1 comments about Theatre Sound (Theatre Arts (Routledge Paperback)).

1. John Leonard's Theatre Sound is an excellent read for everyone from the beginner to an advanced sound designer. The refreshing material in his book isn't overloaded with technical jargon, but goes over everything for a full understanding of the subject. It's also loaded with thoughts on theory, from sound effect design to speaker localization. A very good read, and highly recommended!

5 comments about Q's Guide to the Continuum.

1. A somewhat interesting trivia book with several black & white photo's thrown in for posterity's purpose. This book present's a slightly more acidic Q than usual, no big deal though. It is definitely overpriced for what you get. Definitely one for the collector's and maybe Star Trek novices who want to find out a little about Star Trek history without trudging through the encyclopedia.



2. The book is good, light and funny, but US$16.00 is very steep. I read the entire book at the bookshop and did not pay a cent.



3. Although there were a few funny lines here and there, this book was not worth the money I paid for it and I ended up returning it. It should have been called "Sinical Superlatives" by someone desperatley trying to capture Q's sense of humor. I was quite dissapointed and would not recommend this book.



4. . . . Nor was I. To be fair there were some funny parts to this book, there just weren't nearly enough for me to recommend it. I found most of the book rather boring.



5. The best book I have read in a long time. Amazingly funny! Totally cool!

2 comments about Period style for the theatre.

1. This is probably my favorite book on Theater style and one of my most precious posessions. Russell shows and discusses the relationship of period style, artistic choices and historical mind sets of all the art forms from architecture to music, from styles of clothing to history and discusses how they connect. He gives you a sweeping yet specific understanding of every age, then brings that understanding into the theater of the day.
   
   I am appalled that this book seems to be out of print. If you find it in a used book store and it is under $50, buy it!



2. Very beautiful words,Thanks.I am a professor working in Beijing China.I want to know Douglas A. Russell 's E-mail .please tell me. . my E-mail : zhangkangmei@btamail.net.cn think you very much!

5 comments about The Art of Watching Films.

1. Bought it for a college course because I had to. Fell in love with it because it's well written, well thought out and full of more information than I thought I could possibly learn about films. The beautiful color photos contained within also help to keep one's interest.
   
   Yes it's pricey, but it's also worth it!!



2. This book provides insight into the many aspects of movies. It focuses on the details that you don't consciously think about when viewing movies. Any beginning film student (or anyone interested in getting more out of the movie watching experience) will find this book very helpful. I also enjoyed the references to movies young and old.



3. This textbook was purchased to fulfill a required "humanaties" course, while attending college. It's informative, easy to read, and guides you into becoming a "trained observer" in the art of watching films. As part of the curriculum I was instructed to watch several films selected by my professor. Some of the assigned films I would have never viewed by choice, including classics. However, this textbook has definitely given me a whole new perspective when attending a movie theater or at home watching a DVD. I've also acquired a deeper appreciation and understanding for all the hard work that goes into film making. Buy it for school or as a guide to help you enjoy your next movie experience.



4. product was exactly how seller describe. the book gives great insight to understanding all the components and theatrical elements of a film. Every element in a film is purposely selected in order to catch the audience attention and emotions. Highly recommend this book.



5. Used this book in an intro to film class. I will keep it on the shelf as a reference book. For class it has smooth reading that is cohesive, didn't seem like it has filler information in it. It was fun to read. The context was very helpful in class for lectures, and movie analyzation. Goes over key aspects of film as well as very detailed examples of what to look for, how to see it.

1 comments about The Sanford Meisner Approach: Workbook IV Playing the Part (The Sanford Meisner Approach).

1. I'm not a huge fan of Meisner's approach... As a director, I note that when actors are devout followers of his methods, they tend to gravitate toward anger in their acting. It makes sense- he's all about the visceral response. And anger "feels" good when you're acting--- feels like you're really doing something. Unfortunately, I think there's a danger of getting so involved with how you feel, that you forget that you're really up there to tell a story to the audience above all else.
   That being said, some of the exercises here are great if you're an actor feeling stuck and unemotional; or if you're feeling unconnected from your character. As a director, I certainly can use some of his exercises to promote size in the more timid actors and to get ensembles to gel emotionally.
   Worth having, but balance it with some more analytical pieces.

4 comments about Sam Patch, the Famous Jumper.

1. I bought this book used, but when I received it, it was in perfect condition. My child needed it for a class that she was joining mid-semester. The book is no longer being printed. However, while other students were still waiting on the arrival of their books ordered from another bookstore, she was in class with her copy in a little over a week with standard shipping.



2. This is a biography of Sam Patch, the famous jumper from high places into swirling chasms. Yet it's more than a biography; it's also a social history of the times (1820s) and the places where Sam made his daring leaps (Paterson, NJ, Niagara Falls, and Rochester, NY). Sam's early life was spent working in the cotton mills of first, Pawtucket, RI, and then Paterson, NJ. He learned the "art" (Sam's word, and an important one in defining how Patch saw himself) of jumping while a boy performing daredevil stunts in the Blackstone River of Pawtucket. Later, in Paterson, he leaped into the Passaic Falls more as a "rebel-victim" - Timothy Crane had erected a bridge across the falls, which was considered a social good; but when he bought land adjacent to the falls that was popular as a recreational retreat for the working people of Paterson and turned it into a private park for the wealthy, Crane became a villain to the many factory workers of Paterson. Sam timed a number of his jumps there to coincide with events designed to honor Crane, to humiliate him or at least take away some of his thunder. In these instances, Sam Patch was a jumper for Democracy.
   
   After Paterson, Sam leaped off the mast of a sloop anchored off Hoboken, NJ into the Hudson River, which was reported widely in the press, and Sam became a celebrity. Now his leaps would be for fame and fortune. He jumped twice at Niagara Falls to great success, and then went to Rochester to leap the Genesee Falls. His leap was successful, but a second jump on a cold November day proved to be his undoing; his body wasn't found until the following spring.
   
   Then of course, Sam Patch the legend took off. The real Sam Patch was a drunkard and millworker, raised in poverty, who discovered he had a talent for surviving high leaps into dangerous waters, and decided that exploiting this talent brought a big improvement to his otherwise futile existence. (It's the classic American story: think of all the ballplayers, actors, singers, etc. who saw even the worst of times in their chosen endeavors as better than "going back" to the mines, or the mills, or the empty windswept towns on the bleak prairie.) But for the decade or two after his death Sam was transformed into a gentleman's son who overcame timidity and learned to face danger and be "a man." Then, of course, even this made-up image of Sam disappeared from the scene - until 1945 when folklorist Richard Dorson rediscovered him and grouped him with such legendary characters as Davy Crocket and Mike Fink.
   
   Johnson does a superb job in rescuing Patch from the annals of folklore and presenting him as a real historical figure. This is not an easy task since very little in the historical record is known about Sam, and much of that is contradictory. He devotes much space to what life in the cotton mills was like, how Niagara Falls was perceived in the American imagination at the time, and what the young and bustling cities of Paterson and Rochester were going through when Sam visited them. Johnson is an interesting writer - detailed and learned, but not dry and scholarly. It's a fascinating book. Highly recommended.



3. Sam Patch was an American original who escaped my attention for forty-eight years. Professor Johnson's study of this mostly forgotten, irreverant showman has piqued this reader's thirst for more of the bold, eccentric and sometimes ambivalent personalities that have shaped this nation in often subtle ways.
   Not long after completing the author's chronology of the Patch family's slide from the respectability of the rural New England landholder and the influence of Calvinism, it becomes apparent
   that a documented record of just what manner of man Sam Patch really was is not to be had. From the standpoint of social status, Patch was a non-entity, a skilled textile laborer his sole identifying trait; that is, until he made public his hobby.
   Just what spurred Patch to leap the Passaic Falls at Paterson,NJ on July 4, 1828, effectively upstarting the elaborate holiday ceremonies planned by one of the city's wealthy and genteel manufacturing elite is uncertain. One effect of the feat was the galvanizing of the local labor force into an awareness of their potential to force reform in mill working conditions. No sooner had Patch had dried himself off when a consortium of mill owners issued an edict altering the daily work schedules of its employees, needlessly disrupting the domestic routines of thousands. Patch then betrays a political motive in answer to management with an encore jump during work hours just one week after the new schedule had taken effect. Patch's exploit was followed by a strike, arbitration and comprimise. The Paterson jumps gave birth to Patch's intriguing motto "Some things can be done as well as others."
   The cynical critic questions the depth and genuineness of Patch's social altruism based upon his lack of education, predilection to alcohol, and the complete absence of any concern, stated or implied, other than self-promotion during the remainder of his career. In fact, Patch, at the age of twenty-seven, having worked in the mills for twenty years, resigned his vocation permanently upon departing Paterson shortly after the second jump. After a brief exploit from atop a ship's mast in Hoboken,NJ, Patch emigrated to Niagara Falls for bigger game.
   Now an avowed professional jumper, backed by resort developers and sporting gentlemen, Patch thrilled crowds of commoners and elicited enmity from the Whig sophisticates and press. After a few successful performances, the venue shifted to Rochester,NY and Genesee Falls where class distinctions and responses to such behavior were at a premium. After an initial jump, a plan was hatched to erect a platform some forty feet above the millrace which paralleled the falls, raising his leap to an uprecedented one hundred-thirty feet. Unfortunately for our hero, he met his ultimate fate that day in 1829 when, unable to contain his passion for the bottle, he endeavored to jump while in a well-lubricated state, lost his form early in the air, hit the water on his side, and disappeared for four months before his body was hauled from under the ice of the Genesee River some seven miles downstream.
   On reconsideration, it is perhaps the case that Patch had an angle along reformist lines. Though unsophisticated in its method, the very inanity of Patch's nonconformist act served as a slap in the face to the righteous, overbred conceit of the upper classes and their proclivity for circumscribing the limits of self-determination for those less fortunate. In appropriating a mere mill-boy's pastime Patch defied the ruling gentry and diletantes of morality to prevent his freedom of expression. Although his jumps lacked the ingenuity, utility or permanence of the engineering marvels which buoyed the emerging industrial revolution, they gave notice that democracy entitles a man to make his mark after his own fashion and, notwithstanding limited means, proof that "Some things can be done as well as others."
   Despite the absence of source material Professor Johnson has done a comendable job of resurrecting Patch's story from the confines of legend. Johnson's tedious labor is evidenced by his notes--drawn almost entirely from periodical literature.
   While it is not possible to forge an intimate acquaintance with Sam Patch, Johnson has provided the detailed social, political and religious mileau needed to understand his role in history.
   Johnson is also to be credited for the modesty of his prose, which makes this book smooth and entertaining.



4. If you have never heard of Sam Patch, it is because you are not living in the nineteenth century. Sam Patch was America's first celebrity daredevil, someone who made his fortune and his fame by spectacularly endangering his life, jumping from waterfalls. Paul E. Johnson, in _Sam Patch, The Famous Jumper (Hill and Wang), has not exactly brought Patch back to life. As Johnson explains, people like Patch did not have linear careers that lent their lives to being told as stories; they had episodes, not biographies. Patch only lived thirty years, and jumped professionally only for the last two of those, but he did have a wonderful career, and even some meaning within American history and sociology. Johnson has, though Patch's story, examined some details of Jacksonian America, industrialization, philosophies of art, and aspects of fame from self-endangerment and self-promotion rather than self-improvement and civic involvement. Patch was, after all, a lout and a drunkard, but it must mean something that he achieved such a level of fame that his feats could be cited by Melville, Hawthorne and Poe. Even Andrew Jackson's favorite steed was named Sam Patch.

   Sam was around seven years old when he took up work in a mill; families in the early eighteenth century were being drawn to mill towns since mothers and children could easily get work. He was good at the work, and fiercely independent in the craft of "mule spinner". The independence manifested itself in his jumping as well. He learned the craft of jumping as other boys did, but when he moved to another mill town, his jumping acquired a social and political aspect that endeared him to the populace. He jumped to spite a rising industrialist in Paterson, New Jersey, and then in support of his own class when there was a dispute over how the town should celebrate the Fourth of July, and jumped again during the first labor walkout. People loved the jumps, and newspapers reported them. Patch became a working-class hero. He went on to jump into Niagara Falls twice, and finally in Rochester. On 13 November 1829, he took a plunge into the Genesee Falls, into which he had jumped successfully a week before. He was drunk, and hit the water out of control. It was months before the body was found, but respectable Americans had found a new cause to rail against; one preacher spoke of the "strange and savage curiosity" of the crowds who came to see the jumps, and another told his Sunday school class "... that any of them who had witnessed Patch's last leap would be judged guilty of murder by God."

   Sam Patch could have been an emblem against the masses, but it did not work out that way. He became the subject of poetry, comic stories, and stage plays. "What the Sam Patch!" became a common way of swearing. There was a Sam Patch cigar. He has even recently been the subject of a novel. Rochester has welcomed his memory as if it were that of a favorite son, and you can buy souvenirs at Sam's Gift Patch. There are those who insist that any American Dream must be built on hard work, domestic harmony, and sobriety. Johnson's able and well-researched portrait, with its many digressions into aspects of our fledgling democracy, shows a different sort of dream and a new sort of celebrity. Americans, bless their hearts, had from the beginning a delight in one who tweaked the nose of his betters and got fame for lots of wrong reasons.

3 comments about Lost Illusions: American Cinema in the Shadow of Watergate and Vietnam, 1970-1979 (History of the American Cinema, V. 9).

1. The 70's is part of the landmark series created and edited by Charles H. Harpole. Each volume covers about a decade and was conceived as a readable scholarly history, each with the same coverage: the stylistic, technological, and economic factors of American feature, documentary, and avant garde cinema. The goal is to be comprehensive, judicious, and well researched without losing the love of the movies. The illustrations are particularily good in that they are often real frame enlargements or are not published elsewhere. The U.Calif. Press paperbacks are reproductions of the Scribner $70 hardbacks and thus are a bargain.
   Look for the other 9 books of the Series and enjoy!



2. Of the volumes in the excellent History of the American Cinema series, this is the best by far. Cook provides a superb, balanced overview of the film industry in the 1970s, considering practically every aspect of the topic--from the economics of the industry to the production trends to even the distribution and innovations in film technology. For any serious student of film history, this is a must read!



3. David A. Cook's volume Lost Illusions contributes Volume 9 to the ongoing History of the American Cinema series, covering the period from 1970-79 when American cinema operated against the social conditions of Vietnam and Watergate. The rise of film conglomerates is charted along with new filmmaking techniques.

2 comments about Miller's high life.

1. This is a highly readable autobiography in which Miller's adorable personality really comes through. You feel as if you are sitting in her living room listening to her talk to you personally, telling wonderful stories of her days in Hollywood. Wish there had been more about the making of her various films, but it is still a satisfying read that leaves you believing that you have truly gotten to know her better. Based on this book, I think I would have really liked her. And what an underappreciated talent she was! Just go back and watch some of her old films. They don't make em like that anymore.



2. Ann Miller, one of the most underappreciated stars of the Golden age, tells all in this book. Focusing on her childhood and her personal life, she recounts memories with a disarming cheeky style that became her trademark. While more information about her work would have been nice, it's great to have Miller by Miller since no other real biography exists. We hear a lot about boyfriends, her fascination with spirituality, and her work as a goodwill ambassador.
   

   Bottom Line: An excellent book by Miller, told in her trademark cheeky style. While short on professional details, it's great for private ones and shouldn't be missed by any Miller fan. (great pics, too!)

3 comments about Polly and the Piano.

1. I absolutely loved this book, and can't for the life of me understand the negative reviews. As an elementary music teacher, I will definitely use this book in my classroom. The pictures are beautiful, and the writing style is so charming. For dog lovers and music lovers (I happen to be both), this book makes a perfect combination. What a treasure!



2. The story is of a (seemingly) lonely young lady whose time is mostly spent at the piano in preparation for her performance at Carnegie Hall and in teaching her young students. Polly, the ever present pianist's best friend and companion, offers canine insight into the world of classical piano music and piano pedagogy.
   Like one of the previous reviewer's remarks, how much stronger of a story this would be if Polly were a child. For my household where everyone takes piano lessons and one of our piano teachers performs at Carnegie Hall every year, the story works. For others, you'll have to make a personal decision.
   As for the music, the material requires a great deal of ability and technique, and Ms. Montparker is obviously very adept at playing the music, if not a little too literally and without much flair and feeling. Also, many of the pieces seem a little advanced for young ears; you don't want to discourage children
   away from classical music. Selections like the Mozart Sonata in C, excerpts from "The Carnival of the Animals" and "Kinderszenen" seem a little more appropriate.



3. Polly is a dog who becomes involved in her owner's desire to play a piano concert at Carnegie. The story is told by Polly from her perspective. Polly's "most unusual doghouse in the world" is under the piano, where she is close up to her owner giving piano lessons and practicing Bach, Mozart, and Brahms in the hope of appearing in Carnegie Hall one day. Then the day comes when the pianist does play in Carnegie Hall--bringing Polly with her, who sits under the piano just as she has for so long in the pianist's home when she was teaching and practicing. The author is an accomplished performer for solos and chamber music. A nearly hour-long CD of piano performances of hers comes with the children's book for ages three to six.

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.