume a student of Kubrick will find wholly unnecessarily. Worse still, he often spends more time summarizing than examining; 21 pages are devoted to regurgitating the plot of Dr. Strangelove, for instance, with just 11 pages devoted to examining the film. Kagan throws a bit of editorial comment into those summaries, but such content is sparse and rarely enlightening.

The summaries are preceded by a brief - sometimes as brief as a paragraph or two - bit of text introducing the film. Generally speaking, entirely worthless.

Finally, each summary is followed by a half-hearted, and often too brief, attempt to examine the themes of the film and how Kubrick attempted to display those themes. Kagan manages to cut and paste portions of reviews that back his observations, but he rarely presents them in such a way to truly bolster his argument (or make the argument interesting for the reader), and for stretches one wonders just how much actual WRITING Kagan did. These thematic explorations are often so brief as to be frustrating, too. Barry Lyndon fans, for instance, will wonder if Kagan even SAW the film based on the two whole pages it gets.

In the end, however, the book fails because it offers the reader no real insight into the cinema of Stanley Kubrick. Not in the creation of these films; the production; the historical importance; the cinematic importance. Virtually nothing is offered on the history of these productions, how Kubrick went about creating each film, notes of interest, or reasons why the films stand out from the pack - things one would think are essential in a boom called "The Cinema of Stanley Kubrick."

So why two stars for a book so, well, bad? It is a valuable resource in that it summarizes some Kubrick films no longer readily available for viewing. Kubrick students may find some of use for this book in that, at least. Other than that:

SKIP THIS BOOK.

An Inept Excuse For A Bad Thesis
I have a theory: Kagan needed to write a thesis. He decided that Kubrick's work demonstrated the repetition of certain themes, and decided to "argue" accordingly. He wrote synopsis' of all Kubrick's films, then added a few pages to the end of each to justify his [Kagan's] "arguments".

And voila -- a thesis, a C-, and next year it's the PHD...

This is sophomore stuff. If you want critical insight read Nelson; if you want Bio, read Lobrutto; scandal, read Baxter; character, read Herr or Raphael; general information, read Cimet or Walker.

A Shiner for Kubrick criticism.
The main problem with this book is the overall sloppy job of writing. It is clear that the author failed to take notes during the films, for his descriptions are filled with incorrect statements about things as basic as the story and other errors. In his analysis of The Shining, for example, he spends a few pages recounting the plot. In doing so, however, he switches many of the events around and getting them out of order. Furthermore, he also has a habit of getting the names of characters mixed up, or getting the wrongs names altogether. If you're looking for a much better book on Kubrick, try Thomas Nelson's Kubrick: Inside a Film Artist's Maze.

Parrot Talk and Kubrick
Norman Kagan should get an "editing" credit rather than "author" credit. This book on the cinema of Stanley Kubrick is basically an accumulation of articles, interviews and reviews of his films and his life. Albeit some of it was interesting, the book is nothing I found original. At the end of each chapter, however, the author does take it upon himself to interpret the films in a manner in which he sees a destructive, non-sexual, non-emotional Kubrick. That of obsessive and homicidal. Attempting to make a "connection" in all the films which I believe is poorly attempted. I would move elsewhere to find word on Kubrick and his films. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Federico Fellini: The Complete Films
Given the numerous volumes already been dedicated to Fellini's cinematic genius, one wonders if there is anything new to say about the man who invented the 'paparazzi', put Anita Ekberg in the Trevi Fountain and a rhinocerous in a boat. But given that few have ever watched 'La Dolce Vita' without scratching their heads about the big fish at the end, this new book by Chris Wiegand comes as a welcome read.

The book takes us on a whirlwind journey through Fellini's life, from his birth in Rimini in 1920 to the cutting edge of fashionable Italian life. Like Paris in the 20s or Berlin in the 30s, Rome was the place to be in the 50s. And Federico Fellini was the unquestionably the man who showed us how sweet and ugly Roman life was (most notably in 'La Dolce Vita' and '81/2'). Fellini's later, more 'interesting' work is also given equal consideration, despite being rather unfashionable and clearly less accomplished.

On first inspection, Wiegand's book has all the hallmarks of a beautiful-pictures-no-content coffee table book (though without the typically astronomical price-tag). However, what actually makes this book a real delight is the text. Most previous efforts have been dense, rather offputting volumes, but the tone here strikes a shrewd balance between anecdote and more serious analysis, neither overloading us with rumour and revelation nor coming across as chin-strokingly academic. The strongest parts of the book deal with Fellini's emergence and embracing of his role as observer of human desires and idiosyncrasies. Wiegand's uncomplicated handling of Fellini's relationship with his own image and the often misunderstood symbolism in his work is particularly insightful.

Ultimately, Fellini emerges as the colourful ringmaster who not only lived his dreams but put them on film for the rest of the world to enjoy. Like the man himself, 'Federico Fellini: The Complete Films' is a compulsive and fascinating read both for newcomers and cinephiles alike.

So anyway, about the fish... ... Read more

Amazon.com

George Cukor is best known for directing witty comedies, but he also made wonderful dramas and musicals. He adapted many of his films from theatrical productions, but with such technical proficiency that they rarely felt stagy. In his long and productive career, he made classics such as Camille, Holiday, The Philadelphia Story, Adam's Rib, A Star is Born, and My Fair Lady. Patrick McGilligan's excellent biography gives the story behind the making of these and many other movies as well as terrific insights into Cukor's Jewish upbringing, his homosexuality, his reputation as a "woman's director," and his long-time association with Katharine Hepburn, with whom he made 10 films. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Follow Cukor's Example and Take Your Time
This platter is full of many good pieces: enlightenment, gossip, display, speculation and journalistic integrity. Before recommending it for immediate consumption, however, one should ponder the notion that while some bites are indeed chunky and tasty, some have been diced into inedibly large pieces; and while at times the meal is juicy and succulent, at others it is bland and overcooked. More than anything, it is FAR too much to digest in one sitting. It might be better to eat as leftovers than as a buffet.

I could not think of a more comprehensive text about Cukor's interesting existence; however some people and relationships (especially with Katherine Hepburn) seem cnspicuously more fleshed-out than others that are teased upon (to this reviewer, it is most obvious with Cukor's father, Spencer Tracy and George Towers, all very influnetial people in Cukor's life with mere paragraphs describing them). The text also suffers at times from trying TOO hard to be fair to Cukor. Certainly, to the author's credit, nasty and contradictory elements are introduced, but it seems that just as much effort is placed on balancing this with excuses or possible alternatives. Cuko was not universally popular, and very few attended his funeral (not even Hepburn was there); so the fairness seems a bit of a disguise.

I would recommend a grain of salt to make this tastier; and I would also recommend less than a chapter a day. The book is long on filmography, can be slow reading, and takes time to digest. Overall, it is pleasing, as are Cukor's films, for the most part; but they all took lots of time, according to most accounts. Do the same.

Uninformed bio
This book is subject to what so many Hollywood biographies suffer from: total ignorance on the part of the author as to how films are actually made. Authors of these kinds of books are tempermentally predisposed to disinterest in anything except gossip. What emerged from this book was a portrait of a shallow man whose career rested upon his ability to socialize. Why are so many books on film history so damned bad?

Spotlight on another slice of Hollywood History
Very solid biography of the director, George Cukor, covering his long life and career. McGilligan does well covering the dual nature of Cukor's personality, how his homosexuality both colored and hindered his film projects. Very well researched, the book vividly portrays the Hollywood gay society of the 30's - 50's and does well analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of both Cukor and his films. McGilligan is not balanced in his judgments on the films, however. He denigrates many of Cukor's more popular works ("The Women") and lavishes praise on the director's own favorites (the overrated "Adam's Rib"). His assessment of the much-debated firing of Cukor from "Gone With The Wind" also seems simplistic. Overall, a worthwhile read and a fine overview of a major Hollywood career and an important figure in film history. ... Read more

Book Description

Here is the definitive story of one of the most celebrated filmmakers of our time, an intensely private individual who cultivated the public image of a man consumed by his craft. But as this absorbing biography shows, Truffaut's personal story-from which he drew extensively to create the characters and plots of his films-is itself an extraordinary human drama. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Not definitive, but the best biography we have so far...
While I share the other reviewer's enthusiasm for this excellent biography, there were some problems with the book that suggest to me that there is more to be said about Mr. Truffaut. The jumps in time throughout the book were ominous, as if the authors either didn't have enough information or didn't want to write about a particular moment in Truffaut's life. The organization of the book into short chapters with titles like "Friends First" and "The Diminished Life" some only 3 or 4 paragraphs long interrupted the flow of the narrative for me and made it hard to keep names and events clearly in my mind's eye. The biography was strongest on the early and late periods in the director's life. The long middle section felt repetitive and I found myself wandering a bit. As other reviewers have pointed out: you wont' find any exhaustive information on the making of various films in this book. I am looking forward to reading the Insdorf book for film coverage. There is an exhaustive listing of Truffaut's written works at the end of the book, but a curiously short list of books an articles on Truffaut (24 listings primarily in French). I suspect that the publishers trimmed this list considerably, so you will have to look elsewhere for a comprehensive bibliography. Despite my criticisms I enjoyed this book a great deal and it has led me back to the films which are now enhanced from reading this biography.

A Truly Magnificent Biography
"Truffaut" is a rather imposing book at over 450 pages, but it is an extremely interesting read. The book is very strong on Truffaut's formative years and reads almost like a novel. Throughout the story of Truffaut's 51+ years the authors pull no punches, and not everything they say is complimentary to their subject. If you have seen most of Truffaut's movies, you will notice that some of Truffaut's biography sounds like the plots of some of his films. This is, in fact, the essence of Truffaut, who could never really separate his films from his life.

The book is very strong on the connection of Truffaut's personal life to his films, and the circumstances which decided what sort of movie he would make at any one time. At a personal level you will learn about his connection to Renoir and Hitchcock. It devotes no space, however, to an artistic analysis of his films, which is not usually part of a film maker's biography. This area, however, is treated wonderfully by Annette Insdorf in her book "Francois Truffaut." The two books together are as complete a treatment of Francois Truffaut as one could wish.

From such a detailed and complete book one learns not only abut Truffaut but also a great deal about his Cahiers and Carosse colleagues. Of particular interest to me was to see the deterioration of the relationship between the passionate bourgeois Truffaut and the ultra-ideological Marxist Godard. The authors quote a letter from Truffaut in which he bears his claws, but it is Godard who appears to have been venomous.

If you love the films of Francois Truffaut, this is a book you must read. After you read the book you will want to revisit Truffaut's 21 films and 2 shorts, and then you will want to read the book again.

THE DIRECTOR WHO LOVED WOMEN
When you saw all of TRUFFAUT's films ,this book has the edge over all other books about him.It is a complete biography about a man who had a passion for making movies.It is also about a man who loved actresses and had love affairs with many of them.FRANCOIS is all over the book with his strenghts and his weaknesses.Many of his movies have autobiographical contents;STOLEN KISSES for instance show his obsession with women;The character of AZNAVOUR in SHOOT THE PIANO PLAYER is almost a portrait of himself;JULES AND JIM was a love triangle ,and in his private life FRANCOIS had several mistresses at the same time.His sensitive approach has also ruined a few movies like THE SOFT SKIN and THE MISSISSIPI MERMAID.As a critic he could be very rude at times ,but he was a convincing debator.Finally ,i would say that movies were really his escape from the monotomy of life ;it was his own ticket for adventure.A worthy biography ,because i learn things about him beyond gossip.

A book that delves deeply into the life of Truffaut
The book starts from before day one, describing Truffaut's conception into the world as accidental and unwanted. We see parents who were much harsher and less loving in the bio than we do in The 400 Blows. We are presented with a boy genius turned truant, turned self-hating autodidact who by the grace of some magical force is redeemed. That magical force, of course, is the beauty and wonder of film. Amid this telling, we are given a lesson in French film history. Great names like Max Ophuls, Jean Renoir, Alain Resnais, Goddard, and Cocteau. We see this young boy rise from a state of debilitating poverty to the ranks of polemical, ingenious film criticism. We are excited when this precocious film journalist rails against a heavily commercialized, stagnant film establishment, and we hold our breaths when this same critic turns director, and releases his first full length feature, The 400 Blows and wins the Cannes' Grand Jury Prize.

In this biography, the wonderful and important films that made Truffaut famous take a back seat. Instead, we see how his formative years inform his adult years in his search for love from actress, to actress, to actress. We see Truffaut's friendships and fall outs with brilliant filmmakers, and we see what goes on behind the scenes on the sets of his films. We realize, quite easily, that Truffaut the man is very special.

At the end of the book, we come away with at least a glimpse of the true essence of Truffaut--a singular genius, searching for love in life and through films; a humble creator who makes films to please no one but himself; a charming friend who prefers humor over sentimentality; and most of all, an intensely private individual who used film to articulate his deepest yearnings. Yes, Truffaut was a great film maker, but as this biography so convincingly shows, he was an even greater person.

Comprehensive and frequently touching biography
There was considerable autobiographical content to the movies of Truffaut, but they expose only a public side, frequently with a focus on male/female relations. Truffaut's childhood is exposed as sadder, but possibly less harsh than his image (and The 400 Blows) suggest. The rest of his life was lived to its fullest with many life-long friends, close working relationships and a touching continuity to his relations with the women in his life, even after the time of passion had passed. There are many references to French intellectuals and film-makers that will not be familiar to American readers and occassionally slow the book down. The description of the genesis of many of the famous movies and the time and troubles to be overcome to bring a movie to the viewer is as the best I have read. All-in-all, this is an entertaining and extremely well-written biography. The translation is seamless. ... Read more

Book Description

Writer-director Preston Sturges set a new standard for creativity in Hollywood. Three volumes of his screenplays have been published, and he is acknowledged as one of the grand masters of screen comedy. Between Flops was the first full-length biography of this great American humorist.

"One of the most entertaining and engrossing film biographies I've encountered, doing justice not only to that truly eccentric genius at the core, but also to his time and place in both Hollywood and our culture."

—Judith Crist

"A sobering picture of the sweat and disappointment that lie beneath the Hollywood hoopla."

—Newsweek ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Some interesting anecdotes, but leaves you hanging.
The first part of this book was mildly interesting for the anecdotes relating to Preston Sturges' fascinating early life & career(s). But as it proceeeds through his Hollywood period & beyond it gets thinner & vaguer. When it ended, I wasn't even sure what happened to Mr. Sturges, he just seemed to disappear & the book just stopped. Or was my edition missing a chapter?

Best bio of Preston Sturges
An outstanding biography. Though concise, this is much better written than longer biographies of Preston Sturges. Curtis provides all the essentials, and does so in a well-structured and well-written style. Takes less time to read than the bios by Spoto and Jacobs, but the reader comes away with a much more vivid portrait of Sturges. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

An insightful behind-the-scenes look at the master's methods
After having years ago started and abandoned Donald Spoto's dry, psychologizing biography of Alfred Hitchcock, I found this book by Hitch's last collaborator a welcome surprise.It offers a far more tangible andintimate portrayal of the actual, day-to-day functioning of Hitchcock'sgenius, thrown into sharp--and often comic--relief by the old man'sinexorable decline.This often poignant, always clear-eyed memoir examinesHitchcock's working methods in illuminating detail:his exploratoryprocess of developing the screenplay, his focus on the minutiae of hischaracters and the topography of their environment, his views on editingand image size, shock vs suspense, "horizontal cinema" vs"pure cinema," and his use of rhythm and tempo to elicit detailedperformances that help audiences identify with his characters.Theauthor's penetrating analyses of Hitchcock's films, and his insightfulbehind-the-scenes commentary on the included screenplay made me want to goback to view again films I've watched a dozen times.This book is atreasure for Hitchcock fans, and required reading for working or aspiringwriters and directors.

Underwhelming
This book reveals more about its insolent author than about Hitchcock.I do not take issue with the notion that Hitchcock was suffering and struggling in his final days, but I do take issue in this largelydisrespectful account.There is enough of historical value here to makethe book worth reading, but barely.The first hand accounts make for someinteresting reading, but it seems as if the author is stretching toincrease his page count.As a result, he pads with uninspired analysis ofHitchcock's previous films including sections on such commonplaceinformation as Hitchcock's cameo appearances.The bulk of the book is thescript for "The Short Night" which is underdeveloped, having been cancelledas a project before a final draft was completed.The author describes whatsome of the changes may have been for the next draft.

A master struggles to work up to the end
I've read "The Last Days of Alfred Hitchcock" with pleasure. Before saying why, I want to comment on a review posted by another reader. It's a misguided attack that cries out for a response. The objection seemsto be that theHitchcock that emerges isn't the one the reader wanted himto be. So? The book is a balanced and nuanced portrait of a great artist atthe end of his life. Hitchcock was in bad shape. The pleasure of this bookand the reason that people should read it is that we can see his strugglefrom day to day. Far from being "tabloid commentary" it's animmensely moving story. There's sadness in Hitchcock's deterioration, butthere's inspiration in his refusal to quit. This book is about Hitchcock'shumanity. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A talented movie director for 50 years.
Frank Thompson has re-edited some interviews with silent-film director Henry King into chronological order. King talks of his days as an actor, and then a silent film director. In the 1930's he moved to the Fox studios and directed many good films (including some classics such as THE GUNFIGHTER [1950]). King talks about Daryl Zanuck (the mogul at Fox) and many film stars such as Lillian Gish, Ronald Coleman, Gary Cooper, and Gregory Peck. The book has an excellent filmography in the back, plus a few pictures of King throughout the years. ... Read more