5 comments about R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) (Penguin Classics).

1. Most 20th century plays are focused on the exploration of characters, not ideas. Karel Capek's R.U.R. (short for Rossum's Universal Robots) explores instead ideas, leaving character to one side. The character in this play are somewhat beside the point, irrelevant. The ideas about human beings, about the centrality of labor to give their lives meaning, of the pressures of modern capital to strip workers of their essentially human characteristics are what the play is all about. The robots are emblematic of what, Capek believes, modern capital want to do to workers, taken to their logical extreme.
   
   The play is, therefore, a profoundly political play. Capek's own politics do not fit comfortably on the current political grid. He could properly be called conservative, if one could recover an older conservative tradition that was not linked so powerfully to business and corporate interests. Historically this was not always so. John Adams, for instance, the second American president, wrote passionately about the need for the executive branch of government to stand between the greed of the economic elite and both ordinary Americans and the republic. This tradition in American politics was transformed earlier just after the half century mark in the 20th century, much to the chagrin of traditional conservatives like Russell Kirk. Capek shares much in common with this earlier tradition, seeing the greed of corporate interests, which would reduce workers to mere machines if they could. But Capek also shares with this older conservative tradition a fear of technological development. He does not believe that much genuine good will arise out of increasing technological development.
   
   The play is perhaps most significant for having popularized the use of the word "robot," a word coined by Karel's brother Josef. The robots of Capek's play have far more in common with what we would today call cyborgs or androids, being apparently human creatures made by humans. I find it fascinating that this, the first truly important SF play, focuses on robots. The novel that is usually considered the first SF novel, FRANKENSTEIN by Mary Shelley, also is about an artificially constructed human being. The first SF feature length film, Fritz Lang's METROPOLIS, also had a robot as one of its major characters. Capek's particular version of the robot has many connections with subsequent depictions of constructed people. To take merely one instance, there are many parallels between Capek's robots and the Cylons in BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (the new version, not the 1978 one). In both versions the robots were created to undertake work for humans to make their lives easier. In both versions the robots or Cylons turned against their creators. In both versions the robots or Cylons are obsessed with replicating themselves, though in BSG the Cylons are capable of laboratory reduplication, but aspire to procreation sexually. Clearly Capek anticipated many ongoing questions in SF.
   
   This remains one of the important works of SF of the 20th century as well as one of the most crucial works in the history of imaginative explorations of what it means to be human through the creation of artificial people.



2. This is a very lean version, with some characters being removed or merged with other characters. Whole sections of original dialogue have been removed, or at best, changed. Avoid this version like a robot plague.



3. don't skip this one - it's the best part of the play. "R.U.R.", from the author of "The War with the Newts", is a major disappointment. Thank goodness I didn't buy tickets for and then have to sit through the least believable dialogue I have ever read, nor did I waste a lot of time wondering why Glory accepted the elephantine attentions of Domin. It was like listening to a play in a language I barely understand - I couldn't believe it, and thought I may have had it wrong. But I didn't: it WAS clumsy, stilted, unbelievable. Read "Newts", and get the same message in a novel you'll never forget, by an author who will never be forgotten.



4. This is definitely a great read. It's got enough 'depth' despite it's small package to interest just about anybody. It surprised me how much Capek touched upon present day issues in a volume authored over 80 years ago.



5. This is a really good play but most reviewers miss the fact that in the play, the robots are not mechanical or androids but genetically engineered from a "protoplasm". I think this really addresses some of the issues today, especially stem cell research.

5 comments about Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir.

1. I've listened to Eddie Muller's commentaries on various DVDs, and they have been excellent overall. He also seems like an extremely nice guy. Having said that, I had mixed feelings about this book. As another reviewer said, it is indeed written in a rather breezy way. It's also quite self-referential, which gets tedious sometimes. There are some genuine nuggets sprinkled throughout that pique your interest. Still, the treatment feels superficial, and the content blends together after a while. IMHO, I think it's more suited to suited to someone who's not that familiar with film noir.



2. If you are interested in film noir and looking to purchase a single book on the subject, this is the title that I would recommend. There are dozens of other books available, but this is the one that I would deem as being essential for a beginner. The text of "Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir" is lavishly illustrated with publicity stills and film posters. The writing is uniformly engaging and highly addictive.
   
   The author, Eddie Muller, is a man of parts. He has written novels and biographies, he has provided informative and entertaining commentary tracks as bonus materials for dvds, he has hosted and programmed film festivals and interviewed actors and actresses from Hollywood's Golden Age, he helped found a not for profit corporation that labors to restore vintage films that might otherwise be lost due to the decomposition of nitrate stock while studio attorneys quarrel over ownership issues and so much more. Muller has an interest in prize fighting and exploitation films. He was writing about the grindhouse cinemas long before Quentin Tarantino developed a feature film screenplay on the same topic. Muller is a minor expert on the architecture and geography of his hometown, San Francisco, and can identify all of the filming locations used in the noirs set there, including former landmark buildings that are now demolished.
   
   Given his varied interests, Muller's writing reflects his overall versatility. He is not a one trick pony who rewrites the same book and repeats the same anecdotes over and over again. Muller is authoritative, but humble and approachable at the same time. He does not take himself too seriously and he remains an unrepentant enthusiast. Any man who could attend a revival screening of "Born to Kill" and keep the volatile Lawrence Tierney on a short leash is someone to be admired. Muller received an affectionate head butt for his troubles from Tierney one of Hollywood's most celebrated barroom pugilists and back alley brawlers.
   His online essay on the eventful day is hilarious.
   
   As to the subject at hand, film noir, Muller's carefully crafted prose reads as if it were transcribed from a performance by an accomplished improvisational jazz musician, although Muller would be the first to point out that the widespread public association of film noir with jazz is overstated (noir films did not typically include jazz scores until relatively late into the film noir cycle). Many standard reference books on the subject are written by film school professors and academics. Regrettably, some of these scholarly tomes are decidedly dull. Muller is refreshingly readable in contrast and could go fifteen rounds with any of the film school lecturers without putting anyone to sleep. He can hold his own against the scholars and specialists, but his writing reflects a liberal arts background that will resonate with the masses.
   
   If you finish this book, you will learn about the pulp fiction and detective writers who produced the paperbacks that were adapted for the movies, the economics of the "B" film units at the studios, marketing techniques and poster art used to sell the flicks and put fannies in the theater seats, the production code censors and the back stories on the people who made the movies. Edgar G. Ulmer, for example, worked on such a tight budget for the one week wonder "Detour" that the total amount of raw film stock, as measured in feet, available to him for the feature was rationed by the studio penny pinchers at Producers Releasing Corporation.
   
   This book is great fun and it holds up well for rereading. My only complaint is that Muller concentrated on the output of the major studios almost exclusively and, largely, overlooked Poverty Row productions, but that is a small criticism. After reading this book, you may subscribe to Netflix to secure more film titles that were once staples on the late, late show.
   
   Muller does not pull any punches. You may not agree with all of his opinions, but you can respect his positions. The book cover is based upon a scene in the climax of the movie "Dead Reckoning." Muller pans the film for its shortcomings, which include a confusing plot, and relates the problematic history of its script going through multiple rewrites by several writers before the film was shot. I have always enjoyed the film, but Muller recognizes its deficiencies that rendered it good rather than great.
   
   Naturally enough, the book incorporates some of the best dialogue from the movies. Highly recommended.



3. Hands down the best book on film noir. Enough facts for the academics and enough fun for the rest of us. Fantastic layout and though some have trouble with the hard-boiled writing style, I loved it and it comes from a master - check out Muller's novels too!



4. more than you ever knew about film noir, eddie muller plunges the reader into the dark and seamy side of hollywood. a fabulous history of film noir with rare and splendid posters, photographs, and insider stories that can only be found here and as only eddie can tell them.
   i highly recommend this book. a must have for every film buff and serious collector.



5. I will grant that film noir is mostly about style, that's film noir the thing in itself, not the explanation. Muller tries to write like the hard-boiled wordsmiths that helped give noir its flavor; but he adds so much useless patter as to give the impression that, like them, he is being paid by the word. In the end this book is about as satisfying as getting nicotine from a patch. The two stars are for the pictures.

5 comments about The Visual Dictionary of Star Wars, Episode II - Attack of the Clones.

1. My son and his friends are big Star Wars fans. They are all between the ages of 5-8. They loved this book. They really enjoyed finding out all the details in the movie. While my son watches the movies he looks up and reads about the movie. It is a great book. Lots of fun...



2. This book is very informative and it gives a lot of background information on characters that many star wars fans wouldn't know about. I am a HUGE star wars fan and this book is not a waste of money. There is a lot about Coruscant and the droid foundries of Geonosis. I learnt alot from this book, and it is ideal for any star wars fan's library.



3. For a Star Wars Fan, it is a must. However, as I described in the other books of this series, it has missing the starships pictures, but is is not a major problem, since the book depicts all hardware and aliens that appear in the film.



4. The Visual Dictionary of Ep2 once again gives us a more detailed review of the charcters from Ep1 and the arrival of new stars such as Jango Fett and his young cloned son, Boba.

   However the best parts of this book is the development of Obi wan, Annikan, and of course the accidental [physcial] symbol of the new Star Wars generation, Padmae Amidala, executed in purfect form by Natalie Hershlag-Portman. Her now famous white combat suit is complemented by her other eyepopping outfits...Very nice.

   A must for those who are keeping a library on this epic tail.




5. Actually my son loved the book but it fell apart as did all the similar Star Wars books. (He is not hard on books, our pop-up books all survived his early years intact.) I bought a copy for the library at my son's elementary school and that one fell apart too. These books are to expensive to have the binding be so shoddy.

5 comments about Cary Grant: A Celebration of Style.

1. I'm sorry, but having actually read this I wonder if the author's editors were on holiday. While I can appreciate the point of view in discussing CG's fashion, throwing in colloquial terms like "dissed" into the text makes the over-all effort come off as less than serious. In this light the fact that the author spends an ENTIRE CHAPTER on CG's preference for women's underwear is downright creepy, and taken together it says more about the author than the subject of the book.
   
   Really, this is stupid stuff, and the only thing to recommend it are the pictures, but the pictures aren't enough.



2. THIS IS AN AMAZING LOOK AT MR. GRANT. THIS RANKS UP WITH RICHARD SCHICKLES BOOK CARY GRANT , A CELEBRATION.I LOVE GRANT AND HAVE ALL HIS MOVIES AND MOST BOOKS ON HIM EXCEPT THE SCHLOCK LIES.HIS ACTING AND COMEDIC TAKES ARE BEYOND EVEN CHAPLIN OR KEATON AND IN SITUATION COMEDY HE WAS PEERLESS.I WAS LUCKY TO BE IN THE AUDIENCE FOR "AN EVENING WITH CARY GRANT" IN STAMFORD ABOUT A YEAR BEFORE HE PASSED AWAY.HE WAS CHARMING, ERUDITE, SELF- DEPRECATINGLY FUNNY ABOUT HIMSELF AND HOLLYWOOD AND HIS FRIENDS LIKE CROSBY, SINATRA , FLYNN, COOPER,STEWART, ROGERS ETC.AN IT WAS ALL I HOPED FOR AND FAR MORE.THERE WAS NEVER AND WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER CARY GRANT.OUCH.THE ACADEMY AWARDS COMMITTEE SHOULD DIE IN SHAME THAT HE ONLY RECEIVED AN HONORARY OSCAR. I CAN NAME 3 FILMS HE SHOULD HAVE HE SHOULD HAVE WON FOR.GET THIS BOOK AND PUT IT OUT AS A STAR PIECE ON YOUR COFFEE TABLE.WHERE HAVE YOU GONE ARCHIE LEACH???



3. I bought this book believing it was about the Cary Grant style and tips on the varies aspects of dressing well. To my surprise it was really a very short biography on CG with lots and lots of photos. Now I gave it four stars and not lower because I actually enjoyed it. Even though I've read CG biographies I must say this book has photos that I've never seen before and so that tops the flaws I found in the style department.



4. This biography is unique in that it reveals a connecting thread in all the stages of Cary Grant's life: his attentiveness to style.
   
   Even in childhood Cary Grant was particular about the fabrics of his clothes. The book gives adequate treatment to his vaudeville and early Hollywood years and mentions some of his inspirations, such as Douglas Fairbanks Sr.
   
   Cary Grant did not have a stylist like many celebrities do today. After failing his first screen test he worked at minimizing his flaws by making adjustments in his wardrobe. The book covers the highlights of his movie career and I appreciated the many behind-the-scenes glimpses and quotes from other actors. The book devotes the most space to the movie To Catch A Thief, considered by some as the most stylish movie ever. It also devotes many pages to his marriage to his fifth wife, Barbara, whom he married in his 70's.
   
   Interspersed throughout are short features on topics such as pocket squares, jackets, dress shirts and bow ties. The book is loaded with photographs and is a pleasure to hold and to read. If you are a Cary Grant fan, or are simply interested in men's fashion, this book should not disappoint.



5. This book is very well done. After reading this book, I admired Mr. Grant even more. He was very deserving of admiration because he really worked hard at everything to achieve his status. The author did an excellent job.

5 comments about Writing the Broadway Musical.

1. Aaron Frankel, who has directed more than 100 plays, loves the stage, especially musicals. He brings his genius to Writing the Broadway Musical by formulating an organized book, which is easy to use both as a reference and as a guide.
   
   He fills the text with pertinent examples -- plenty of them --like chocolate chips in cookies. Frankel's book is full of encouragement for the dreamers, while it outlines the practical aspects of taking a musical play from a dream to a full-fledged production.



2. This book gives a good foundation for basic elements of a musical script. I bought this wanting to write a musical script but not necessarily the lyrics/musical score and am a complete novice - was a bit lost on the different musicals it quoted. However another book that is quite "meaty" in terms of how to write a compelling gripping story/script for theatre is "The Writers Journey" surname is Vogler. What Frankel says is that the book or story needs to be written first before appropriate lyrics/musical score can be created. So I would have gone straight to this book first. Good as reference but can borrow from library, not a must have.



3. Frankel's concise, clear volume on writing large-scale musicals is a welcome addition to the bookshelf of anyone who wants to understand how this peculiar theatrical genre works-- when it does. By focusing on two artistically successful, well-known pieces in the canon-- "My Fair Lady" as a well-executed classic musical with linear plot, "Company" (my personal favorite) as a well-executed plotless musical whose songs move character forward--, Frankel can support his intelligent teaching points with concrete yet familiar examples. I'm very happy to see this book back in print.



4. In only 192 pages, Frankel presents writing for the musical theatre from the perspective of the book writer, lyricist and composer -- and how each contributes to the whole. Enough specifics for each to gain a better appreciation of the others' unique contributions. The book would be an excellent introductory text for a musical theate workshop. Most examples from My Fair Lady are illustrative and excellent; other examples from Company were less helpful (as that show was less successful). Highly recommended for those working on musical to keep near at hand.



5. Many of today's top talents in musicals on and off Broadway have studied with Aaron Frankel. Now anyone can learn the ropes from this honored director and instructor in a step-by-step guide that makes for good reading whether you are a writer, composer, or simply an avid theatergoer. I enjoyed the previous edition and found this revised and updated one an even more interesting read.

5 comments about Broadway Musicals - Show by Show.

1. Let me begin this review by stating, that of all of the text books I have had after a six year stint in college, I have used this book the most. I have used this book to not only research shows for synopsis', but I've helped a local high school pick their yearly musical from this show for the past three years. I am sad that it only goes up the 1996 year, and have been awaiting a new version for a while now. But if you need a time frame, this book helps with giving you the year, directors, original cast, and a brief synopsis of the show itself. This helpful for any music director/show director, I highly recommend this book for anyone persuing musical theatre history.



2. I purchased this book for my father. He is a music professor and teaches a course in Broadway Musicals. He just raved about how helpful it is to he and his students.



3. This was the required text book for a class in musical theater in college. I found it informative but lacked many details that I would have like to have known.



4. overall a nice book covering the Bway Musicals. I happened to purchase one for a friend who attends the theater (both Broadway and off-Broadway) religiously and she was very happy with the gift.



5. This book has proven and indispensable part of my theatre library, and if you get it, it will become one for you as well. Want to know what date the original production of Show Boat opened on Broadway? This book will tell you. Who the original stars of Mexican Hayride were? That's in here, too. You will be able to find the answer to just about any question you could ever ask of Broadway's hit musicals. A perfect companion piece to Ken Mandelbaum's Not Since Carrie (which chronicles the flop musicals this book mostly excludes), and a wonderful way of tracking the history of the Broadway musical, Broadway Musicals: Show by Show is as comprehensive, helpful, and essential as reference books on Broadway come.

1 comments about Running Theaters: Best Practices for Leaders and Managers.

1. I plan on having every employee in my building read this book. I have found no other book that is actually insightful and informative about my sometimes lonely & always hard-fought profession - running a non-profit performing arts center. It was truly wonderful to hear other voices on the subject, especially those who are established leaders in the field. The author has provided invaluable information on doing just about everything my staff and I do on a day-to-day basis; we all think we're doing our best, but this book helped me see other ways of doing my job that might make time spent at work more efficient and (maybe, just maybe) less stressful. I highly recommend this book to anybody involved in operating a theater.

3 comments about The Perfect Stage Crew: The Compleat Technical Guide for High School, College, and Community Theater.

1. I purchased The Perfect Stage Crew after taking over the Theatre Arts class and role as Technical Director at the high school where I teach. I had little theater experience and no technical knowledge when I accepted both positions. Prior to purchasing this text, I had read numerous reviews and purchased other texts, none of which addressed the specific issues I was encountering on a daily basis - such as basic stagecraft, simple (but effective) lighting, tips for managing a crew and tricks for maintaining my sanity. The text reads easily and is well organized. Mr. Kaluta has a priceless sense of humor, and I would swear he's been backstage in my theater! I feel confident in following his advice and learning from his mistakes because he's been where I am. I have even moved away from the "textbook" for my course and started creating notes and handouts gleaned from the pointers and information in The Perfect Stage Crew. Thank you so much for writing a book on technical theater that doesn't read like an instructional manual for a vacuum cleaner and that makes me laugh out loud while nodding in agreement. I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone working in high school or community theatre. It has proven invaluable to me, and I expect to return to it often over the next several years.



2. Kaluta's, The Perfect Stage Crew, is far after and forever perfect. Anyone pursuing the love of arts, communications and particularly those working with excited and courageous young people in career and technical education nation-wide, can forget worrying and save their energy for better spent passion.
   
   The Perfect...is succinctly detailed, nuance attentive, elegant yet exuberant and will answer before you know the question. National standards in this field clearly define all that must be known and done to achieve excellence. Kaluta far exceeds intelligent discourse.
   
   The Perfect Stage Crew... is back pocket and top shelf and without a doubt, biblical in importance. One is a must but others to spare... for your fondest colleagues, will get all of you there. Kaluta has packed twenty-five years of retries into one anatomically correct and beautiful rocket that will hurl you into a perfect and proud production.
   
   He's been there and done that but, instead of a tee shirt, Kaluta's got the real deal.
   
   Take it, leave it but read it. Better yet, beep it, then leap with it, where you may have feared to tread,quickly though... before you forget where you were before it.



3. John Kaluta's The Perfect Stage Crew: The Compleat Technical Guide for High School, College, and Community Theater considers budgets and the means for creating professional-quality stage productions on a limited set of resources. Kaluta shows how to pull off a fine production in less than forty days on almost any budget, and covers everything from organizing and storing backstaeg supplies, to building sets, to testing lighting, to operating sound equipment. This technical guide is confidently recommended for any involved in theatre at the high school, college or community levels.

5 comments about Aristotle's Poetics (Dramabook,).

1. I read these works for a graduate seminar on Aristotle.
   Poetry appeals to human passions and emotions. Powerful beautiful language and metaphor really appeal to emotion. This idea really disturbed Plato, who takes on Homer in the Republic. Plato thought that early Greek poetry portrays a dark world; humans are checked by negative limits like death. Tragedy has in it a character of high status brought down through no fault of his own. Plato says this is unjust. Republic is about ethical life and justice. It starts with the premises that might makes right and then moves onto the idea much like modern religions that justice comes in the afterlife. Plato hates the idea that in tragedy bad things can happen to good people. He wanted to ban tragedy because he found it demoralizing.
   
   Aristotle's Poetics is a defense against Plato's appeal to ban tragedy. Tragedy was very popular in Greek world so Aristotle asks can it be wrong to ban it? Yes, it is wrong thus he decides to study it. Plato says Poetry is not a technç because the poets are divinely inspired. Aristotle disagrees Poetics is a handbook for playwrights. Mimçsis= "representation or imitation." Plato uses it in speaking of painting, thus art is imitation. Another meaning is to mimic, like actors mimicking another person. Plato and Aristotle use it to mean psychological identification like how we get absorbed in a movie as if the action were real, eliciting emotions from us. We suspend reality for a while. Aristotle says this is natural in humans; we do this as children, we mimic. If imitation is important for humans then tragic poetry is worthwhile for Aristotle to study.
   
   Definition of tragedy- "Through pity and fear it achieves purification from such feelings. This is a famous controversial line. Katharsis= "pity and fear" thus the purpose of tragedy is to purge katharsis. Katharsis can also mean purification or clean. There is a debate if it means clarification, through which we can come to understand katharsis. Aristotle thinks tragedy teaches us something about life. Tragedy is an elaboration on Aristotle's idea that good or virtuous people sometimes get unlucky and in the end, they get screwed. Tragedy shows this so we can learn to get by when life screws us. The whole point of tragedy is action over character. Action is the full story of the poem like the Iliad. Character is only part of the action.
   Aristotle distinguishes between poetry and history. Poetry is concerned with universals, history is concerned with particulars.
   
   I recommend Aristotle's works to anyone interested in obtaining a classical education, and those interested in philosophy. Aristotle is one of the most important philosophers and the standard that all others must be judged by.



2. I teach this edition of the Poetics. The introduction is excellent. It makes the rest of the text understandable and useful to a writer.



3. Just a layman here. I want so bad to absorb the important ideas of Aristotle, but this book is complex and my attention wonders after a while.



4. Basically Aristotle's poetics is his outline for how literature should look and what purpose each section, metaphor, sentence, word, and even letter should have. He sums up his ideas about this rather quickly unlike his modern day counterparts. The book is very easy to read, but some sections may need a little bit or re-reading. I read the entire book in about two hours; probably even less and that also accounts for highlighting and annotating it for my own uses and also rereading some parts that I did not understand the first time around.
   This book is an invaluable source for anyone who studies literature of any kind. I would suggest this book to any English Literature students, just so that they would know all about the roots. This book is also a great source for writing term papers and whatever else like that.
   However, its one failing is that the book cost nine dollars. If you can pick up a copy from the school library or from a teacher that would be recommended, but you probably should not buy it in its new form. (There are cheaper used books, you might want to pick up one of those)



5. The ancient observer's insights have stood the test of time. Some elements of human nature remain consistent regardless of the century or technology. Aristotle thought classification was important. In this work he sets forth a taxonomy for poetics. One of the more controversial statements he makes in this book is "poetry is both more philosophical and more serious than history." He doesn't leave it at that, being the philosopher he is he goes on to explain himsself. He adds, "poetry speaks more of what is universally the case, whereas history speaks of particular events." This book will give you a comparison that spans cultures and centuries.

No comments about A Death in the Family: A Restoration of the Author's Text (Collected Works of James Agee).