1 comments about Actor's Choice: Monologues for Teens (Actor's Choice).

1. 
   This volume of highly entertaining monologues is gleaned from previously produced one-act and full-length plays allowing for full characters with interesting stories.
   
   The book is organized well with monologues divided by gender including a section with monologues that would work with either gender. Pieces range from one to five minutes in length and cover a wide range of emotions. Characters run the gamut from historical to modern, literary to supernatural. While the age range of characters is 5-18, most of the characters are written as straight Caucasians. Dialogue in the book is realistic giving the teen actors opportunity to use strong voices.
   
   This is an excellent monologue book for middle and high school students with applications for competition as well as use in drama, speech, or English classes. Drama instructors can also get an idea of tone and pace of the plays from which these pieces come, making it easier to select a school play.

5 comments about The Disney Villain.

1. The Disney Villain is a beautiful work by Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas, two of Walt's Nine Old Men. I'm not sure if there were ever two people more suited to describing the Disney Villain--Frank and Ollie were supervising animators at Disney for almost 50 years. More than meets the eye, this book does more than just look at the Disney Villains, it also sheds light on what makes a villain and why some Disney Villains were much better than others.
   
   
   
   
   "Because the concept of evil is the most terrifying and thrilling concept in our language. We need terror by which to measure and enjoy our comfort; we need thrill to ameliorate the tedium. We need evil to locate our good. And evil is a concept that has been increasingly undervalued and ignored. We require a devil with whom our gods can do battle, lest our gods become reduced to mere royalty-splendidly clothed, gossiped about, but superfluous."
   
   --T. Jefferson Parker (1992, January 19). The Obsession with Evil Why we are transfixed by serial killers :[Home Edition]. Los Angeles Times (pre-1997 Fulltext),p. 1. Retrieved February 16, 2008, from Los Angeles Times database. (Document ID: 61560068).
   
   
   Part of the quote above is used by Ollie and Frank in the preface of the book to illustrate one of the reasons they did a book about Disney Villains. That and so many of their colleagues and friends requested it.
   
   They look at 59 villains (only 8 of which were female) over the course of almost 70 years. In the beginning, they talk about the Alice shorts and how Peg Leg Pete was the first villain, although Ollie and Frank refer to him more as a bully. Pete made the transition from Alice to Oswald to Mickey. Ultimately, he was in 32 shorts with Mickey and friends, but he never achieved a starring role.
   
   Throughout the rest of the book, they look at each animated film and discuss the villains. Not just which ones were truly scary (the Evil Queen) but which ones added to the hero's quest and ultimately made the hero a much more beloved character. It is difficult to sum up a work of this caliber. Ollie and Frank are not only terrific animators, but they tell a great story. Each villain is the center of a debate that is bookmarked between the Evil Queen and Jafar. The authors do more than just talk about villains, they also talk about the highs and lows of Disney animation. This book could be used as a starting point for anyone looking for an introduction to the Disney animated library.
   
   Some of the villains are villainous simply because of their nature. The rat in Lady and The Tramp, the bear in The Fox and the Hound and Monstro from Pinocchio. Not that they are true villains, but because their nature is to forage for food, protect their environs or because they are monstrous in size--they act as villains to the hero. Other villains never quite made it. Ollie and Frank point to Ratigan from The Great Mouse Detective, Mr. McLeach from The Rescuers Down Under and Prince John from Robin Hood. For various reasons, they felt that these characters, along with a few others, never quite made the bold statements that were needed. In some cases, the hero was so powerful that it negated the villain's actions entirely.
   
   
   Beautiful artwork flows throughout the 232 pages of the book. There are full-page shots, thumbnail sketches, storyboards and rough sketches. We see, through the animator's eyes, how a character is developed and comes to life on the page. Both Captain Hook and Gaston were originally seen as foppish characters that were larger than life. In both cases, the animators were instructed to bring the villain down to scale and inject more human characteristics into them. Mainly so we would see them either with flaws or as people we have known--more like a villain archetype.
   
   
   Bottom Line: This is a wonderful book for any collection. It does center specifically on animation, but through the course of discussing the villains, a lot of history of the films and the Disney Company rises to the top. Frank and Ollie have a wonderful narrative that is interspersed with anecdotes and knowledgeable insights into the world of the animated villain. The amazing artwork alone makes it worth picking this title up--the text is the icing on the cake!
   
   [...]



2. The book is not bad, but not really as good as I expected. After having read the extraordinary book "The illussion of life", I wanted more from the same drawer. I picked the villains book.
   In the beginning Frank'n'Ollie explain why they did the book, and apparently it was made on command, I couldn't help thinking about that when I read it. The chapters in the book are very short, and there is too little information about how they decided to make their characters as they turned out. Each chapter begins with an (Too long) introduction of the characters role in the film. Of course you can not expect everybody to have seen every disney film that exists, but too much space in the book is used to explain things you already know if you've seen the films.
   I would have prefered to know more about how the animators felt about their characters and how they developed the personalities, for instance the thin line of making the beast in "Beauty and the Beast" looking like a beast that you could still end up having feelings for. I would like to have seen more development drawings and sketches and even some animation continuity with some good examples of change in expression of the villains as well.
   Some times you read about villains that actually ain't villains. The bear in "Fox and a hound" is actually no villain because it is just following natural instincts, but how about Chief, the big old dog in the movie, nothing about him? A book that is not deep enough. but still not bad. Guess I still shouldn't have read it after just finishing "Illussion of life".



3. Anything by these two wonderful authors and amazing animators should be a must in anyone's collection. Yet, I am baffled that all of their books are currently out of print. I am sure one will not have trouble looking at a used bookstore for a copy of this. This book deals precisely with what the title says: The Disney Villians. In their usual classic and lucid style, the authors discuss the troubles they ran while devising a villian. One that is wicked, yet appealing to the audience. Going through their catalog of movies from Snow White to Aladdin, they discuss in detail what a villian is all about, and how the villian relates to the story, style and main character of each film. Whether one should be more realistic, or have harder edges, or what kind of mannerisms will this villian have. Highly reccomended for the animator and artist, as well as the Disney book lover as these are presented so well. For the enthuseist, which I also own, there is also a more expensive version of this book, hardcover with a slipcase, signed by each of the authors and a print of the filmstrip from Snow White.



4. Why did they do it? Frank and Ollie wanted to give a thorough insight into the making of believable, memorable animated characters. For all to learn from... and they did just that! Another MUST-HAVE from the makers of some of this worlds most entertaining animation.



5. Who better to bring us the history of the villain in Disney films than two people responsible for the creation of so many of them? Ollie Johnson and Frank Thomas' remarkable survey of the history of bad guys begins with the obligatory history of Disney animation and proceeds to describe all of the villains created from the earliest cartoon shorts to Aladdin. Concept drawings, poster art and stills from the film make up the many illustrations and each film is described along with interesting information on each villain discussed. The one drawback - an obvious one when dealing with so prolific a studio - is the fact that this book cuts off at Aladdin, missing the many sinister villains that followed, notably Scar, and Hades.

5 comments about Commedia Dell'Arte: An Actor's Handbook.

1. Rudlin compacts a ton of useful information, in history of the art, Mask/character analyzation, and current day Commedia practitioners. I've found it a very reliable source for the subject and reccommend it to anyone interested in Commedia dell'Arte, either practically or academically.



2. Obviously commedia dell'arte is a live theatre form, and obviously you know a bit about commedia otherwise you wouldn't be reading this review. As far as any book can help anyone do live theatre, especially a form so comic and forceful, then ths book can. Nowhere it loses sight of the fact that its job is to encourage people to action and performance and then begin to discover for themselves.It is not an esoteric bible of secret facts which will allow anyone to become a commedia performer.It is an actor's manual and, if you cannot find adequate live teaching of the form, it is one of the best books you can find to start with.



3. this book was totaly distasteful, its readers must have been completly moronic to give it such a good review dont buy this book if you can help it.



4. If you're at all interested in Commedia and have not yet read this book, I highly recommend it. It would be beneficial for anyone at any level. Every section is just wonderful and gives out so much "secret" information. There's even an appendix on how to make leather masks in the traditional method. I have searched and not been able to find many other books that touch on that subject. It's an interesting read the whole way through and handy as a reference forever after.



5. This book is a master piece. It explains everything in detail of how to step into to the characters etc.

   Success

5 comments about Star Wars Chronicles.

1. While it's size may seem like overkill, this book packs a punch! Once you open it you'll see that it is definitely worth the money you'll pay for it. And the cool cut-out slip case that it comes in gives it a unique presentation! The photographs are great and they give you a fly on the wall look at the sets, costumes, props, and artwork of the first Star Wars Trilogy. Many of these pictures have never been published, so that alone is a very neat feature! While this book does not have a lot of information inside it, it's pictures are worth the money alone. The fact that it is printed on a high quality paper and is very large gives all those details an extra punch. This is a wonderful reference guide for Star Wars fans who are interested in prop replicating, model building, costume design and fabrication, and more. Even the fabrication departments of Lucasfilm used this book as a reference for their work on the Prequel trilogy. If you don't believe me, watch your Episode III bonus disc and watch the scenes of them replicating the Darth Vader suit, and you'll see it right there on the table being used by one of the designers. I recommend this to any Star Wars Fan!



2. I've always been a mega-collector of everything Star Wars, especially any books on the behind-the-scenes stuff. Well, to cut to the chase, it might be best to not bother. Yes, this book is big, heavy, and pricey. Yes, this book will arrive beaten up. Yes, the binding will be apt to crack. And in the end, all you're going to get are slightly different angles of pics you've seen before. The information is pretty sparse; it's mostly a picture book. Needless to say, with Google image search, it doesn't make much sense to fork out the dough to have a clunky book of images available for viewing for free!
   
   If you're a Star Wars fanatic, I wouldn't bother; you already know all of this.



3. everything you want to see about ep.IV,V and VI. I have many star wars's reference books but this book is perfect.



4. If you love Star Wars & love nice books, this is the one for you. Lots of info & pictures. Huge book, and heavy!



5. Very dissappointed with the product. It showed up in several pieces when I open the box. The sleeve is all torn up and falling apart. 2 bottom corners of the books is all smashed up. Not sure who's to blame - the packaging guy or the delivery man. Informed customer service about getting a replacement - unsuccesful - all I got is a freaking $10 credit on me next purchases. After this disaster, not sure if there is a next purchase.

5 comments about Hollywood, Interrupted: Insanity Chic in Babylon -- The Case Against Celebrity.

1. 
   Review blurb from Publishers Weekly about this book: "This diatribe is so unrelentingly negative that it loses all power to persuade."
   
   Someone needs to hand them a mirror. Theirs seems to be cracked.
   
   Too funny.



2. In a sense this is like an updated version of Hollywood Babylon by Kenneth Anger except where Anger painted a sinister, evil picture of a Hollywood that chewed its "stars" up and spit them out, the authors of this book paints a humorous picture of the Hollywood sets dysfunctionality and kookery as well as portraying them as coddled and pampered as opposed to being exploited and used. Ivory tower trendy leftist political causes, kooky new age religious practices, weird sexual habits, substance abuse, dysfunctional family and marital relations, its all here. I was also surprised and happy to see that they talked to zinester/blogger The J Man, whose stuff I have read for years, when they researched this book. Overall this is a very funny book that mocks a segment of society that in most cases absolutely deserves it.



3. I wasn't really impressed by this book. I understand that many celebrities are narcissists, shallow people who *think* they are profound and mirror the actions of profound people, all the while craving adulation, money, and prestige, while not thinking about anyone else (they also lack true empathy and conscience, somewhat in the sociopathic style). I understand that they are annoying and shouldn't be representatives of our politics; however, I see nothing wrong with vegetarian celebrities promoting vegetarianism or something of that nature because having compassion towards animals is actually a positive thing. I work with adolescents, some of who have shown cruelty towards animals, and we already know that people who are violent towards animals are then violent towards other people. Also, vegetarianism is good for the health. Anyhow, back to my review. In sum, I think the book really should have explored why the average person, the common man or woman or child, adulates and supports Hollywood. It's our money that feeds the machine. Is it because we have low IQs? I for one never watch television because I realise exactly what it is -- cheap entertainment with boring and repetitive storylines, and don't even get me started with reality shows, I've never kept up with any of them. But in the end the fault is that of America's citizens -- what is the fascination with celebrity and why does America support it? Perhaps there is a hidden narcissism in the regular person who aspires to live like a celebrity, or perhaps the average person, lacking a modicum of IQ, really admires wealth and power and can only see the trappings of wealth and power set before him or her, and is blindsided to everything else? This to me would mean there is also something very wrong with the average American. A book like this, if already using "clinical" terms like narcissism, should have in turn had opinions of more psychiatrists or other professionals and also analysed America's own narcissism and preoccupation with celebrity.



4. It just goes-to-show what we should have already known; celebrities, like everyone else, are only human. That includes politicians too. Both major parties. Just because someone skyrockets into the limelight, doesn't now make them the experts on what to believe, morals, or who to vote for. Most of these people don't even know what they believe themselves, only the "politically correct" trends-of-the-day. We may enjoy the movies they make, or maybe that beautiful song they just put out, but when it comes to being a spokesperson for today's issues, use your brain and think for yourself.



5. It's been a heck of a long time since I've bothered to write a review, but after finishing reading this book, I felt compelled to.
   "Hollywood Interrupted" opens with chatroom correspondence between the two authors, who despite one of them being "liberal" and the other "conservative" they both find they have an apathy for celebs and their lifestyles. Conservative Breitbart and Liberal Ebner then have a classic bright-lightbulb-materializes-above-the-head moment! Why not WRITE A BOOK full of rehashed gossip, unfunny attempts at humor and stupid moralistic posturing but also rants about THEIR free speech being trampled on!
   Throw in constant unfunny references to "the heterosexual Tom Cruise" (Sure, I make fun of TC, but I try to come up with new stuff, and though I disagree with his views on psychology, I don't HATE the guy.), an entire chapter dedicated to Courtney Love and her problems. Sure she's messed up, but Hole were a good band.
   However, the chapter on Scientology is amusing. In fact, this book could have been a 13 page booklet consisting of that chapter alone. That said, you can't put the damn thing down- that is if you can stomach all the arrogance and mean spiritness of the writers. It could have been helped by a healthy leavening of satire, but Breitbart and Ebner appear to be too dim-minded and/or overcome by psychotic rage to be genuinely funny.
   By all means read this book. It's not for everyone, but if you are one of those people fascinated by the gory scenes on websites such as rotten.com and the like (and I'm one of them) you may find this worth a look. Although chances are you'll know most of the "news" here: Eddie Murphy and the tranny, Whitney Houston's "Crack Is Whack" schtick and of course the Arquettes, the Phoenixes and the Baldwins -though no Wayans'es- it could be that there's just too darn many of them, or the "authors" may just be racists as well as moralists and homophobes. As the title song in Herschell Gordon Lewis's "2000 Maniacs" (and the remake "2001 Maniacs") goes: "The South's gonna rise again! Yee haw!". I give it an extra star for the sheer sleaziness of it all. If two morons can keep me glued to my chair and entertained for a couple of days, then it can't be all that "bad".(And no, I am not talking about me sitting and amusing myself with a couple of hand puppets). Bad is a relative term.
   My next review due sometime in 2007. Those of you with no lives mark it off on your calendars. :-)

3 comments about Fashions of the Gilded Age, Volume 2: Evening, Bridal, Sports, Outerwear, Accessories, and Dressmaking 1877-1882.

1. Frances Grimble shares her meticulous vision with us once again. A great two book series full of facinating information and patterns galore. I cannot wait to clothe many a pretty lady using them. Not for the faint of heart. The patterns are period correct and I would advise an advanced skill level, or a great deal of patience. Always do a mock up. Remember these are patterns of the age. So start at the skin and work your way out to a glorious new costume.
   Enjoy.



2. This is a great book, but you should know that it is not a second edition of Fashions of the Gilded Age, Volume 1. It is the second volume of the anthology, and a different book with all different patterns. The title is actually Fashions of the Gilded Age, Volume 2: Evening, Bridal, Sports, Outerwear, Accessories, and Dressmaking 1877-1882. It's just as good as Volume 1, none of the information is the same except the intro on how to use the patterns, and the dressmaking manual is really unique.
   
   I heard both volumes were published but it took me awhile to find the second one on Amazon because it was mislisted. So I thought I'd warn other people.



3. I just reviewed Volume 1, where I said the book contains a huge selection of patterns. Volume 2 focuses on patterns for evening dresses, bridal wear, sports wear, and outer wear. The chapters on accessories and trimmings contain some needlework patterns, embroidery and so on. I figure if I don't do the handwork I'll still have learned a lot about buying appropriate materials.
   
   I bought both volumes, but they are organized so you can use them separately. Both contain the instructions for using the book and the special rulers that allow you to draft patterns to fit you. They also both have a big glossary, a bibliography, and two indexes.
   
   Volume 2 has something really special though--a dressmaking manual. The book says it was rewritten from numerous rare original sources that are listed in the bibliography. But it's been rewritten so it doesn't read that way; you can't tell where any source begins or ends. That makes the manual a lot easier to use. And it's so long it could have been published as a book by itself. I'm glad to have it, because I've never been able to find a comprehensive sewing manual for this period. It even has corset-making instructions (the corset patterns are in Volume 1).
   
   Both volumes are very well edited and produced. This is not a cheap printing job.
   
   Anyone who does Old West reenactment or Victorian teas would love these books!

5 comments about Breaking and Entering: Landing Your First Job in Film Production.

1. I'm a film and television producer, and this is the first book I've come across that explains in plain English what it's like to work in production. But, it's tells you much more than that. By the time you finish reading this book, you'll have a complete understanding of how movies get made and the people who make it happen. You'll learn the "lingo" of the industry and the chain of command on a set. The author takes you step by step - explaining what the jobs are and how you can get one. Even if you don't want to work in production, you'll find it entertaining and informative. I have been using this book as a teaching tool in my production assistant workshops for the past few years. It has helped many of my students find work in the industry. If you want to work in this business, this is a must-read. What I liked most about the book is that it isn't the glamourized version of what it''s like to work behind the scenes, it's the real deal. In terms that anyone can understand. April Fitzsimmons has been there, done that and now written the book about it. Some of the fascinating parts include short personal stories from various people, about their experiences in the industry - the good, the bad and the ugly.

   I recommend to my students that they buy this book and keep it with them at all times, as a reference and as a reminder to never give up. I only wish this book was around when I first started working in production. My struggle wouldn't have been so difficult.




2. This book is a Godsend. I have put the amazingly lucid and learned advice to work in my own jobs on film sets, and now my brother is finding it equally enlightening as he tests the waters of filmmaking. I will continue to recommend this book to anyone who wants to work in film or simply understand what happens on the set. Insightful without the braggadacio that festers in so many books of its genre, this is a great find for the newcomer and the production veteran alike.



3. This book should be called "How Not to Get Fired From Your First PA Job." There is a good amount of detail about what a production assistant position is, but April Fitzsimmons' book does not even begin to cover what you need to do to GET the job in the first place (and I suspect that's what most people are really looking for).

   If you don't have connections and want a book that will actually help you get a foot in the door, this is definitely not the one. Maybe check out Kenna McHugh's "Breaking into Film: Making Your Career Search a Blockbuster." That book covers networking, different PA organizations, effective resume writing, and so on. Breaking and Entering provides none of this.




4. The first time you set foot on a film set certain things aren't always obvious. This book sets you on the right path from the beginning. Get a jump on all the P.A's entering the pool and act like a pro from day 1.



5. Of all the books I have seen on how to start at the bottom & learn the basic ropes of being a great PA. This is the book. If you want to impress producers & move up quick, read this book & implement what it says

3 comments about Becoming Shakespeare: The Unlikely Afterlife That Turned a Provincial Playwright into the Bard.

1. William Shakespeare was a genius. Everyone knows it, but he became a genius only after his death. That's the surprising lesson in _Becoming Shakespeare: The Unlikely Afterlife That Turned a Provincial Playwright into the Bard_ (Walker) by Jack Lynch. The author is a professor of English who is a well-known scholar of Samuel Johnson. Johnson himself had plenty of admiration for Shakespeare, but also criticism, and told Boswell that "Shakespeare never has six lines together without a fault." That's the sort of candor that eventually became forbidden; by the nineteenth century, Lynch says, "Criticizing the Bard - even hinting that he was less than perfect - was becoming the literary equivalent of blasphemy." And yet, Shakespeare had been what Lynch calls a "B plus" playwright during his lifetime, a popular artist who had a lucrative career, but there were other playwrights doing the same thing. Shakespeare made no plans to have his plays published, and his friends arranged only seven years after his death in 1616 for his collected works to be printed. A second edition came out nine years later, and then there was nearly nothing. His plays were performed less often, simply because they were old fashioned, and then in the middle of the seventeenth century there was the closing of the theaters during Cromwell's rule. It could have happened that Shakespeare would take a respected place at the level of his contemporary Ben Jonson who had more critical esteem during his own life, but is now known mostly to enthusiasts of literature rather than to the masses. How is it that Shakespeare became Shakespeare?
   
   Lynch focuses on stories about the plays and their production, appreciation, and alteration over the centuries. It starts with Shakespeare's death in 1616 which got no public attention. Shakespeare's reputation got its initial restoration by a quirk of history. The newly instituted theatrical companies, after theaters were closed down by the Puritans, needed plays to perform but nothing had been written for the stage in decades. Shakespeare's languishing works were still available, and approvable by the Lord Chamberlain, and he came into fashion again. The plays were not good enough for all the uses to which people wanted to apply them. Some felt Shakespeare's plays needed improvement in various ways. "For much of the last four hundred years," says Lynch, "they were rarely presented as he wrote them." As early as 1662, people started blending and changing the texts. Some of the changes were minor and could be charitably viewed as "a helpful tidying-up" to keep the ancient words from being a puzzle to modern ears. There were, however, more radical changes like a _King Lear_ with a happy ending, brought out in 1681 and still performed into the nineteenth century. The funniest chapter here is "Domesticating Shakespeare", making him fit to be presented to children; the the brother-and-sister team of Thomas and Henrietta Bowdler in the early nineteenth century brought out _The Family Shakespeare_, and bowdlerized versions of the play are still the ones found in some school editions.
   
   After a chapter devoted to forgeries of Shakespeare, Lynch winds up with "Worshipping Shakespeare", concentrating on the literary pilgrimage to Stratford-on-Avon. Stratford was just an English town, and it was not until well after its most famous citizen had died that people came to see William Shakespeare's home. So many came to see it that they annoyed the owner of the property, the Reverend Francis Gastrell. First in 1756, he cut down the mulberry tree that Shakespeare planted in the garden (and Shakespeare may actually have done so) because so many tourists visited and wanted cuttings. (Wood from the tree, or supposed to be from the tree, became carved into trinkets that were hugely valued as icons.) Then, because he didn't want to pay taxes on Shakespeare's house (and because of continued enragements toward tourists) he pulled the house down in 1759. The home is gone, but tourists can come and see Shakespeare's burial place, and birth place, and his wife's cottage, just as did such fans as John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Washington Irving. The latter enjoyed being a tourist so much that he did not mind being shown relics of dubious authenticity: "I am always of easy faith in such matters, and am ever willing to be deceived where the deceit is pleasant and costs nothing." Relics and pilgrimages are tributes to religious figures, and at the end of his book, Lynch writes, "Our story is about the long process that turned a very competent playwright into a demigod who transcended the human condition." His book is an insightful examination of a peculiar history. Lynch shows we have always changed Shakespearean texts for different reasons, some of them laudable; that people through the centuries have seen fit to make even silly or inappropriate changes to these ancient works is perhaps one of the greatest of tributes the Bard has earned.



2. I absolutely love Shakespeare and considering him a great genius of the English theater. However, if even those of us who love the Bard are honest, it must be admitted that his reputation did not spring full-blown from the Globe Theater at the turn of the sixteenth century. It took time for him to become Shakespeare as we understand him today. Professor Lynch does an excellent job at sketching out the outlines of this transition in this book.
   
   Professor Lynch reminds us that Shakespeare, though successful in his day, was not considered the greatest playwright of his day. Johnson and Marlowe were much better regarded in most circles. Shakespeare did not adhere to the classical structure of the dramatic form well enough and he often stooped to crude humor. With the closure of the theaters during the Protectorate, it seemed very likely that Shakespeare and his works would be lost to history. Fortunately for us, the Restoration saw the rise of some of the great Shakespearean actors--Garrick, Cibber, Siddons, Kemble, etc.--who really began to move Shakespeare to the fore.
   
   Professor Lynch also reminds us that, until the twentieth century, Shakespeare's text was not as sacrosanct as it is now. He discusses the fact that the most popular forms of Shakespeare until very recently were adaptations and bowdlerizations. (In fact, the word "bowdlerization" comes from Henrietta and Thomas Bowlder, who made a career out of deleting the "naughty bits" from Shakespeare.) Additionally, there were many attempts to forge and otherwise pass off plays as written by Shakespeare. So much so that it is difficult, even to this day, to ferret out some truths.
   
   It may be hard for some to accept in a culture where Shakespeare is so revered, but it did not have to be so. Professor Lynch does a fine job of showing this transition from successful playwright to demigod. There may be some who feel Lynch is merely trying to bring Shakespeare down a peg but I don't see that at all. He is looking for an honest assessment and he tries to give us one. He illustrates his point well in the closing paragraphs of the book: "Shakespeare was unappreciated not because the world was stupid, unable to understand his true greatness until centuries passed. By the standard of 1650, Shakespeare really did deserve his B-plus, and not much more...the biggest testimony to Shakespeare's greatness may be that he changed what it means to be great." It shows respect to his greatness that we try to understand what really happened. This book is definitely worth reading.



3. Professor Lynch has written a very interesting book about the steady rise--after a very slow start--in reputation and fame of the finest writer. It will be enjoyed by most general readers interested in Mr. Shakespeare.
   
   The section at the end of this book, which the author's provides on further reading, will be quite helpful for those seeking informed guidance through the thicket of books ever available on the great Englishman.

5 comments about Once a Dancer....

1. Allegra has bared herself completely in this book. To know her is to know how special this work is. Yes, these were the trials of a dancer but they were also the trials of an abused woman. Her trials also included living up to expectations. In other words, this novel truly reaches beyond the world of Ballet. Any upcoming Ballerinas should find a wealth of information about just how trying a professional career can be.



2. I saw her dance once, and I still dream of that night. Balanchine was at his peak, and Allegra Kent was more than his principal dancer - she was his muse, his passion, his nemesis. And her dancing was incredible. Once a Dancer, Kent's autobiography, chronicles the strange world of famous ballerinas, plagued as most of them are by anorexia, domineering stage mothers, vulnerability to dance gurus, plastic surgery, and a long, long series of self-destructive behavior. Wonderful sketches of other luminaries from her era are included, plus photos, but it's the end of the book that one remembers: the poignancy of someone of Allegra Kent's talents looking back on her life and appreciating in retrospect all that she once was, is heartbreaking.



3. Allegra Kent describes her life as a dancer, but does not bother to examine it. By chapter two, her self-pitying tone had become rather annoying.
   However, this book does not fail to entertain... her life was certainly quite interesting. I especially enjoyed the study of her complex relationship with her parents.
   Once a Dancer is worth reading but nothing compared to the biographies of Suzanne Farrell and Gelsey Kirkland (two of Mr. B's other prima ballerinas).



4. I am a lawyer, not a dancer. However, I absolutely loved this book. Alegra has a wonderful writing syle which captivated me from the beginning. From her yearnings for affection and approval to her unbelievable dancing success, she had me hooked on every page. In fact, thanks to allegra, I have started taking dance lessons!!



5. Not only is this a wonderful look into the personal and professional development of an incredible dancer, it is also an honest, beautifully written portrait of an artist's life. Allegra Kent is not only one of the most magnificent dancers of all time, she is also a very talented writer

4 comments about Blackout: World War II and the Origins of Film Noir.

1. Yes, Shari Chinen Biesen has detonated a landmine in the field of film noir studies with her contention that, far from being a postwar movement, noir is totally tied up with actual conditions of the war being felt and fought during Hollywood studio production; so we might come to see the heyday of film noir as not the release of OUT OF THE PAST, nor any of the location-dominated "March of Time" inspired docudramas, but much earlier on, with the filming of THIS GUN FOR HIRE with Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake.
   
   She invites us to attend to the way WWII scared the daylights out of Los Angeles and curtailed social activity through a literal blackout in which the previously iconic klieglights were darkened "for the duration," while West Coast citizens and government officials and conspiracy theorists worried about how soon the Japanese would attack southern California by bomber or submarine or from within.
   
   Secondarily the arrival of so many talented artists from Nazi-dominated Europe gave film a darker cast, both in front of the camera and behind. She points to STRANGER ON THE THIRD FLOOR, THE MALTESE FALCON, PHANTOM LADY, and DOUBLE INDEMNITY as beneficaries of this process. With the top male stars in uniform, like Gable, Jimmy Stewart, Robert Taylor, the studios had to improvise and invent a new sort of cinema, one in which their female stars would henceforward be paired with freaks--old men, foreign men, little boys--the refuse of the draft. This was a time when an actor like Albert Dekker, Orson Welles, Peter Lorre, Laird Cregar, George Sanders, could dreeam of Hollywood stardom; when super short actors like Alan Ladd were suddenly magnified; when gay actors who'd been declared unfit for military service could become huge box office draws, their heterosexuality reinscribed by press flacks; and older men found their stardom artificially extended by a decade or more (William Powell, Ronald Colman, guys like that.) A few remaining tall, handsome, young and heterosexual men remained employable--John Wayne, Ronald Reagan, becoming stars no little thanks to the vacuum around them. And they were talented too, of course.
   
   And women moved behind the camera too, as editors, producers, writers: Joan Harrison, Catherine Tunney, Harriet Parsons, Virginia van Upp, Leigh Brackett. As BLACKOUT progresses towards the end of the war in 1945, we relive a strange moment in history in which Hollywood once again hardened itself for the invasion--the re-entry into their midst of all the returning vets, stars, writers, directors and miscellaneous personnel--who would put these trends on fast track and bring them outdoors.



2. "Blackout" is subtitled "World War II and the Origins of Film Noir," and Sheri Chinen Biesen, an assistant professor of radio, television and film studies at Rowan University, delivers the goods in this scholarly book. At the end of World War II, a large backlog of American films suddenly became available overseas. The French, seeing these films for the first time "all at once" instead of over a period of years, noticed a "dark" trend in them that had not been especially obvious to their American producers. French critics coined the term "film noir" to describe what they saw as virtually a new genre in filmmaking.
   
   Films noir typically (but not exclusively) featured hard-boiled private detectives, alluring but deadly "femmes fatale," stories told in flashbacks, complex plots, unconventional camera angles and stark black-and-white photography. Many of them involved crimes gone wrong, double- and triple-crosses, murder and mayhem, and the nastier side of human relationships. "Blackout" shows how these characteristics arose from the political, social, cultural and material conditions that existed in America during World War II. For example, films noir are "dark" because: a) lights were in short supply, b) power was rationed, and c) the West Coast (where most films during the War were made) was blacked out nightly because of the fear of Japanese submarine attacks. Many film noir stories took place at night, because the Government prohibited daytime photography that could accidentally include defense installations--thus eliminating most of the favored movie-making locations in Southern California. Relationships between men, serving overseas in combat, and women, who now did many of the previously male-dominated jobs on the Home Front, changed during the War, and films noir could not help but reflect these changes.
   
   One of the most fascinating aspects of film production in World War II was the interaction of the movie studios with the Production Code Administration (PCA). "Blackout" describes in detail how the PCA enthusiastically carried out its "responsibility" of censoring screenplays that the studios presented to it in order to obtain the important "seal of approval." For example, the PCA banned "excessive drinking...references to sex, suggestive dancing, [and] any condoning of divorce..." from the screenplay for "Phantom Lady." This is just one very minor example. One wonders not only how films made under the heavy hand of PCA censorship could be very good (which many are), but indeed how any meaningful films could possibly have been made at all.
   
   "Blackout" covers the evolution of film noir trends in great depth. It focuses on genre classics such as "Double Indemnity," "This Gun For Hire," "The Postman Always Rings Twice," "Murder, My Sweet" and "Laura," but it also covers many other films. The text is detailed, readable and thoroughly footnoted, although I did find it somewhat repetitive in parts. For example, the point about location filming restrictions is similarly made many times. "Blackout" may be heavy going in some places for readers with just a casual interest in the subject, but it is nevertheless an excellent primer on the development of a uniquely American film style.



3. This volume stands out as one of, if not the, best book in English on film noir, a movement previously largely defined mostly through stylistic analysis and psychoanalytic interpretation. It differs from traditional approaches, offering background which the other books fail to include. By relying on historical sources and context, Biesen indicates noir's rise with the social and most particularly production circumstances brought about by World War II. None of this has been treated before, in any detail, and many of her points are original (such as the impact of realism on film noir). Demonstrating how actual wartime life and daily constraints led to the genre will be one of the ways this book will be important for historians of all types for this era and its culture. The book is simultaneously accessible yet sophisticated, vital and engaging, and is written to attract the widest possible audience.
   The primary research mines lodes of information too often overlooked in film studies, demonstrating the manner in which such sources as censorship and studio publicity may enhance a critical and theoretical examination. Biesen demonstrates a familiarity with the films and supporting documentation which are the source of the book's assertions. Unlike so many studies marked by excessive theoretical speculation and cursory historical research, this book combines a wide range of examples with a determination to remain rooted in the evidence they offer.
   Biesen merges close interpretation of individual films, production history, censorship records, publicity, critical response, audience reception, the star system, industry history, and genre analysis. Most studies use only two or three of these possibilities, and the author is to be commended for the depth and breadth of research.
   Endemic of this exhaustive research is the usage of reviews beyond Variety and the New York Times, the indexed, reprinted journals which are as far as most studies go--although neither offer representative reviews. Few scholars have mined such treasures as the film pressbooks, especially with such fruitful results.
   So too, Biesen's arguments have been carefully thought through; for instance, I was pleased to see the connections between noir and the espionage genre made, similar genres whose relation is too often overlooked. The role of female executives in producing noir was surprising. The linkage between realism and noir was a brilliant insight, and a case convincingly made by the author, one which will profoundly change conceptions of the genre. The relevance of HUAC in ending noir was also enlightening.
   I was relieved to see, too, that the author knows to interpret documents, not simply taking them at face value. For instance, noting when filmmakers blithely disregarded censorship instructions will change conceptions of the role of censors.
   I strongly and without reservation recommend this book.



4. Outstanding. Highly Recommended. Excellent Book. A fascinating, engaging, innovative and original work. A fine account of film noir and 1940s Hollywood filmmaking, film censorship and propaganda, and wartime conditions in America's movie capital during World War II. Ample noir stories of Los Angeles, Raymond Chandler, Humphrey Bogart, James M. Cain, Billy Wilder, Fritz Lang, Alan Ladd, Peter Lorre, Howard Hawks with hardboiled crime, venetian blinds, swirling cigarette smoke and smoldering seductive femme fatales like black widow Barbara Stanwyck, Veronica Lake and Rita Hayworth. A rich provocative study. Terrific and enjoyable read for film buffs, cineastes, film critics, movie fans, industry insiders, cultural historians, researchers and cinema scholars, and an insightful and compelling look at the unexplored history of film noir and wartime Hollywood in the 1940s. Biesen's Blackout is quite a find, a must-read book on film noir. Wonderful revelations and essential reading for lovers of film noir.