5 comments about Star Wars: The Annotated Screenplays.

1. For those like myself who love the Star Wars Saga, this book is a must have! This is the closest that fans will ever get to having George Lucas' rough drafts for his original trilogy. The format is styled like a series of interviews and is combined with snippets of synopsis from the various drafts of each film. The scenes are typed up as a screenplay and then diverted with the interviews and the correlating draft material. It reads much like a transcript of DVD commentary track. My only gripe with this book, and it is very minor, is that it is missing some lines of dialog. This book is an interesting read and is a really cool way of examining how the Star Wars universe may have ended up. It's also a very intriguing way of examining the creative process. Star Wars fans, students of storytelling, this is a must own!



2. If you're a SW fan and the DVD commentary tracks leave you wanting more, you'll like this. I only wish it contained more annotations (which would have earned it 5 stars).



3. If there was one flaw to the book is that it doesn't really contain the "screenplays" of the classic trilogy, per se. It's really a word-by-word, scene-by-scene *transcript* of the movies as we know them, including the material added for the Special Edition.

   It would have been nice if the book contained, for example, the final written draft of the screenplay, and then annotated with the changes in the dialogue and settings made during filming. All three films had a lot of extra stuff that was filmed but not seen in the final cut, although some of it is referred to in this book. The novelizations of the film do contain many of these "cut scenes" (i.e., Luke hanging out with his friends in Star Wars, more training with Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back, etc.). This book should have included all those cut scenes from the actual screenplay and explained why they were cut (i.e., for running time, because the f/x wasn't working, they felt certain scenes weren't needed etc.) Perhaps we will get to see all of that when the classic trilogy makes its way to DVD later in 2004...

   Too bad that some of the comments that Lucas said (when he made these comments in 1997) made the prequels sound more promising than what's been delivered so far.




4. With all three screenplays from the original Star Wars trilogy, this book pays for itself.

   But more than just screenplays, this edition takes you behind the scenes of the movies, giving you lots of information about how the series came to be.

   In the beginning of each script, you get a rundown of the drafts and revisions the screenplay moved through. Intercut between the scenes, you get lots of commentary from the creators (George Lucas, Lawrence Kasdan, Irvin Kershner, Phil Tippet, and more), plus notes about how the story evolved from earlier drafts.

   What really adds value to this edition is the exclusive commentary from the creators. Hearing George Lucas talk about mythology and how he came to invent the Star Wars universe; hearing Irvin Kershner talk about the directorial innovations he brought to Empire Strike Back; or hearing about how the story of Return of the Jedi came together--this stuff is priceless.

   And the stories--they're as fresh and exciting as ever in screenplay form. A definitive resource for film students, fantasy fanatics, and Jedis-in-training.




5. Star Wars: The Annotated Screenplays is not only a collection of the scripts for A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi, all of which were individually published in various forms. It is also replete with notes and commentary on the evolution of each screenplay from story ideas to final drafts. While it might irritate a few readers (the effect is rather like literary Pop Up videos), the commentary reveals that what we saw on the silver screen was not what was originally conceived by George Lucas. While to a few fans who read Dale Pollock's Skywalking: The Life and Films of George Lucas some of this new information isn't so new, to most fans the constant changes in the characters and situations will be enlightening.

   Also, material from the Special Edition appears in boxes alongside the original versions of the final scripts. Enjoy! (And have this tome handy to settle trivia disputes that previously could only be settled by a Jedi Knight!)

5 comments about Acting Without Agony: An Alternative to the Method (2nd Edition).

1. In this compact, easy to read tome, the late Mr. Richardson (an experienced director besides teacher)attacks, debunks and demystifies the insipid acting cult known as "the method". Breaking down acting into simple (albeit far too simple-hence the 4 star rating)and applicable steps, Richardson approaches acting as a joyful and natural form of human expression.
   
   While the book doesn't really provide as many usefull lessons (a few more would have earned the book a slightly higher rating)as attending a class would, it does communicate a clear philosophy that makes acting accessible to a wider variety of students.
   
   Richardson attacks the psuedo-pyschiatric approaches made popular by too many 20th Century acting teachers and sticks to the very basics. A successful director himself (unlike the most of the pantheon of American Acting teachers- Adler, Meisner, Strassberg- Lewis being the exception)Richardson takes great pains to approach acting from both sides of the camera and stage. His teaching method is to make acting as painless as possible.
   
   Too bad this is relatively hard to get ahold of. A valuable addition to any actor's library.



2. Ultimately, yes, this is an interesing book. What makes it interesting is that it points out a lot of the flaws and pitfalls in 'Method' acting. That was something that I wrestled with for years. All the agony. I'd lost the joy in the process. That part makes this book interesting. However, these techniques, although they sound promising are a bit shallow and overly simplistic at times. I still think this is a worthwhile book. There are bits of it that are very good. I would just say to watch out for when it gets too gimmicky. Now, this is just my own experience, I want to be fair here, maybe others were able to make this work, but I tried his system for supposedly creating emotions and to me that is just a gimmicky way to work. I can't imagine how that could work for anyone. It sounds interesting but after trying it, the techniques given for emotions just fall flat (for me anyway).
   The overall problem with this book is that it tries to create too many little 'tricks' at times. I don't think it quite works that way. My personal feeling is that you need to be thorough in your character choices, know the right questions to ask, and eventually trust your talent. BE. Be in the moment, with all the work you've done you then jump in and surrender to your talent. I don't think any little system can do that. I think it's a god given-surrendered kind of thing, not something you try to manipulate. That was at times the problem I had with this book.
   Nevertheless, it does have some gems in it. Aside from the system for creating emotions, the rest of the book is very good. It points out the importance of a well chosen objective, he gives you good character questions and explains how to work on different styles. Also, he does find a nice way to simplify things. I did feel I learned some good things from this book.



3. After translating this book into spanish,I have had a very close relationship with don richardson's text. I trust that this book will be as valuable to spanish speaking theater students as it has been to english speaking actors and actresses. I would like to publish the work, and would like to contact mr. richardson.



4. The best book I ever read about the art of acting. It's simple and direct. I require it in my classes. Wonderful for directors as well



5. I had the good fortune to study with Don Richardson when I was living in California. What a treat to find this book recently while I was searching for theatre books on Amazon.com. Don's book is probably one of the top two books that I have ever read on Acting. It is clear, concise, and incredibly helpful for either the beginner or professional actor. I'm an actor, director, and am currently teaching a course on acting and I use Don's book at the top of my list of reference books. Thank you Don, for putting your ideas down on paper for us all

1 comments about Churchill: Plays One.

1. A great work, shocking, interesting, funny.

5 comments about Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference to the American Style, Third Edition.

1. This is where to go for anyone seeking an in-depth appreciation of film noir. There are lots of good books on the subject, but start here, if for no other reason than the exhaustive list of films from the classic cycle.
   
   And to the guy below who gave this book a one star rating, Sweet Smell of Success IS included in the alphabetical list of films. The Third Man is not, for one simple reason: it's a British-produced film. A strong argument could also be made for the inclusion of French films like Rififi and Diabolique, but the authors clearly made a conscious choice to only include films produced by American studios.



2. I have been exchanging noir themed dvds with a Canadian friend for the past two and a half years or so. Unfortunately, none of the production details for the intriguing films that I received recently are provided in this book.
   
   That underscores the difficulty with books of this type. Completists are going to be displeased to find their latest discoveries and long time favorites are omitted. The approach to the material by the contributors and editors is pedantic to the point of being boring. Many of the summaries contain mistakes and occasional plot spoilers. As a reference resource, the book is somewhat worthwhile, but do not fool yourself into thinking that you are going to read it from cover to cover or that it is going to be a page turner. It is more of a thick catalogue or a ponderous textbook. I would not recommend this book as a gift to a casual film noir enthusiast.
   
   The book has been revised and updated, but the newest entries do not always contain full descriptions. Some of the films are simply listed with cast and crew credits. One would have wished that the revision process would have included editorial corrections of prior mistakes, but the changes seem to consist wholly of new appendices of film titles that were omitted in earlier editions of the book. The latest version also contains listings of neo-noir films to. My personal preferences run to obscure titles and "B" films, so the book is something of a disappointment as Silver and Ward seem to have a bias in favor of big budget productions. Very few of my favorites from Poverty Row made the grade by being included here.
   
   On the positive side, the essentials are included in the book and it contains sufficient information to direct you to other more specific resources or to find films that are new to you. One such book is "The Noir Style" by the same author (with James Ursini). I found that collection of photo essays to be far more entertaining.



3. This book is a reference book and not the type of book you just sit down
   and read for fun. It is a very comprehensive work on the film noir culture. Just about any information that you will want to know about the film noir classics will be found in this work. Fun to flip through and make a mental note of the format and where to look for your future inquiries.



4. If I could give this book ZERO stars, I would. I ordered this book, looked inside for about 2 minutes and promptly returned it. It excluded my 2 favorite film noir movies, The Sweet Smell of Success and ...what I deem, next to the Maltese Falcon and Sunset Blvd., as the absolute epitome of film noir....The Third Man. Not even a mention, even though it is #2 on the all time favorite film noir movie list at the IMDB website.
   
   I thumbed through the book for a sec or two and noticed MANY full technicolor movies, some of which, because of the content of the movie, I thought had absolutely no place in a film noir book, technicolor or not. The genre is not as wide open as this author believes it is. C'mon....Dirty Harry? Sorry, but that is NOT a film noir. I did not read the book, but whatever definition of film noir he is using, it CERTAINLY comes nowhere near MY definition of film noir. And according to Wikepedia.org, my definition is correct...color films have no place whatsoever according to the "purist" view. But I'm openminded, you know, it can be in color and it can be made after 1970....I don't have a huge list of criteria. I only asked that it include a few of my favorites, but when it didn't even meet my needs with the very first glance at the index, I pretty much discounted it as hogwash. Yeah, it has loads of obscure gumshoe B movies and if that's what you're interested it, go for it. But if you think all film noir movies should be in black & white and contain the Third Man, et al, pass it by.



5. This book is the bible of film noir, and the 1992 revisions of the 3rd edition make it even more useful than before. Want to know who plays every bit part in one of your favorite films noirs? The info is here. Want to know when shooting started? When it was released into theaters? Ditto. Want a chronological list of the great noirs? Or more "inside" film lists, organized by directors, stars, even cinematographers? They're here. One of the old criticisms of the previous editions of the book is that its plot summaries were sometimes incorrect in the details. The authors cleaned up some of those problems in this edition, although they decided not to add or change text that would disrupt the original page layout. This means that the new language is a compromise for space, and it doesn't quite live up to the original. And some developments of the past decade, like the discovery of a print of the silent noir "The Racket," are too recent for corrections - the bible still says, "This film is lost today." This not-so-new edition includes a great essay on neo-noir and a fine list of neo-noir films (although I miss the obsessive detail of the original listings). Also, it's paperbound instead of hardbound. But it's still a superb reference work for the film noir fanatic - so treat it well until Silver and Ward get a 4th edition on the stands.

5 comments about Singing: The Mechanism and the Technic.

1. A little too much mechanism and not enough technic. Very informative, if you're a biology major, but doesn't really tell you enought about how to sing. He gets into every conceiveable muscle and ligament in the mechanism - after awhile you can't keep track of it all. Having said all that, I do recommend it, because it does give you a great foundation in how the voice works; you just have to wade through it. It just wasn't what I was looking for, but I found it useful and sometimes fascinating. I just don't think a singer or teacher needs to know quite this much bio, but it's good to know some of it.



2. This is an amazing resource on the science of singing. I've read many books on singing and they all seem to draw on this book for a lot of their information. It is a little wordy, however, and outdated as it refers to the reader, the student, the teacher, and any human as "he." I feel that the publisher should make another additon to remove this language and update the photos and it would be much better. This book reads a bit like a text book but it will teach you most of what you need to know to sing properly - I defnitely recommend it!



3. Since I have been doing extensive research on the voice lately, I have found that most authorities often mention this book. Vennard's widely-respected compendium will prove to be useful for every singer, beginner or full-fledged.



4. This book remains one of THE fundamental must-reads for all serious vocalists. Read it slowly and fully absorb it-even if you have to read it again and again.



5. The title is misspelled here, it is Technic - not Technical.

   Despite all the voice-teaching publications since 1967, this remains the clearest, the most common-sense, and the best learning-to-teach-voice tool besides the actual experience of teaching. No other publication on the voice even comes close.

5 comments about The Merry Wives of Windsor (Folger Shakespeare Library).

1. Mistress Ford and Mistress Page are be badgered by the lecherous Falstaff, how to arrange a happy ending? As the husband of the object of Falstaff's passion disguises himself as a servant to divine the plans of the villain, the ladies defend their honor by inviting the advances of Falstaff.
   
   This is the Bard's comedy on a good day. Despite the challenges of the original language, I chuckled my way through this story/script. In the end, Falstaff got what he deserve (no sexy time with the good ladies and several beatings), the ladies' honor was preserved, and their husbands saw the highest qualities of their wives.
   
   I loved it, and recommend it highly. I just wish this one would be put on stage more often.
   
   E.M. Van Court



2. As many of you know, the crooked, but comical and likable Falstaff had a moderate role in "1 Henry IV." He was undoubtedly the real star of "2 Henry IV." At the end of "2 Henry IV," Shakespeare announced that Falstaff would be in the next play. ("Henry V") Well, to the disappointment of the audience, except for the mention of his death, Falstaff was NOT in "Henry V." So, some plays later, Shakespeare ressurected Falstaff along with Bardolph and Nym who were killed in "Henry V." Pistol survived "Henry V," and he is back as well. Some people (including the learned Isaac Asimov) said that the 'fat fool' bears no resemblance to the Falstaff from the Henry IV plays. Well, Asimov was right, but in Shakespeare's defense, the name can not always bring back the character. (Compare the "Dukes of Hazzard" episodes to the not so good recent movie. Denver Pyle is probably rolling over in his grave!) Well, onto the play! Shakespeare cleverly combines 2 plots. Anne Page is a young girl whose parents want her to marry someone other than Fenton whom she really loves. This story IS all too familiar, but Shakespeare compensates for that rather well. Her father (Page) wants Anne to marry the nice enough Slender, while her mother (Lady Page) wants her to marry the eccentric Dr. Caius. (So, Shakespeare doesn't quite repeat the Juliet syndrome.) Moving on, Falstaff enters and he intends to woo Anne's mother and Page's wife as well as Ford's wife not out of love, but in hopes of increasing his fortune. (How unheard of! ESPECIALLY in today's world!) Well, even Falstaff's friends Pistol and Nym are repulsed by this, and Pistol warns Mr. Ford while Nym warns Mr. Page. While we may see Page and Lady Page as the 'wicked parents' who want Anne to marry someone other than whom she loves, Shakespeare expands their characters by having mutual love and trust. (Othello sure could have learned A LOT from Mr. Page!) So, at this point we see that the marriage between Page and Lady Page is a reasonably happy and successful one. On the other hand, Ford is not so sure of his wife to say the least. He plans to disguise himself and encourage Falstaff to go ahead, mainly so he can catch his wife and Falstaff in the act. Lady Ford has plans of her own. We know that Lady Page and Lady Ford are trying to teach Falstaff a lesson so to speak, and we can only imagine what is going through poor Ford's mind when Falstaff reveals his plans to woo Lady Anne AND Lady Page. Ford goes through some comical jealous rages, but unlike the so called 'noble Othello' he does NOT lay an abusive hand on his wife, and it is hard to not feel at least a little sorry for him. (We can only imagine his frustrations when he thinks he was wrong, but Falstaff confesses he was with Ford's wife, Ford can recall the events, and Falstaff speaks of ANOTHER meeting with Ford's wife!) Well, keeping with good comedy, no one really gets hurt, and Mr. Ford is willing to admit he was wrong about his wife. Now it does seem that after the 2 humiliating events (being thrown into a river and having to disguise himself as a witch to escape), Falstaff would have learned by now. But, such is comedy. The Pages and the Fords decide to subject Falstaff to one more practical joke. And of course, there is the matter of whom Anne will marry. (Fenton whom she loves, Slender whom her father loves, and Dr. Caius whom her mother loves.) In a bit of "Midsummer Night's Dream" nostalgia, Falstaff suffers one final slapstick moment, but all is resolved, and young love triumphs. And in the often found theme of reconciliation of Shakespeare's comedies, the characters (including Falstaff) all enjoy a happy party.



3. This play is odd in that critics hate it, but theater companies love it. Harold Bloom's contempt for this play is so great that he refused to discuss it in his book on Shakespeare. But, unlike some of Shakespeare's less popular plays, Merry Wives is performed frequently in Shakespeare festivals across the land.
   
   You really have to see this play to understand how well it works on the stage. Played by an energetic cast it is hilarious situation comedy and easily understandable by people unfamiliar with Shakespeare. When Falstaff says at the end, with deadpan delivery, "I do begin to perceive that I am made an ass," it brings down the house. Just reading the play in your living room, you will probably miss much of the humor.
   
   Shakespeare was a man of the theater. He wrote for production, with little thought given to publication in his lifetime. You have to see his plays performed to get a measure of his theatrical genius.



4. I certainly don't agree with many of the reviews of this play. To me it is one of Shakespeare's funniest. I truly enjoyed it. One of my favourite Shakespearean characters is Falstaff, and he appears in a number of Shakespeare's comedies. He makes an appearance in this one, and he is wonderful. The scene of this play is in Windsor, England. The play follows the merry wives in their interactions with their husbands and with their families and servants. This play is unique too, because we see Falstaff in love in this one. This may be one of Shakespeare's lesser known comedies, but it should be read and enjoyed. Don't let some of these reviews stop you from the sheer enjoyment of this play.



5. "The Merry Wives of Windsor" is one of Shakespeare's worst plays. It lacks the sharp wit of many of his other comedies, tending for low puns all the way through. The situations are ridiculous. Is Falstaff in a laundry hamper, or sitting in the woods and being prodded by children, funny? Of course, the Elizabethans liked bear-baiting (mentioned in the play). And Shakespeare seemed to want this play to be particularly funny for making fun of Welsh and French accents.
   
   What raises this recording is the cast, particularly Michael Hordern's Ford. Ford is a bitter, jealous character, who actually believes his wife might have a dalliance with the physically repulsive Falstaff. But Hordern's befuddled jealousy actually make thankless lines funny. Anthony Quayle, a very good actor, blusters too much as Falstaff, but it must be difficult to represent Falstaff in sound alone and so that's excusable.
   
   The problems with the play are Shakespeare's. He starts a lot of things he doesn't explore (such as the bizarre horse-stealing episode) and there are too many characters to keep up with comfortably unless one follows along with the text the first time through. But if you need to get through and understand "The Merry Wives" for whatever reason, listening to this fine cast and skimming along with the text is the most enjoyable way to do it.

No comments about Learning about Dance: Dance as an Art form and Entertainment.

5 comments about It's Always Something.

1. This book is less an autobiography than it is a memoir of dealing with cancer. The entire book is pretty much about the nitty gritty details of cancer, which could prove a valuable comforting resource for those going through something similar. Wish there had been more about her life and career. But it's pretty much all about cancer and Gene Wilder, whom she obviously adored. I like that it feels like you can hear her voice when you read--it sounds like her and can be very funny and touching. She seems like a great person and someone you would have loved to know as a friend.



2. I was diagnosed with colon cancer in April 2005 and life has never been the same. My partner purchased this book for me and I loved it. I loved it not because it read like a self help book but because it read as a true commentary of life with cancer. It's words touched a part of me that no self help book could ever touch. Radner's everyday dealings with this insiduous disease made me laugh and cry and boil over with anger. Radner's words help me to roam through the numerous rooms that one staggers through after a diagnosis of cancer. My heartfelt thanks to Gilda and I would recommend the book to everyone who is affected and infected with cancer.



3. I first discovered Gilda from watching the TV-movie of this starring Jami Gertz on ABC back in 2002 (which I don't recommend for highly-acclaimed critics, or to anyone for various reasons resting solely on the persona portrayed by Gertz) .
   Although growing up in Detroit, I wasn't very familiar with Gilda as one would think, being from the same town. I looked EVERYWHERE to try to purchase this book, on here, Border's, Barnes&Noble and other various websites and my last resort, eBay (which I recommend if you don't know where to purchase it). In which case, I received it in the mail after a week or so, ripped opened the packaging and read it like a fat kid eating cake. Wanting more. After reading the book, you feel like you know Gilda. While reading the book, you feel like you know Gilda.
   She starts off talking about her random excursions in her ambiguous life, how she wanted her story to go one way, but it took a left turn and made another. Gilda especially highlights her relationship with Gene and how they met, where they got married, the process of getting married in a French town hall and saying "I do" at every pause, because she couldn't understand the French language. She did everything in her power to try to become Gene's wife. She suffocated him, he moved to New York came back to see her in Connecticut and when "the ducks were landed" she ended her relationship with Former SNL lead-guitarist, G.E. Smith and so began the relationship between Rosanne Rosannadanna and Willy Wonka. Her never ending battle to have a child, put me at the edge of my seat as she went through 2 miscarriages.
   Feeling unexplainably fatigued all the time, she tried to find the source of her problem by taking vitamins, sleeping more, eating properly. She stopped smoking (a habit she picked up at age 14) and went to doctors who mis- prescribed her with "Epsom-Bar Syndrome." Eventually, it got to the point where she couldn't get up and was constantly tired, so she got other opinions and was diagnosed.
   STAGE FOUR Ovarian Cancer.
   Afraid to be seen in public, she took therapy and began to realize how many other people were suffering from the same thing. She joined the Wellness Community, found her place and died on May 20, 1989. This book touched my heart from beginning to end. As if she was my life-long friend. I own the original 1989 edition, and I am NEVER letting ANYONE else touch it.



4. Gilda Radner was a very fine performer, but this book--not devoted to her entertainment career--shows her to be a class act off-stage as well. Some of us are lucky to have faired well at the hands of brilliant medicos, and are very grateful for it, but anyone who has had long-term experience with America's byzantine medical system knows how easy it is to become fixated, to the detriment of one's own health, upon its appalling lapses and petty cruelties, and lose sight of what's positive. Practically crawling, doubled-over in pain, before doctors took her condition seriously, and, later, away from treatment for an extended period of "remission," only to find out it was merely a mistaken test reading, Radner shows no bitterness in this honest, brave, and, yes, sometimes funny book.
   
   Someone so famous during the golden era of "Saturday Night Live" that she could hardly walk the streets of New York without being mobbed by fans, Radner is reduced by illness to humble sprees involving bingo parlors and mail-order catalogues. Demonstrating resilience, but also a sweet brave sadness that makes you hope, against all sane logic, that things will turn out differently.
   
   It has been written elsewhere that when Radner was very ill in the hospital she would make the rounds cheering up other patients, introducing herself "Hi, I used to be Gilda Radner." There you have it--that transcendent quality humor sometimes has to defy all human limitations, even death. Fortunately Radner will defy it more than most because her warm, precise and yet delightfully silly comedy will live on in tape, film and this very good book. Thank you, Gilda, you will always be really something.



5. How wonderful to read something by the funny and wonderful and loveable Gilda Radner. Her descriptions of her trials and tribulations with various doctors..her descriptions of her house. Fate with cancer as a fate worse than the interior decorator..Love for the world..A shining example..A wonderful lady who inspired me during my chemo..Love to her..I shall conjure..The spirit of the one who made us feel not alone..

5 comments about Droidmaker: George Lucas and the Digital Revolution.

1. I am a borderline technophobe whose mind goes blank whenever I am forced to read any computer product user's manual. The brains of the people that write these things are obviously wired very differently than mine. The leaden, sterile word choices and phrases used by this engineering culture make the sense of disconnect even worse.
   The good news is that I finally have found an Electronic Moses to lead me to the promised land. His name is Michael Rubin. "Droidmaker" is a remarkable book, bringing the story of computer animation to life, allowing non-technical people like me to understand how this process evolved. The photographs of the people and events involved in the story are particularly well chosen.
   This book is required reading for anyone with a basic level of curiosity on how the digital revolution came to be. There isn't another one out there like it



2. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this book. If you have a passing interest in modern movie making, the history of Pixar, or are a fan of Star Wars/George Lucas, you really have to read Droidmaker. The first half, dealing more with Lucas and the history of Star Wars is probably a little more accessible, but the back half, with its detailed telling of the evolution of Pixar and other Lucas-driven technical innovations, is equally fascinating. Oh, did I mention all the stuff about video games? Seriously, this is among the best books I've read in the past five years.



3. I was one of many young kids in 1977 who was overwhelmed by Star Wars and who spent the next several years writing letters to ILM and John Dykstra trying to get a job! The whole thing just seemed like the ultimate description of fun.
   I never got any responses but this book has made me smile allot. I'm learning so much about what was really going on while me and other slobbering, special effects wannabes grabbed our super8 cameras and made our little FX films.
   I ended up as a cinematographer and know several others who now have impressive credits in the area of filmmaking...all due to our new found young love of filmmaking started by a little space opera in 1977. I have always wondered if George knows how responsible he is for the start of numerous film careers.
   I really have enjoyed this book. Worth the read!



4. For anyone who is inspired by the use of technology for creation of art, this book is wonderful. I enjoyed learning the connections between computer, film, and sound pioneers, and how they inspired each other.



5. First off let me qualify my 3 star rating. This book was an excellent historical document following the development of the sound and movie editing process and the invention of the equipment and technologies involved. If that was the book I had intended to buy, it would have gotten 5 stars.
   
   The problem for me is that I am not all that interested in tracking the history of the equipment. Imagine reading the history of the invention of the Laser-printer. The interest would not lie in the printer and the concept of toner or rollers.
   
   The real interest of this book was the landscape that the inventions took place in, the people behind the inventions, and the projects at hand. All of these things took a distant back seat to the star of the book which was the EditDroid editing system.
   
   The book felt like a chore to read at times. Giant pullout blocks of history of other pieces of equipment so that you can fully appreciate the genius behind the equipment that our heroes are inventing riddled with footnotes on almost every page. (I am not knocking the footnotes, sometimes they were the most interesting part.)
   
   You might ask why I kept reading? Well, every 50 pages or so, there would be some utterly fascinating detail that kept me coming back for more. Like the relationship between Lucasfilm and Atari (and why millions of pac-man cartridges are buried in the desert), that the animation part of Pixar was mostly there to demo the equipment in the beginning, the financial challenges Lucasfilm faced, and so many more items that could have been the books focus. The book got really interesting (for me) around page 350. The Epilogue was far better than the book itself.

3 comments about Lazzi: The Comic Routines of the Commedia dell'Arte (PAJ Books).

1. I teach theatre history. One of their major assignments is to create and perform a commedia piece. This was an excellent resource for my students.



2. Expecting a book on technique, I was hugely dissapointed! Turns out the book is merely a collection of brief, general descriptions of lazzi. The Commedia character overviews also included in the book were, for my purposes, useless. The book contributes nothing new to the world of Commedia Dell'Arte. What I do find of value are the two Commedia scripts included in the book. Save your money, there are other books worth their weight in gold on the subject of Commedia Dell'Arte



3. Of all the books out there concerning commedia dell'arte, I found this one to be one of the most informative and useful (and definitely the FUNNIEST!--and isn't that the point?). Mel Gordon clearly and concisely defines what lazzi are, and presents a series of them according to type; quite appropriate, considering commedia performers often kept notebooks full of such routines. One discovers that comedy has not really changed over the centuries. Perusal of these routines brings the tradition of commedia dell'arte to life in a way that hours of poring over Flaminio Scala's work can not. A must for any student of the Italian comedy!