5 comments about On the Road to Tara.

1. 
   Fabulous! Fantastic set illustrations from a classic. Interesting background info. A treat. I want to frame some of the pages.



2. Overall, ON THE ROAD TO TARA gives dozens of wonderful anecdotes about the making of the epic film GONE WITH THE WIND, using Selznick as the focal point. The real life characters seem much larger than life here, and not the one's you'd expect. Issues of that time resonate in our own, including racism, Hollywood's role in shaping national morality, ageism, drug addiction, homophobia and meglomania.

   Unfortunately, David Selznick is a very unsympathetic character. He's troubled, undisciplined, unwittingly cruel, irrational-and those are his endearing qualities! Though the author takes pains to show that Selznick was always apologetic after he flew off the handle, there is no soft side to warm this character up a bit. He is reminiscent of Charles Foster Kane but with no love interest but a wife who stays completely out of sight.

   Vivien Leigh is just as complex, living a life filled with scandals-she was living out of wedlock with Laurence Olivier, which had to be kept a complete secret from press and public. She was British, and many thought it a crime that a non-Southerner, let alone a non-American play Scarlett. But her determination closely mirrors Scarlett O'Hara's in single-mindedly getting just what she wanted. Over all, a good overview of the making of a classic.




3. This book is seriously lacking. The pictures are not great and the text is uninteresting. There is nothing here that you haven't seen before.



4. Surprisingly, considering Harmetz's previous books, this volume is, without a doubt, the WORST book ever written on "Gone With the Wind." The text is riddled with mistakes, and many of the illustrations are mislabeled. Thank goodness, the book apparently has been a huge failure in the sales department, so there should be NO trade paperback edition. May it soon be "gone with the wind" ...



5. Finally, a new and interesting book on the film Gone With The Wind! For years a certain Gone With The Wind "Authority" has published book after book containing the same fuzzy and out-of-focus photographs...many mislabeled !

   Furthermore, Aljean Harmetz provides the reader with FRESH & NEW information...and does not, as other's have done, plow the same old field of familiar"facts" regarding this film .

   BRAVO to Ms. Harmetz for giving the readers and collectors something FRESH & NEW !

1 comments about Smoking in Bed: Conversations with Bruce Robinson.

1. Very enjoyable series of conversations with actor turned writer turned director, pretty boy Bruce Robinson. Having directed two of the best English comedies of the 80's (Withnail and I and How To Get Ahead in Advertising - both starring Richard E Grant - for another perspective and a fantastic perspective of an English (from Swaziland actually but...) actor in Hollywood read Richard E Grant's Withnails) I was very eager to read about the making of these films and what has happened to his career since - try sitting through Jennifer 8 without being disappointed. He is a voracious reader and collector and it is great to get a glimpse of his life and work. I only wish his body of creative work was larger - many of his more recent projects have fallen through. For fans of these two great films it is a delight.

5 comments about Gene Kelly: A Celebration.

1. I really thought this book was great! If you are a Gene Kelly fan this book is for you. It has little tid bits about Gene that a fan would want to know. Gene Kelly- A Celebration mostly talks about the movies Gene made and his contributions to the movies. Great pictures also. I highly recommend buying this book.



2. This book is a must for all Gene Kelly fans. It has wonderful pictures of him, and allows you insight into his life. This book describes the making of each movie that he made. Buy this book, and I'm sure you won't regret it.



3. The other reviewers have said what I am going to say: There just is not enough about Gene Kelly's life in this book. It's a little TOO "celebratory". Any conflicts that arise between him and others at the time are glossed over as Kelly doing no wrong. Some of his failures are presented as if they did not create a problem for the star, yet anyone who has lived on this planet (so then everyone) KNOWS that Kelly's failures and difficulties were probably not as ho-hum as the authors would like us to believe. In their attempt to be respectful of the venerable star, they take us sometimes for fools who have not experienced life. I'm only two-thirds of the way through the book, but it does not seem to me they are going to mention the fact that Kelly kept Michael Kidd from becoming more than he could have been, speculated by some to be the result of jealousy and insecurity about the competition Kidd offered. Also, several of Kelly's famous dance numbers are referred to as "the most remembered", "his biggest", "his most famous", "his daringest", etc. Well, they can't ALL be that. This indulgence in hyperbole is reminiscent of a "That's Entertainment" film. The photographs are wonderful, but the book's layout creates an awkardly cumbersome book that is too heavy for what it contains, and just doesn't "fit" well on your lap when reading in bed, nor does it carry around well when moving from room to room in your house on a lazy Saturday when trying to enjoy your book. I know that seems petty, but reading is an entire experience with a definite ritual. The shape of this book interferes with that coffee-and-pajamas-on-the-couch ritual. It's just too heavy and could have been easily condensed into something smaller and more manageable. Nitpicking aside, read this if you are a Kelly fan. It's a delightful journey back in time.



4. Initially, this book is very alluring. Now, i'm not one to "dog on" anything affiliated with the legendary icon, Gene Kelly... However, this book is less than PERFECT. It contains many wonderful pictures, as well as commentary(nowadays, the "bare-minimum requirements of any "celebrity tribute" book), but lacks in-depth information about the artist. In that sense, this "celebration" does not do Mr. Kelly justice. Mr. Kelly is great, the jem of americana. Sadly, this book is only half as pristine.



5. I am so ecstatic that they finally have a book out there all about Gene Kelly.. The pictures are great. It's well worth your time to order it.. I am such a HUGE fan of Gene Kelly, he is the ultimate cure for the blues, him and chocolate Forever sigin' In The Rain.. :o)

5 comments about Silent Stars.

1. Silent Stars is a 1999 book by renowned film historian Jeanine Basinger. She is Chair of the Film Studies Program at Wesleyan University and is often seen on Turner Classic Movies making comments about cinema.
   I have read and reviewed her fine book "The Star Machine" and found her writing so fetching I decided to order this older book on the Silent film era. The book is a delight in its countless black and white photographs of the stars and the detailed but succinct recounting of the careers of some of the era's most notable stars.
   Basinger recounts the career of Mary Pickford "America's Sweetheart"
   (who was actually Canadian born) and her athletic superstar husband of swashbuckling films Douglas Fairbanks Sr. This couple were more famous than Angelina and Brad! Doug and Mary were beloved of the public until their divorce and the coming of sounds ended their careers.
   Mabel Normand was an early slapstick comedian who made her fame and fortune with Max Sennett's Keystone Kops. Max was in love with the flighty
   Mabel though the two never wed. Mabel died young in 1930 as the era of pie in the face fun ended.
   Her chapter on cowboys Tom Mix and William S. Hart tells us that Mix was the precursor of drugstore singing cowpokes like Roy Rogers and Gene Autrey. Hart focused on realism in the Western oaters he starred in during his fabled career. The chapter on Rin-Tin-Tin and animals stars was good. I was surprised to learn that Rinny died in the arms of Jean Harlow!
   Basinger looks at the Talmadge sisters; worldy sirens such as Gloria Swanson and seductive Pola Negra(the lover of Charlie Chaplin and Rudolph Valentino)and the mysterious and subllime Greta Garbo. Flappers Colleen Moore and the "It" Girl Clara Bow are also profiled.
   Major chapters deal with Valentino, Marion Davies (longtime mistress of publishing tycoon William Randolph Hearst); Lon Chaney "the man with a thousand faces" and John Gilbert who loved Garbo and who died young from drink and a ruined career in the talkie era were interesting.
   Basinger screened countless old silent films prior to writing this book. Her work is readily understandable to a general reader making it easier to comprehend than such technical works on silent films as those by Kevin Brownlow such as his "The Parade's Passed By." This is a fun book to take with you to the beach or on your next business trip.



2. I absolutely loved this book. I am always looking for a good book and this one gave me different people to look further into and discover. Not only did I enjoy this book but it led me to thers that I enjoyed to by reading about them in this one first.



3. I wanted to learn more about the silents, and started with "The Parade's Gone By". It was good, but a bit too technical. What I really wanted was to know about the great personalities of the silent screen, and this book fills the bill. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and would have liked even more profiles. Each chapter deals with a silent star, some quite well known, some not so. There is also an excellent overview of silent films in general. The author writes in an enjoyable, easy-going manner, but there is plenty of information, and great photos. There are wonderful takes on Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, Rudolph Valentino, Pola Negri, Gloria Swanson, The Talmadge Sisters, Lon Chaney, John Gilbert, and so many more, even Rin Tin Tin! Really a great read, with some unforgettable tid-bits. (You'll never believe what Pola Negri said she would always remember Valentino for, or where Rin Tin Tin drew his last breath). Wonderful book.



4. They had faces then . . . those silent screen icons known as Clara, Lon, Pola, Gloria, Mabel, John, Mary, Douglas, Rudolph --- even Rin-Tin-Tin. From the pen (and meticulously researched and always thoughtful mind) of film scholar Jeanine Basinger comes this must-have tome, as important for its reconstructed historical chronicle as it is for its wit, humor and revelatory insights. Those expecting gossip will find it; those yearning for an academic, yet never boring, read will find it as well. The 300-plus photos are an added treat; was there anyone more handsome than Ramon?



5. There is very little I can say about this book except that i totally and completely recommend it to anyone who loves silent pictures as much as I do.

No comments about The modern dance, by John Martin (Dance Horizons).

No comments about Dance Is a Moment: A Portrait of Jose Limon in Words and Pictures.

4 comments about NEW AMSTERDAM, THE: THE BIOGRAPHY OF A BROADWAY THEATER.

1. The New Amsterdam Theatre is amazing. It has been given a new life. This book tells that story. It brings us back to Old New York when there used to be over fifty theatres!! It is a shame that we've let them be destroyed. But this book gives the story of a theatre and a peek into a past that deserves to be remembered.



2. This is the most beautiful book I own. I had been to the New Amsterdam in its most painful days. At this time I saw Mondo Cane and would not sit down it was such a flea bag theatre. It was a historical sight...Ziegfeld Folies et al. I really felt sad as I stood there feeling the greatness that had passed; at the time I felt... forever. Disney has brought the theatre and the feeling back. I witnessed this with my viewing of LION KING. What I felt had been lost forever can be seen in this wonderful book. The pictures before and after make one feel that nothing is impossible. The beauty that had decayed and looked irreversable has been accomplished and this book, and this theatre stand as testaments to what can be accomplished. Anyone who has walked into a theatre and felt the past rekindle will love to read this inspiring book. This book shows the cycle of a wonderful theatre and all that it was and lost and then saved. It symbolizes the rise and fall of 42nd Street as well as one beautiful theatre. This book will for once and for all show what a thetare can be and fall to and rise above. This is a wonderful book for anyone interested in Theatres anywhere and what they should symbolize to all of us.



3. This book offers an excellent overview of the New Amsterdam Theater from the beginning through the recent renovation with discussions of the architecture of the building, the decorative artwork and of course a history of shows that have played at the theater from the beginning.



4. Do you know a theater buff who deserves the perfect gift this holiday season? Disney's Hyperion has just released the ideal book for anyone who loves the theater: The New Amsterdam: The Biography of a Broadway Theatre.

   The book is as striking as New York's famed and recently refurbished New Amsterdam Theatre. Opening from the center to reveal the main stage framed by delicate murals and art nouveau decorations, the book is brimming with pictures. It begins with decades old photographs and sketches that depict the grace and splendor of the theater when it opened in 1903 and concludes with before-and-after pictures demonstrating the care and effort that went into the building's restoration.

   This book does not simply tell the story of the rise, fall, and rebirth of the Broadway landmark, it recounts the history of American theater as it passed over the stage of the New Amsterdam. From the Ziegfeld Follies to Fred Astaire to Jack Benny to Disney's recent staging of King David, the New Amsterdam welcomed America's most famous and talented performers. The New Amsterdam: The Biography of a Broadway Theatre makes this history come alive with photos of movie posters, actors, sets, and costumes.

   Disney is to be commended for committing their resources to the painstaking and comprehensive restoration project that has saved the New Amsterdam from its undeserved fate as a forgotten and abandoned relic from Broadway's' glamourous past. They can also be congratulated for offering this remarkable book that preserves and shares 94 years of America's artistic heritage.

No comments about Beijing Opera Costumes: The Visual Communication of Character and Culture.

No comments about Five Tales for the Theatre.

No comments about The Drama 100: A Ranking of the Greatest Plays of All Time (The Literature 100).