No comments about Robert Lepage: Connecting Flights.

1 comments about State of the Nation: British Theatre Since 1945.

1. This is a very well-written and comprehensive survey of post-war British theatre. I do have some minor quibbles with Billington because he tends to discount the still-lasting effect of WWII on British drama, but otherwise this is the best survey I have yet to read of post-war British theatre.

5 comments about A Personal Journey With Martin Scorsese Through American Movies.

1. Great book;
   discussing why American cinema is among the greatest in the world, co-written by one of the greatest living American directors.
   Scorsese knows his history, understands his country and loves his art, he is a keen observer and amusing spirit.
   Recommended to beginners in classical cinema and to American directors and students of cinema... Yes, I forgive Marty his association with Di Caprio - he has done enough already so he can chase the Oscars as much as he wants...



2. This extraordinary book on the last hundred years American cinema is an exceptionally well written, edited and researched document of the film, without any of the usual scholarly classroom didactics or conceited Hollywood self-congratulatory posturing. Scorsese's humble voice is evident throughout, and it is one of self-confidence, clarity and enthusiasm. The book is a wonderful companion to the DVD.



3. I was reading it to find out some tips, yet it was a corny book. I didn't like it.



4. This book is more of a transcript of the 4½ hour long master piece of the documentary, but it's curtainly worth the money. Here you have all the still pictures from the hundreds of film Scorsese comments in his programme. A book for every filmbuffs bookself.



5. YOU WOULD THINK THE AUTHORS WOULD WRITE SOMETHING. THEY PROBABLY TALKED AND TRANSCRIBED WHAT SCORSESE SAID. YOU FIGURE WITH A GUY LIKE SCORSESE THAT HE WOULD HAVE A LOT TO SAY ABOUT HIS FAVORITE MOVIES AND THE MOVIES THAT INFLUENCED HIM SO MUCH. HE DOES NOT DO THAT IN THIS BOOK. IT IS FULL OF NICE PICTURES, BUT NOT MUCH AS INFORMATION GOES. YOU EXPECT TO LEARN SOMETHING ABOUT THE MOVIES HE LOVES BUT HE DOESN'T GIVE ANY USEFUL INFORMATION. HE PROBABLY THOUGHT THAT IF IT HAD A LOT OF GLOSSY STILLS OF HIS FAVORITE MOVIES THE BOOK WOULD SELL. THE THING IS THIRTY DOLLARS AND NOT REALLY WORTH IT. HE SEEMS TO BE SAYING THE SAME THINGS OVER AND OVER WHEREVER YOU READ ABOUT HIM OR SEE HIM ON TV. HE IS AN EXPERT BUT WHY DOESN'T HE SHOW THAT IN THIS BOOK. IT IS VERY VERY SKIMPY AND UNLIKE HIS MOVIES LACK CONTENT. IF HE SPENT MORE TIME WITH THE BOOK INSTEAD OF HAVING SOMEONE ELSE WRITE IT AND THEN CHECK AND OKAY THE BOOK, THE BOOK MAY HAVE TURNED OUT TO BE SOMETHING OF A GREAT BOOK ON FILM AND FILM HISTORY AS WELL AS THE FIRST GREAT FILM CRITICISM BOOK BY A WORKING FILM DIRECTOR SINCE THE BOOKS OF TRUFFAUT. THIS IS NOT ONE OF THEM. WHAT HE SHOULD DO NOW IS REWRITE THE BOOK FOR THE PAPERBACK RELEASE. THIS BOOK IS NOT WORTH THE WEIGHT.

No comments about Geographies of Learning: Theory and Practice, Activism and Performance.

5 comments about 'O' Cirque du Soleil at Bellagio.

1. I just saw the water-themed "O" by Cirque du Soleil at the Bellagio in Las Vegas mere days ago and was utterly spellbound by the otherwordly experience. Afterwards I decided to check out the souvenir shop and perused this book there. What I found inside were a bunch of lack-luster photographs taken from the spectacular performance, but none of them actually capture the magic of seeing it happen before your very eyes, and what a marvel it is to behold upclose!
   
   In short, these images don't do the production justice! I would not recommend this to anyone who's considering buying tickets for the continuously sold-out "O" and would like to get a taste of what your in for because this may disgcourage you, and that would be a crying shame. Just trust in all the people that have raved about how amazing the show is and buy this simply as memorabilia.



2. This book gives you almost no taste of what the show is like. It is a collection of beautiful but artsy fartsy pictures, capturing the photographers style rather than this amazing show. The bad poetry dramatically inserted as captions to the pictures continues the slightly pretensious path the book took.

   there are only TWO PAGES at the end of the book devoted to writing about the actual show. For a show that is completely groundbreaking and unique, that is far too little. It is almost all text that is available at the cirque site (an excelent site, as opposed to this book)

   To see what this book could have been, take a look at the book of "Pride Rock on Broadway: Julie Taymor's The Lion King". This is a book about an amazing, one- of- a- kind show, packed with quotes from the creators, concept drawings, beautiful photographs, ideas that were cut, technical diagrams and explanations of problems that arose during production and how the team solved them. It is a book that any person, and *especially* a theater person from any discipline would love. That is the kind of book that this could have been, and it isn't.

   If you want an artsy collection of photographs, this is for you. Otherwise, wait till you get a chance to actually see the show - it will be worth it!




3. While the pictures in here are quite good (not fantastic), that's mostly what the book is all about. Pictures. There's no story behind each of them. It's quite pricey for pictures. I'd wait a while until it comes down in price. As for the show? It's the best show you will ever see in your lifetime. Trust me. I've seen a show or two before, and this is something special.



4. This book appears as if ALL the photographs in it will be as outstanding as the cover picture but this is quite deceiving.

   Considering the quality of the show, price of the book, etc... much more effort and professionalism should have been put into the photography.

   Very disappointing with a handful of good photographs towards the end of the book.




5. I have just recived this book, and if you have ever seen "o" at The Bellagio and loved it and want good memories of it, this is the book you want! Buy this book if you love Cirque Du Soleil! I have seen the show 3 times and this a book of high quaility pictures taken from the show! Thanks

No comments about Very Best Irish Songs & Ballads, Volume 2.

5 comments about King Cohn: The Life and Times of Harry Cohn (Revised and Updated).

1. There is nothing in this book that couldn't have been learned from other books or old Hollywood magazines and papers. This is hardly an in depth study. Still, I gather that most readers will pick this up for the beach or a cruise and only want some fast moving reading with lots of celebrity anecdotes (read "gossip") so this book delivers. I picked this up in a bargain bin for a dollar and think I got my money's worth.



2. Harry Cohn willed Columbia Pictures to become a major Hollywood studio, arising Phoenix like out of the muck of "Poverty Row" mediocrity in the Thirties by producing some of the Silver Screen's great triumphs. Columbia films won 52 Academy Awards during King Cohn's reign including Best Picture Oscars for IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT, YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU, ALL THE KING'S MEN, FROM HERE TO ETERNITY, ON THE WATERFRONT and BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI.

   Cohn, a transplanted New Yorker born to immigrant parents, was the quinessential Runyonesque character--crude, commanding, ruthless but possessing a "heart of gold" beneath the tough veneer. He was the inspiration for Willie Stark in ALL THE KING'S MEN and Harry Brock in BORN YESTERDAY. Cohn played the role of mogul as tough guy to the hilt.

   Veteran entertainment journalist, biographer and Hollywood observor Bob Thomas recreates the man and his times with a lively anecdotal prose style and an insider's eye that discerns between the real and the hype.

   Cohn has long endured a bad rap hung on him by the "creative community" that passed through Columbia's portals and over which he often rode roughshod. Frank Capra, Howard Hawks, Leo McCarey, George Stevens, Barbara Stanwyck, Jean Arthur, Rita Hayworth, Kim Novak, Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, Glen Ford and many, many others bemoaned Cohn's crassness, tyrannical interference and bullying ways but did their best work under his "oppressive," "untutored" and "uncouth" dominion.

   Columbia, under Cohn's supervision and control, invented the screwball comedy, perhaps the American cinema's most significant contribution during The Great Depression, and remained the pre-eminent producer of this genre until the outbreak of World War II.

   Cohn understood and felt a kindredness with his plebian audience that many of his patrician "creative" employees did not. Thomas' excellent biography goes a long way toward rehabilitating the "Ogre of Gower Gulch" with those who believed Cohn to be the undeserving and unappreciative beneficiary of Frank Capra's genius.




3. This updated version of Bob Thomas's biography of Columbia studio chief Harry Cohn is very enjoyable reading. Since its original publication, anonymous sources have come forward and new facts and anecdotes have been incorporated. The brusque, outspoken Cohn appears to have been only concerned with Columbia's most important productions, and Thomas's text reflects this bias. If you're looking for details about Columbia's bread-and-butter product, including its popular "B" pictures, westerns, short subjects, serials, and cartoons, you won't find anything here, and even some of the studio's "A" pictures receive only passing mention. Thomas keeps the spotlight on the colorful Cohn, with some incredible stories and quotes. A great read for movie buffs.



4. "I am the king here. Whoever eats my bread sings my song". (Harry Cohn).

   "I don't have ulcers - I give them". (Harry Cohn).

   "I kiss the feet of talent". (Harry Cohn).

   This is a marvellous and outstanding book that everyone with an interest in Hollywood should read. Once started it is hard to put down! Harry Cohn was the notorious head of Columbia Pictures from 1924 until his death in 1958. It is a remarkable story of the former song plugger who became the feared chief executive of Columbia Pictures during the "Golden Years of Hollywood". Harry Cohn was a very reclusive man who seldom gave interviews so Bob Thomas has done an exceptional job in putting together this account of Cohn's life. He put in hours of efficient research for this book and spoke with many people who knew Cohn and the stars and directors who worked for him.

   Harry Cohn's brother Jack was the first to go into the film business but Harry soon joined him. Jack was based in New York dealing with the business and financial side and Harry was in charge of film production in Hollywood. There was no love lost between the two brothers and they were constantly arguing with each other. Columbia could not compete on an equal footing with the other major studios such as MGM, Paramount, Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox and initially made cheap westerns and second features to begin with but Cohn was ambitious and wanted to produce more prestigious films. His luck changed when he had the enormous good fortune to persuade director Frank Capra to join Columbia who made a series of first rate quality films for the studio. The Capra films were box office successes (and Oscar winners) and brought in the much needed dollars to expand the studio and purchase important screenplays, and hire other talented writers and directors etc. The name of Columbia then became recognised and its films obtained a wider audience.

   Columbia did not have a large roster of stars under contract like the major studios so they had to discover new talent and develop their own stars. One of Harry Cohn's discoveries was a dancer named Margarita Cansino - he cast her in a few Columbia features and loaned her out to other studios and then the big build up started. Cohn decided her name should be changed so she became Rita Hayworth and went on to become one of Columbia's top stars.

   Columbia's biggest box office success in the 40's was the biographical musical "The Jolson Story". This was not an easy film to get off the ground as the New York office were convinced that Jolson was a "has been" whose career was finished and that the American public would not be interested to see a film about his life. Another problem was the casting - James Cagney and Danny Thomas both turned down the leading role and other actors were considered including Jose Ferrer and Richard Conte. Jolson desperately wanted to play himself in the film but in his 60's was obviously too old. The eventual casting of Larry Parks in the role of Jolson was a masterstroke - he was absolutely brilliant - in fact we can't now imagine anyone else doing it as he is so identified with the two Jolson films.

   In 1949 Marilyn Monroe was signed to a contract at Columbia for $175 a week. She appeared in a B picture called "Ladies of the Chorus" but when her six months contract was up Harry Cohn ordered her to be dropped - "She can't act", he said. Some of his associates at Columbia never allowed Cohn to forget he had dismissed Marilyn Monroe who as we all know went on to become a major Hollywood star!!

   Harry Cohn was responsible for creating another star at Columbia when he signed Kim Novak to a contract. He tried her out in small budget pictures such as "Pushover", "Phffft", and "Five Against the House". Cohn was not initially impressed by her acting but she did well enough in these films for him to agree to cast her in a major production with top stars - "Picnic" - featuring William Holden, Rosalind Russell and Cliff Robertson. "Picnic" established Kim Novak as a star and she went on to make several other successful films.

   The 50's brought even more success to Columbia with films such as "Born Yesterday" (1950) which won the Best Actress Oscar for Judy Holliday. Even more popular was "From Here to Eternity" (1953) which won the Best Picture Oscar and seven other awards. ("Eternity" became the biggest money maker in Columbia's history and Harry Cohn was very proud of the film). "Bridge on the River Kwai" (1957) was another Columbia success winning the Best Picture award and six other Oscars.

   To sum up "King Cohn" is a marvellous book, full of interesting anecdotes about the stars and "behind the scenes" information what it was like to be in charge of a busy Hollywood studio and with such a fantastic character as Harry Cohn running things there are many wonderful stories to tell. Harry Cohn had the reputation of being something of a monster and tyrant at the studio but this book reveals that he did many kind acts often helping out his employees and stars when they were in financial trouble (sometimes giving them substantial amounts of money) and visiting friends who were in hospital. He enjoyed his image as a tough boss and did not want these stories to be publicised. "King Cohn" is a fascinating read. Buy it - you will enjoy every chapter!




5. King Cohn is a flawlessly produced, deftly abridge audiobook about the life and times of Hollywood magnate Harry Cohn detailing is influence and impact on the American film industry in general, and the Columbia Pictures studio in particular. John Landis superbly narrates Bob Thomas' insightful biography of a notoriously gruff and tough studio head, a task made difficult in light of Harry Cohn's aversion to personal publicity, an absence of personal writings, speeches, and reluctance to be interviewed. Nonetheless, Bob Thomas was able to bring this Hollywood mogul to life as he climbed from a New York City song plugger to eventually becoming one of the most powerful men in Hollywood during the golden age of the Hollywood film studio system. King Cohn is a "must" for all students of American cinema and film buffs of those great Columbia Pictures movies that were only made possible by this unique and complex man.

1 comments about A Dream Play.

1. One of the gods daughters came to earth to see how earth was. On earth one character is hunting for the love of his life, that has left him. Time passes with out memories. The play over all is a but confusing, the characters are different everythimg that they are mentioned. But in the long run the characters show you how lonely and depressed that they are.

1 comments about Puro Teatro, A Latina Anthology.

1. this collection brings together a wide variety of theatrical pieces writen by latina playwrights and is the first such book to do so. The topics range from traditional farm stories to lesbian-feminist tracts. All in all, it's an interesting and enjoyable read.

5 comments about The Whiteman Scenario (Storymaster Press Novels).

1. I have to admit, I found this book to be a definate attention grabber. This book was recommended by y 17 year old son, who found it to be one of the best books he had ever read. After reading it myself I found that a subject that was not one of my favorites, certainly drew me in. The pictures were captivating.



2. This is the perfect book for anyone who loves reading history or military books. I have to admit, I was not one of these people until a friend recommended this book. It tells a great tale of an historic part of our history. As you read the book, you feel as though you are right smack in the middle of the action. A must have for any library!



3. This book drew me in right away. I couldn't stop reading it until I finished the last page. The writer makes you feel like you are right there with them. This is a must read for any fan of history. I will admit I usually do not read to many history type books, but this one kept my attention throughout the entire book.



4. Steve McCurdy's "The Whiteman Scenario" brings an actual historical event alive. This is a book full of fact, fiasco, and fascination. The reader sees the reality of conflict between what is right and what is selfish.
   
   I was astounded by what I read and was not able to comprehend some of the actions taken by the government. History buffs must read this compelling book.



5. This book is very intense. It is even more emotional considering it is based on a true story. Indeed, the "Whiteman Scenario" helps readers understand some of the difficulties good government figures face when trying to protect the American public. It also shows how war is often used as a selfish political tactic by government officials more concerned with staying in office than preserving lives.